Trusted Bond

me
    tense under his palm and so put two hands on me, holding me still,
    pressing me down into the bed.
    ―Stop. It‘s time, Jin. I need to carve out my own place in the world,
    ya know—without you. And it ain‘t like I‘m moving to fuckin‘ Outer
    Mongolia or somethin‘; I‘ll just be in Vegas. We can drive or fly—
    whichever—and it‘ll be fine. Think about it. Between all your reah duties
    and your regular work and Logan and everybody else… we hardly even
    hang out anymore.‖
    My heart hurt.
    His hands started rubbing, soothing me, gentling me. ―You have a
    life here, but I‘m just hangin‘ out, and I don‘t wanna do that anymore.‖
    Trusted Bond

    47

    So soon after my disagreement with Logan, half of me wanted to just
    run away with my best friend.
    ―Say you get it.‖
    ―I get it,‖ I sighed.
    ―Good boy.‖
    ―Screw you.‖
    He chuckled. ―What‘s with you?‖
    ―Logan‘s mad.‖
    ―Oh yeah, I know.‖
    ―What‘re you talking about?‖
    ―Let‘s just say that the only reason I wasn‘t banished from the tribe
    was because he knows it would upset you.‖
    ―That‘s crap.‖
    ―Jin, Markel and I could have gotten you killed because we were so
    stupid. It‘s a wonder we got off with what we did.‖
    I tried to roll over to look at him, but he pinned me under him,
    pressing me down into the bed. ―Crane, what‘d he—‖
    ―I don‘t get to go with you to Egypt; I have to stay here instead and
    watch over things with Markel until you get back.‖
    ―No,‖ I groaned, having counted on having Crane with me during the
    feast. ―That won‘t help me at—‖
    ―You‘ll be okay. I‘m the one who‘s missing out, Markel too. Now he
    won‘t be there to watch Delphine. It‘s a mess.‖
    ―I don‘t understand why he would hurt me by making you stay
    here.‖
    ―Like I said, Markel and I almost allowed you to be killed. We‘re
    both lucky he‘s not having us marked.‖
    I shivered. The ritual marking of a panther who had angered the
    leader of their tribe usually resulted in either the loss of an eye or a slash
    across the bridge of the nose. The scar marked you as apophi, a disgrace
    and a burden to the tribe. Most panthers left the tribe instead of accepting
    the mark.
    ―I would have taken it,‖ he told me. ―You know that.‖
    To remain a member of my tribe, I was certain that my best friend
    would do anything. ―Never happen,‖ I assured him. ―Not to you, not
    while I‘m still breathing.‖
    48

    Mary Calmes

    ―I deserve it for putting my fight with Markel before your welfare.‖
    ―That‘s a little dramatic, don‘t you think?‖
    ―Like I said, I deserve it. But for now, my punishment, along with
    Markel‘s, is that we stay here and watch over everything together until
    you all get back.‖
    I let out a breath, resigned to Logan‘s decision.
    Crane lifted up off me slowly. ―What‘s with you? Why‘re you even
    in here when Logan‘s home? Didn‘t you miss him?‖
    ―That‘s not—‖
    ―What‘s going on with you guys? You were so happy.‖
    ―I was happy—I am happy, I just… I think it all just sank in. It was
    fast, so fast. I think we both got caught up in the whole mate thing and
    didn‘t even think.‖
    ―Are you kidding? All you do is think. You think until you make
    yourself sick. I bet you went over and over and over it.‖
    ―What the hell are you talking about?‖
    ―You‘re exhausting.‖
    ―We should have dated… we‘re nothing alike.‖
    ―Yeah, I know,‖ he said, sliding a hand into my hair, gently
    massaging my scalp. ―But that‘s part of the fun, isn‘t it? That‘s part of the
    whole strong semel and gentle reah, isn‘t it? The whole yin/yang thing, am
    I right?‖
    I groaned.
    ―You ought to explain it to Domin and Koren.‖
    ―What?‖ I muttered, not lifting my head, content with the heat of his
    body against my side from shoulder to thigh, feeling like I was slowly
    sinking down into the bed.
    ―I think the problem with those guys is that Domin thinks Koren
    wants to dominate him, and the truth is that Koren wants Domin to tie him
    up like he did before and fuck him.‖
    Wait. I rolled over on my back and looked up at him. ―I‘m sorry,
    what?‖
    His wicked smile made his sapphire eyes dance. ―See, you‘ve been
    too busy to even dish the dirt with. What the fuck?‖
    ―And what about you and Delphine?‖ I asked, because that was more
    important to me.
    Trusted Bond

    49

    He grunted before