She waited for a chuckle or something to indicate he was joking. It didn’t come. “Son of a brick, you’re for real?”
Talbot slid his hand down her arm to her hand. His eyes never left hers as he lifted that hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. Then his tongue darted out and touched her skin, so fast she wondered if she’d imagined it. “Yes,myLittle Flower, I am for real.” He kissed her hand again. “Rest well … My Queen.” Before she shut the door, his voice followed her. “Oh, Rose, what’s your last name?”
“Corra,” she answered. “Rose Corra.” She paused and looked over her shoulder at Talbot. He hadn’t moved from where he’d been standing when he’d kissed her hand. “What will my last name be once we’re mated?” Until now, she hadn’t considered the fact that she’d be giving up her own name. Not that she was particularly fond or overly attached to her father’s last name.
“I don’t have a surname,” he answered, the look in his eyes knowing as he stared at her. “You will simply be Queen Rose,mate of King Talbot. And put even more simply, you will bemine.”
The possessive tone on his lips followed Rose back to her new room, a sweet ache blooming in her heart. She found that she rather liked the idea of being his.
Sitting in one of the chairs, Talbot stared at the closed door to his chambers long after she had retired, warring with himself. Every instinct screamed at him to pursue his mate, to bring her back to the rooms they would soon share as a mated pair. He did not like her being so far from him, out of his immediate protection. It mattered not that they had only met hours ago; she was his, and his beast rattled its cage to claim her fully. Talbot hadn’t attempted to shift to his beast form, despite the fact that he’d met his mate. Though he could feel the animal in him pushing to be set free, he was worried that if he gave the animal control, he’d go straight for Rose and scare her to death. Talbot only held himself back through sheer force of will. Rose did not understand their ways yet. He would honor her modesty until vows were exchanged, no matter how his blood heated for her. There would be time enough for passion later.
Still, as he lay in his empty bed, the scent of her lingered faintly to taunt him. Possessiveness coiled tight in his gut. She was his mate. He should be the one watching over her as she slept, guarding her dreams. Not alone in this cold, barren bed while she was sequestered away in the guest suite at the opposite end of the hall.
He had not anticipated how fiercely the mating bond would take hold almost instantly. He thought he understood when Nico described it, but nothing could have prepared him for the primalurgency sweeping through him. It was as though his long-dormant beast had awoken within, and it recognized Rose as its missing half.
In her eyes, as they had sat close, he had seen the answering echo of that same unsated craving. It pleased the male in him to know she felt the same, though he regretted testing her restraint with his bold touch. He had not been able to stop himself from caressing her soft skin, needing to feel their connection.
Sighing roughly, Talbot shifted in the rumpled sheets. He must master himself, or he’d risk driving her away. Patience had never been his virtue, but he would walk through fire before dishonoring her trust.
Throwing back the covers, Talbot rose from the bed. Perhaps a breath of night air on the balcony would cool his heated blood. Whatever this mating hunger raging through him was, he would leash it until Rose was ready. For her, he would find restraint.
But once she was fully his, as fate decreed, all bets were off. The beast within would finally feast to its contentment. And if the longing in her eyes was any indication, his mate, in time, would welcome its hunger. For now, he would endure this sweet torture. Soon, very soon, the Queen of Venom would surrender to the claiming of her king.Patience, beast. Their time would come.
Chapter Eight
Horny Vampires.
“Why is everything harder at night? Being sick …much worse at night. Fear … more intense when it’s dark. Desire … damn near impossible to ignore when the moon rules the sky.” ~Katy
Katy sighed and shifted on the bed. Her body hurt everywhere, and she was sick of lying down and of feeling so weak. And now Otto was gone. He was going to help keep her best friends safe on their quest, which dulled the sting a little, but she still missed him. He was better entertainment than any show on TV.
She heard the door to the house open and close. The butterflies, which had taken up residency in her stomach since meeting Gage, stirred wildly. She’d discovered that though her life force was tied to the two women and the bond made herweak, the weakness didn’t put a damper on her desire for Gage. The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted to be near him. When he’d left to take Otto to the plane, she’d wanted to cry out after him not to leave her. It was so irrational and ridiculous that she’d forced her lips closed. She could lie and blame it on the supernatural bond between them, but the truth was, she was already crazy about the Dire Wolf. He wasn’t just incredibly handsome. He was noble, bold, a man of good character—even if he was a grumpy ass—and Katy was completely smitten with him.
“Whoa.” His deep voice rumbled as he hurried into their room. “Why are you getting up? You need rest.”
“I also need to pee. Lucky for you, I’m already house broken. Although, leave me for too long and I’m bound to pee in your bed.”
“Our bed,” Gage corrected and scooped her up in his arms as if she weighed nothing at all. He carried her to the bathroom and set her on her feet. “You good?”
“Regardless, you willnotbe staying in here while I use the restroom. In fact, go outside. And go far away.”
Gage frowned. “Why?”
“Because you’re a super-badass Dire Wolf, which means you probably have super-badass hearing, and I don’t want you listening to me pee.” She made a shooing motion with her hands. “There has to be some mystery in a relationship if you want the desire to last.”
Gage’s lips lifted into a crooked smile. “Is that so? And how would you know this?”
“Everyone knows. It’s what they say. Keep the mystery alive.” Katy’s voice rose with each word.
He folded his muscular arms in front of him as he quirked a brow at her. “Who is ‘they?’”
She was about to bust out in the potty dance if this fool didn’t get out of the damn bathroom. “They, they, they.” She waved her hand like a crazy person. “All the relationship experts.” Desperate, she shoved at him. “If you don’t give me some serious supernatural privacy, I’m not going to be responsible for my actions.”
Gage started walking backwards. “Just so you know, I think I’m going to like a little fight with our loving.”
Katy’s mouth dropped open as he laughed and shut the door in her shocked face. “What the actual?” She breathed out. “I’m not touching that. Nope,” she muttered as she took care of her business and then washed her hands. When she opened the door, Gage was stretched out on the bed—his usual black coat, as well as his shirt, nowhere to be seen.
Katy froze in the bathroom doorway, momentarily spellbound by the sight of Gage’s bare chest rising and falling with each breath. Good gracious, the man was carved from granite. Smooth, tanned skin stretched taut over rippling muscles that no amount of workout videos could ever replicate.
