Page 23

A Few Days Later

“C an we go now?” I was pretty sure Nash was going to throw me off a cliff again if I asked him one more time, but when he came out of our tent, he had a bag slung over his shoulder.

“Yes, Little Mate. We can go, if only so you’ll stop asking.”

I knew he wasn’t exactly excited about the prospect of going to the city, but I was practically bouncing out of my skin. We’d had to wait for a few days while the healer’s magic took hold of our cuts and bruises, and Nash got in contact with his other brother.

Apparently he wasn’t just related to the Emperor—he was also related to the Emperor’s Assassin. As much as he wanted to chase Koth himself, he refused to go without me, and I refused to go anywhere until we found Rainn… though truthfully, I just wanted to make sure Nash was safe.

And instead of arguing, he’d sent a letter to his other brother with information on where Koth had run, the portal he’d gone through… and he’d waited.

When he’d gotten a response this morning and I’d asked him again if we could go, he’d finally said yes.

I grinned, half running to him and tackling him—he took my weight like it was nothing, his arms wrapping around me and some of the sullenness melting from his expression.

“You’re truly so excited?”

“I haven’t seen Rainn in forever .”

Nash’s brows dipped. “It’s been weeks.”

“Forever,” I insisted, but I leaned up on tiptoe to kiss him. “I can’t believe he found your brother of all people.” We’d asked around after we’d come back to the camp, and Nash’s scouts confirmed that the new mate to the Emperor matched the exact description of my sweet, lost friend.

Of course Rainn would manage to stumble into a magical world and land himself the Emperor of the whole place. Made perfect sense.

Then again… I hadn’t really done too bad myself, had I? I looked up at Nash with another soft smile, leaning up to press a kiss against the visible mark on his neck that let me know he was mine. Touching it made my own tingle, and his arms tightening around me was the only thing that kept me upright.

“He’s never going to believe this,” I murmured against Nash’s skin. “Last he knew, I was really straight. And… you know, in the human world.”

“I’m sure he’ll understand.” Nash pressed a kiss to my hair before pulling back. “Now, come. You’ve been bothering me about this for days. I want to head out before you start up again.” He sounded so put out, but the grin that tugged at the corner of his lips let me know he didn’t mind.

Still, I couldn’t stop myself. “Don’t act like it bothers you, bro .” I drew the word out slowly, and he rolled his eyes. I’d finally explained to him that it wasn’t a term of endearment while we were both laid up in his bed recovering from our run-in with Koth.

He’d spent the next two hours making me moan and call him everything but bro while he milked so many orgasms from me, I was pretty sure I was still walking funny from it.

His eyes narrowed now that I said the word, and his hand slid to my ass, tracing my crack over my shorts and tapping in a gentle threat that drew a shiver from me.

“What was that, Little Mate?”

I bit my lip and grinned. “Nothing. I said I love you, Nash. That’s all.”

He smiled then, the sweetest expression that I’d come to realize was just for me—I’d never seen him give it to anyone else. He dipped his head and pressed his mouth to mine, and I melted into the kiss. When he finally pulled back, I was the one who chased his lips for another soft peck before he shoved me back with a gentle slap to my ass. “That’s what I thought , bro . Come on.” He tugged on my hand. “Let’s go.”

That expression, that sweetness… it was all for me. I’d claimed him just as much as he’d claimed me. Nash was mine.