Page 37 of Sent To A Fantasy World and Now All the Men Want Me 7

“See?” I gestured toward him. “This is exactly what I was talking about earlier. You’re up, then down. Frigid like the Atlantic one second, then scorching hot the next. You’re like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and I never know which one of you I’m gonna get.”

“Who?” he asked.

“Doesn’t matter.” I released a heavy breath. “My point is, your moods are unpredictable. You can be flirting with me one moment and then glaring at me four seconds later like you want to throw that pot at me.”

“I would never throw this pot at you,” he said, gaze narrowing. “Now, go sit at the table like a good boy. The porridge should be ready soon.”

“I’m not hungry anymore.” Annoyance prickled at my skull. “I think you should eat it instead. The entire pot. Maybe it can fill that empty hole in your chest.”

There was a tic in his jaw. “You’re behaving like an insolent child.”

“And you’re behaving like a jerk popsicle,” I fired back, full of snark and sass.

The twitch in his jaw traveled up to the corner of his eye. “A what?”

“It’s you. That’s what.”

As he raked his gaze over me, some of his ice chipped away, visible in the sudden glint in his red eyes. Not enough to thaw him completely though. That insufferable mask of his remained in place as he busied himself with chopping a stick of green onion.

“God, you’re so frustrating, Onyx.” I rubbed at my temples.

“The feeling is mutual,” he responded, scooping rice into the bowl and sprinkling the garnish on top. “Since the moment you arrived in my realm, I’ve endured quite the headache, one irritation after another. I once said you were a curse unlike any other, and I stand by that statement.”

“If I’m such a curse, banish me from your realm,” I snapped at him, close to my breaking point. My battered heart couldn’t take much more of his constant back and forth. “Throwing me out would solve all your problems. So just toss me to the mercenaries and be done with it.”

“If only.” His gaze bore into me. The rubies burned bright now, as though caught in a blazing inferno. “The bond of fate draws me to you, yet I want nothing to do with it. I would send you away if I could.”

Something heavy pressed down on my chest. Although the fated mate connection had drawn each of my men and I together, real feelings had developed on top of it. We loved each other with our entire hearts and souls.

But Onyx was different. To him, the bond between us was an unwanted affliction. Like a toxic drug injected into his veins, one he fought against with every breath.

A decision was then made. A painful one that brought me to the brink of tears, but I held them at bay. I once again closed the gap between us, placing myself directly in front of him. Not giving him an inch to weasel away from me.

He kept his gaze lowered to the floor.

“Onyx.” I touched his bicep, urging him to look at me. As our eyes met, I saw the internal battle waging inside him. Proof that I was right. He didn’t want this—didn’t want me. “I won’t pretend to fully understand why you’re so against the idea of being with me. But I’m not so shameless to keep chasing after someone who doesn’t want me.”

“What are you saying?” he asked, the fire in his red irises simmering low.

“Tell me to stay away from you, and I will.” I held back tears as the words sliced at my heartstrings. “No more missions to storm your lair or hunt you down when you try to avoid me. I’ll keep my distance. I promise.”

Onyx’s brow creased and his lips parted. No sound left those lips though. Instead, he slid his hand to my jaw and held my gaze in silence, his smoky scent enveloping me once again.

And then he kissed me.

Shock flared in my chest, followed by the sharp sting of tears in my eyes. He tasted like cedar mingled with red wine, and as he deepened the kiss, traces of woodsmoke engulfed me. I hooked my wrists behind his neck and returned the kiss, my shock bleeding into a state of confusion.

Was the fated bond driving his actions… or was it him? A part of him he’d tried to deny but couldn’t any longer.

“Onyx?” I murmured against his lips. “I don’t understand what you’re—”

His mouth crashed to mine again with a sort of raw desperation that left me powerless against him. Powerless to do anything but surrender to the emotions churning in my heart, painful and messy ones that would be devastating in his wake.

A rough sound left him as he cupped the back of my head with one hand, tangling his fingers in my hair, and held my waist with the other. He nipped at my bottom lip and growled low, pinning me against the counter with more force.

With each glide of his mouth and swirl of his tongue, my soul purred, desperate to cling to him for as long as he let me. Which wasn’t long.

Onyx tore from my mouth with a frustrated growl. His eyes had a wild look in them.