Page 41 of His Bullied Fated Mate

Janella shook her head. “But I’m not a kid. I'm an adult.”

Troy nodded. “Yeah, but there are tons of things that can cause a kid not to show signs. You could have put yourself in a dormancy. The same rules apply, though. You have to force your magic to the surface.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, considering what we were actually doing. I glanced at Janella, who looked at me with the same expression. We really couldn’t be considering it. It was a sudden thing that just happened. We couldn't plan for that again.

“Sounds like we will be doing some walking,” Janella chirped, her voice shaking now.

“Yes, walking. Sounds like it.”

“Do you want coffee or anything?” Janella looked at her brother, nervous now. “It's early. I can cook breakfast to make you come all the way out here.”

“I actually can’t stay. I told Mom I would stop by for breakfast. Do you want to join?”

I expected her to jump at the idea, but she shook her head. “No. You have breakfast. I’ll catch up with them at another time. Thank you for coming.”

Troy gave her a kiss on the forehead before heading out. The space fell quiet, and Janella tapped her hand onto the counter. “Could it be possible that it was the woods? Was it just me being connected to nature?”

“It could be.”

“And not the fact we were….” She paused, unable to say the words. She waved a hand between us.

“Fucking?” I asked.

She scowled. “We weren’t fucking, Riley.”

I snorted. “No, but you did have an orgasm. I don’t think it was the woods but rather the fact I was fingering you, and you had an orgasm.”

Her face went red now, and she looked away from me. “I, it’s…we...I...” She stammered for words, unable to put a sentence together. I could see how uncomfortable she was and felt that twist in my gut. Had she been regretting what happened? Did she wish it hadn't happened?

I thought of Troy’s words. Dormancy. Why did her magic go into dormancy? Most say it's because of feeling the need to be safe or suppressing. But she grew up in a loving family.

I ran a hand through my hair and grabbed my coffee. Janella tapped her fingers on the counter, the silence deafening between us. Neither of us needed to say it, but we both knew what it meant.

We had to do anything we could to figure out how to break the bonding issue we were having. And if us having sex was the way to pull her magic out, then that was the next step. But it wasn’t so simple. That was a line we would be crossing. What was going to happen after? Were we going to be able to look at each other?

“I will need alcohol.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “It’s a little early for drinking.”

She scowled at me. “I’m talking about if we have sex, Riley. I can't have my mind working.”

I scowled. “You need to be drunk to have sex with me?”

She groaned. “I need not have my mind working. Please understand that this is not simple. It's....god...this is just screwed up.”

I smirked. “Why not just have another screaming match with me. That seemed to work.”

She threw me a look, and I pulled my hands up, knowing she wanted me to be serious. “How about we go to dinner. We can go out and have something nice, a couple of drinks, and by the time we get home, maybe we'll be relaxed. It won't feel so forced.”

She nodded. “Yeah. That actually sounds like a good idea.”

“Okay, then dinner tonight.”

The day went by quickly, and I kept thinking about the dinner. My mind kept thinking about what happened after. I didn't know where to take her that wouldn't make either of us uncomfortable.

An idea formed, and I decided to just create dinner at home. After my last meeting of the day, I headed home and started to cook. I opened a bottle of wine and set the dinner table. I lit some candles, and I dimmed the lights.

I was just taking out the dinner from the office when I heard the front door open. I turned as Janella stepped inside. Her eyes widened as she took the dinner and the quiet space.