guild either. Well, it wasn’t at my guild.”
She twisted her hand in his and toyed with his fingers, her eyes remaining locked on his. “How did this Harbin character make you realise it?”
She looked as if she was fishing now, wanting to hear how crazy he was about her and that he hadn’t been able to live without her.
“We got into a fight.” He rubbed his eyes as he thought about that, must have missed her horrified look but didn’t miss her gasp.
“You got into a fight?”
“It’s the instincts. Being apart from you made me anxious, and normally both Harbin and I release any pent-up energy or work out aggression by sparring with each other.”
“It doesn’t sound like you were sparring.” Her thumb brushed his lower lip and he shivered as a thousand tiny arcs of electricity tripped along his nerves. “Is that where you got this? I thought maybe Syn gave it to you.”
He lifted his hand and captured her wrist, held her thumb to his lips and pressed a kiss to it, savoured the connection between them and how it strengthened as he held on to her, as he lingered near to her. “No. She wanted to cut off my head and deliver it to the prince of my kind.”
“Sounds like Syn.” Her smile was too brief, gone too quickly, the pleasure of it stolen from him as she sobered. “Do you feel aggressive now?”
He shook his head.
“But you will if you’re away from me?”
He nodded this time, and decided to spell it out for her because she deserved to know what she was getting into. “I feel aggressive when you’re near too… If other males are around you. If unmated males look at you. If you look at them. Hell, I go crazy if you look at mated males. Just the thought of you being near the damned vampire—”
“Does that ever stop?” She stroked his lip and it tingled in response, a need to kiss her filling him as his gaze lowered to her mouth.
He thought he nodded, wasn’t sure of anything as he stared at her ruby lips. “If we mate.”
“A mating that requires blood.” She went to take her hand back and as much as he wanted to tighten his grip on it and deny her, he released her instead, sensing she needed a moment.
“I said I won’t bite you, Mackenzie, and I mean it.” Even though he was fairly sure it would be the death of him. He would go insane from the craving to know the taste of her, from having to hold himself back whenever they were together, restraining himself and his instincts.
“And I said it wasn’t a no. If this thing works out, then… maybe.”
He didn’t like how she hesitated, as if she’d had to force herself to say that word. “I don’t want a bond with you if it will feel like a cage. I couldn’t do that to you.”
Her face softened and she raised her hands, framed his face with her palms and tilted her head back. “There aren’t many men in this world who would do such a thing.”
And it touched her. He could see that in her eyes as she gazed up at him, as she leaned towards him and her front pressed to his. He would do his best for her.
Because he was falling madly in love with her.
He lowered his head, inching his mouth towards hers.
A snarky female voice shattered the moment.
“Gross.”
Chapter 22
It had been three days since the demoness had interrupted Hartt’s moment with Mackenzie, and the female continued to block him whenever he tried to get near his beautiful ki’ara. He hadn’t been able to get a moment alone with her. The only time Syn let him near her was when they were in the library with Grave and Fuery.
Hartt had tried to convince Grave and Mackenzie to travel to his guild to come up with a plan, but the vampire had insisted they remained at the stronghold, pointing out the fact it was heavily guarded and mentioning his doubts that the witch would dare attack him there. It had been enough to convince Mackenzie.
Which had been enough to provoke the darkness in Hartt, had ripped a reaction from him before he could stop it and had seen him flying across the room to collar the vampire and slam him into one of the bookcases.
It hadn’t gone down well with anyone and Hartt had ended up excusing himself and teleporting to the guild