“If she’ll bond with you,” her mother helpfully supplied. “Zia, can you really trust this man with your magic? What if this is a mistake?”
She felt Harlan stiffen.Shit.
Zia rubbed her eyes to avoid looking at both him and her mother.“Anne,”she said, firm despite the annoying prickle of tears behind her eyelids. “I am a grown woman. Who I do or do not bond with is my business. Who Imarryis my business. I love you, but you are overreacting to this news. Harlan is my partner now. You will accept it.”
Great,she thought, wincing,now I’m giving orders, too.
“At least let the family meet him before you do anything hasty,” her mother begged. “We just need to know you’re in a good place,gülüm.”
Sighing, Zia opened her eyes to gauge Harlan’s expression. It was, of course, perfectly inscrutable. He’d thrown up the mask as soon as her mother brought up bonding, making it impossible for her to tell how he felt about going to visit her family.
Well, since he’s being unhelpful…She squared her shoulders and announced, “We’ll come down and visit for Moonrise,Anne.”
“But Zia, that’s only a ni—”
“Talk to you later! Love you!” She swiped her finger over the screen and then plucked her phone out of Harlan’s hand.
Gods, that really couldn’t have gone any worse.
Feeling self-conscious for the first time in weeks, Zia stood up from the couch and swept her dishes from the coffee table. “I’ll be in the kitchen,” she muttered, beating a hasty retreat.
She was loading up the super advanced, ten minute dishwasher Harlan had installed just for her when she felt his heat radiate along her spine. The bites decorating her body, all in various stages of healing, gave a deep throb of welcome.
Harlan’s heavy hands settled on her waist. His voice was a dark rumble through her back when he asked, “What is this about bonding, Zia?”
She braced her palms against the cool marble of the kitchen counter and lowered her head. A deep sigh filled the silence.
Eventually, she said, “I’m sure you’ve heard of witchbonds.”
His hands tightened on her waist. “Of course. I just didn’t realize you needed one.”
The unspoken accusation hung in the air between them.Why didn’t you tell me?
It hurt her to think that she hurthim.That was never her intention. Harlan had been hurt enough by life. He didn’t need his anchor doing the same.
Forcing herself to turn around and meet his dark, wounded gaze squarely, she explained, “It’s not because I don’t trust you, or that I don’twantto bond with you. I just… didn’t know how to bring it up. It’s such a personal, permanent thing, and it wasn’t pressing, so I just thought I could put it off until I absolutely had to.”
Harlan’s jaw ticked. Slowly, he moved his hands up to cup the sides of her neck. His thumbs stroked down over fading bites. “Witch, yousustainme. Do you not think I would kill for the honor of doing the same for you?”
Zia’s lip wobbled. “Harlan… I know you would. I’m just— I think a part of me is still a little bit in shock that you want me. I keep kind of waiting for a punchline, or to wake up and realize I drank a bunch of cold medicine before bed.” She swallowed thickly. “I keep waiting for it to end.”
“That will pass.” It was an order from a man utterly unwilling to compromise. His grip tightened infinitesimally on the sides of her neck. “You will bond with me, Zia. You will tie yourself to me like I’ve tied myself to you. Iwillfeel your magic in my veins. I swear I feel it reaching for me every time I’m with you, but I didn’t know—” He cut himself off.
Harlan sucked in a deep breath through his nose before he rasped, “Don’t deny us what we both clearly want.”
Gods, how could she still, after months of dating, still find this man’s commandscharming?
Zia leaned forward to rest her forehead on his shoulder. “Rightnow?”
His arms curled around her. The heat of his body was soothing, his scent familiar and luscious. He crushed her to his chest and rumbled, “When you’re ready, I will be open to the bond. Any time, any day. But if I had a choice, I’d like it to be sooner rather than later.”
“I love you,” she whispered, anxiety slowly melting into nothing but mist.
Harlan sighed, long and low. “My Zia, all my love is yours. Youownme.”
She peeked up at him through her lashes. “Even after I said we’d go visit my family for the holiday?”
The smile came back. It was wry and small and just barely crinkled the crow’s feet around his eyes, but it was still heartstopping. “Yes,gülüm,”he teased, using her mother’s nickname for her.My rose.“I love you only a tiny fraction less than I did yesterday.”
