Chapitre 13: Magic jellybeans
Ivan
"Why do you think you're crazy?" I take her hands in mine, enjoying nothing blocking me now. I run my fingers over the offensive ring's spot before kissing across her knuckles.
"I just met you." Giving a half-hearted laugh, Nefra takes a step forward, and I wonder what she'll do. "And I left with you."
"And that makes you crazy?"
"Yes!" This time, she does laugh, and I love the sound. Goddess, I want to hear that sound a lot more. "Who does this? I just left my husband to go with you, and it feels... actually, no, it doesn't feel strange. You tell me we're soulmates, and I believe you, but... I should be screaming and fighting you, but I'm not."
"Why would you fight this?" Humanity sometimes confuses me, and I've lived among them all my life.
"This might be normal for you, but not for me," Nefra's voice grows quiet, but she doesn't pull away. I move my hands up her arms, then to her waist, so she'll come closer. "None of this is. Not just you, my whole life."
"Nefra... About that," I didn't want to keep things from her, and this was important. "I think I know why you can't remember things before him."
"What?" She looks surprised at my declaration, a cute, perplexed expression crossing her face. "You don't think Ricky was giving me drugs, do you? Because I've considered that before, and he wasn't."
"No, not... drugs," This wasn't easy to put into words. "I think he used magic on you."
"But... Ricky can't use magic." Nefra frowned, obviously doubting what I'd said. "I can sense when someone's awake. It's a basic spell. Ricky's got no powers."
"But he probably knows people who do. Or he has some magic potion that affects your ability to remember. Either way, I heard him telling off that woman... Darla. He told her he didn't think it was working anymore. He said you weren't responding to him like he wanted."
"I didn't hear any of that," With a heavy sigh, Nefra suddenly moves, climbing onto my lap with her legs on either side of me. I growl in pleasure at how close she's willing to get to me. "That only makes all of this weirder. Why would he give me a magical drug to make me forget my life? Did he want to keep me so badly?"
"I don't know, baby. I just know what I heard." Which was what ate me up inside. What the bastard said was terrible, but what his bitch said still rang in my head. "Hopefully, whatever it was will wear off. Do you feel different?"
"Ivan," she hesitantly smiles before wrapping her arms around my neck. "My husband doesn't know I'm missing because we left him to fuck his mistress, who expected me to do her laundry. Also, I'm in the park in the middle of the night with a guy I only met this afternoon, and I'm in your lap. So I think that qualifies as feeling different."
"Hey, we got the better end of that deal," The smirk creeps onto my lips while my hands slide up Nefra's sides, enjoying the feeling of electric sparks that course across my fingers.
"I'm still afraid he'll come to find me." Biting her bottom lip, Nefra relaxes into my embrace. "He'll hurt all of you and won't feel anything."
"Nefretiri, as long as I have the chance to be with you, it's a risk I'm willing to take. Besides, I'm not weak. So he won't beat me."
"What if you..." The flash of sadness and wariness I see on my mate's face bothers me.
"What if I what?"
"What if you wake up tomorrow and discover you don't want me? You'll realize the mess you've gotten into and decide I'm not worth all this. What happens to Penelope and me then?"
I stare at her dumbfounded. The idea that I wouldn't want her isn't registering in my head, and my wolf growls like she's struck him. However, looking at her eyes, I see that she's serious. Nefretiri honestly believes that I can wake up and decide to reject her. Only then did I realize she didn't know enough about my kind to understand what happened and what I felt when I laid my eyes on her.
"Do you think I wouldn't want you because of him?" The idea was disgusting as if that bastard could make me desire my soulmate less.
"No," Nefra shifts in my lap, and I have to grit my teeth to stop the moaning. "Because of me. You know nothing about me, and... I'm not easy to live with. There are a lot of things I do that get under people's skin. So you might think I'm not worth your time."
"First off, that's impossible. I could never think that." I hate that she's insecure about how I feel about her, but I get it, considering I'm worried about the same thing. "Second, what could be so terrible about you that I'd not want you around?"
"Well, I'm stubborn. I defy everything and everyone to rile people up. I'm also sarcastic." I can't help laughing at that. "I push buttons on people until they get off their high horses, and I've been accused of having an attitude."
"No, really? I hadn't noticed." She gives me a hard shove that only makes me laugh harder. "What else?"
"Okay, I'm selfish with my favorite food—especially strawberry cheesecake and passionfruit juice. I watch the same movie five times and skip to my favorite parts. I snore, and I like shopping. I never have any money, but I still like going to the mall."
"That's it?" I smirked at her last comment, imagining I'd find her with Taylor in Denver whenever they were both missing.
"I have more."
"Well, how about I tell you some of mine? Then maybe you'll see that I should be worried about you not wanting me around." I lean back, putting my elbows on the picnic table. "First, I do snore. Someone got video proof of it, and it isn't good. My wolf takes over more when I'm asleep because I sound like I'm growling. Second, I'm selfish, don't share anything, and am moody. I also have an attitude and don't hold my tongue, which has gotten me in trouble. Third, I have a slight obsession with playing and watching hockey. Taylor once accused me of hating everyone, and I fall asleep at parties because they're so boring."
"You're antisocial?" Now she was teasing, trying to hide the smile.
"I'm not. I get bored with people. Especially when they're being stupid." Rolling my eyes before smirking at my mate. "As far as flaws go, I think I'm the champion. Because you've said nothing that's turning me off, baby."
"What if it's just this... mate bond making you think that?" Ah, that's where this was coming from. Nefra was worried that my attraction was because of magic. I could fix that.
"It's not. Even without the bond, I would've tried to talk to you." That gets her attention, and she leans in a little more. "I know what I like, Nefra, and I'm picky as fuck when it comes to women. You are everything I've looked for in the woman I want as my mate."
"I doubt that."
"Oh really?" Sitting back up, I wrap my arms around her waist, letting my eyes roam over her body again. "I love curves; you have them in all the right places. I can't stand dainty women. I'm terrified I'll break them. I've been with one petite girl, and that was in high school. And before you ask, I'm not only interested in how you look. Nefra, I'm not looking for a woman who'll lie down and submit to me. Though... that might be fun once in a while. But no. I come from a family of stubborn, strong women, and I've always known I wanted and needed a woman who made them look weak in comparison. And yes, you are that strong."
"What makes you think I'm any of that for you?" This time, Nefra sounds more curious, and I grin.
"No one has fought me as hard as you have. Ever. If you hadn't been hurt, you would have forced me to follow you to your house and beg you to talk to me. Also, no one in my life has ever stopped me from killing someone. So, yeah, you're perfect for me."
Running her tongue over her lips, making my heart skip several beats, Nefra readjusts herself so her legs wrap around my waist.
"I'm twenty." She sighs, obviously as affected by the closeness as I was.
"Twenty-five," I see the game she's playing and slide my hands under her shirt, rubbing the small of her back. "When's your birthday?"
"August 28th," She rubs the back of my neck, and I nearly purr in pleasure. "Yours?"
"April 13th."
"I like blue."
"I'm more partial to dark green."
"I really hate Thai food," Nefra considers her next piece to our game, and I love that she's getting distracted by my hands.
"Don't feed me cooked pineapples, especially on pizza." Nefera is only half an inch away from me now. "You allergic to anything?"
"Yeah, shellfish." Her lips brushed against mine, and my hands pushed her forward, pressing her body against my chest. "You?"
"Funny enough, salmon." I catch her bottom lip, slowly sucking on it and inwardly grinning when she moans.
"So... no seafood?" Nefra's voice hitched as my teeth raked her lip gently.
"No seafood," I agreed before deepening the kiss, going from gentle teasing to something hard, rough, and full of need. Suddenly, the getting-to-know-you game is forgotten, and we are lost in the desire to taste each other.
A sound that I'm sure was a whine comes from my throat when Nefra pulls away—sucking on my lower lip as I did before. So, I took the opportunity to move further down to her jaw, bypassing her neck, so I wasn't tempted to bite her. Instead, kissing her collarbone and, enjoying the taste of her skin and how her pulse quickens when I nip. Now it's Nefra's turn to whine.
"I like jelly beans." My mate gasps, attempting to keep some level of sanity.
"Funny, I keep some in my glove box."
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone