Page 163 of Alastair

“I feel you eye-fucking me, Nix.” Bellamy smirked at him as he set Clara back down.

“So what? That key around your neck says I’m allowed to eye-fuck you whenever I want.”

Bellamy walked over to where Phoenix stood against the wall and rested his arms on either side of his head. He lowered his face to Phoenix’s collar. “And this collar says I can throw you over my shoulder and fuck you like there’s no tomorrow.”

“Oh, please do.” Phoenix nipped at his jaw. “Don’t be gentle about it either. I want the whole island to hear me screaming.”

Daman curled his nose. “Can you two just… not?”

“You have no room to talk, D,” Bellamy said. “You and Warrin fucked so hard earlier it shook the walls of the villa.”

Warrin smiled. Said nothing.

“Back to the matter of that mark.” Bellamy looked at Clara. “How’s it feel?”

“I don’t kiss and tell.” Clara’s bite mark rested above her collarbone. She had braided her hair to the side to cover it, but even if it was invisible, every supernatural being in her proximity would know it was there. “But if you must know, I kinda, sorta, really love it a lot.”

Gray pounced on Clara. “Does this mean y’all will bind your life forces too? I don’t want you getting old. Or getting sick. I want you to stay with us forever.”

“Ah, my precious boy.” Clara hugged him tight. “Let’s take this one step at a time.”

The boys truly loved the witch. She loved them too.

Sirena watched as Raiden, then Castor swarmed Clara. They pestered her, and she swatted at them.

“Take care of her,” Alastair said. A note of warning colored his voice, like a protective big brother.

“I will,” Sirena answered. “With the war behind us, I intend to take time to focus only on her. She deserves the world, and I will stop at nothing to give it to her.”

“Will you be staying in Echo Bay?” he asked.

Sirena nodded. “In my absence, I’ve entrusted my army to Lysandra.” Her second-in-command. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve lived and breathed the life of a warrior. Clara made me want more.”

I knew the feeling.

Alastair’s hand slid into mine. He knew the feeling too. Both of us had dedicated our lives to warfare. It was time we focused on each other.

“I can’t wait to bind myself to you,” he said softly, shifting those pretty blue eyes to me. Our minds must’ve been in the same place.

“You don’t think you’ll get cold feet?” Keeping hold of his hand, I spun him in toward my body. “I’ve heard I can be cold and bossy. Grumpy too.”

He arched a pale brow. “Oh, you’re definitely those things. Add stubborn to the list while you’re at it. But—” He brought my knuckles to his cheek. “—you’re also warm, affectionate, and loyal. Even when you closed yourself off from me, you watched over me.”

“I will always watch over you.”

“I know.” Alastair swallowed hard. He touched my chest as a frown creased his brow. “You will not be shirtless during our wedding. I will put you in a suit if it’s the last thing I do.”

When I laughed, his answering smile set off tiny explosions in my chest. In my heart.

“I’ll wear a suit under one condition.”

“Go on,” he said, suspicious. Amused too. Warmth radiated from his eyes.

My hand slid to his jaw, and I leaned in, pressing my mouth to his ear. “If you strip me out of it after.”

He groaned under his breath. “I think that can be arranged. But we should practice first. Lots and lots of practice.”

“We’ll have to wait until after the welcome back, end of war, engagement feast.”