Page 163 of Season Warriors & Wolves

“Does Kilian know?”

Her smile faded. “Not all of it.”

That was not good.

I flicked her forehead and put a hand over her mouth before she made a sound that would have my legs cut. “The second I see anything dubious, I will tell him. Screw our friendship or whatever.”

She frowned, rubbing her forehead and then nodded.

I’d just gotten out of the bath when the fool broke in my room like it was his and dropped on my bed. At least he didn’t fade and sneak on me like last time. Could be because I almost gutted him by mistake. Probably not. He had enjoyed it.

He whistled, raking his eyes over my naked chest marked in places. “Look at that. Who did those?” His grin was wicked. “Never mind, I know.”

Apparently, the whole world knew of us. The only ones who had no idea what we were doing were me and…him. Even though I slept in his bed most nights, I still could not figure out if there was an us. The night I had kissed him and he’d kissed me back we’d been too far down each other’s pants to talk. Then too far drunk in euphoria to be able to talk. Then too far one another’s anger to bother with talking. Then too needy to let ourselves talk. If we talked, he’d ruin me, just not the way he or I would like.

“What are you doing here?”

“You honestly have been bruising my feelings all over, sweet bun.”

“No, I meant, why are you here with me not—”

He groaned. “Don’t say her name. It pisses me off.”

Then there was him. And her. If they stopped talking like they did, they might realise they could do much more to one another than talk. Except. They both liked talking.

I got my leathers on. The only time they were off my body was during the bath and sometimes at night, but only when I had his hot body pressed to mine. Sometimes, he even liked it when I kept them on. “What did she do now?”

“She keeps mimicking what I do. I take a step, she takes a step. It started all funny as shit. But then, I have a drink, she has a drink. I have a bottle, she has a bottle. Can’t even be angry at myself because she’ll randomly start sulking in front of a mirror. You see where I am going with this?”

Yes, because that is what she and I agreed on. “Not really.”

“I can’t do anything I am dying to do.”

“Why not?” I raised my brow at him. “She’ll waste her life away like you?”

He stood all of a sudden, coming right in front of me. “You know something about it?”

After tying my boots securely, I stood, coming chest to chest with him. “And?”

“You would tell me. Would you not? If she was doing this on purpose, not to just annoy me.”

“Don’t pull those puppy eyes with me, Mal. I wouldn’t tell you even if I knew.”

“If they were green, would it have worked?”

“Fuck you. And they are not green. More of a moss-like colour.” I froze, a holster falling off my hand. The damned hells did that come from? Kilian, that bastard.

“Oh, more of a moss like.” He snorted, shaking with laughter. “And don’t ever fucking lie to me.”

“Or what? You’ll stop being a thorn on my foot?”

“I’m trying—”

“To protect her? Fuck that, she is better than any man I have trained. She can protect herself.”

“So, it’s fine when she is reckless, not fine when Snow is reckless.”

And that was something he knew not to say. “Snow is not reckless, Mal. Thora will confront danger, Snow tries to outbid it. You realise the difference between reckless and suicidal, right? Thora is young, we’ve all been young and reckless, she’ll grow out of it.”