Page 13 of Brave Spirit (Bound Spirit #6)

Cupping my face, he guides my gaze up to meet his.

“ Columba mea , you aren’t causing me pain.

Besides, I would see you with the others regardless.

Escaping it would mean losing them and you.

At least this way, you’re mine too.” He pulls me close and brushes his lips against my brow.

“Do you mind that I’m not as… demonstrative in front of everyone like they are? ”

“No, I don’t mind.” I tuck my hand between us so I can rest it over his heart. “I know how you feel. Besides, if your fans found out what an exceptional kisser you are, I’m pretty sure they would trample me for a chance with you. You know, more than they already want to.”

His full lips curve into a smile that makes me melt into a puddle. “All I see and all I want is you. No one else exists as far as I’m concerned, let alone have a chance.”

“I feel so lucky that you love me,” I confess quietly, these words only meant for his ears.

“Trust me. I’m the lucky one,” he insists, his deep baritone voice like sweet honey coating my soul.

I feel light with love and heavy with desire all at the same time. “You make me want to kiss you right now.”

After tucking my hair behind my ear, he leans in close, his scent of sandalwood and old paper filling my nose. “Want to go on a date Saturday? I can take us somewhere private and kiss you as much as you want.”

I nod like a bobble head, bouncing up and down as soon as the request leaves his very sexy mouth. “Yes, please.”

“So polite,” he teases in a way that has my lower belly turning molten. The way he kissed me with such dominance and control is seared forever in my brain, and it makes me desperate for him to do it again… and again… and again.

“About time he joined the bandwagon,” Mei announces, startling Kaleb and me out of our little bubble. “It was so sad watching you pine.”

Turning around, I notice Rand standing beside her with a dopey smile on his face as his gaze lingers on Mei. If his wolfy tail was out, it would certainly be wagging.

“Glass houses,” I murmur under my breath, pleased and amused by how obviously smitten he is.

Doing a very familiar hair sniff over the top of Mei’s head, Rand announces, “You smell nice.”

“Oh my god, stop!” She waves her hand in a shooing motion, even though the blush in her cheeks indicates she enjoyed the compliment. “You can’t just sniff people and tell them they smell nice.”

“Why not?” he asks, clearly trying to breathe in her scent more subtly this time. “I like your smell. Why wouldn’t I tell you?”

“Because that’s… I don’t know.” She flaps her arms at her sides, flustered by the intense attention that comes with the love of a wolf shifter. “If you’re going to compliment someone’s scent, you should tell them you like their perfume or something.”

Rand’s brows furrow with confusion. “But you don’t wear perfume, which is good, by the way.

I don’t like the chemical smell that comes with perfume.

” His expression shifts to the happiness usually found in golden retrievers.

“I much prefer your scent. It’s earthy, like growing plants, with a hint of sweetness from all your baking. ”

She covers her face with both hands and groans. “You are so weird.”

Apprehension seems to fill his amber eyes as he asks, “Do you like weird?”

Mei drops her hands and sighs dramatically. “Yes, I like weird.”

He lights up with that same golden retriever energy, and she can’t help but smile in return.

“Just be glad he doesn’t sneeze every time he sniffs you,” I interject with a bemused chuckle.

“Speaking of lumberjack teen edition, where is he?” She looks around our small gathering. “You seem to be missing a member of your harem.”

“They are not my harem,” I insist, pinching the bridge of my nose.

“Five dudes dating the same girl sounds like a harem to me,” she states with one of her leading grins.

Apparently done receiving Donovan’s special greeting, Nolan rocks his head from side to side. “She does have a point.”

“Of course I do,” Mei states like everything she says is full of obvious wisdom.

Kaleb presses a comforting hand against my lower spine when my fingers travel from the bridge of my nose to rubbing between my brows. “They are my boyfriends.”

“Yeah, a harem of boyfriends,” she replies in the same no duh tone.

Donovan rolls his eyes as he crosses his arms over his expansive chest. “I don’t really care what you call us. We know what we are. Whatever title you want to call it doesn’t really matter.”

Felix taps his chin with a single finger.

“During olden times, there was often a rotating favored concubine, and Callie has dubbed us best boy depending on the day. Kind of the same thing.” His face screws up in thought.

“Can guys be concubines, or is there a different name for dudes?” His expression shifts again, this one excited and eager. “Speaking of, can I be best boy today?”

“You know it’s an empty title, right?” I ask, bewildered by how a one-off joke turned into a position the guys strive to win. “I love you all equally.”

“I know that,” he answers with one of his boyish smiles that is so fundamentally him despite it coming from James’s face. “But I like the title.”

My tone is wistful. “I love you, but alas, the title goes to the only one not indulging the harem concept.” I flash him a smile to soften the teasing. “Kaleb is best boy today.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch the smug and pleased expression that takes over Kaleb’s smooth, sculpted features. I just said it’s an empty title, but it doesn’t stop them from lording it over each other’s heads.

“Anyway,” I state loudly, trying to shift the conversation away from my love life, “weren’t we going to compare class schedules?”

Felix’s disappointment over not being best boy evaporates when he pulls his phone out and shows me his classes. “Look, I got into all the AP and honors courses I wanted. I had to take a bunch of assessment tests over the summer, but it was worth it not to be bored all year.”

“Only you would be excited to have more and harder homework,” Nolan comments dryly, pulling out his planner that already has his schedule filled out.

The rest of us take out our phones to compare.

I’m so glad that I’m done with my creative arts electives.

I’m many things, but an artist is not one of them.

This year, I’m taking plant science as an elective with Mei to continue my botany education —this time with plants not instantly designed to murder someone or make them wish they were dead. Nice change of pace.

Kaleb, Donovan, Felix, and I are all in the same AP calculus class, and Nolan and I have economics together. I frown down at Donovan’s schedule as a suspicious weight sits in my gut. “Why are you in the same beginner cooking class as me? You already know how to cook.”

“I told you I was going to teach you how to cook,” he states matter-of-factly, crossing his arms over his chest once more, his phone loosely clasped in his fist. “You avoided the fun way, so the traditional way it is.”

Felix squints over at Donovan. “Call me crazy, but isn’t the teacher supposed to teach her?”

“You wouldn’t ask that if you saw the way Callie sautés vegetables.” Donovan flashes an amused smirk in my direction. “She needs one-on-one tutoring as well.”

“Burn one pan, and I’ll never hear the end of it,” I grumble, stuffing my phone into my backpack.

“Just one?” Donovan challenges, lifting one of his dark, thick brows.

“Alright, maybe a few,” I admit sullenly, my gaze not quite meeting his.

“Cupcake bricks,” Mei chimes in with glee, a reminder of my failed attempt to bake for Connor’s birthday.

Kaleb earns his best boy title by steering the conversation back toward classes. “I didn’t know we had a culinary curriculum.”

“Oh yeah,” Mei answers, tucking some of her long strands of hair behind her ears.

“They are a whole set of new electives this year. Originally, all we had was home economics and the cooking club. It was Ms. Brooks who pushed for more focused culinary classes. She argued that it was a valuable, lifelong skill as well as a trade profession. I’m in the AP pastry class.

For me, it’s just for fun since I’m destined to take over the family business, but the class does count toward credits at various trade schools. ”

“That’s awesome!” I exclaim, focusing on my excitement for Mei and not the gnawing suspicion that my abysmal cooking inspired the push for more culinary classes.

Ms. Brooks was very insistent that I consider taking the new beginner’s course when my inability to even boil an egg promptly landed me a C in Food & Nutrition.

The morning bell rings, and I’m worried Connor is going to miss the first day of school when I spot him standing near the parking lot. He’s in a heated discussion with Sam, his second-in-command within the pack, if her frustrated expression and wild gesturing are any indication.

Mei follows my line of sight and pats my shoulder. “Do you want us to wait with you?”

I’m touched that she knows I’m not leaving until I see Connor and that she’s willing to be late for class for any moral support I might need. I wave her off. “No, it’s okay. You all head to class. Everyone shouldn’t be late on the first day.”

Kaleb comes up on the other side of me and kisses my temple. “We’ll tell Mr. Harris that you’re in the bathroom.”

“Add that she’s having women’s troubles,” Donovan suggests. “He won’t question it, because he’s old and apparently creeped out by periods.”

“Just don’t announce it to the class,” I beg with my hands together in a prayer pose. “I don’t need a new thing to be famous for around campus. My locker is clean and gloriously empty at the moment. I’d like to keep it that way.”

Felix places his hands on his hips and shakes his head. “It’s a bodily function. I don’t understand why dudes get so weird about it.”