Their Hidden Princess (Zora and Maximus) novel Chapter 243

Chapter 243

Zora’s POV

As we redressed, Kairos stuffed my ruined panties and bra into his pockets. “I’m not going to leave your scent out here.”

“A little late for that,” I told him, gesturing to the mess we’d made of the grass and wildflowers where the three of us had gone to town on each other.

Max helped me slid into my top, but he frowned as it sat over my chests. The thin fabric was practically see through and without the sports bra underneath, my breasts and nipples were clearly visible.

“It will be difficult concentrating when you look like that,” he said.

“I have another bra at the base,” I said. “Though I’m sure Valentin will notice. There’s no being subtle about this.”

“He’d know even if you were covered,” Kairos said. “You smell like sex.” He grinned. “And like us.”

Before I could even start to worry about that, Max leaned in and kissed me between the brows where a line must have been starting to form. I looked at him in confusion.

“Valentin knew exactly what would happen when he sent us out here,” Max said.

“He did?” I thought back to the knowing look on Valentin’s face. And what had he said? That we needed to reduce the tension? “Oh. Maybe he did.”

“He definitely did,” Kairos laughed.

I didn’t know if I should be embarrassed by that, but I strangely wasn’t. If anything, I was relieved. I didn’t want there to be any secrets between my mates and me, especially about our relationships with each other.

Max slid his arm around my waist and tugged me closer to him. I perfectly fit against his side. He rest his chin on top of my head. I could tell our heartbeats were still in sync. I wondered if Kairos’ was as well.

I looked back at him and he approached. He held out his hand for me, but it wasn’t his palm I grasped, it was his wrist. Pressing my fingers to his pulse point, I smiled when I felt what I’d hoped for.

“We should get back,” Max said. “It’s still dangerous out here. It might be more so, since we gave away our location.” This time, I did blush. We had been loud.

I didn’t have any arguments this time as we started back toward the base. I was a bit sore, pleasantly so, from our activities, so I didn’t run as fast. But I still moved faster than I had in the past.

Kairos seemed pleased with himself, having given me this power.

As we walked back into the field of our base, Valentin looked up from where he had been using magicks on the dummies. He stood as we came closer.

He looked between us, his gaze lingering extra-long on me. “No more fighting?”

“I think it’s, uh, worked itself out,” I said.

Valentin hummed. He nodded toward the house. “Clean up and come back out. We are still training today.”

I did as he said, and then we began to train in earnest. With the jealousy dealt with between Kairos and Max, they seemed to start working better together, and for a time, against the dummies, the group of us moved like a team, my three mates tirelessly defending me while also allowing me to get a punch in now and then. My speed helped, allowing me to escape situations where I might have found myself trapped before.

Everything was going very well, until –

THWACK.

One of the dummies hit me on the side, and I went tumbling down into the grass.

“Stop,” Valentin said, rushing back toward me. Kairos and Max were there too, each helping me up from the ground.

“Fuck this,” Kairos growled.

I didn’t like arguing with Maximus, but in this case, I had to.

“I’m sorry, Max, but it’s true.”

Max shook his head. The disbelief in his eyes made my stomach ache. But I told myself, he didn’t doubt me because he didn’t trust me. Everything Max felt was because he hated Thorne, and what he had done to me.

“He rejected you,” Max said. “He cut himself away from us. You don’t need him. We don’t. We shouldn’t even be thinking about him.”

I gave Valentin a soft look, and he nodded. Then I stepped away from him, moving closer to Max. He crossed his arms over his front. I reached out, placing my hands on his forearms, quietly asking him to unhook them. When he did, I laced my fingers with his.

“I wouldn’t lie to you. You know that, right?” I asked. “This only works with honesty.”

He gave me a pointed look, reminding me with only a look that I had lied to him in the past, about my being Victoria’s daughter. Though we were healing from that, I could understand that it made trust difficult.

But that had been an important lie. This wasn’t. For what purpose would I try to invite Thorne back into our lives, if I didn’t physically need him to be there?

“Max.”

“I don’t like it, Zora. He hurt you. He rejected you. I can’t just stand here and pretend like I’d be fine with him coming back now and…” He turned his head away.

“I know you care about me so much,” I told him. “And I care about you to. I don’t want to risk that for anything.”

“It isn’t in danger,” he replied, looking back at me. “I just want… He doesn’t deserve you.”

I stepped closer to him, moving into his warmth.

“That might be true,” I said. Thorne had acted like a right asshole to me from the start. Toward the end, it felt like he had even wanted me dead. “But…there’s an emptiness in my chest, Max. I don’t know how I know it, but I know it’s the space he’s supposed to fill.”