walked at her side, but he could tell that her mind was already running. She was pulling away mentally even more than physically. He wished he knew what to say. Linc would know the words to reassure her. He wouldn’t be standing here wondering if he’d made things so much worse. Colm shook his head.
That was the worst of his worries. He wondered if she was going to try to run from them now. He hadn’t expected the kiss to burst out of out of control the way it had or his own intense desire for her. He’d been just as out of control as her.
In a way, that didn’t sit well. He didn’t like the thought that he might have pushed her too far with that dare. She’d been nervous around them before. This probably made her even more so, but hopefully, it wouldn’t send her into a full panic. He didn’t regret it happening. Not ever, but especially after tasting her.
At his first lick, a jolt shot through him and only one thought filled his head. Mine. The taste set off something primitive and possessive inside of him. It pushed beyond all his doubts about true mates and he’d only thought of fucking her.
He’d wanted to mark her and claim her as his, but his fangs hadn’t descended fully. Now that he had time to think about it, the fact that that hadn’t happened didn’t worry him too much. She was their mate. Scent was a huge part of finding a mate. Since she didn’t smell right, it was logical that his body wouldn’t fully react to her until he could smell her.
The depth of the feelings that surged up at that taste amazed him. He hadn’t thought it would be that immediate or that strong. Even with his doubts about mating, he knew he couldn’t let her continue to hide and deny what he now knew for a fact. She was their mate.
He wasn’t walking away from this connection. She’d have to face her doubts just as he would. He knew he was going to have to work through his fears of losing a mate. One thing had been clear in an instant. Now that he’d found his mate, he couldn’t turn away from her.
He left her at her room and went to the room he shared with Linc. He dropped onto the bed and ran his hands through his hair. He immediately rose and began pacing. He didn’t want to be in the room. He wanted to do something. Specifically, move everything of hers into this room.
She wasn’t ready for that. It would send her into a panic. He was going to have to curb his desire to haul her into their lives even if part of him did fear her running away while she wasn’t with them. She was too nervous and cautious around them already.
Gods, he needed to talk to Linc. Colm walked to the door and went out into the hall. He waited outside the door to the bathing room. Not so much because he thought that she’d run if he wasn’t there to meet her, but because now that he had a plan, he wanted to get to it right away. He’d leave her with the chatar and then go find Linc. The wise man was still hunting for what made her eyes glow. There was so much to tell his bond brother and he wanted Linc’s opinion.
She finally came out of the room. Her hair was braided, but he could still see the gleam of moisture on it and she wore a pretty purple shirt and black pants. He held out his hand and waited. In a way, he half expected her to refuse, but she slid her palm over his after only a moment’s hesitation. He tightened his fingers around hers.
Maybe he hadn’t messed things up too badly.
Chapter Thirteen
Cami frowned at Colm as he walked out of the room and left her with the chatar. He could have left her with almost anyone else and she wouldn’t have had a problem with it, but that man made her nervous. As soon as the door closed behind Colm, she turned to face the man and the table stacked with books. She did not look forward to digging through those books for mention of glowing eyes or glowing anything, for that matter.
“Your secrets are slowly escaping your grasp, I see.” The chatar’s voice sounded much too smug.
Cami held back a growl. That