She sat up slowly, realizing he’d taken her onto his lap, but stayed within his arms. “What happened?”
He gave her a lopsided grin that couldn’t quite mask the tension still buzzing beneath his skin. But he pushed a strand of hair away from her face, and her attention was back to him. “Long story short? You passed out right after I told you we’re fated. Out cold. Which, okay, wasn’t the grand romantic reaction I was aiming for, but I’ll take overwhelming surprise over running shoes any day.”
“What? Running? How could I... run?”
He shrugged, casual on the outside, but she didn’t buy it. Not now that she felt the faint, echoing hum of him, like a space their souls shared where nothing could be hidden. And he was scared, even as he shrugged again. “You lock yourself up and swallow the key,” he said easily. “You can accept this thing. Or not. Your choice. But if you’re in, really in, then there’s no going back.”
She thought about it. About walking away, shutting the door, returning to the safe, sane life she’d been clawing together. One without him. And just the idea of it left a hollowness inside her so vast it swallowed the air and crushed her. Not just her heart. Her soul. She could never. Actually, she could, but she didn’twantto.
Because he was right for her. And safe. And hers. And there wasn’t going to be a version of her again without him in it. Ever.
So she closed her eyes, reached inward to find that delicate thread, still trembling, still barely there, and let it drift toward her like a butterfly across a blue sky.
And then she accepted him in like the breath her soul had been holding forever.
And by God, he flooded her.
His thoughts, his fears, the aching shadows of his loneliness. His brilliant, wild, and terrifyingly gentle love. It was so real it made her heart ache, so true it felt like it had always been there, just waiting for her to open the door.
She gave herself to it, to him, wondering how she’d ever survived without this. And for once, she thanked every awful thing that had happened to her, every scar and every tear, for leading her to this moment. To him.
I love you.
His voice drifted in her, clear as if he’d spoken out loud.
She opened her eyes, tilting her head to adjust to that extra channel.I love you, his voice said again. But his lips hadn’t moved. “I’m hearing you,” she said.
You are.
“But you’re not talking.”
I’m in you, sweetheart, and you’re in me. One soul in two bodies. We don’t need anything else.
So many things she could say, ask. Wrestle and negotiate a reality that seemed so far-fetched for her, no matter how magic was part of everyone’s life. In the end, in her heart, there was only one thing. “I’m yours.”
He brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers.And I’m yours.
Slowly, tentatively, she made way into his waiting arms and snuggled into him, sighing in peace when he surrounded her.She closed her eyes. There. Home.I think I love you,she said through the bond,regardless of this thing.
His answer came through with all of his swagger.I know you do.
Ass. But she chuckled.
Sure. But I’m your ass now.
The slow swipe of his hand on her back relaxed her, and the strong beat of his heart lulled her into deep relaxation. She could, literally, stay like this forever. “I think I’ll have to talk to Amelia at some point.” She raised her head to look at him. “She and Dorian are mates. They were talking into each other’s minds, right?”
“They are, and they were, yes.”
She rested her head on him again. “Okay.”
The whole day crashed down at once, starting with the chaos in the library, followed by Dorian’s grim arrival, the blackout episode, and then the mind-bending reveal that she was someone’s fated mate.
It was exhilarating. It was terrifying. And it was so, so much.
Take a nap, sweetheart. You earned it.
It was so soothing, having him inside of her so deeply. “You can never lie to me again,” she mumbled.
