Page 69 of Blood Bonds
My voice breaks a little as I say that and his arm tightens around me, bundling me into his warmth a little closer. “You were a kid. You didn’t get the time to grow up and ask her all the shit you wanted to. Nothing to feel guilty about, Bond.”
I nod, but it’s there nonetheless. It always will be.
When we get back to the house, I duck into North’s room to use his bathroom. No one else is home yet, and when Gabe offers to grab dinner for us both, I shake my head.
“I want to find North. It’s Nox’s night tonight, and I need to… make sure it’s going to be okay. I always do.”
Gabe scowls but nods, walking me over to North’s offices without another word. He sees me all the way to the elevator before kissing me goodbye soundly. It’s only been two days since I slept in his bed, but without being Bonded, it still feels like an age.
I’m not sure the ache will ever really go away. I’m doomed to feel incomplete forever.
I scan my card to get access to North’s level and when the elevator doors open back up straight into North’s office, he’s on the phone, frowning and rustling papers in a very frustrated-looking way. He glances up at me and his frown eases a little. August comes out from behind him and bounds over to me joyfully.
I stoop down to give him scratches, cooing at him in a hushed tone so I don’t interrupt the phone call, but North’s tone gets snappier as it goes on, clearly trying to get it over with so he can speak with me.
I feel bad for interrupting, but not quite enough to leave. I’ve barely seen him since we got here, and I’m already missing those long days of being trapped in his bed in the post-Bonding haze.
“Councilman Rockelle, I’m done for the evening. We can get back to this tomorrow. I’m not having another late night. Even I have limits.”
When I take a seat on the other side of his desk, August tucks his head into my lap as he sits on my feet, a weightless bundle of smoke that is still comforting as hell. North glances up at me again and scowls at the distance between us, pushing his seat back a little and then motioning to his lap like he really expects me to get up and climb onto him, no matter that he’s on the phone doing important councilman things.
Well.
That’s exactly what I do.
The frown melts right off of his face as my ass settles in his lap, his hand closing around my thigh to pull me right into his body. I almost make embarrassingly happy noises about being with him again.
I’m not sure Councilman Rockelle would like that.
I lean forward to bury my nose in his neck and North hangs up on the councilman, throwing his phone down onto the desk and leaning further back in his chair and winding his arms tightly around me until I can barely breathe.
“I’m quitting the council. I can’t keep playing the docile role and being kept away from you.”
I laugh into his neck, more breath than noise, kissing the skin behind his ear as I murmur, “We both know you’d be bored in under a minute… or I’d run away. I can’t take the full force of all of your bossiness.”
He huffs and then groans. “The Council should be about doing what’s right for the community, not arguing about what to name things and how many lobster tails each family should be allocated each fucking week.”
I pull back from him a little to make a face. “Seriously? That’s what the Councilman is talking your ear off about? Tell him to come build houses with Gabe, Elliot, and I. We’ll have him too busy to worry about stupid things. Can I get a nail gun? Is there room in the budget for that?”
He raises an eyebrow at me and then rubs a hand over his eyes. “Of course they gave you a high powered weapon to play with, because that’s the latest nightmare I need to occupy myself with.”
He genuinely looks like he’s about to start yelling at people, so I attempt to distract him and save Elliot. “So you’re working overtime on lobster tails and names? Should I be leaving you alone more? Sleeping elsewhere so you’re not distracted?”
He doesn’t move his hand from his eyes as he drawls, “Wherever you sneak off to on my nights, I’ll just come to get you. If you want me to fuck you on Atlas’ sheets while he watches and sees exactly what he’s missing out on, then go right ahead, Bonded.”
My cheeks heat and he knows he’s managed to embarrass me a little, his casual and filthy flirting is a little harder to wrap my head around than Gryphon’s. I’m not sure why, but when he saysfuck,my knees go a little weak.
His nostrils flare and he glances down at me, a dark ring circling the outer rim of his irises like he’s desperately holding on to his control. “Do you want me to fuck you here instead? You smell like sex.”
I take a deep breath, but all I smell is his very expensive cologne, the musky undertones of it like an aphrodisiac to me now that I know what his cock tastes like. I swipe my tongue over my bottom lip before I say, “Let’s just say it’s a good thing you can’t read my mind like Gryphon can. You’d know way too many embarrassing things about me now.”
His eyes drop down to my lips and he murmurs back, “If it were anyone else’s night tonight, I’d spread you out on this desk and fuck you until you couldn’t walk straight.”
I swallow and nod. We both know that’s not a good idea on Nox’s nights. Not that I know exactly why, but I know enough about his careful lines with his brother to understand that he won’t cross it. I’m not sure if it’s for my safety or Nox’s, but I’ll play along.
I’m getting awfully good at it.
Chapter Twenty-Two