“Don’t ever stop saying that,” he says, closing his eyes and leaning into my hand.
“You don’t have to worry about that,” I say and kiss him sweetly before I flit off to my bedroom.
I open the door and before I can get a word in, CK leaps off the bed where he had been reclining and shouts out at me, “So, have you sorted things out with Devon? Are you going to turn him again?”
Wow! I almost step back in my shock at his forthright attitude. CK and I usually engage in a passive-aggressive dance that ends up frustrating us both to the point of wanting to murder each other.
I close the door and make him wait. Just to be mean. I turn back to him and fold my arms in front of me.
“I have just come from speaking with Devon, and, no, we agreed that I wouldn’t try.”
The relief is evident on his face and he breathes out saying, “Thank fuck,” before he looks abashed and mutters, “Sorry.”
“No, you aren’t,” I say. “You are delighted that he doesn’t get to be bonded to me again, same as you.”
“Well, I can’t say that I am not happy about it,” he says glibly now.
“Humph,” I say rudely. “We also discussed me going back to the past and trying to change how things have turned out,” I say and wait for his reaction.
I don’t know why I bother. His face closes off completely and I would get more out of stone.
“I see,” he says. “He would rather go back to the way things were.”
“Nope,” I say and catch his confused look, as fleeting as it is. “He doesn’t want me to do it. He thinks that it will fuck everything up.”
“Well,” CK says and straightens his cuffs. “For once I have to agree with the boy. If you going back has even the slightest effect on my child, you know that I will never forgive you.”
I stare straight into his eyes and I don’t expect what I see. He is deadly serious and in all of my one thousand and two years, I honestly thought I could never do anything that he wouldn’t forgive–eventually. But this is a deal breaker, for sure.
“Well,” I say stiffly. “You will be pleased to hear that I agreed with him.” I leave out the part where it took me awhile to get to that agreement.
“Glad to hear it,” he says just as stiffly, and so we are back to being passive aggressive.
“Just say it, godammit,” I snarl at him. “Say what you really feel for once in your life!”
“I have,” he snarls back. “If you do anything to jeopardize my child, I will hold you responsible and never let you forget it.”
“I find it quite insulting that you think I would do something so foolish,” I say with a sniff.
“Well, you shouldn’t,” he says. “You have already threatened this child’s life more than once and you are out of chances, my sweet. Are we clear?”
“Yes, sir.” I mock salute him and he growls at me.
“If you think this is a subject to be taken lightly, Aefre, then you are sorely mistaken,” he says.
“Don’t be so fucking ridiculous,” I snap at him. “I love this child more than I love you and that is saying something!” I can feel the two red spots on my cheeks flare up at my anger that he is treating me like an idiot.
“You love her more than you love me?” he asks, now with a twinkle in his eye, his mood, as ever, so hard to keep up with.
“Yes,” I say, trying to keep the smile off my face.
“Well,” he says. “I don’t know whether to be jealous or fall more in love with you.”
“Try both,” I say. “And while you are being jealous, a bit of pampering won’t go amiss.”
He snorts with mirth and crosses over to me to kiss me soundly. He wants it to go further, but I pull away.
“Where is Delinda?” I ask.