Page 72 of Claim Me

He hums a little, his arms encircling my waist in a backward hug. “Maybe. But I know you’re not ready to trust us yet. So I’m not going to push you. Let’s just have a nice swim and enjoy our evening.”

“Trying to seduce me with kindness,” I muse.

“Mmm, that’s not how I would seduce you,” he replies, his fingers trailing across my lower abdomen, just above the top of my bikini bottoms. “My bedroom preferences are notkind.Worshipping, perhaps.Dominant, too. But definitely notkind.”

He turns me in his arms and starts moving us toward a deeper area of the lagoon—something I only notice because the water rises with each step. His piercing blue eyes hold mine along the way, his irises captivating and radiating a multitude of emotions.

Adoration.

Respect.

Lust.

“You’re not upset with me?” I ask, searching his gaze for any hint that he’s playing with my emotions.

“I’m disappointed that you’re hurting and not letting us help you,” he admits. “But no, I’m not upset with you, little firefly. I’m simply frustrated that I can’t fix whatever is bothering you.”

I swallow. “Even if you knew, you wouldn’t be able to fix it.” The words leave me before I have a chance to consider the implication behind them. They essentially tell him,I have a problem, one that even I don’t know how to fix.Which is more than I’ve been willing to admit the entire time I’ve known him.

“Perhaps my resourcefulness would surprise you,” he counters.

“Maybe.” I continue studying him as we slowly move through the water, my focus on him rather than our surroundings. He could be taking me out to drown, and I wouldn’t even realize it until it was too late. But I trust him not to hurt me.

Because he’s always taken care of me.

He’s always been good to me.

“You’re frowning,” he says, his forehead crumpling. “Why?”

I try to straighten out my features, not meaning to wear my emotions on my face. However, I… I’m conflicted again.

I’ve spent all this time holding on to my secrets, afraid to confide in any of my supposed captors, only to suddenly realize that I don’t fear Nox at all. And more than that—I trust him to take care of me.

So why am I hiding? Because I’m afraid he’ll share my secrets with Kaspian?

No, Iknowhe’ll share everything with Kaspian because that’s his job.

And yet, I find myself wanting to talk to Nox more than anyone else. Maybe even Bane, too.

“What’s wrong, firefly?” Nox asks softly, pausing his strides across the lagoon. “What did I say?”

“You didn’t say anything.” In fact, he has never once pushed me to talk or demanded a single thing from me. He’s only ever asked to let him help me or provided comfort when I needed it most.

Nolan accused him ofdatingme for answers.

But Nox simply said he treats me like a person, not a prisoner. Which is true—he does treat me like I mean more to him than whatever secrets I hold.

Even now, the way he’s holding me with care while assessing my expression with his concerned gaze shows he cares.

I just don’t understand why.

I would blame the forced mate bonds, but those didn’t exist until yesterday. And he’s always looked at me this way. The sole difference now is that he’s also touching me freely.

“You and Bane accepted the fate bonds immediately.” I utter the words quietly, my mind processing what that means. “You didn’t even hesitate.”

“Of course we didn’t.” His lips curl a little. “We’ve both wanted you from the beginning. I thought we made that clear.”

They did. Sort of. It’s more that my brain didn’t accept their statements from before, perhaps because they felt too good to be true.