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Eva blushed. Did he mean what she thought he did? “Um… What do you
mean by that?”

“Exactly what you think,” Bruno said.

She glanced at him and he looked away, as if uncomfortable. She
didn’t believe he was embarrassed for a moment. “I agree,” she heard herself
say aloud,
then
she snapped her mouth shut.

“Eva, once we do this, there’s no going back,” Greyson said
softly.

She frowned. “You don’t want to do it.”

He shook his head. “It’s not that.”

She pulled her hands away from him. “Look, it’s not like I have
much choice here. It’s either brain damage and possible death, or us pairing.”
She ticked off the options on her fingers. “I’m sorry, but I’d rather pair with
you, whatever that means.” She carefully didn’t let the hurt she felt at his
reticence show in her face.

“You misunderstand me,” he said, taking her hands again.

Eva didn’t have the strength to pull away a second time. She’d
just barely survived another Spider attack, she’d discovered her stepfather was
a lying, criminal asshole, and her best friend had almost died. She really just
wanted to curl up in Greyson’s lap and go back to sleep.
And pretend none of
this ever happened,
she thought, on the verge of tears.

Greyson shifted slightly and gave his brothers a look. Solomon
bowed towards them, and then leaned down to scoop Lucy into his arms. “I will
take her to my place until she wakes.” He smiled at Eva, light brown eyes kind.
The silver shards in his irises were more like sun-warmed crystals than the ice
in Bruno’s blue eyes. She liked him a lot better than Bruno. “Don’t fret, Eva.
I will take good care of her. She’ll probably sleep until midday tomorrow.”

Eva nodded. “Thanks.”

Bruno rolled his shoulders. “I will hunt for stray Spiders,
then
head back to Manhattan.” He touched Greyson on the
shoulder briefly. “I would rather you found happiness, than do an evil thing,”
he said, enigmatically. “Do not be afraid to take a leap of faith, brother.”

Greyson scowled at him, but Bruno just smiled at them and walked
away.

“I don’t understand him at all,” Eva said, watching him leave her
tiny house. “I thought he hated me.”

“You are not the only one,” Greyson said darkly, surprising a
laugh out of her.

“I’m glad I don’t have any siblings,” she said.

Greyson sighed. “He doesn’t hate you. He hates the Spiders. He
hates the thought that your stepfather used you. He hates the lack of choice in
our lives.” He squeezed her hands.

Eva pursed her lips. “I don’t want to force you to do something
you don’t want to do, Greyson. And it sounds like once a pairing is done, it
can’t be undone.” She tilted her head.
“No divorce, huh?”

He smiled briefly. “Even if
this were
distasteful to me, and it is
not,
” he emphasized before continuing. “I
would do it to spare your life. However, it’s not that I don’t want you this
way. It’s that I want it so badly I am afraid I will hurt you.” He swallowed. “My
father and mother were paired, and it wasn’t always a comfortable thing for
them.”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “My mother was not the most calm of women.” He let go
of her hands and stroked her arm. “That was not an insurmountable problem,
however. It was when she was kidnapped that all hell broke loose.”

“Kidnapped?” Eva put a hand to her throat.
“How?”
She thought about the secrecy of the Sentries. “Why?”

“Even though we remained hidden until the last few years, our tech
has always brought us enough wealth to be comfortable. That made our mother a
target for those who wanted money.” He pulled her close and hugged her tightly.
“Once paired, it is painful to be separated. My father went mad under the pressure.
Instead of simply paying the ransom, he hunted down her abductors and killed
every last one. The pain of his insanity, paired as they were, triggered a
fatal bleed in my mother’s brain. My father followed her into death when he
felt her die.” He let go of her and stepped away. “Pairing is not without its
risks.”

Eva stared at him, shocked. “That’s horrible.” She thought about
what his words meant. “We won’t be able to be alone anymore?”

Greyson rubbed a thumb over her palm. “For short periods, I think
separation is possible, but I’m not sure how far it extends. It’s been a long
time since any of us paired. My father was the last. Are you positive you wish
to risk it?”

“It’s still better than brain damage,” she muttered.

He winced. “I’m being compared to brain damage.”

She grinned at him.
“Favorably.”

He grunted and pulled her into his lap. “Be quiet, woman.”

Eva frowned at him, but then he kissed her and she decided that
being angry with him was futile. It wasn’t his fault that they’d gotten to this
point, not really. After all, she was the one who’d invaded his forest, all
those years ago. She should be apologizing to him, not acting grumpy when he
touched her. She smiled inside as he
hmm’d
and held
her closer.

****

Greyson kissed her deeply, unable to keep his hands off of her. He
knew they had to get out of her house, though, so eventually he pulled back. “You
spoke to your stepfather?”

She nodded, clutching at him tighter. “He admitted that he stole
your tech, and then he warned me to get out of here.” She shuddered. “That’s
when the Spiders came. I’m so sorry, Greyson.”

Abruptly, Greyson stood up, lifting Eva effortlessly as a trickle
of foreboding ran down his spine. Eva struggled, but he didn’t put her down. “Relax,
I’ve got you,” he said, striding for the door.

“I’m too heavy,” she argued.

He simply held her tighter. “Don’t be ridiculous.” He would never
understand why she thought she was overweight. He carried her outside.

Thankfully, she gave up struggling and wound her arms around his
neck. “Where are we going?”

“It’s not safe here. If your stepfather warned you to get out, it’s
probably because he’s sending someone to retrieve your computer.” Greyson didn’t
want to think about what could have happened if he hadn’t followed her here.

“I thought he warned me to leave because of the Spiders,” she said
as he set her on her feet near his motorcycle. “He can have my computer if he
wants it that bad.”

He shook his head. “He probably doesn’t even realize that what he’s
done has attracted them. Most people don’t know they exist.” He slung his leg
over and gestured for her to get on. When she slipped her arms around his
waist, he started the engine. “Hold tight.” He had to get her back to his place
where it was safe.

Chapter Ten

Eva tucked her face against his back once more, gripping his shirt
in her fists. The wind whipped at her hair, but she didn’t care. She was way
too preoccupied thinking about what was going to happen when they got back to
his house to care about how she looked. She knew they were going to make love,
but Greyson’s explanation that there would be more to it than sex had her
worried. She swallowed, trying to imagine what it would feel like to be totally
open to him empathically. Would she be able to handle it? Or would his mind
overwhelm
her own
? She held on tighter, hoping she
hadn’t made the wrong decision.

As if sensing her worry, Greyson touched her arm gently. She
closed her eyes, drawing in his scent as he expertly maneuvered the bike along
curvy back roads.
You trust him,
she told herself.
You’ve trusted him
since you were eighteen.

When he pulled up near his house, the sun was just beginning to
peek over the horizon. The trees rustled in the wind, soft and soothing in
comparison to last night’s storm. Eva took a deep breath,
then
got off the bike. Last night felt like it had happened a hundred years ago.

“Steady,” Greyson murmured, hand on her elbow.

She sighed. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m so nervous.” There.
She’d said it out loud.

Instead of being angry or impatient, Greyson scooped her into his
arms again. “Hush.”

She leaned her head on his shoulder. “Are you sure you want to do
this?” She’d finally realized no one had asked him. “After all, you’re going to
be just as tied to me as I am to you.”

He shouldered open the front door and carried her down to his
room. Sun spilled across the bed like a golden blanket. “Before last night, if
you’d asked me that question, I would’ve said, ‘No way.’ I didn’t want to lose
you the way my father lost my mother. I thought if I didn’t let you get too
close, that wouldn’t happen.” He set her down, easing off her shoes.
“Now?
Everything’s changed. I’m already connected to you,
more than I cared to admit, yesterday.” He sat next to her and stroked her
calf. “It took me a while, but I finally figured out that I feel better when
you’re near.” He smiled, the silver in his eyes sparking brightly against the
brown. “When you left for college, it felt like I’d forgotten to do something.
I couldn’t relax.
Couldn’t sleep.
I asked Bruno to
keep watch over you for me.”

Eva blinked. “That was years ago.” She’d never have guessed he
worried about her.
I thought he’d forgotten all about me.

He nodded, his warm palm cupping her knee. “Something about you
drew me. I think we’ve already paired on a subconscious level, and have been
connected all this time.” He slid his hand up her leg.

Her skin tingled, even
through
the denim
fabric. “I couldn’t stop going into your woods. I felt safe there.”

“I know,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss her.

She opened to his mouth, sighing when his lips touched hers. He
drew his hands up her torso, then down her arms, capturing her wrists loosely. “You
will need to submit to me.”

She wrinkled her brow. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

He tightened his fingers. “I’ll need to align our energies. The
only way I can do that is if you let go completely. You must put your trust in
me.” He let go and began to unbutton her blouse.

He did it so matter-of-
factly,
Eva didn’t
have time to blush. When he eased it off her arms, he immediately undid her
jeans and stripped them off. Before she could protest, Eva lay there in her bra
and panties, already flushed and aroused.

“Do you trust me?” he asked quietly, hands poised over her
breasts. His ring was a cold weight on her skin.

She licked her lips. “Yes.” Her voice cracked, so she tried again.
“Yes, I trust you.”

He smiled,
then
undid her bra. “Put your
hands around the posts and don’t move.”

Eva looked up and saw what he wanted. She curled her fingers
around the bed frame. The smooth wood was cool against her skin. “Like this?”

“Yes,” he said, moving off the bed. He kicked his boots into a
corner of the room,
then
took off his shirt and jeans.
“If you think you’re going to let go, I can tie you to the wood if you need me
to.”

Oh God.
Just the thought of being bound had her pussy heating. “Okay,” she whispered,
wondering if she was a total pervert.

Greyson paused, nostrils flaring.
“Very well.”
He moved to the nightstand next to the bed and took out a set of leather
straps. “Hold still.”

Eva struggled to control her breathing. She wasn’t scared, not
really.
Just really, really nervous.

“I won’t hurt you,” he said softly, winding the leather around her
wrists. “Well, not unless you want me to.”

“Greyson—” she began, but broke off when he snapped the leather
taut, binding her wrists together. He tied the leather to the wood,
then
knelt over her, his erect cock gently swaying near her
cheek. Eva wanted to touch him, lick him,
do
something.
Anything.
The leather kept her from moving.
She hadn’t realized until just now how much control she was giving up to him.
Her breathing sped up.

“Hold onto this,” he said, handing her the loose ends.

She latched onto them tightly.
You can do this,
she told
herself.

“Trust me,” he said again, peeling off her panties.

Eva closed her eyes as she felt the bed dip.

“Eva,” Greyson said. “Look at me.”

Warm breath tickled her cheek. Her eyes flew open and she had to
swallow at the heat in his expression.

“Trust me,” he said again.

She nodded. Her heart knocked against her ribs almost painfully. “What
next?”

He nudged in between her legs, a warm, heavy weight. “I can feel
everything you feel, Eva, remember?”

She’d forgotten. Somehow, in the middle of all of this, she’d
completely forgotten about his empathy, even though she was about to gain it.