But with her… it was different. Not because I couldn’t punish her...I could...but because she was my mate. Bound to me by duty, and the truth was… I didn’t even want to punish her.
Instead, I sat there, letting the sting settle.
Her eyes flickered, and I saw it—the subtle satisfaction in the curve of her lips, the almost imperceptible lift of her chin. She thought she’d won. And maybe she had for now.
I’d let her have this little victory. I did the same thing with my sister Irene. Sometimes the quickest way to shut them up was to let them think they’d gotten the last word.
So I leaned back again, studying her. “You enjoy this, don’t you?” I asked quietly.
Her brow arched. “Enjoy what?”
“Pushing,” I said. “Seeing how far you can go before I snap.”
She smiled faintly, almost playfully
