Read For the Bond (Romantic Suspense) (Beyond Blood, #3) for Free Online Page A

You need to see yourself, Jacob. Fuck, she got you good.”
    In my mind's eye, I did see myself. I could watch them both and tell how silly I appeared. Me, the man who was so serious and calm, standing there with vibrant paint all over my face. Once Marina started laughing, joining Kite, I felt my humor bubbling up.
    The three of us, we shook and held our stomachs. Relief, it was glorious—the situation changing from tense to cheerful. I'd never predicted this. I was good at guessing outcomes, and I had failed.
    It was a nice failure.
    Watching Marina, her eyes crinkling at the edges from her laughter, my mood transformed. I thought of this morning, of last night. Beyond it all, the whole week. This beautiful woman had morphed me. The concern I'd felt over that had melted into what Kite would have said was 'hope' or 'faith' or something similar.
    God. I wanted to believe what he believed. Marina, alive and well when this was all complete. The future where we three could laugh like this and smile was one I craved. Coming up with a plan to test her trust was something I had to do.
    But not now.
    Not in this moment.
    She was still giggling when I snatched her face up. The sweet sound vanished under my lips. The paint had a vague flavor, like artificial plastic. It didn't bother me. The hunt was over, Marina had won, but it wasn't as if I had lost .
    My gun fell onto the leaves, forgotten. Crushing her on the tree she'd used to hide, I held her in place and nibbled her bottom lip. How was every time we kissed more stunning than the last? “You're the winner,” I said, the tip of my tongue tracing her ear. “You get the winner's spoils. What do you want, Marina? Ask for it.”
    Other than a shaky gasp, she said nothing. Pulling back, I slid her hair from the ponytail and smiled. Her response was to blush and shake her head. “Not now. I'll keep my favor for another time.”
    I was curious. I'd expected her to ask for something , no matter what it was or if we could actually reward it. Turning an eye towards Kite, I spotted his thoughtful frown. He was thinking what I was. Marina was too smart to treat this game like it could save her life. She'd beaten us, but that didn't force me to alter her fate. So what would she ask for?
    “Fine,” I said, slipping her goggles off and dropping them. Mine followed next. “Then the runner-ups get their wishes. Someone has to celebrate, after all.”
    “Yeah?” Her teeth were still pinky-red when she smiled. It matched her flushing skin. “You guys are tied, can you agree on what you both want?”
    The leaves crunched under Kite's feet. “Yeah, I think we're wishing for the same thing.” He was dismantling his gear, stripping down to his under-shirt and jeans even with the chilly weather. Clearly, he knew it was about to get very warm for all of us.
    Chuckling, I wiped at the paint on her cheeks. “Yes. We're on the same page.” Backing up, I enjoyed how she started to reach for me. Kite filled the space, kissing Marina while I stretched out our jackets on the hard ground. Twigs wouldn't ruin this for us.
    Marina wove her hands into Kite's scalp. From here, I could hardly see her under his avalanche. “Turn her,” I said, motioning. He took the cue, adjusting so that Marina's back no longer faced the tree, but was aimed at me.
    Pressing my hard chest into her shoulders, I reached around and unzipped her jacket. It was freed, I tossed it gently on the pile. The material of her thin shirt wrinkled under my touch, my grip light as I followed her ribs. She filled my palms with her deep inhale.
    “What are you going to do?” she asked, managing to break away from Kite's hungry mouth. Peeking up, I saw how he coerced her back. Her lips would be swollen by the end.
    “Telling you would spoil it.” Crouching, I lifted her shirt, kissed the indents above her ass. The skin there was polished in its texture. She twitched, rocking away, but her body was stopped by Kite. Marina was