Flawless Evans, Gabrielle (ebook smartphone .txt) 📖

the column of his throat pulsed with his heartbeat, and Kieran had to close his eyes and take several deep breaths to calm himself.

Leaning closer, he nipped at Lynk’s earlobe and made that special part growl, part purr sound that his mate loved so much. “Be careful, baby. You’re playing with fire.”

“Maybe you should punish me,” Lynk whispered back with a mischievous grin.

Remembering the things that Lynk considered punishment, Kieran tensed and leaned away. It had killed him every time his lover had asked him for those things. Even if Lynk enjoyed the pain, it still made Kieran’s gut clench painfully.

He’d been young and impulsive those very long four hundred years ago. He hadn’t understood what being in a relationship really meant, but he’d been so drawn to Lynk. It had felt as though his very soul would shrivel and die if they were separated. Which, from what he’d learned the night before, that was probably true.

His life back then had been a pampered one. His parents had money and were very generous with their only son. Never had he wanted for anything. Things had been a complete one-eighty this time around, and he’d had to grow up fast. Some days he felt much older than his thirty-four years.

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Maybe he could find a compromise, a way to balance Lynk’s needs with his own natural instinct to keep any harm from coming to his misguided lover. Lynk had once told him that the pain was the only thing that ever gave him peace. Well, Kieran was determined to change that. There had to be another way, and he’d figure it out for both of them.

“So, we’re in agreement then?” Torren asked.

Shit! He’d completely missed what they were saying. Not that it really mattered. Someone would fill him in on the finer points after the meeting. Still, perhaps he should pay attention.

Well, everyone seemed to be in agreement for whatever the hell they were talking about. People were bobbing their heads or offering verbal concurrences. Raven was on his feet for some odd reason and seemed to have most of the group’s attention.

“I’ve known Gideon for a long time. I’ll feel him out and see what he knows without being too obvious.”

Kieran had to suppress a snort at this. Raven wasn’t exactly known for his subtlety. The history between him and the Snake River Enforcer was curious, however. Kieran made a mental note to badger the hell out of the vampire about it later. Raven would love that.

“Behave,” Lynk whispered, but he was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Having Lynk always rummaging around in his head would take some getting used to, but Kieran figured it wasn’t such a bad thing.

Since they could feel each other’s emotions and listen in on private thoughts, it would be pointless to try to lie or hide things from one another. Not that he would do any such thing, but it was still nice that temptation had been removed from his path.

“I heard that,” Lynk teased him.

The man was becoming increasingly more relaxed with him since revealing the skeletons in his closet. Once he realized that Kieran wasn’t going to bolt, even though he now knew all of Lynk’s dark and twisted secrets, he’d been dropping his defenses one shield at a time.

86 Gabrielle

Evans

“Has Leader Tuesday contacted The Council about what happened yesterday?” Raina asked from where she sat beside Torren.

Kieran was so damn proud of her he could burst. His baby sister not only had a mate and babies of her own, but she was now an elder on The Council, using her brilliance to help bring peace to their world. He’d always known she was smart and fierce. It was amazing to see others recognizing it as well.

“No,” Elder Cortez answered with a shake of his head. “That concerns me most of all. Anyone else would have been on the phone or our doorstep within minutes after the incident.”

“Which makes it look like he has something to hide,” Jory commented from Raina’s other side.

Truth be known, Kieran was pretty damn proud of the little runt, too. He’d come to Haven with nothing—not even clothes on his back.

It wasn’t so long ago that he’d been scared of his own shadow and couldn’t even talk to his mate, Stavion, without practically wetting himself. Now he had a seat on The Council, providing representation for the demons. All the changes that had taken place in Haven in the last year were a little surreal.

Scanning the crowd, Kieran found Stavion sitting in the front row, beaming up at Jory like he was the first rays of sunlight after a lifetime of darkness. Just beside him, Aslan was gazing at Torren in a similar fashion. All around the meeting room, different sets of mates were touching with a subtle intimacy or making goo-goo eyes at each other.

Three days ago, Kieran would have rolled his eyes and gagged at their lovesick actions. Now, looking down at his hand resting lightly on the inside of Lynk’s thigh, the way they were leaning together, the simple fact that he couldn’t stop sneaking looks at his mate, he had a feeling he had become the very thing he’d once mocked. Surprisingly, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

He was happy, truly happy for the first time in his life. It wasn’t faked or forced. He didn’t have to plaster a smile on his face and play Flawless 87

at being content. The feelings came easily, naturally now. It actually kind of scared the hell out of him considering how short a time he’d known Lynk, but then again, they had a very long history together.

“This…” Torren trailed off as he shuffled through some papers in front of him. “Zasha Gershwin. Has anyone heard a complaint from him? If I thought my mate was being kept from me, I’d be beating down someone’s door and demanding to know why.”

“No, love,” Aslan said with a chuckle. “You’d