Chapter 14
Peach
“Just don’t bond with him,” Jagger says for what feels like the hundredth time. “Have your… fun.”
He hasn’t met his mate yet, so he doesn’t know that there’s no getting them out of your system.
At the start, I didn’t want Salem, but now that I’ve gotten to know him, no one is going to take him away from me.
No one has ever taken care of me or made me feel so loved as Salem has.
Yes, he’s rough around the edges and a little wild at times, but he’s mine.
“It’s my life, Jagger,” I say, sipping my coffee. “I know that what happened with Salem and you would be hard to forget, but I’m asking if, for me, you could just give him a chance. He knows you’re my brother, and he wouldn’t do anything to you now.”
“Now,” he scoffs, running his hand through his hair. “Him being your mate is my worst nightmare, Peach. Why couldn’t it have been anyone else? I’d even have taken Silver or Sage over that monster.”
“He’s not a monster. He’s a powerful male and my fated mate, Jagger. That’s all there is to it. He was meant to be with me. Maybe I’m meant to balance him out, I don’t know. But that’s never going to change.” I say it gently, not wanting to come off like I’m attacking him.
My gaze goes to the window, and I have a weird feeling like someone is watching me.
“You’re not going to walk away from him, are you?” Jagger sighs, and the disappointment in his tone hurts.
“No. And one day you’ll meet your mate and understand.”
When he finally heads home, I zip straight to Salem’s house. His wards are so strong, but he’s allowed me free rein in and out.
A gasp leaves my mouth when I see Salem on his couch, shirtless. He has a cut on his lip, and his eye is a little swollen. “What happened to you? Are you okay? You need to put ice on that eye.”
His lip twitches. “Come and sit on my lap, little one.”
I gently lower myself onto his thigh and touch his lip. “I’d hate to see the other guy.”
He laughs, his broad shoulders shaking. “I’m okay. How was your dinner?”
“Fine,” I reply with a shrug. “Now stop trying to change the subject and tell me who you got into a fight with.”
“Peach…”
“If we want this to work, that means being open and honest with each other. Does it not?”
He gives me an unreadable look, his throat working as he swallows. “There are some sides of me I don’t want you to see.”
His words really hit me because I feel the same way. It’s why I wanted to stay away from him in the first place. “Me too.”
His brows knit as he frowns. “I love every side of you. There’s nothing you can’t tell me. I don’t care what you’ve done. It wouldn’t change how much I love you.”
“You love me?” I gasp, my heart hammering in my chest.
“Of course,” he rasps, cupping my jaw and tilting my head to kiss me. He deepens the kiss, making my toes curl. “I love you like I never thought I could love.”
“I love you too.” I smile against his lips at the same time I run my fingers down his taut abs. They tense beneath my touch.
“I’d fight the entire realm for you, Peach. I don’t care what you do, if you’re wrong or right. I’m on your side no matter what.”
I know I need to tell him about my magic. It’s the last hurdle that’s keeping us from bonding. I’m about to open up to him about it when he starts to speak.
“Sometimes I go to Chaos and cage fight,” he finally says, my fingers still on his chest. “It’s a way to get my aggression out, and it’s been giving me something to do ever since I got kicked out of the academy. Tonight was the first time I went since I met you.”
“Did you feel like you needed it tonight?” I ask, trying to understand.
“No, I was just itching for a fight. I’m good at it, and I like to stay fit. I’m undefeated.”
I rest my face on his shoulder and consider his words. “Thank you for telling me. Next time you go, could I come and watch? I don’t think I’d like seeing you get hurt, but I’d rather be there with you.”
“Are you sure?” he asks, concern laced in his tone. “It doesn’t seem like the kind of place you’d enjoy going to.”
“I belong anywhere you do,” I murmur, and his fingers still in my hair before he continues to play with it.
“I belong in hell, sweetheart. And you belong in heaven. But I’m glad that for now, I get to meet you halfway in this realm.”
Fates, he’s just so sweet.
“I like that I’m the only one who really gets to see you like this.” I sigh, pressing a soft kiss to his skin. “You’re mine, and only I get you like this.”
“Don’t tell anyone, it will ruin my street cred,” he teases, and I burst out laughing.
He watches me the whole time with a soft look in those light green eyes, eyes I used to think were cold.
And they can be cold. I saw the look he gave the female who tried to touch him, and the customers in my store, whom he thought were flirting with me.
His eyes can be so cold in a serial-killer way, but they are never that when they look at me.
“Your secret is safe with me,” I murmur, closing my eyes with a contented sigh.
I don’t know if I like the fact that he cage fights, but I don’t want to change Salem. I know he has a violent side to him, and he knows how to contain it.
If it’s fighting that does that, then well, who am I to say anything?
But I want to be there.
Because if he ever gets hurt, if he ever finally finds an opponent that can hurt him, I’ll be there to save him.