Mia touches my arm. “Believe that if you want. But if you’re a blood match—”
“He hasn’t drunk my blood,” I say abruptly.
They share another look. I hate how they keep doing that. Like they know something I don’t. Which I guess they do.
“He doesn’t have to,” says Rowan. “Although, once he does, you’ll be hooked. Bonded till death.”
“That’s exactly what I’m worried about!” My voice rises sharply.
“Oh, so somethinghashappened.” Mia looks smug.
“I knew it.” Rowan grins.
I pull away from them and stalk across the deck, finding a lounger and slumping into it.
“So maybe something happened, but that’s not the point. It meant nothing. A mistake in a moment of weakness, and I’ll probably regret it forever because—”
Footsteps interrupt me.
I snap my mouth shut as Marcus, Darick, and Soren approach. Marcus’s eyes lock with mine, and my stomach does a traitorous flip. Of course he heard what I just said. Vampire hearing. And our…connection.
I lock the mental walls back into place and force myself to look away, but my body betrays me. Heat crawls up my neck asmemories of the bathroom flood back – steam on skin, his hands in my hair, that first explosive kiss. The way his fangs grazed my neck…
Stop it! This is exactly what you were just ranting about.
“Ladies,” Darick says smoothly, moving to Rowan’s side. “Beautiful night for a moonlit stroll.”
The irony of his comment doesn’t escape me. It’s not a beautiful night for anything aside from saving our people.
Soren wraps an arm around Mia, who melts into him like they weren’t mortal enemies a few months ago. It makes my skin itch, this easy acceptance of what we’re becoming. What I’m fighting so hard against.
I feel Marcus’s presence like a physical weight, though he hasn’t moved closer. His thoughts brush against mine – concern, hurt, confusion. I focus harder on keeping him out, refusing to let him in.
“We should go inside,” I announce, standing abruptly. “It’s getting cold.”
It’s not. The night is perfectly warm, and everyone knows it. But I need to escape before I do something stupid like apologize. Or worse, kiss him again.
“Kara.” Marcus’s voice is low, meant just for me.
I shake my head, keeping my eyes fixed on the deck. “Don’t.”
The surge of emotion I feel from him – frustration tinged with something deeper, something that makes my chest ache – nearly breaks my resolve. But I can’t let this happen. I won’t become dependent on a vampire, no matter how good it feels when he’s near.
Even if my magic sings at his proximity. Even if my body remembers every touch like it was branded into my skin.
Even if my heart—
No.
I straighten my spine and walk past him, ignoring the electricity that sparks between us when our shoulders brush.
The deck falls silent as Darick’s phone rings. He glances at the screen, then at Rowan before answering.
“Lake?” His voice is tense. I watch his expression darken as he listens, his jaw tightening. “When?” Another pause. “Understood. We’ll handle it.”
My stomach drops at his tone. Whatever Dad’s telling him, it’s not good.
“What is it?” Rowan asks as he ends the call.
