Chapter Nineteen #3
the blonde, though she’s putting on a friendly front. “All right, Liadan. What
can I do for you?”
She seems put off by my forwardness. “Like I said, last
night when His Highness visited me, he asked me to check in on you. He wanted
me to see if there was anything you needed. He was concerned about his brother,
you see. He told me he brought you in to save Cian. The king loves his brother
very much. He is willing to sacrifice his own happiness for his brother.”
“His happiness with you?” I ask boldly because I’m done
playing around with the woman who has obviously come to size up the
competition.
Liadan gasps. Her cornflower blue eyes narrow. “Well, if
we’re going to be plain, then, yes, he’s sacrificing the happiness he’s found
with me. We’ve been together for almost a year now.”
“I haven’t been with her.” Cian seems very intent on making
it clear he has nothing to do with his brother’s mistress.
“Like I would have you.” There’s a sneer on Liadan’s face as
she looks at Cian. It doesn’t go away when she turns back to me. She doesn’t
seem so pretty now. “Look, I’ve heard you’re human, so you don’t know how this
works. Beck is mine. He has been for a while now. He chose me. Because of his
unique nature, he’s stuck with you. He hopes you can keep Cian alive, and he’s
willing to endure this marriage because of it.”
Cian’s hands twitch. Even though we aren’t bonded, I can
feel his anger rising. It makes it easier to ignore my own emotions. I put my
hands over his and rub. It seems to help. “You’re upsetting him. I’m not going
to do some hair-pulling, name-calling thing with you. If you want Beck, feel
free to have him. I don’t consider myself married to him, anyway. I am well
aware of the place I have in his life. If you can make him happy, more power to
you.”
Now my husband’s honey looks seriously confused. “You don’t
care that he will continue to come to my bed?”
“I have no intentions of sleeping with him, so go for it,” I
say as simply as I can. Meeting Liadan helps a lot. It explains why Beck is as
hesitant as he is. He’s in love with someone else. I wish he was up-front and
honest. I would have helped Cian regardless, and then I wouldn’t have had my
heart broken.
The blonde nods. “As long as we understand each other.” She
turns to go, but then comes back. “He’s going to kill me for this, but I can’t
say nothing. You should think twice before you bond with Cian.”
“I want to bond with her.” Cian’s hands tighten possessively
around me. “She is our wife.”
Liadan sighs and rolls her eyes impatiently at Cian. She
dismisses him and focuses on me. “He’s too far gone. If you bond with him,
he’ll pull you into his madness. You’ll end up just like him. Beck didn’t
mention that, did he?”
I shake my head. He didn’t mention that possibility at all.
“Of course he didn’t,” the other woman says. “You would be
safer walking away. There is the slight possibility that Beck would die, but
he’s the stronger half. He would most likely live if Cian faded. It would be
hard, but he could be stronger for it.”
“I won’t fade,” Cian swears. He seems to be talking to
himself now.
The blonde shrugs. “I thought you should know. Beck is using
you to his own ends, and it could cost you. You should give it a lot of thought
before you risk your life trying to save a stranger’s.”
Liadan walks away, and I get Cian calm again. I sit down and
pull out the computer Dante left me. I pull up the articles I found and reread
them. Then I go deeper. I find more information on Fae psychic bonding than I
could have hoped for. Vampires are very interested in it as it mirrors their
own bonds with consorts. Sure enough, there’s a possibility that bonding with
someone as far gone as Cian could hurt me. It’s not a big possibility, but it
also isn’t recommended.
And despite what Liadan said, if Cian died, Beck will more
than likely go insane.
I look at Cian as he sits by the fire. He’s watching me,
waiting for me to do something or go somewhere so he can follow me. He reminds
me of a puppy, eager to please.
If I had half a brain, I would take my husband’s mistress’s
advice and flee the scene. I know I should take a day or two to decide if I
want to risk my sanity and life for one man who dumped me after two days of
marriage and another I barely know at all.
If Cian was drowning, would I not try to help him? Every
firefighter who ever ran into a burning building knows he or she could die.
They do it anyway. Because they’re brave. Because they wouldn’t be able to live
with themselves if they didn’t take the chance.
It’s time to be brave.
“You’re a very pretty lady.” Cian’s voice is all smooth
tones. There’s a deliciously decadent look on his face. “Can I buy you a drink?
My name is Cian Finn, by the way.”
I set the computer down. I’ve never been one to slowly peel
a Band-Aid off. It’s better to just rip it off and get the pain over with. “Oh,
we’re so doing this now.”
Cian stands up, a seductive smile crossing his face. “I was
hoping you would say that, gorgeous.”