the whole time, Koren just wants Domin to take charge again,
since he so obviously got off on it the first time.‖
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Mary Calmes
―How do you know Koren liked it?‖
―Ivan said that the screaming he heard was not the pain kind and that
when he finally went into the bedroom, Domin, not his prisoner, was
passed out on the bed, and Koren was sittin‘ there just pettin‘ him.‖
―Domin let Koren pet him?‖
―Ivan says that Domin was too far gone to allow or not allow
anything.‖
―Jesus.‖
He shrugged broad shoulders. ―I think Koren really likes not being
the guy in control or in charge and he wants Domin to just be that guy, and
instead, for whatever reason, Domin‘s waitin‘ on Koren to take him.
They‘re both fucked up.‖
―And so what?‖
―I think that you, as the reah of the tribe, need to sit them down and
fix it up between them. Tell them what‘s what.‖
―Which I‘m sure will go over great with Logan and Koren‘s father.‖
―Oh, I didn‘t even think about that, that is funny,‖ Crane cracked a
wide grin. ―Since you became reah of the tribe, not one but two of the
man‘s sons are gay.‖
I smirked at him. ―Yeah, it‘s great.‖
He snorted out a laugh. ―You can‘t make anybody gay, Jin. They
either are or they‘re not.‖
―Oh no? Before Logan met me, he was straight.‖
―Maybe, and maybe, like Koren, he just hadn‘t found the right guy
yet.‖
―So it stands to reason that maybe there‘s the perfect guy out there
for you.‖
―Or not.‖ He scowled at me. ―I know you don‘t get it, but some guys
actually like sleeping with girls.‖
I smiled at him.
―Listen, just do what I say and have a talk with Koren and Domin
before they do something stupid and one of ‘em leaves.‖
―Why not you?‖
―I ain‘t you. Nobody listens to me.‖
I was quiet, absorbing everything he‘d said.
―I think you tell Domin to jump Koren‘s bones and go from there.‖
Trusted Bond
53
―You‘re like an advice column all of a sudden.‖
―Screw you; get the hell outta my room.‖
But I had no intention of moving. ―I should know all this.‖
―Yeah, ya should, but you‘re so freaked out about being Logan‘s
reah and what does that mean that you‘re missing where you‘re actually
needed.‖
I grunted.
―Saint Jin of Perpetual Sorrow,‖ he teased me.
―What?‖
―It‘s what Domin calls you.‖
―I hate him,‖ I sighed.
―I know,‖ he said, bumping me with his knee.
―I‘ll miss seeing you every day.‖
He pushed my thick hair out of my face, his fingers threading
through the length of it without even realizing what he was doing. It was
long, too long, falling now to the middle of my back. I left it alone because
of Logan—he liked to bury his face in it, let it slide over his bare skin,
tangle his hands in it and pull. I watched Crane twirl it through his fingers
over and over.
―Crane?‖
―I‘ll miss you too, but it‘s for the best. I‘m going crazy living up
here, Jin—I need my own place, my own everything.‖
―You must‘ve already discussed this with Logan—he knows you‘re
going?‖
―Yeah, he thought it was because of Delphine,‖ he said, knotting his
hand in my hair, and I felt the tug on my scalp.
There was a part of Crane, a very small part, that thought of me as
his, and sometimes, in subtle ways that most people missed, he showed it.
His hand fisted in my hair, he flexed his grip, and I breathed out my
primal response to his dominance. I belonged to my semel, but Crane was
my best friend, and so a piece of me would always be his. Every now and
then, he reminded me.
When he opened his hand, my hair fell out of his grip, running like
water over his palm.
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Mary Calmes
―Logan should talk to the semel in Vegas, whoever that is, and make
sure he understands about you living there even though you‘re not going
to join his tribe.‖
He smirked at me. ―I am still