Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Lucy shot up and glared at me. “Exchanging what?”
“It can’t be that surprising.”
“I mean, I know Vampires drink blood. That’s the whole thing.” She paused. “Wait, you haven’t been drinking blood.”
“Yes, I have. I carry it with me.”
“Bull.”
“Check my bag,” I told her. “I’ve got a small cooler inside.”
“When the heck did you drink it?” she asked suspiciously. “I haven’t seen you.”
“When you were sleeping.”
“Oh.” She slumped and wiped a hand across her forehead. “So…this isn’t going to get better unless I let you drink my blood?”
“And you drink mine.”
Her nose wrinkled. “Yeah, that’s not happening.”
“You’ll like it.”
Gods, she felt good on top of me. Running my hands down her sides, I curved them around the globes of her ass. Perfection.
“And what if I don’t want to complete the bond or whatever?”
Everything inside me rebelled, and my hands tightened on her ass.
“I don’t know,” I gritted out. “It will get worse, I think.”
“But, no,” she said in alarm. “I thought we could walk away. Beau walked away, right?”
I wanted to be careful with her. She was my mate. The beginning of our relationship would shape the way we interacted for the rest of our lives. Beyond that, I didn’t want to upset her. It was my responsibility to protect her, not just physically, but emotionally as well. It was a lesson that had been drummed into me since I was a child.
But the cavalier way she spoke about the mating bond was like someone dragging rusty knives down my chest.
“Beau practically killed himself when he walked away from his mate.” I ground out, holding her in place as she started to pull away. “His mate was married and pregnant. She wasn’t even aware of the mating bond because she was so in love with her human husband. Beau sacrificed for her. He didn’t walk away, Lucy. He tore himself away, at great cost.”
“Oh,” she breathed.
“So, yes, it is possible to deny the bond. But even if you put a world of distance between us, it would be incredibly painful for both of us.” I leaned forward a little. “And I’m not sure that I could stop myself from following you. I’m not even sure that you would get very far before you turned around and came back.”
The symptoms she was experiencing were a pretty good indication that she no longer had the option of walking away.
“I wouldn’t turn around,” she replied stubbornly.
“What was Charlie doing when you left?” I asked softly.
Lucy stiffened.
“I’m guessing you didn’t want to leave him, right?” I let out a huff of exasperation. “That was the distance of half a house and about twenty minutes.”
“So I’m just stuck,” she said angrily.
“We’re both stuck, baby,” I replied flatly.
She shoved at my chest. “Why are you being such an asshole?”
“How am I being an asshole?” I asked, not letting go of her. She may have been pissed, but our points of contact were the only thing keeping the heat from torturing us both.
“You didn’t talk to me like that before,” she snapped. “You didn’t look at me like that, either.”
“Sorry,” I grunted as she shifted on my lap.
“Oh, yeah, it sounds like it,” she said derisively, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Do you have any idea what this is like for me?” I asked, reaching up to grip her chin. “Baby, I’ll treat you like delicate china if that’s what you need. But you’re sitting on my lap, bitching about being stuck with me, and I’ve been waiting a hundred fucking years for this.”
She licked her lips, and I nearly lost it.
“I don’t like not having a choice,” she said in grudging apology.
“I understand.”
“It’s not you, it’s me,” she joked.
The baseline arousal that had thrummed through my veins since the moment I met her seemed to pulse. I struggled to ignore it.
“I can wait as long as you need,” I said, the words practically burning my throat. “But please stop questioning the bond. For you, it’s a trap. For me, it’s fucking salvation.”
Lucy’s gaze softened. Her arms dropped, and one of her hands reached up to trace the curve of my jaw.
“It’s hard for me to wrap my head around that kind of commitment right now,” she said softly. “I barely know you.”
“The Gods don’t make mistakes,” I replied, biting her fingers when they reached my lips. “We’ll wait to take permanent steps if that makes you more comfortable, but you’re meant for me.”
Lucy frowned.
“I was made for you too,” I clarified. “It goes both ways.”
Lucy’s hips shifted forward, and I wasn’t even sure if she’d realized she’d done it, but I couldn’t think of anything else. I was notched between her thighs, and the heat of her was making my pulse pound in my ears.
“So what’s the point of no return?” she rasped, her eyes on my lips. She shook her head and met my eyes. “This is getting more uncomfortable.”