Page 169 of Wicked Bonds

They were right about this being a distraction, a way to lure Vera and Gabe away from Hydria.

They’ll hold the island, Balthazar assured her.

Your Hydraians are not prepared to fight Seraphim.

We’re more capable than you realize.

They’re fighting an invisible enemy that uses ethereal power in battle, not standard weapons,she pointed out.

They’ll find a way. His confidence helped counter her apprehension, but that niggling sensation crawling along her lower back continued.

He yanked apart a strand of the net along her throat, drawing a hiss from her lips.

You know, I’ve always been a fan of bondage, he said conversationally.But this takes it to a whole new level.

Only a sadist would enjoy this level of torment in the bedroom, she gritted out, flinching as he broke another cord wrapped around her shoulder.Sethios would love this.

Balthazar grunted.I can think of a few Hydraians that would as well.

Alik?she guessed.

In a past life,Balthazar replied, sounding sad.With Jenika.

Leela recalled the blonde female.We met once. She remembered a party and the female dancing with fire licking along her fingertips.What happened to her?

Lucinda killed her,he replied, his tone sour.On Osiris’s order.

Leela frowned.That seems counterintuitive to his goal to kill one as powerful as Jenika. She could recall how easily she’d manipulated the flames, causing them to trail along in her wake as she moved down the beach.

Balthazar fell silent, but his mind confirmed that he agreed.

He continued pulling apart the ethereal bands, the pain an echo in his mind. But he endured it for her, his resolve to free her his number one priority and thought.

The final rope around her neck fell, leaving her head completely free.

Balthazar wasted no time, his lips finding hers in a passionate kiss as he continued to move his hands over her body. They were in the middle of chaos with angels dancing above, humans screaming below, her body bound by fiery strands, yet she’d never desired a kiss more in her entire life.

She needed him.

Them.

Their bond.

Everything they had to offer, their bodies aching for each other as their souls frolicked on a plane neither of them could see, just feel.

His tongue met hers, his kiss powerful and potent and intoxicatingly perfect.

She no longer felt the fire burning around her, the net having dissolved into the background of her thoughts as she indulged in this necessary embrace.

Balthazar’s focus remained resolute, his fingers brushing her skin as he continued breaking the ensnaring material.

Until finally she was free and able to launch herself at him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, her body melting into his strength, the sensation ofhomehitting her senses and overwhelming her entirely.

Mine, she breathed, losing herself for just a moment.You’re mine.

He grinned against her mouth.Mmm, I think I like the sound of that.