Page 174 of The Bonds of Indigo

“You were pretty dominating when you tried to tell me to sit in your lap.” I chuckle, teasing him.

“Yes, well…” His hand slides to my chin and gently tips my face up. “I can see why Kayn likes it so much.”

“Why’s that?” I blink slowly, allowing my vision to adjust and letting him come into focus.

He grins. “The thought of you doing exactly what I ask is… incredibly hot.”

An uninvited noise escapes my throat, which has heat flaring beneath my skin.

“It’s like…” He hums and leans toward me, close enough that I can taste his breath on my lips. “You’re inviting me in…”

Suddenly, static splits the air around us. The vibration startles me, and I pull back just before he can actually kiss me.

Heavy, thunderous footsteps echo behind him. When I lean to the side, I see Kayn barreling toward us.

I step away from Lucifer entirely, my heart spiking as my hands tremble with the urge to reach for Kayn. For him to reach for me. His expression is carved from pure relief, and every part of me wants to run into his arms, but I force myself to stay still.

He needs to go to Lucifer first—their reunion matters more. I’m not going to throw myself between them. I can get my moment after.

But I don’t know why I even doubted him. Why I thought, even for a second, that he wouldn’t choose me first. Maybe it’s the old lack of confidence that still whispers in my head, insisting no one would ever put me first.

Kayn proves just how wrong I am.

He brushes past Lucifer without a single glance and takes my face between his hands, pulling me into a kiss so fierce it steals the breath from my lungs. I would’ve fallen straight onto my ass if he didn’t have such a firm grip on me.

I inhale sharply through my nose, but the breath catches in my throat. His beard scrapes deliciously against my skin as he angles his head, silently demanding I open for him. My hands clutch his shirt, then slip around his waist, pulling him flush against me.

Why does it feel like I haven’t seen him in days?

My chest aches with the sheer relief of him. We’ve only been apart for hours, yet it feels like we’ve been apart for so much longer.

I’d felt suffocated without even knowing it until this very moment.

He finally pulls back a fraction of an inch, turning my head gently from side to side as if checking to make sure I’m here and unharmed.

“Are you alright?”

My heart—it fucking beats for this man.

“Yeah… I’m alright.” I mirror his touch, my hands sliding to hold his jaw, then his neck. “How are you?”

“Fine, little slayer. Gods, when I couldn’t reach you—” His voice breaks, and he kisses me again, desperate. “The bond was so quiet… I was ready to tear the Phantasm apart. Hex would’ve killed me for it.”

A laugh escapes me against his lips. “So brute-like of you…”

His smile flickers as he sets me fully on my feet. His fingers brush my collarbone, then trail down the black dress Lucifer stole for me. As his eyes rack over me, the appreciation and hunger in them have me blushing.

“I approve. My Gods, Amarah.”

“Stop.” I slap his chest lightly, then glance toward Lucifer.

He stands off to the side beside his Familiar. The lioness sits like a sentinel, staring straight at me, and though I’m not connected to animals, I feel her message loud and clear:

Let us leave them.

I give her a small, tentative smile. My pulse is still frantic, but Kayn needs this conversation. They both do. If they’re going to fix what’s happened, I won’t stand between them.

“Zuhara, right?”