Page 37 of Bound

Cian turns and I have to catch my breath. He’s incrediblybeautiful, his face a mixture of sharp lines and sensual planes. The firelightsoftens him, or perhaps it’s simply a function of Cian’s own personality.“Thank you, lady. You are very generous. If there is any fashion in which I canrepay your kindness, you have but to let me know.”

The idea that Cian is child-like flees in the wake of thelook on his face. He reaches out and takes my hand in his, drawing it up to hismouth. For a second, I think he’ll politely kiss the back of my hand, a genteelgesture. Instead, Cian flips my hand over and kisses my palm, a deeply sensualaction I can feel all through my body.

Nope. Not a child.

His lips curve up, and his eyes are hotter than the fire. “Ican think of a few ways to express my appreciation.”

“Uhm, I’m good. I was happy to do it.” I feel caught by hiseyes.

“I will be happy to thank you. Why don’t we go back to myroom? It’s not far. I’ll have the servants bring wine and we can get to knoweach other better,” Cian says with a heartbreakingly sexy smile.

“That should be interesting.” Dante’s sarcasm breaks thespell, and I pull my hand away. “Can we all agree I will not be playing therole of servant?”

Cian’s expression turns confused, and he looks at hiscousin. “What are you doing here? I thought you were on the Vampire plane.Where’s Beck?”

And we’re right back to bonkers. “He’s getting ready to cookdinner.”

Which I think means he’s actually murdering dinner. I’vebeen asking to help all day but was happy he turned me down for this particulartask.

Cian seems pleased with the idea. “Good. Then there’s timefor a nap. I find myself quite tired. I’ll just lay down for a while.”

He curls his body up and lays down right there on the floor,his head nestled on my lap. He cuddles up like a big, gorgeous cat eager tofind warmth, and in seconds his breathing takes on the steady rhythm of sleep.

“It’s his superpower.” Dante crosses one leg over the otherand relaxes as though he’s settling in. “He always could sleep anywhere,anytime. Although now that’s pretty much what he does. You’ll have to trainthat out of him. He can be lazy. The good news is he also got all the obedientgenes. Not for anyone, of course. Both brothers are stubborn, but Cian can beled by the right person in a way Beck can’t. He’s far more easygoing.”

I’m not sure anything about this can be classified as easy.“He can be lazy because Beck probably won’t let him do anything.”

Dante chuckles. “No, sweetheart. That rule only applies toyou. I think you’ll find Beck expects Ci to work as hard as he does. He’llleave his brother explicit instructions on everything he’s supposed to do. Notthat he always follows through, hence the garden being in the shape it’s in. Ciusually enjoys farming and working with plants. And kids. I hope the schoolisn’t in the same shape as the garden.”

“Well, he seems very sick so he probably shouldn’t beworking.” He’s far thinner than his brother, though there’s still a leanstrength to his frame. I find myself stroking his hair. I can’t quite helpmyself.

“Being up and about will help him,” Dante explains. “I thinkit will be easier now that you’re here. Once you’ve bonded, it won’t be aproblem anymore. You’ll see.”

I still don’t understand the bonding thing, though I know Ihave a connection with Beck. Will having a connection to Cian be twice thefrustration? “Sure.”

Dante sits up, leaning toward me. “That doesn’t sound good.What happened to the woman who was excited about taking down her man?”

I shake my head. “She’s not gone. I’m just starting tounderstand that the job might be harder than I thought.”

“You’re starting to worry about handling two men? Don’t.Cian will be a breeze. I know he’s a mess right now, but you’ll adore him.Everyone does, and that’s why Beck will be the hard case. Imagine always beingthe bad guy. People walk in and are always attracted to Cian because he got allthe light.”

“And Beck got the darkness.” How isolating would that be? Iknow how it feels to be the one not chosen, to feel like I’m not good enough.What would it have been like to grow up with another me, one who was goodenough?

Yet Beck seems to love his brother. That says somethingabout him.

The door comes open and Beck is there, a big basket in hishands. He steps inside the brugh, and it suddenly seems so muchsmaller. “Sorry I took so long. I went into the village to check on a couple ofour elderly folk. Is he all right?”

He might have gotten the dark side of the soul he shareswith his brother, but there’s still kindness in him. “I combed out his hair andhe fell asleep.”

Beck’s eyes widen. “You…he…” He seems to force himself tocalm down. “Of course you did, love. That was kind of you. I’ll be in thekitchen. We’ll eat in a bit.”

He strides out of the small room.

I’m confused again and look to the vampire. “What did I dowrong now?”

Dante bites back a laugh. “The hair thing. It’s a veryintimate act for the Fae. It’s something that’s only performed between lovers.Beck is jealous since he hasn’t had you brush his hair yet.”

“Well, Beck already got to fuck her so he’s still ahead,”Cian murmurs and tightens his arms around me like he won’t ever let me go.