Chapter 9: Rules Broken

The kitchen door had barely shut behind us when I turned around and said, "Rules."

Soren leaned against the counter with his arms folded and his hair still messy from my hands.

"Yes?" he said.

"What just happened outside doesn't count."

"It did not count."

"It was a show for the deputy."

"I understood that."

"So I'd like it noted that it doesn't change anything."

"Noted." His mouth twitched. "Rule one, I believe, was that I stay in the tub until the cuffs are off."

"That's right."

"I am in your kitchen."

"That was an emergency."

"Rule two. Nobody comes in."

"Gus is a special case."

"And your fiancé has now been inside your father's house for a full day."

"That's not..." I stopped. "That's a lie to the deputy."

"Rule three," Soren said gently. "No questions about the sea."

"You didn't ask any."

"No." He pushed off the counter and took one step toward me.

"I have been very good, Minnie."

"You have."

"I have been so good that I have not asked what you thought when you kissed me back."

My pulse was loud in my ears.

"I was acting," I said.

"You put your hands in my hair."

"For the crowd."

"Your fingers were shaking."

"It was cold."

"It was nearly summer."

I opened my mouth, and nothing came out.

He took another step, and I felt the warmth coming off him.

I backed up until the edge of the counter hit the small of my back.

"Soren."

"Yes."

"You're crowding me."

Keep reading free with an account. Start Claimed by the Mer-Shifter Prince I Made Cry from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.