Page 75 of Bound By Blood and Lies

I hate that I can’t undo it. I hate that I have to look at it and know exactly who allowed it to happen.

She crosses the room toward me and my chest steadies. I lick my teeth as I take her in. She steps straight into me, rising onto her toes and I meet her halfway. My hand comes up automatically as I press a soft kiss to her lips. She smiles into it and everything else fades away.

“Get a room,” Felix barks and I groan as she pulls away and gives me a shy smile.

How does she do that? How does she move so effortlessly between the two? One minute she’s all sharp edges and quiet danger, a woman who could kill someone without hesitation, and the next she’s soft, almost shy, standing in front of me like something delicate I need to handle carefully. It should feel like a contradiction. It doesn’t. Instead, it’s endearing. Her strength. Her softness. The way she loves without holding back. It’s powerful. Powerful enough to bring a man to his knees.

I would. Without hesitation.

“Hey, fairy,” Riggs says, and I grind my teeth as she moves toward him.

It was bad enough before she was taken from me. Now the thought of anyone else touching her sends a sharp pain through my chest. Riggs pulls her down onto his lap and flashes me a smirk over her shoulder. The fucker knows exactly what he’s doing. I sigh before crossing the room and pulling her straight out of his arms. She squeaks but wraps her legs around me as I lift her.

“Do I need to remind you how possessive I am, Tink?” I murmur, my voice low against her ear.

“Put her down,” Mum says sharply behind me and I turn to face her as irritation snaps straight to the surface.

“You have no idea what these men do to me,” I shoot back, knowing full well I sound unhinged but not caring enough to stop.

“Me, Roman. Me, caveman,” Riggs says, dropping his voice and thumping his chest.

The room breaks out in collective laughter. Even Atlas cracks, shaking his head as he keeps typing. I frown, looking down at Fae as she bites her bottom lip, clearly trying not to smile.

“It’s true,” she whispers against my ear, and the sensation sends a shiver across my body as blood pumps straight to my cock.

Jesus Christ.

I clear my throat, forcing some control back as I slide her down from my arms. She gasps softly as her feet hit the floor, and I raise an eyebrow, knowing exactly what she felt.

“Punishment later, Tink,” I murmur under my breath. “My mum’s in the room.”

Her pupils blow wide, the green of her eyes almost swallowed completely as her tongue drags across her bottom lip.

“Mmm.” I trace her tongue with my thumb. “Caveman Roman thinks you did this on purpose.”

She fakes a gasp. “Who me? Never,” her voice drops lower, “sir.”

I rub a hand over my face and swallow the groan that wants to come out. Thankfully, people seem to be giving us space, or this would be a very awkward situation. The warmth of her feels amazing as she presses into me and for a moment it almost feels like I can pretend nothing else exists.

The reality of our situation pushes back into my head as I glance down at her. What happens when she really processes this? When she stops seeing me as separate from him and realises I’m not? I can try and tell myself I’m different, but the truth is, I was still raised by him. I was still shaped by him. My jaw tightens as I look away, dragging my hand down my face. If she ever looks at me and sees him… I don’t know how I’d come back from that.

A phone pings.

The sound cuts through the room and my head lifts as my eyes snap to my mum whilst she reaches for hers. She checks the screen, her expression shifting just enough for me to notice.

“Was that him? Has he reached out?” I ask, but she shakes her head.

“No, he hasn’t and that was nothing,” her thumb moves across the screen before she looks back towards Robyn.

My attention is drawn to her too. Robyn’s over by the couch collecting her things and I frown. It’s not necessarily what she’s doing, it’s the way she’s doing it that makes me pause. Her fingers close around a glass before she sets it back down again, like she forgot why she picked it up in the first place. Then she reaches for her jacket draped over the arm of the sofa. The fabric bunches in her grip before she shakes it out harder than necessary and slips it over her shoulders.

“Are you okay?” I ask cautiously as Robyn looks up at me with a frown.

“Me?” she stutters.

Fae untangles herself from me and turns, offering her a small reassuring smile.

Jesus Christ.