She was right about that; all I could think about was Thor. Over me. Inside me. Kissing me. Fucking me. But I couldn’t go there. It hurt too much. “But, Trin, if Thor were truly evil, he’d have left me to Lord Wyse’s interrogation and some creepy place called cell level C. I would have taken the fall for his crime. Why would he rescue someone who could divert all attention away from him?”
“You’re his mate.” She was quiet for a moment, clearly thinking hard, but those three words had the force of a baseball bat striking my rib cage at full swing. Things were breaking. Not literally, but this hurt just as much.
“So, he saved me be
cause his cock got hard, and not because he’s a decent human being?”
“They wait years to find a mate. There’s no way he could walk away from you once he found you. I don’t think it’s biologically possible for them. He’s not human, Faith. Don’t forget that.”
“Neither are you.”
“Ouch.”
I was turning into a bitch. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that.”
“I do. He hurt you. I don’t know how or why he’s involved in all this, but the queen’s guard will figure it out.” She reached over and took my hand. “We’ll figure it out. I promise.”
I laughed, or tried to. It came out as a sad little squeak of sound. “Why does he have to be so freaking hot? It was like being in bed with Captain America.”
“True. I noticed, when I came in. I mean, some guys don’t look too great naked, but he was like—”
“Captain America,” I cut in.
“I was going to say a guy from the Thunder From Down Under calendar.”
“He’s hotter than that.”
She waggled her eyebrows and grinned. “Not as hot as Leo, but not too shabby. Especially when his head’s between your legs.”
I flushed hotly and my pussy clenched at the memory. I couldn’t help but smile. “My new favorite way to wake up.”
Trinity grinned. “Yeah, mine, too.”
I sighed. “God, I missed you.”
“No, you didn’t. You were busy fucking your brains out.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Before that.” I sobered, felt the ache in my heart. And the rage. Why me? Why did I have to be the freak of the family? The one who things never worked out for? Why did I have to want to be with Thor, even knowing what I knew now? God dammit. The whole thing pissed me off. “What am I going to do? I need him.”
She sat up, reached out and put her hand on mine. Her blue eyes held my gaze like a tractor beam from Star Trek. All playfulness was gone. “It’s the Ardor, right? Or did you fall in love with him?”
“I’m not sure.” I sat up, knocking her hand away. “How bad is it down there in the dungeon? Rats and stuff? Medieval torture devices? The rack?”
Trinity shrugged. “I’ve never been, and Leo said I should stay out of there.” She made quotation marks with her fingers. “No place for a princess.”
That made me roll my eyes. Obviously, Leo had a thing or two to learn about my stubborn, buttoned-up sister. She was deceptively mild on the outside, but pure steel beneath. If she wanted to go check out her creepy basement prison, she would. End. Of. Discussion. “Men. So bossy.”
“Especially when you’re sleeping with them.” She did laugh then, and it was a contagious sound, full of happiness I seriously envied at the moment. I was happy for her and Leo. Thrilled, actually. But a bit distracted by my own pile of stinking dog-poo at the moment.
Didn’t help that I remembered exactly how bossy Thor had been, in bed. And when he’d saved me from Lord Wyse, from the extra-special interrogation that old jerk had planned. Thor was a lot like Leo, but also like Dad. Alpha male, protecting women while letting them run the show. Oh, Dad wasn’t a chump. Hell, no. He just knew how to respect and appreciate women. Like Thor. God, Thor.
He’d protected me—as best he could while being stark naked—from the guards when they burst into his apartment. He’d stood up to the creepy assassin guy, and I ached for some of that bossiness again.
I ached for Thor, and it wasn’t just my pussy that missed him, but my heart, too. I’d started to think we had a real chance at a happily-ever-after. Having that taken away? Like ripping candy from a baby. I wanted to cry, but I wasn’t a two-year-old. I was royal. A freaking princess.
I stood. Determined. This was total bullshit. I wasn’t going to wait for the queen’s guards or whoever else to get answers out of him. He said he was mine. Well, he was going to prove it. Right now. “I’m going down there. He’s going to talk to me. If I’m his mate, and he really believes that, then he’s going to give me some answers whether he wants to or not.”
“Or what?” Leave it to my sister to call my bluff. She was good like that.