With a snarl, he pulls me closer to him, sinking his fangs into my soft skin. I try not to wince when the sharp pain follows. It didn’t hurt the first time he fed from me, but then he was one hundred percent in the moment, not half-asleep. With each pull, the pain recedes, until another feeling takes its place. A swirl of desire starts from my chest, quickly spreading through my body to concentrate mostly between my legs. A wanton moan escapes my lips, bursting my face into flames. I don’t suffer from false modesty, but I’m not a vampire who doesn’t mind voyeurism.
“I think we’re good now. You can show yourselves out,” I tell Ronan and Ryker.
My eyes are closed, so I don’t see when they walk out, I only hear the door shutting. Saxon takes a couple more hard pulls before he licks the incisions with his warm tongue, and leans away from me. Goose bumps have broken out on my skin, and my heart is hammering like mad inside the confines of my chest. I blink my eyes open, suddenly afraid that my blood didn’t help Saxon after all, and he’s in danger of leaving me again. Relief washes over me when I find him staring with hooded eyes and lips partly open. Color has returned to his cheeks too.
“Are you okay? Did you have enough?”
“I’m much better now. How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.” I reach for his hand, squeezing it in mine. “I’ve never felt more terrified in my entire life. I thought you had left me.”
“I was close, Rora. But you brought me back.” He cups my face, a tender gesture that makes my skin sizzle nonetheless. “Is the repel spell gone?”
“I think so. I didn’t feel anything foreign building inside when you were drinking from me.”
A grin spreads over his lips, and his eyes shine with mischief. “You know what that means, right?”
I nod, because if I try to speak now, it’s probably coming out as a croak. He stands up and I try my best to keep my gaze fixed on his face instead of the huge bulge in his pants. Smiling more broadly now, he offers me his hand. “If we’re doing this properly, we’d better get to your bedroom.”
He helps me up and I’m grateful for it. My legs are seriously malfunctioning now. Actually, my entire body has gone haywire. My skin is ablaze, my heart is going ninety, and my very bones are on fire.
“Are you sure you want to do this now? I mean, aren’t you tired?”
I must be the biggest idiot in the world for saying this, but among all the wonderful, giddy feelings that are making me float in the clouds, there’s also fear. This is a big step for us; I can sense the mating bond magic getting stronger. We’re about to seal the deal. There won’t be any going back from this.
“You’re nervous,” he says.
“I don’t mean to be.”
“It’s okay. I’m nervous too. I never thought I’d ever feel this way about anyone, Rora. I didn’t think love was in the cards for me, and I was fine with that. But you came along and it was game over for me. I didn’t know what was missing from my long life until you showed me.”
“Is that the bond talking?”
“No,” he answers in a soft breath. “The bond makes me crazy for you, but there’s something apart, a small spark that’s all me. I love you, bond or not.”
Maybe it’s all the stress that accumulated in the last twenty-four hours, but instead of throwing myself into his arms, I break down in a torrid current of ugly sobs. I step away, covering my face with my hands.
“Rora, why are you crying?” He turns me around, pulling me into a hug.
I melt against him without reservations, without fear of hurting him. An enormous sense of peace and security wraps over me. I’ve had to be strong for so long that I forgot what it’s like to feel protected. I realize in that moment what Saxon means to me.
“I love you too, Sax. And you want to know how I know?” I lift my face to his, getting lost in his eyes.
“How?”
“It will sound crazy, and we haven’t really spent that much time together, but when I’m with you I feel free. You’re the only one who has ever seen the real me, my vulnerable side, and that’s okay. You’re home