Page 78 of Bonds of Starfall

A quiet chuckle drifted out from beneath the bed, so soft it made the hairs on her arms prickle.

Cy’s head poked out, purple eyes trained on her ankles as she hovered nervously by the door. "Will you let me out now?"

In a graceful movement, Rin reached her dresser, opening the top drawer and grabbing her holstered Echogun, which was shoved under neatly folded stacks of panties and bras. The delicate blue petals of the forget-me-nots fluttered in the breezeas she unclipped the gun from the holster and pointed it at the incubus.

"Depends." She held Cy’s eyes, the gun trained on the middle of his forehead as he lay half under her bed, sprawled on her floor.

"On?" The incubus looked struck by her.

Rin unclicked the safety. "Why you’re here."

Cy carefully moved out from under the bed, standing with his hands raised before him. He held her gaze the whole time, and her lower belly filled with warmth at the memory of those hands on her body, those fingers inside her.

"Who was the man that just left? A lover?" he purred.

She gritted her teeth. "A friend."

Tiny pinpricks of red filled the air, so faint she blinked, and they fizzled out. "You don’tfeellike he was just a friend. Feels like you want him. Maybe it feels like you love him."

"Stop feeding off my emotions." The gun followed him as he walked to her dresser, fingertips drifting over the petals of the flowers that would forever bloom.

"It’s not feeding. Not really, Ves. Not like sex." He grinned. "Tasting emotions is like tiny sips of alcohol, not enough to make me drunk, but enough to whet my appetite."

This incubus was mercurial, flipping on a dime. From tortured regret to sensual prowess.

"Enough of your games. We don’t have long."

Cy tested the edge of her bed with his palms, feeling her duvet. "Is your lover going to return?" When she didn’t answer, he continued, "We made a bargain, I remember."

Her eyes narrowed, heart skipping perpetual beats in her chest. Maybe sheshouldlie down like Lucien had told her. "One you didn’t uphold. You weren’t quiet."

"I got under your bed like you ordered. Now, you’re going to hear me out. As much as I love a little danger, I’d prefer it if we have this conversation without a gun in my face."

Rin held his stare. He wouldn’t have come all this way if he wanted to hurt her, right? He had had plenty of opportunity for that when they were in the hotel, when she was weaponless underneath him. She lowered her gun, but didn’t engage the safety, finger resting on the trigger guard in warning.

"You have thirty minutes to convince me that I shouldn’t turn you into the authorities," Rin finally said.

Cy sat on the edge of her bed, looking so comfortable among her things, like he had always belonged there—a missing piece.

"I can work with thirty minutes. Give me one." He looked up at her from under a fan of sinfully dark lashes, purple eyes glittering. "Just so you know, I would have obeyed even if we didn’t bargain, doll. You don’t get it. I’ll do anything you ask."

The air turned thick with tension.

"I’m here, Ves, because we’re Soulbonds."

Funny, how all it took was a handful of words to upend her entire world.

Cyrus stared up at Vesperin,infusing every bit of regret and adoration andtruthhe could muster, beseeching her silently to understand as he begged her to believe him.

The place that she called home was sparse. A small bed with a fluffy comforter that he couldn’t really imagine her curling up under. A dresser pushed against the far wall, with tiny blue flowers lying on top—no vase in sight. It was a far cry from the opulence Cyrus was used to. Yet he found he would give it all up for her. Hell, he had.

On top of the dresser, there was a downturned photo frame. His head cocked. Strange, and so out of place among the relatively untouched and impersonal room that it caught his eye.

Vesperin was trembling, her pale skin flushed as she stared down at him.

"What do you mean?" she repeated, for what must have been the tenth time. And each time his reply was the same.

"We’re Soulbonds."