Entwined Strangers (BBW Shifter Romance): Sorcery & Shifters Book 4 by Robin Briar Page B

bedroom door. I’m sure Trent has ears even more sensitive than Mason’s. There’s no telling what he can hear from downstairs, even with the door closed. I cup the phone and lower my voice for good measure.
    “That makes two of us. It was so primal. I mean, it’s like that with the Mason too, but loving as well. This was much baser. More urgent and needful. Like there wasn’t really a choice in the matter, especially once he changed into a half-man, half-wolf.”
    “Well, there was an urgent need for the pool to be filled again. Could the stakes have been ramped up for that reason? Maybe that’s why you’re still keyed up even now?”
    “I don’t think that’s it, but I will say this. The pool was hungry. Once I cast Preserve the Lust, there really wasn’t any quicksilver left. When the tendrils latched on to me, they took over my entire body. Resistance wasn’t an option. I had zero freedom of will, unless I went along with it.”
    “The pool does have an appetite,” Saffron says, “especially when it’s empty. I should have warned you. We were moving pretty quickly at that point and it didn’t occur to me. Sorry about that, Jessica.”
    “No problem, Saffron. I was concerned about Trent’s werewolf control for a moment there, but he held it together.”
    “Thinking about it now, however, maybe that’s why you still feel so horny. It could be a residual side effect of being connected to the quicksilver pool so completely. I wouldn’t be surprised if your bond to the pool is even stronger now.”
    “That might explain something else then,” I say. “I was able to cast spells wordlessly again. Until now, I’ve only been able to do that with Mason. Isn’t that only supposed to happen when I’m in love with a man? So what, do I love Trent now too?”
    Saffron doesn’t say anything. The silence continues long enough that I wonder if we’re disconnected.
    “Saffron? Are you still there?”
    “I’m here. I don’t know what to say, Jessica. That’s a question only you can answer.”
    Strange. Saffron doesn’t normally deflect like that.
    “I don’t know how to answer that question. I just don’t feel the same way toward Trent as I do toward Mason. If I can only cast spells wordlessly when I love a man, then I don’t see how my feelings for Trent would qualify. They’re more instinctual, almost devoid of emotion.”
    “Almost?” Saffron asks.
    “Well, there is one emotional component. But it’s small. Insignificant.”
    “And what might that be?”
    “Well, I may not have told you everything that happened between Trent and I under The Vault.”
    “Then perhaps you better do that now,” Saffron says, stern now.
    A part of me wishes I were talking to Candice.
    “Well, shortly after we teleported, I tried to kill Trent while he was still weak. For all the good it did me. There was a hole through his gut, but he was still able to overpower me. I felt pathetic. I couldn’t beat him with speed or strength, but I wanted to beat him somehow.
    “So I kissed him. I did it to catch him off guard, and it worked. Really well, actually. Much better than I hoped. But then something else happened. His cruelty melted away. Completely. Suddenly he was a different person. Gentle. Vulnerable. And then…”
    “One thing led to another. You are the Maiden, after all. I won’t act like I’m even a little bit surprised.”
    “That’s how Felix found us when he opened the slab entranceway.”
    Saffron sighs. “It appears you’re emotionally invested in two men now, Jessica, and they’re invested in you. I know Candice will agree with me on this point, but if you have to choose between them, pick Trent.”
    “What makes you say that?”
    “Love can be such a complicated emotion. It’s fleeting at the best of times. You’re better off with Trent in the long run, especially considering how quickly you and him were able to fill up the reservoir.”
    “I’m confused. So you don’t think I’m