Rejection (The Mate Games 2)

Thinking of Kingston, my playful smile slipped. “Actually, I should probably head over and see how King is doing.”

“Oh, so he gets to be a king, but I can’t be a prince?”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t.” Leaning close, he ducked his head and claimed my lips in a sweet kiss. “I enjoyed waking with you in my arms this morning. We should do that more often.”

“Blackthorne mentioned looking into a place for all of us. It could be a daily thing soon enough.”

A twist of excited energy unfurled in my belly. “You’d want that?”

“Any excuse to see you naked is high on my list of things to do.”

I rolled my eyes. “Men are all the same. Show them a pair of tits, and they’re happy.”

I attempted to turn on my heel and flounce away, but Alek caught my wrist and spun me around. He was pressed right against me, forcing me to tip my head back to meet his gaze. His eyes devoured me as he grasped my chin with his thumb and forefinger.

“I intend to spend the rest of my life with you, Kærasta. I don’t care who else shares our walls. I intend to share your bed. And your days. And your nights. You are mine. Where you go, I follow.”

“Just like that?” I asked a bit breathlessly.

“Just like that.”

I couldn’t hide my grin. “Okay, someone put his swoony pants on this morning.”

He kissed the top of my head and patted my ass gently this time. “Go check on the wolf. I’ll find you later.”

I still had butterflies the size of hamburgers flapping around in my stomach, so I knew my smile was a little dazed. As I nodded my agreement, he walked away in the direction of his favorite training spot.

My Viking was a swoony motherfucker. Who’d have guessed?

I’d have put my money on Noah being the one who busted out roses and poetry, but all my men seemed to have inherited the gene.

Well, except for the priest. But we weren’t thinking about him right now. He was dead to me. Sort of. My heart hadn’t exactly gotten the memo yet, but we were working on it.

With my chin held high and my ponytail swinging, I strode confidently in the direction of Blackthorne Hall.

I cut through a courtyard, walking around the fountain and giving Persephone a little wave as I did. When I reached the shaded walkway that would lead me to the hall, a hand reached out and pulled me deeper into the shadows.

“What the fuck, Caleb?” I exploded. “You can’t just keep doing that. It’s rude. And creepy.”

“You’ve never complained before. You must not remember just how much you enjoy it when I steal you away to dark corners.”

“Maybe before you did your ghost impression. I’m less of a fan of all thingsyouthese days.” I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to put more space between us because damn him, he was right.

“I’m doing the right thing. Trust me. This is what needs to happen.”

“Screw you and your self-righteous sermon. You don’t get to decide that for me. You don’t get to put your dick—”

His hand shot out, wrapping over my mouth, but I was pissed, so I licked him until he let me go with an annoyed grunt.

“I gave you what you needed. Served you when nothing else would help. I never promised you anything more than that. It can’t happen again. It won’t.”

“Yeah, I read your note. I got the message.”

He dragged his fingers through the wavy mess of dark hair I loved so much. Then he sighed. “It was a coward’s way out, I know.”

“You think? And here I thought you were the grown-up.”

His eyes hardened. “I’ll not be lectured by you, Miss Fallon. I’m here to check and make sure you’re well and to deliver a message.”