Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 119694 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119694 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
“Lucian,” I sob softly. “Lucian, please—”
His lashes flutter and his eyes open just a fraction.
“You…found me.”
His deep voice is so hoarse I can barely hear him.
“I’m here for you! I love you!” I whisper, tears pouring down my cheeks.
I don’t think. I don’t hesitate. I press my wrist to his lips.
“Bite me! You need blood.”
His mouth parts weakly. He tries—but he’s too far gone, too drained. His fangs barely graze my skin.
“No—no, don’t you dare give up now,” I say fiercely.
I guide his mouth back to my wrist, angling it just right, and then I press down—hard—using his own fangs to cut myself.
A sharp pain flares and I gasp as blood wells instantly, hot and bright. The scent fills the air—coppery and rich—and Lucian reacts immediately.
His eyes focus and his mouth seals over my wound.
He sucks hard, drawing the blood down his throat, and I feel it—feel him—responding. Color blooms back into his cheeks. Warmth returns to his skin beneath my hands. His grip tightens, suddenly strong, suddenly real.
Hope surges through me, fierce and overwhelming. I climb on top of him, pressing my body against his as if I can give him strength just by being close.
“You’re going to be all right—keep drinking!” I urge him, my voice shaking with relief.
He does. He takes long, deep pulls at my wrist and each one seems to bring him closer to his old self.
At last, he licks the wound closed.
His arms come around me, strong now—solid, holding me as if he’ll never let go.
“You came back to me,” he murmurs.
I half laugh, half cry, burying my face against his shoulder.
“I couldn’t stay away. I love you!”
“Oh sweetheart, I love you too. It nearly killed me to send you away,” he tells me.
I look up at him uncertainly.
“Then why did you do it?”
He shrugs, looking weary.
“It was the only way to gather enough power to open a portal for Hanna. I had to give you up—only a sacrifice of the heart would do it.”
My chest aches at the thought.
“Well, you’re never sending me away again,” I murmur, nuzzling against him.
“No, never.” He holds me close. “I love you so much, my darling. I’ll never let you go again.”
74
Lucian
I hold her close to me, feeling the steady warmth of her body, the living proof that I am not alone.
For a moment, I simply breathe her in—the faint scent of her skin, the echo of her blood still singing in my veins. Lucky is too small a word for what I feel. Fortunate. Blessed. Claimed in ways I never expected to be claimed by a woman.
“How did you find me?” I murmur, brushing my lips against her temple. “How did you get back to the Shadow Realm? Did Whistler help you?”
“Well, sort of.” She pulls back just enough to reach for something on the bedside table. She holds it up between her fingers. “He left this on my coffee table before he went and my Book Club did the rest.”
I stare at the token, recognition flaring. That slippery, clever bastard. I’d bet the entirety of the Crimson Spires he didn’t leave that travel token with her by accident.
“Your Book Club?” I frown despite myself.
She laughs softly and explains—about her friend Naomi and the spell—about the women who stood around her and lent their courage and faith so she could find her way back to me. As she speaks, something warm settles in my chest—something close to awe.
When she finishes, I smile, unable to stop myself.
“Beautiful and resourceful too. I may have underestimated you, little one.”
She lifts her chin, eyes sparkling despite the tears still clinging to her lashes.
“You may have.”
I reach out and stroke her hair away from her face, letting my thumb linger against her cheek. Gods, how did I ever think I could let her go?
“Then are you ready to bond with me—really form a full Soul Bond?” I ask.
She frowns slightly, thoughtful rather than afraid.
“I thought we already had a bond or some kind of connection. I felt it—I kept having dreams of you—it’s how I knew you were in trouble.”
Her words strike deep. So she felt it too.
“We have a partial bond,” I tell her gently. “In order to form a full Soul-Bond we’ll need to have our own little ritual.”
“A ritual?” she asks. “Like the one I did with my book club?”
I shake my head, a quiet chuckle escaping me.
“Nothing like that. This ritual would be more…intimate.”
My gaze darkens, heat coiling low in my body as I let the implication settle between us.
“I’ll need to take you and bite you at the moment of climax.”
I lean in, giving her a slow, lingering kiss—one meant to promise all the pleasure I can give her—and then I look into her eyes.
“Can you do that, sweetheart? Can you give me your blood and your body to tie us together forever?”