“Exactly how long ago are we talking here?” Gustavo looked to be in his mid-twenties, but Anna knew he was probably much olderthanthat.
“A few centuries,” he saidcasually.
“Oh, is that all?” Anna asked dryly. The crooked smile was back and she wondered how many women had fallen prey to it. This made her wonder about his own experiences with theoppositesex.
“And whataboutyou?”
“Me?” he asked, a small frown replacing thesmile.
“Yes, you. Any girlfriends? I mean, after three centuries, there has to have been someone, or multiple someones, who you’vecaredfor.”
“Has no one explained to you what it means to be true mates?” he asked. “How intimate and deep thebondis?”
“Peri and Sally talked to usaboutit.”
“They must not have done an adequate job.” He grumbled and said a few words in Spanish that sounded less thancomplimentary.
“What does that have to do with anything?” She picked her own blade of grass and began to play with it, just to give her hands something to do. For some reason, the thought of him with other women really bothered her. Like,reallybothered her. Why? She hadn’t known him. She hadn’t even known he existed, let alone that he was essentially hersoulmate.
“It has everything to do with it,” he said. “Most of the males of our race wait for their true mate. They do not date, as humans do. They do not have casual sexual relationships. They do not touch any other that isn’ttheirmate.”
“Most?” she couldn’t helpbutask.
“There are exceptions to almost every rule. There have been males who’ve strayed before they met their mates. Though the ones I know that did regretted it greatly once they’d finally found their mates. It hurt their females. The females of our race are guarded, protected fiercely. Any male showing interest in a female that wasn’t his own mate, or any human showing interest, would bedealtwith.”
“Killed?” Her eyeswidened.
“Not necessarily. But sometimes.” He reached over and took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers so that her hand rested on the back of his. “In all the centuries of my life, I have never been tempted to stray.” Gustavo’s dark brown eyes began to glow and his teeth appeared a bit larger. “Even if I had, my wolf would not have allowed it,” he continued. “I have dreamed of the day I would meet you. I have longed for you as a drowning man longs for air. And had I not met you in this century, I would have continued to wait for you intothenext.”
“You’ve never kissedanyone?”
He chuckled. “I just expressed my undying devotion to you, and that’s what you gleaned from mydeclaration?”
She shrugged. “You thought it was strange that I”—she pointed to herself—“an eighteen year old, hadn’t kissed anyone. I think it’s a little more bizarre that a man, as handsome as you, centuries old, hasn’t kissedanyone.”
He bowed his head slightly. “I concede,Criña,you are right. To a human, it would seembizarre.”
“So you’ve never found another womanattractive?”
“Not in the way that you mean. I notice if a woman is beautiful, of course, but I’ve never desired any of them. And even if I had, that desire would have paled in comparison to the desire I haveforyou.”
Anna’s mouth dropped open. What was she supposed to say to that? No guy had ever even been interested in her, let alone declared his desire for her. How did she feel about that? Shouldn’t she be a bit freaked out? Maybe, but his words were so sincere, and the way he looked at her, as if she was the most incredible thing he’d ever seen, made her feel so veryspecial.
“You are very special,” he said as he ran a finger down her jaw, her neck, stopping on the spot where her neck merged into hershoulder.
“Are you listening to my thoughts?” She was trying, and failing, not to lean into his touch, but it felt so good and soright.
“Sometimes, your thoughtsareloud.”
His finger was making small circles on the spot of skin at the bottom of her neck, and Anna was sure that if she was able, she would have purred like a contented cat. “Do you have a thing for necks?” The words were out before she could censureherself.
“I have a thing foryourneck and this spot inparticular.”
“Whythatspot?”
“This,mí amõr, will be where you will bearmymark.”
Her eyes popped open. “That’s the biting part,isn’tit?”
