Fae Fiefdom - M. Sinclair Page 0,23

wished he had been a shifter, that everyone was because it would be far more obvious that I had already mated with her to him. As it stood, he had yet to realize, and it made me almost want to gloat about that. I wasn’t that type of man though, and the moment between my bunny and I would never be diminished by a dick measuring contest with this fucker.

“Kirin.” A smooth, french accented voice from behind me interrupted us, “Put my commander down.”

I released my hand as Merrick caught himself offering a stupid grin before I turned to face Rain.

“You’re back,” I stated dryly.

He smirked. “It’s been a bit, hasn’t it? I heard you were in England for a bit, I was surprised that you didn’t visit me and Merrick in France.”

“You’re surprised by that?” I offered him a look that had him smiling.

“Don’t be like that, mate,” he offered while sitting down at the bar and mimicking my accent easily, Merrick rounding his other side. “We are all on the same team here.”

I could feel his magic rolling off him in waves and I had to stop myself from starting a fucking fight for dominance. I didn’t fuck with fae. They were the top of the food chain for a reason, and I was smart enough to choose my battles. Although if they tried to keep me from my mate...

“The same team, maybe, but Merrick was trying to influence her,” I growled.

Rain looked at his commander sharply as Merrick rolled his eyes. “Don’t jump to assumptions, Kirin. I wasn’t trying to hurt our pretty girl, my magic jumped out of control, and I was trying to pull it back while making sure I didn’t drop her pert ass on the ground.”

I inhaled shaking my head and fixing him with a look. “Just stay away from her.”

“I have him watching her.” Rain pointed out looking bored. “That’s going to be impossible, so you need to be flexible.”

I didn’t respond, shaking my head and walking out the door without bothering to argue, leaving the bar and those two assholes. I was pissed at myself more than anything right now. I’d seen how hurt she’d been when I’d chosen to not go into the coffee shop with her, but I was not about to get into a small room with Koa and Bard. I would end up killing them, and she would see what a monster I actually was.

Bloody hell. I needed to make this up to her.

Walking towards my car, I passed a small flower shop and swung in. I picked up roses and inhaled the scent of the twenty-four of them, reminding me of her and making me wish she had been sitting next to me in this car. Rounding the other block, away from her house, I easily made my way through the neighbor’s yard while keeping to the shadows. Being a panther wasn’t just helpful while shifted. Even in human form, I was extremely agile and quiet.

My Uncle would kill me if he knew I was so close to Denise’s house. But we couldn’t help who we love, can we? I think he knew exactly what was going on with my mate situation and had from the time I was young. I reached the dark side of the estate, the sun setting, and easily scaled up the side and jumped onto her balcony. It wasn’t a real balcony, but the window easily slid open and I walked through, hoping that I wouldn’t scare the hell out of her.

The room smelled like lemon and I froze, feeling like I wasn’t alone. I shook my head and removed my shoes, padding into her bedroom, where she lay curled up in a ball, her hair surrounding her like seaweed. I should have felt like a creep staring at her like this but after being buried inside the woman, I just didn’t care. I was, and this is a mild descriptor, obsessed with my little bunny.

This game she’d been playing was done. It had run its course, and I wasn’t going to let her slip away from me. My brow dipped because I really hadn’t gotten her text and I’d tried calling her several times. It was disconcerting, to say the least. Placing the roses on the bed, I pressed a kiss to her forehead as she mumbled something under her breath before rolling back over.

My panther growled at our mating bite mark on the back of her neck and I