“One bed,” he muttered.
“Well… we could share?” I offered, the words escaping before I could stop them.
He recoiled as if I’d suggested something obscene. “Absolutely not.”
Heat rushed to my face as I pulled my hand from his. Stupid. I turned away before he could see it.
“Relax,” I said lightly. “I was kidding.”
I wasn’t.
“I’ll take the couch.”
“No,” he said at once. “You take the bed.”
“It’s fine, Abram.” I lifted my bag. “I’m the one imposing. Besides,” I added quietly, “you’ll probably want to save it for your mate.”
I headed back into the living space, letting my eyes roam over the warm, whimsical room.
“Did you build this yourself?” I asked as I grabbed my bag of clothes.
“Yes.” His voice was steady. “I figured my mate would want a home. If she doesn’t like it, I’ll build her another.”
I looked back at him.
He was watching me.
Something tight gathered in my throat. If I had a mate… would they have done something like this? Loved me enough to build a place for me before even knowing my name?
I looked away before the feeling could spill over.
“It’s perfect. I’m sure she’ll love it.” I gave him a small smile.
Jealousy bloomed inside me. I would likely never get this. Jade had made the coven's curse impossible to break. I could fall in love once, and if that man did not choose me back then I would die lonely. Maybe that is why I never gave myself to a man before; I was terrified to fall in love with someone who wouldn’t love me back. No man had been interested in me for more than one date anyway, so I hadn't had any chances.
I had never thought of myself as undesirable. Not really. Not until Abram. He had caught me off guard the moment he appeared all those years ago. Somehow, I had caught him off guard, too. And no matter how hard I tried, the foolish crush refused to fade.
“What are you thinking of?” Abram came up beside me with a hot cup of tea.
I took it and sipped it.
“How nice it would be to have a fated mate,” I confessed. “To love someone and know that they were made to love you back.Maybe if I had that, then I wouldn’t feel so scared to open up to someone.”
Abram stared at me for a long moment.
“It’s not uncommon for queens of witch covens to have a fated mate if they are powerful enough.”
“My coven can’t have mates,” I sighed. His brows pinched together. “When Jade hexed us, that was part of the hex. My mother changed the fate of my father. She tricked him into leaving his real fated mate with a spell. So Jade took away my ability to have a mating bond. It makes it harder to break the coven’s curse.”
He stared at me with confusion. His eyes fell to my chest before looking at his. What was he looking for? His brows pinched in confusion.
“Where is your father?” he asked.
I took a sip of tea to try to keep the lump in my throat at bay.
“When my mother died, her spell broke, and with that my father learned the truth of what she did. He went back to Jade. They are still together.”
“Damn. Are you close?”
