Chapter 3
three
VI
I collapsed against the door in a well-pleasured heap of panic, clutching my phone and my blanket to my chest.
I hadn’t heard Eli’s footsteps leave yet.
Then again, he was a dragon. He probably had some kind of magic and could make himself quiet or something.
I needed to call Randa, to ask her what I was supposed to do. And how I was supposed to get out of the potential mate situation.
But I couldn’t call her.
She was spending her honeymoon in a gorgeous, secluded cabin on the outskirts of Scale Ridge with Jasper. And I wasn’t going to interrupt the love fest.
Which gave me one choice:
Elodie.
My fingers trembled as I pulled up my texts with her. Calling would be easier, but I didn’t think Eli had left. So I couldn’t talk to her without him hearing.
Me
911
Eli’s eyes are flaming
I think there’s a temporary mate bond between us?
My phone rang as soon as the last text went through, but I hit the red button to refuse before Eli could hear it ring.
Me
I can’t talk rn
He won’t leave my apartment, so there’s only a door between us
I think he can hear me
Elodie
WTF HAPPENED????
Me
That’s too many question marks
Elodie
VI!
SPILL!
Me
He propositioned me. I accepted. We did the deed, and when it was done, his eyes were flaming
He didn’t seem happy about it
Not that I’m happy about it either
Elodie
FUCK
WE’RE COMING OVER
BE THERE SOON
DON’T DO ANYTHING STUPID
Me
It’s clearly too late for that
Elodie
DON’T HAVE SEX AGAIN
Me
WASN’T PLANNING ON IT
Elodie
Does Eli seem sane?
Me
He’s not mocking me, so no
Elodie
I’m serious, Vi
Does he seem animalistic at all? Is he banging on your door? Calling you his? Acting like a caveman?
Me
…no
Elodie
That’s good at least
A knock on the door behind me made me jump.
“We need to talk, Vi,” Eli said. His voice didn’t hold any of its usual playfulness, which seemed like as much of a red flag as the fire in his eyes earlier. “Open the door.”
Elodie said she’d get to us soon, but her house was half an hour away. Unless August flew them to me, soon was a pipe dream. And they usually drove when they were going anywhere in town, so she didn’t have to carry August’s clothes for when he shifted.
“I told you to leave,” I shot back, clutching my blanket around me even tighter.
“Even if I wanted to, I can’t.”
Shit.
“Just… tell me I saw wrong, and that we don’t have a potential mate bond,” I blurted. “ Please .”
There was a moment’s pause.
I heard Eli let out a long breath. “We don’t have a potential mate bond,” he finally said.
I must’ve seen wrong.
I finally relaxed against the door, for all of ten seconds.
Then Eli added, reluctantly, “Having sex seals the mate bond. Heat started while we were still fucking. Our bond isn’t potential. It’s permanent.”
My body went rigid.
My eyes widened in something that felt a lot like horror. “Tell me this is a joke.”
“I can’t, Spaghetti.”
The panic in my throat thickened. Quickly. “There has to be some way to break it then, right? It can’t be permanent , permanent. Maybe if you hook up with someone else, or?—”
“No.” He cut me off, his voice harsh. “Neither of us is hooking up with anyone else. End of the fucking discussion. The only way to break a bond is before it’s sealed. If you can resist giving in to heat, you don’t become mates.”
“Then we’ll resist giving in to heat, whatever the hell that is!”
“Heat starts when a dragon’s magic selects a mate. Mine chose you, finally.”
“Finally? What do you mean, finally ?” I shot back.
“Nothing. It’s just—the magic of heat sends my fire into your veins. Sent my fire into your veins. You’ll have to deal with physical warmth and pain if we’re not touching until it ends. If we hadn’t had sex, it would be longer, and worse. Because we did, we sealed the bond, and prevented the worst of the pain.”
“I would happily take pain over a permanent mate bond.” My voice rose. I was almost yelling, though not intentionally.
“I know, Vi. Heat ignited when I was inside you. I tried to pull out, but you climaxed before I could, and it pushed me over the edge.”
“Then you obviously didn’t try hard enough,” I snapped.
“The bond would’ve sealed even if we didn’t finish together. We were already?—”
A loud knock sounded on the front door.
“Who the hell is coming to your apartment this late?” Eli’s growl was low.
Feral.
Maybe that was a little of the caveman thing Elodie had mentioned.
“Are you seeing someone?” he demanded, sounding almost nothing like the Eli I knew.
I heard his footsteps before I had time to answer, and hurried to my feet, yanking my door open. My blanket was still wrapped around me, and I nearly tripped over the bottom chunk of it.
“It’s August and Elodie. I texted her. I’m not seeing anyone. And you’re naked , E.”
He glanced down at his erection, then at the pants still in his hands.
Elodie knocked again, louder.
My phone started to ring, and I answered. “Hey. Just give us a minute.”
“He’s still sane?” she checked.
“Mostly.”
“Mostly what?” Eli growled.
“You’re still mostly sane,” I told him. “Just a second, Elodie. We have to get dressed.”
With that, I hung up the phone.
Eli reluctantly stepped into his slacks, and I slipped back into my room to find a pair of sleep clothes. His release was still on the inside of my thighs, so, with a grimace, I tried to wipe most of it off with the poor cupcake blanket. I felt disgustingly sticky, but it was what it was.
I stepped into the soft shorts, tugged the matching, comfortable tank top over my head, then headed out again.
Eli had his shirt, my dress, and my thong in his hands when I made it out of the bedroom.
His eyes narrowed at my tits. I hadn’t bothered with a bra, since they were fairly small, but they were kind of pointy. “Absolutely not.”
I scoffed. “I’m going to talk to my friend. I don’t need your approval.”
“You’re going to talk to my brother , Vi. You need a damn shirt.”
I glowered at him. “I’m going to do whatever I?—”
He stepped up to me, dropping the rest of the fabric to hold out the armholes of his dress shirt. “Arms in.”
“I’m not?—”
“It wasn’t a request, Spaghetti.” He tugged it over my arms and buttoned the top button. Then he stepped back, grabbing the rest of our clothes again and heading to my room with them.
I pulled the door open a moment later. My hair was still a mess, and my inner thighs were still sticky, but there were bigger problems.
Elodie and August were both on the doorstep, looking grim. His arm was around her waist in a way that made me just a little jealous.
Not of the relationship.
I was not looking for a relationship.
But I was a little jealous of the comfort. The friendship, too.
“Where’s Eli?” August asked.
“Hello to you too,” I grumbled.
“He’s not trying to ignore you. We’re just not sure what you know and don’t know yet,” Elodie explained. “And we’re not sure exactly how things happened, so we don’t want to give you false information, and?—”
“According to Eli, he started heat when we were doing the deed. And according to him, that means we now have a sealed mate bond.”
Elodie’s eyes widened.
August’s did too.
“That sums it up,” Eli said, stepping up behind me. His arm went around my waist smoothly. When I looked down at the way it was wrapped around me, I realized he was holding me just like August was holding Elodie.
And that made my cheeks warm.
“Have you told her everything else yet? About the flying, the fertility, and the possessiveness?” Elodie checked.
“There hasn’t been time. It just happened,” Eli said.
“How about you come in and tell me? The guys can wait outside.” I reached for Elodie, but August pulled her a few steps backward before I could grab her.
“Not a good call,” August warned. “During heat, your mate won’t be able to handle anyone else’s scent on you, male or female. Sealing the bond will take away the worst of the possessiveness, but it’ll still be there.”
“That part’s pretty permanent,” Elodie agreed. “The possessiveness, I mean. Not being extra sensitive to other people clouding your smell. That will fade as you adjust. Eli will fill you in on it too.”
“Lovely.” My voice was flat. “Any idea why this happened? The rest of you got bonded the first time you touched, right? Or tasted each other’s drinks or something? We should’ve been in the clear.”
“Heat can start at any time, and with anyone,” Elodie explained. “That’s why dragons don’t usually interact with humans or sleep around.”
“Guess Eli likes to live on the wild side,” I drawled.
I’d managed to get myself mated to my arch nemesis—and the one dragon on the planet who wasn’t trying to keep himself away from women, apparently.
That was just fantastic.
“I’m sane,” Eli said. “And the bond is sealed, so you don’t need to keep an eye on us. Enjoy your night.”
Just like that, he closed the door between us and them. I caught it before he shut it all the way, and called out, “Don’t tell Randa and Jasper, please. I’ll call her tomorrow.”
Or the next day.
Or next week, when she was done with her romantic cabin honeymoon.
They agreed, and Eli shut the door the rest of the way.
He turned toward me, his expression neutral. “What do you want to know, Spaghetti?”
My throat swelled with the nickname.
“Nothing. Just… go home.” I made my way to the bathroom quickly.
“I’m not leaving.”
I ignored him and closed the bathroom’s door between us.
I was in trouble.
Serious, serious trouble.
Because I still didn’t want to be in a relationship, but I was mated.
To Eli, of all people.
Sexy, obnoxious Eli.
So much for screwing it out of our systems.
Letting out a long breath, I stepped into the shower, so I could clean myself up and attempt to process everything.
The mind-blowing sex.
The insanity of the mate bond.
Eli refusing to leave.
He knocked on the bathroom door. “Vi?”
“What?”
“I can hear some of your thoughts. Figured you’d want to know that.”
“WHAT?” The word came out nearly a screech.
“You’ll hear some of mine too. Only the loudest ones,” he added.
I bit back my response and turned the shower on, hoping it would drown out both Eli and my thoughts.
It didn’t.