“No,” I say. “But it’s different. I—”
“Not to her maybe,” Ian says. “Well, you know I’m not the most perceptive, and maybe Flynn would be better to talk to. But I would say hold tight, treasure your soul bond, and we’ll work this out. Somehow. Maybe you can call Chad, get him to buy more of the company.”
My heart lightens slightly at that. “You think?”
“Maybe,” Ian says. “That or look into some other options to get Bill out and make Eva feel safe at her company. Help the other workers so when she does leave, she doesn’t feel like she’s abandoning her life’s work to be ruined.”
“Yes,” I say. “If she does come to my world, I want it to be her choice. When she’s comfortable.”
Though a part of me longs to go back to my kingdom and make sure it’s safe and take Eva there also as soon as possible.
“As it should be,” Ian says. “Look, I know your family is stressing you, but I know your brothers. They will be okay defending it while you’re gone.”
“I want to believe that,” I say doubtfully. “Sometimes I could swear I’m in the chaos realm rather than the corporate world with how many hateful and power-hungry people there are here, especially at the top of the chain.”
“I don’t blame you,” Ian says. “I envied you for finding your soul bond, but I do not envy the position you are in now. With this… Bill Steinman.”
“He is evil,” I say. “I’m sure of it.”
“Well, we eat evil for breakfast,” Ian says. “Is that the saying?”
I laugh, finally feeling some of the tension drain out of me. “Close enough. Thank you, Ivar.”
I use his fae name because it makes me feel a little more grounded. I’ve been away from home for so long.
“You’re welcome, Tynan. We will get through this together.”
“You’re right. We will.”
I hang up and call Chadwick, leaving him a message when he doesn’t answer.
Then I open my laptop to do some research because I have a few more hours in the day before I get to be with Eva, and I need to make use of it as best as I can.
In the meantime, the Web cam she set up that lets me check on her will have to suffice.
21
Eva
It might have been a stressful day, but this evening couldn’t be any more wonderful.
At least right now, as I sit on a bench with Tanner, holding his hand and watching the sunset, I can choose not to think about anything negative.
We’re eating from takeout containers from a local taco truck and watching kids play by the duck pond, and everything feels just perfect.
There are some dogs running around with their owners, and occasionally, one wanders over to Tanner, as animals seem to like him. Plus, he’s always willing to pick up a stray ball and throw it.
I wonder if he realizes how well he fits in here, in my world. Though, he seems so eager to go back to his.
It’s not that I’m never willing to. It’s just that no matter how good I feel about Tanner, that’s a huge commitment.
I’m starting to become a fairy, but the human in me knows that you don’t just leave your job and your world to go somewhere you don’t know anyone just because of a new relationship.
For some reason, Tanner doesn’t see that at all, though I’m glad he’s willing to be patient.
I never thought about having a relationship, let alone one with someone who lives somewhere else, who might make me relocate.
But I do care for him, and I’m trying to let myself adjust.
I don’t want a situation like my parents. Always fighting over whose job was more important, constantly being manipulative and stepping over one another.
And that was before the divorce.
Tanner insists things are different between soul bonds, that we’re meant to be together, so waiting is irrelevant.
But I don’t want to be stupid just because things feel good.
And boy, do they feel good.
I squeeze Tanner’s hand as I lean in against him, wondering how I can feel so comfortable with him when everything is so new.
Just the feel of his warm, muscular shoulder against my cheek is so soothing that I let out a little sigh.
He gives me a gentle smile. “How are you feeling?”
“Good,” I say, using my free hand to reach over and squeeze his thigh. “Today has been amazing. The parts with you I mean.”
He nods, looking out at the lake, and I see his expression change as he obviously tries not to think about what happened earlier.
His face slowly relaxes as he watches the children. “It’s been wonderful being out in the sun with you, just taking it easy, as you would say. Not something I’m used to as the prince of darkness.”
I laugh. “Tell me more about that. Your kingdom. What you do there.” Given that he’s trying to cope in my world, I should at least be trying to learn about his.
He rubs the back of his head. “I’ve been more commander of darkness than prince of darkness. I’ve been fighting my whole life. Training since I was very young, as I told you before.”
“That sounds difficult.” I squeeze his hand, encouraging him to say more.
But as his jaw tightens, I can tell he’s holding something back from me. “My world isn’t pretty. I mean, my kingdom is. It’s beautiful, with great people who only want peace, despite the constant intrusions.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’re always attacked because our kingdom is near the border to the Blur, which is next to the chaos realm where chaos fae are banished.”
“Ah,” I say. “So keeping the lowlifes out.”
He raises an eyebrow at me. “Only because they chose to be there. They did something unforgivable that removed their ability to bond. And when they invade, they aren’t trying get help for themselves. They are trying to rape, pillage, and attack.”
“Oh,” I say, taken aback by the horror of it. “And you fight them?”
He nods. “Alongside my brothers and other warriors.”
“And the bad ones, they all live in this chaos realm? What about fae born there?”
“Impossible.” He shakes his head. “They can’t bond, so no babies are born there. No one is born in the chaos realm, only sent there.” His gaze darkens. “I don’t wish to speak more of it.” His eyes meet mine, sparkling beautifully in the waning evening sun. “Not when I could be spending time with you.”
“Okay, but I want to know everything about you.”
He nods. “In time. As we further the bond.”
I stroke his hair back, loving the softness even when it’s short. “I like you human as well, you know. Not just as fae, like last night.”
“Oh?” He raises a dark eyebrow curiously. “Which do you like better?”
“Neither,” I say, feeling myself flush. “They’re both you, so I like them equally. More than like them.”
Heat lights his eyes. “Maybe we should go back to your place, then. Try a little more bonding.”
I smile as he eagerly stands up, pulling me with him. My body is ready and waiting, as it always is whenever he’s around.
If this is what it’s like to be with your soul bond, as he explained yesterday, sign me up.
Even if I’m not ready to leave my world just yet.
We hold hands as we walk back to the apartment, Tanner walking protectively on the outside of the sidewalk as if worried about cars.
He glares at every man who looks my way until they avert their attention.
It feels good to have someone on my side for once, though I’ve always protected myself pretty well.
As we walk, Tanner tells me about his family. About how his father died fighting one of the greatest waves of chaos ever seen. A war hero.
Still, it seems Tanner had to step up much younger than he should have had to and even now carries too much on his shoulders.
His mother sounds like a wonderful woman and his brothers sound supportive,
so why does it seem like Tanner feels he has to handle everything alone?
I guess that’s something I can relate to, I realize with chagrin.
By the time we’re back in my apartment, the door safely locked behind us, my body is buzzing from anticipation.
My heart is warm from hearing his voice and talking so much. I could listen to him talk forever.
I take a seat on the couch as he goes into the kitchen, opening a wine bottle and pouring it into two glasses, then handing one to me.
I give him a sultry look as I begin to sip it.
As he stares down at his drink, looking slightly disheveled now that he has taken off his jacket, I can’t help but remember how sexy he looked earlier.
When he got angry.
I love the way he made love to me the other night. Slow. Sexy. Passionate.
But there’s another side to Tanner. The one that wanted to beat Bill’s ass for even looking at me. The one that pins me with a teasing gaze.
The one that commands entire armies.
And I have to think, though maybe this is just me reading too many romances, that there has to be another side to him.
One as dominant as he is in everyday life.
Is it possible he’s holding that back from me? Because on a day like today, where everything got shaken up, seeing that side of him, just letting everything go and seeing him take over would feel almost… safe.
“Tanner?” I ask after drinking more of my wine to get my gumption up.
“Yes?” His eyes are patient. God, he’s beautiful.
“I… you know, I loved what we did last night. It was everything I ever imagined, but…” I trail off, flushing intensely. Can I really say this?
“What is it?” He looks interested, leaning forward and rubbing his hands together slightly, a lock of dark hair falling over his forehead.
He’s so big, so masculine, so in charge… Is it wrong of me to ask this?
I can just imagine it would be so good.
“I mean, I loved it. I could do that every time and feel so lucky. Just thinking about it gets me hot.”
“But?” He’s watching me so intently it’s hard to breathe right, and I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that instead of being defensive, as I think most men would be, he’s just interested to know what I want.
“But I was thinking, you know, commander of darkness… big, bad Tanner… I wouldn’t have pictured you being so gentle.”
His black irises are molten now, shaded by sultry lashes. “What would you picture?”
“Uh, you know…” I shake my head, too embarrassed to continue. But Tanner stands up, coming over to pin me against the couch, putting a hand on either side of my head, trapping me.
I’m eye level with his wide chest and have to strain to look up into his handsome face.
“Tell me what you want, soul bond,” he says in a gruff voice. “Because I’m getting impatient to have you.”
There it is. That hot, dark want that hides beneath the surface.
“I want… you to take control.”
“Give me a word,” he says. “Something so I’ll know if you want to stop.”
I blink up. “You know about that?”
He nods. “I’ve studied human customs.”
“Red,” I say, though I know I won’t end up using it.
He runs his gaze over me slowly, making me feel like tasty prey before a predator’s eyes. Then he grins, and I can tell he isn’t just doing this to please me.
He’s been wanting to do this as well. I was right.
“You’re mine, Eva,” he says, moving one hand to tangle in my hair, holding me hostage as I go even wetter. He slants his mouth over me, trapping me in a hungry kiss as his tongue forces my lips apart to sweep inside, making me breathless.
I try to pull away, just to test him, but he doesn’t let go, simply pulling back to look down at me, still grinning.
“You’re mine, and before tonight’s over, you’ll know it,” he growls, covering my lips with his again.
God, I love feeling powerless beneath him while knowing I have all the power to stop.
“Yours,” I mutter against his lips before he muffles my ability to speak again.
Damn, this is going to be good.
22
Tanner
Every time I think my soul bond couldn’t possibly be a better match for me, she does something to surprise me.
I was happy to be patient, gentle, hold back the voracious warrior in me who wants to claim and conquer and totally command her body into submission.
But then she looks at me with those sultry blue eyes and asks me to claim her.
To be a bit rough, if I understand what she’s saying. Which I do by the way her bond reaches out to me as I tangle my hand in her hair, kissing her roughly enough that she knows how badly I want her, but not hard enough to leave a bruise.
It would be so easy to take her. Shove her down right here, strip off her clothing, take her on the floor, and have her screaming in no time.
But she told me to take control, and since she’s my soul bond, it’s hard not to want to draw this out.
She mewls against me and presses her chest to mine, wanting more, but I keep her trapped by her hair, bringing my lips up to her ear, close to where I’m holding her in a way she can never escape.
“Things feel stronger in the dark,” I murmur against her ear as she lets out a shudder.
I snap and it’s dark around us, and I claim her lips with mine, loving the way they are slightly swollen as she lets out a moan.
Not everyone wants to make love in the dark, but those who aren’t afraid can experience sensations stronger than they’ve ever imagined.
“Feel the perfect darkness,” I say, using my free hand to pin her hands down at her sides, as I continue to plunder her mouth before she can respond. She lets out a muffled moan and writhes, seeming even more desperate for more.
But I’m still going to make her wait.
“I bet you’re so fucking wet now, aren’t you, princess? So impatient, little Miss VP. Unable to wait for anything? So much fucking power, and you can have so much more.” I bite her lower lip gently, grazing it through my teeth, and she lets out a shudder.
“Tanner, it’s—”
“Unless you have a safe word to tell me, and you’re welcome to tap or kick if I don’t hear you, I don’t want to hear what you want.” I lick up her neck, making her gasp. “You’re mine, here in the darkness. You can’t see what I do, but you’ll feel it.”
I leave her mouth to slide down to the ground, kneeling between her legs in front of her on the couch, keeping her pinned with one of my hands on each of hers.
“Hm, where should I start?” I make sure to keep talking because I want her to know who’s holding her, as if she already doesn’t just by the swirling of our bond, the way my touch lights her up like nothing else would.
And no one else will ever touch her again.
I move forward, grabbing her shirt with my teeth, grazing her soft skin as I pull it up, gently biting at her soft stomach.
I swipe my tongue over her belly button, making her moan and jerk, but keep her hands firm when she tries to move them.
“Tanner—”
“Safe word?”
She shakes her head instantly.
“Then shut up and let me give you what you asked for.”
I feel her melt in response and smile as I bite her gently through her bra, right over her nipple, pressing down through the padded fabric.
“Oh God, so strong. You were right, in the dark…”
“Yes, all I want to hear is how good it is,” I say, putting both of her hands in one of mine so I can use the other to push her bra away and harshly claim her breast with my mouth, flicking and sucking at the nipple.
She lets out another little moan, jerking and struggling, but I want her to feel my strength right now.
“Easy, princess,” I say, my lips tickling her nipple as I
move over to suck on and tease the other breast until her nipple is a hard, flickable tip.
I suck it harder than before, and she arches back. “Oh my God.”
“Yes, feel our bond,” I say. “Feel how much even the slightest touch moistens you.”
I summon darkness bonds now, which fly from me to her hands, pinning them down without me needing to hold her.
She gasps, but I come up to kiss her again, swiping into her mouth more voraciously than ever before.
I make it impossible to gasp, impossible to escape, as I continue to kiss, to twist my tongue with hers, to catch her whenever she tries to evade, and savor her pleased little moan in response.
“I can smell you,” I growl against her mouth when she’s gasping for breath, her legs pressing tightly together but squirming, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her hands no longer even fighting the bonds. “You love this, you little sex-hungry wanton.”
“Hey—”
I kiss her again, stifling her words, and she lets out a moan of what almost sounds like relief.
She has so much to deal with. To think about. To worry about. But not in this moment.
In this moment, we leave all our worries behind.
I continue to kiss her, letting my darkness ropes wind around her arms, her legs, her waist. All me, though she’ll barely feel anything but the inability to move.
She shakes her head back and forth to pull back from the kiss, and I finally release her just in case she needs to stop.
She lets out a huge breath. “What’s holding me? Tanner—”
I snap, removing the overall darkness so we’re just in the living room again. She looks down at herself, eyes widening at all of the dark ropes curling around her in thin tendrils that nonetheless will never let her go.
“Can you feel how much I want you, soul bond?” I ask, stroking one finger lightly over her cheek. “Feel how I want to overwhelm you? To have all of you?” I lean in to kiss her forehead, then her cheek. Then she moans as I kiss down her jaw to her neck again, and she still can’t move at all. “It’ll never be enough with you, Eva. I’ll always need to possess you more and more.”
“Keep going,” she gasps out. “Let me feel everything. God, Tanner, I had no idea—”
Defended By Darkness: Wings, Wands and Soul Bonds Book 2 Page 13
