Forced Bonds (The Bonds That Tie, #4)(57)

“What are you talking about?”

He leans in a little closer to me so that the TacTeam personnel around us can’t hear, but North can, probably why he’s doing it instead of just using our mind connection. “Your bond funneled power to us all while we were out there, and it triggered North's bond to take over. It hasn’t given him back yet.”

Oh, shit.

I wait until Gryphon moves away from me before I reach out gently and take North's hand, trying to get his attention without making a big deal about it in front of everyone. It’s unnaturally cold, nothing like it usually is, and I try not to freak out.

The bond notices.

Of course it does, he’s devoted to me. His void eyes turn to face me, and I get a good look at him. I love North's bond; I love his bond as much as I love him. That simple but completely sincere declaration that it had given me before we’d Bonded still rings in my ears, and there isn't a lot that I wouldn't do for him.

But Gryphon is really starting to lose his shit about it being here.

“Can I have North back now, please? I'm safe here, you know.”

It stares me down, and even though his face still stays completely blank, I can tell that the intensity of his look is making Gryphon nervous. Nox turns around from where he’d had his back to us, and even he doesn't look so sure about the situation. It doesn't matter though. I already know that we're all safe.

I shake our joined hands a little. “Hey, I need North back, please… unless you can sense a danger here that none of the rest of us are feeling. If you’re not, then I really do need him back.”

The bond lifts our hands up to his face from where I'm still clutching at his, taking in a deep breath of the scent of my skin.

Gryphon gets a hand on the butt of one of his guns, and I scowl in his direction, utterly disapproving of the move. There's also extra shadow creatures around my ankles coming directly from Nox himself.

“Knock it off. It’s just saying goodbye to me. You are, right? Because we can hang out a bit later, once we're back at the house and there's less eyes on us.”

The bond looks around at the TacTeam personnel who are all shifting on their feet very uneasily. I’d almost forgotten they were all there, and for a second, I can’t help but think about what this all must look like to them.

Terrifying, I’m sure.

Gryphon curses under his breath. “Why did you point out the other people, Bonded? He might see them as a threat.”

I shake my head at him, and North's bond tugs on my arm again until I'm pressed up against his chest. It’s a very impressive chest that I’m well acquainted with, but the way he’s standing is so different to North that for a moment, it feels like a whole new being is holding me.

“Mine,” he murmurs against my lips before kissing me in full view of everyone around us. I can sense how much it's freaking Gryphon out, but by the time I pull away, the void eyes are gone and North's blue gaze is staring back at me.

“What the fuck was that?” he says, glancing over my shoulder at the other two, but Nox answers before I can find my voice again.

“That was what happens when you trust a Bond. They take whatever the fuck they want, regardless of what you have to say about it.”

My cheeks heat, and North’s arm around me tightens protectively. Gryphon’s eyes flash, but I can’t see whatever it is that he’s doing.

From the look on Nox’s face, it has everything to do with him.

My stomach is doing flips, and when Nox’s eyes flick to mine, I see that same fire in him, the one that burns so hot that makes him hurt me at every opportunity. He’s only going to hate me even more if we have to Bond like our bonds have demanded.

I might just hate myself for it too.





I take a long shower.

Showers have always been my safe haven, somewhere I can go to wash away all of my troubles. Honestly, hot water is the answer to everything, but no matter how long I stand under there, there’s no getting away from the problems of today.

We need to complete the bond.

Nox would rather die.

He’s not exactly my favorite person either, but I can deal with the sex part of it. Actually, the sex part is the least of my problems. I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy four other amazing men who have shown me exactly how much pleasure is possible between two or more people, how different that pleasure can look, and the limitless possibilities that exist between my Bonded and I.

It’s mostly the thought of him being in my head.

Being vulnerable to him, being exposed to his scathing vitriol at all times, the hate that he has for me that I still don’t understand. There’s too many unknowns in this for me to just… climb into bed with him.

Will he kiss me? He has to make me come to complete the Bond. I know he knows exactly how to make that happen, thanks to the Great Hallway Incident as I’m now calling it in my head, but I’m so in my head about the consequences of this, so it’s going to be about a million times harder—

“Move over. How can such a tiny little slip of a woman take up so much room?”

I squeak embarrassingly and clutch at my chest desperately as I slip and almost end up on my ass. Gryphon gets a hand around my arm and manages to keep me from seriously hurting myself, using my distraction to step into the shower with me and shuffle us both under the stream of water. He’s gloriously naked, some streaks of mud still on his arms and neck from the attack, and the moment my racing heart settles down, I’m going to do something about his rock-hard dick digging into my back.