Page 123 of Bound By Blood and Lies

“I think I’mgoing tohead upstairs for a bit,” she says softly.

“I’ll go with you.”

“Obviously,” Riggs mutters.

Victor throws a cushion at his head as I guide Fae upstairs to our bedroom. It feels strange being back in here.Jarring almost. Like the room belongs to a different version of us than the one currently standing in it.The only thing stopping my chest from tightening completely is the fact it smells so much like Fae. Her vanilla and honey scentimmediatelysettles some of the noise in my head. My eyes drag across the room automatically. Everything is spotless. Not even a speck of dust sits out of place.It’spainfully obviousshe’sbeen trying to keep busy when I was gone.

Fae wanders over to the bed before dropping down onto it with a sigh. The mattress dips beneath her weight as she stretches out. I watch her for a second longer than necessary before walking over to the speaker in the corner of the room and pressing play. ‘Freak For You byHaidenHenderson’starts filtering through the room and Iraisemy eyebrow towards Fae.

“Did you miss me that much?”

“Shut up,” she flashes me a bashful smile before stretching her arms above her head.

She’sin the perfect position for me to tie her up and have my way with her, and my nostrils flare as the memory of the last time my paddle marks bloomed across her skin flashes through my mind.I exhale slowly, trying to shake off the thought before walking back over to the bed and crawling carefully over her. Her cute little bump has popped out so much now that Ihave to keep myself balanced on my forearms as I cover her body with mine.I kiss her nose and she giggles.

“Ro…”Her arms wrap around my neck.

“Yes…”I narrow my eyes at her.

“Why don’t you fuck me like you used to?” she asksquietly.

I glance down at her before shifting and falling beside her on the mattress. She follows me, curling into my side. Her bump settles against my hip whilst her palm spreads over my chest, right above my heart, and she rests her head against my shoulder. The silence stretches as we cuddle.

“What do you mean?” I ask carefully.

Fae shrugs slightly against me. “I mean…You used to fuck me like you hated me. Not thatthere’sanything wrong with how we have sex now because thereisn’t, I just…” Her fingers flex slightly against my chest. “Ever since I came home it’s changed between us.”

Guilt settles heavily in my stomach as I stare at the ceiling trying to work out how much ofthisI’msupposed to sayout loud. My hand drags slowly over my face before I shift again untilwe’relying face to face instead.

“I didn’t want to hurt you,” I admit quietly.

Her expression softens instantly but I keep going before she can interrupt.

“Tink… you were kidnapped. You were raped. Then we found out you were pregnant.” My jaw tightens as I look at her. “At what point does a man look at all that and think you know what?I’mgoing to tie her up and whip her.”

Fae snorts out a laugh, “I don’t know, you?” I shake my head slightly “I liked it, Ro. I told you that already.” Her fingers trace absent circles against my chest. “I don’t want you treating me like I’m fragile.”

“And how exactly am I supposed to know what’s too far now?”

“We could use a safe word.”

She props herself up slightly on her elbow, looking far too pleased with herself. I narrow my eyes at her slightly.

“Okay then,” I murmur. “What’s your safe word?”

“Swallow,” she replies immediately.

“No.”

Her brows furrow, “what? Why not?”

“Because,” I deadpan, “there’s a very high chance I’m going to tell you to swallow my cock or my cum at some point and I’m not accidentally stopping halfway through because you picked the worst safe word inhistory.”

She throws her head back laughing. My eyes drag over her face as she glows beside me like the fairy she is despite everything this world has done to her. I stilldon’tunderstand how I got this lucky. How after all theblood and violenceand grief somehow, I still ended up here with her wrapped around me looking at me likeI’msomeone worth loving. Her laughter slowly fades as my hand slides up the outside of her thigh. My eyes stay locked on hers whilst I gently squeeze.

“So… safe word?”

“Hmm,” she presses her finger thoughtfully against her lips before her face brightens slightly. “Angel.”