“What is that supposed to mean?” he frowns at me.
“She is Empress where I come from. Believe me, all that entails is enough to distract her. Along with Sebastian. Oh, my sweet Sebastian,” I say with a sigh and he glares at me.
“He will think she is you,” he states quietly.
“I’m afraid so. And she won’t resist him. Our bond is too strong.”
“Your bond. They don’t have one,” he points out.
“No, it seems that it is our bodies that have the connection. I have felt hers to her husband and to Devon. And you, when I kissed you,” I say a bit slyly.
“You have been with Cole and Devon?” he asks with quiet disbelief.
“Oh yes. They are both incredible lovers, and the bonds, they are so strong,” I say. I am taunting him now and it is getting to him. I find it fascinating, this reaction in him. He is quite different to my Constantine.
“Enough,” he says.
I close my mouth, feeling bad now, as this is clearly a sore subject for him.
“You have to come clean. You cannot go around pretending to be her,” he says.
“No, I don’t think I will. I love her life,” I say.
“I won’t allow you to manipulate the people she loves,” he insists.
“I would like to see you try and stop me,” I say, getting a bit mad now, and I can sense the change in my eyes to my Dragon’s and I take a step forward.
“Oh, please. You can’t pull that on me. Calm yourself,” he snaps at me.
I giggle then because he sounds so much like my sire when he is annoyed. “Look, I like it here. It is like a vacation for me. Please just give me some more time. If she hasn’t figured out a way to switch us back in twenty-four hours, I will come clean. I promise,” I negotiate.
He sighs. “I will give you twenty-four hours, but you will stay away from Sebastian,” he says menacingly. “And the other two,” he adds as an afterthought.
I hesitate. I don’t particularly want to comply with that request. It defeats the purpose of my subterfuge. In the end, I bend slightly. “I will stay away from Devon and Sebastian, but I can’t promise I can stay away from Cole.”
He glowers at me and I explain, “He is her husband. We are sleeping in the same bed. He craves her, he can’t keep his hands off her. The things he said last night…” I trail off as it is private. Cole’s words weren’t even meant for my ears so certainly not for his.
He thinks about this for a few moments and I can see the wheels turning. His process is exactly the same as my own sire’s. What is he thinking?
“Fine,” he says in the end. “I see your point. Twenty-four hours, Aefre, or I will tell.”
I nod and cross to him. I take his hand and he frowns at me. I pull him over to the sofa and sit us both down. “What is it you want from her?” I ask.
“What I was denied,” he says shortly.
“The chance to be her husband?” I ask.
He nods.
“I can give you that,” I say quietly as I climb onto his lap. “If I stay, I can give you that.” I lean forward to kiss him and he doesn’t respond for a few seconds, until I plunge my tongue into his mouth, and he kisses me back momentarily before he pushes me away.
“Don’t do that again. You are not mine,” he scowls at me.
“But I can be,” I coax.
“No,” he says forcefully. “I didn’t make you. Why are you not more concerned yourself about getting back to where you belong?”
I sigh and say, “I am tired. Exhausted, even. Tired of being responsible, tired of being perfect.”