Trusted Bond

shift, so… please, your grace.‖
    He looked at me, deeply into my eyes, before looking at Logan. ―It is
    by your word, semel-net—semel-re, if you would have this so.‖
    ―Please,‖ Logan sighed, ―I would have it so. Only my reah wants to
    be mated on the night of a giant orgy.‖
    The priest laughed, and so did everyone else.
    Twenty minutes later, Logan and I were on our knees in front of the
    priest. Justin was beside Logan as his khonsu, second, and Crane was next
    to me as mine. Hamid used one of his own sashes from his robes and
    wrapped our hands, speaking the words in Egyptian, ancient Greek, and
    finally English that would seal us together, bind us, until death. As I
    looked into Logan‘s eyes, he blurred, and I felt my tears seconds later.
    ―My mate,‖ he said, reaching up, cupping my cheek, his thumb
    wiping away the salty drops. ―I have never loved anyone or anything as I
    do you. If I hadn‘t found you… if you were… it would have been the end
    of me.‖
    I nodded. ―Same.‖
    ―Okay.‖ He smiled, leaning in, tipping my chin up as he sealed his
    mouth down over mine.
    I parted my lips and sucked his tongue inside, kissing him
    ravenously, letting him feel my need, the heat, the hunger.
    The growl in the back of his throat made me smile against this
    mouth.
    ―Ass,‖ he growled, pulling back, shoving me off him
    I arched an eyebrow for him and turned to look up at the priest.
    He was amused. ―You are delightful, reah, playful and frightening all
    at once.‖
    I had never been considered scary before. It was sobering.
    ―The sash is my gift. Keep it as a token of your bond and the
    blessing I bestow on you‖—he turned to Logan—―semel-netjer, semel-re,
    and on you‖—his eyes returned to mine—―my reah.‖
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    Mary Calmes

    I would have it framed when I got home. As male werepanthers, we
    wore no jewelry, as we were supposed to be able to shift at any time. If
    you shifted with a ring on, you could lose a knuckle when the blood flow
    was constricted so suddenly. I would have wanted to wear a ring, to show
    the world I was mated, married, but as fast as I shifted, it was dangerous.
    The sash was a testament to the bond that I shared with Logan Church.
    We all stood, and as Logan turned to accept congratulations from
    Justin and the others, Crane turned me around to face him.
    ―I‘m happy for you.‖
    ―I‘m happy for me too,‖ I told him, bumping him with my shoulder.
    ―Thank you for being my khonsu.‖
    ―Who else but me?‖ He scowled. ―God, you‘re such a douche.‖
    I looked over at Jamal, who was apparently very startled by Crane‘s
    lack of respect.
    ―What?‖ Crane almost snarled at him.
    Jamal looked at me.
    ―My tribe is kinda different,‖ I told him.
    ―Yes, Jin Rayne, it is.‖
    And I liked it just the way it was.

    Trusted Bond

    257

    Chapter 19

    ON THE last night of the feast, all the mates of the semels were allowed to
    attend the evening meal uncovered but in traditional dress. When I walked
    out of the bathroom dressed in the ceremonial robes, Logan caught his
    breath.
    ―What?‖
    He rose up off the bed, and I watched the muscles in his jaw clench,
    saw him lick his lips.
    My eyes narrowed. ―This can‘t be hot, Church.‖ I smiled at him.
    ―I‘m all covered up,‖ I said, smoothing my hands down the front of the
    gold-and-white high-collared robe that was closed with toggle-clasps
    down the entire front to my waist and then fell in to the floor in a drape of
    heavy white-lined silk. ―If I were dressed like a slave boy, I‘d get it.‖
    He moved forward slowly, coming to a stop in front of me, hands on
    my shoulders as he looked me up and down.
    ―Oh, I see.‖ I grinned up at him. ―You like me all pristine in public
    and hot in your bed.‖
    He only nodded.
    I stepped forward, lifting up on my toes to reach him, pressing a kiss
    to the wildly beating pulse in his throat.
    ―It‘s nice to know that I can still cause this sort of reaction in you.‖
    ―Still‖—he coughed, his hands sliding down to my biceps, his
    fingers tightening—―always.‖
    I stepped closer, pressing against him, rubbing.
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    Mary Calmes

    ―No,‖ he croaked out, moving me back out to arm‘s length. ―We
    hafta go.‖
    I had no intention of going anywhere.
    But duty prevailed, and Logan and I together embarked on the final
    evening of the feast. It was unbearable. What made it excruciating was the
    proximity of my mate coupled