“Because I’m so happy.”
Okay, then.
And she was talking again. “It also means if one of us dies first, then the other would follow unless one of us severs the mate bond.”
A smile started, the elation within stealing the air in his lungs. He could actually pinpoint her warmth and happiness in him, mingling with his own. He had to take several deep breaths just to speak. “I feel you, Ely, my heart. In here—” He gently rubbed his fingers over the bullet scar on his chest. “This…” He swallowed. “I never expected, and I’m eternally grateful for these symbionts allowing me this joy of soul-joining with you.”
He kissed her gently. “How do you feel? The fever? Your powers?”
Her brow creased as if taking stock of herself. “My powers no longer storm within me. The heat’s gone. I feel good. Great, actually!” She sighed, her relief a happy sound.
It still hurt his heart at just how much she suffered and risked to save him. Tenderness for his mate consumed him.
Nate tucked back the loose, short strands of her messed-up hair. “Yeah, that’s likely from the mating urge demons usually get when they find their other halves. We did taste each other’s blood come to think of it. It probably affected you with the mating fever.” And hehadbeen rebirthed as a demon. “But the wraconis symbiont I housed not only prevented me from making love to you properly, it also blocked my own mating fever.”
“Well, whatever it was, the Black couldn’t compete with our attraction to each other,” she retorted. “Stars, I’m so glad it’s over—”
An eerie sensation swept through him, like nails scraping his psyche, and Nate stilled.
Ely went motionless under him, too.
They weren’t alone.
“Someone’s here, and it’s not the guys,” she whispered, her copper eyes narrowing.
Nate hadn’t met them all, but he trusted her senses. He moved off her, regretting the loss of her warm body. “Wait here.”
Her snort echoed behind him as he strode outside to the deck.
This female of his, always making a point. But she was his, and he washerprotector. However, he knew better than to say so.
Nate scanned his new surroundings. The freshness of pine, conifer, and all things green, snowy, and earthy seeped into his senses…and a hint of fading incense merged with something bitter like citrus…
Ely bypassed him, the towel he’d discarded earlier wrapped around her. She glanced down at the pier. “Whoever it was disappeared.”
“I know.” He joined her at the railing, taking in the quiet quay and the massive sailboat gently bobbing on the undulating water. “It’s not a scent I recognize.”
Her brow creased as she sniffed. “I smelled this before…at the garage!” She spun to him, eyes wide. “You need to warn Aba, just in case.”
Damn. “I lost my cell.”
“Use mine.” Her phone appeared in her hand, and she handed it over. When he saw Aba’s name on her contact list, he exhaled in relief.
His sire answered on the first ring. “Ely?”
“It’s me. Someone followed us to the boathouse.”
“Demon?”
“No…” Nate rubbed his whiskered jaw. “Ely said she’d smelled the odor of er, incense, and…bitter citrus.” Ely nodded, confirming what he’d smelled, too. “At the garage recently.”
“I’ll take care of it. You and Ely take your rest.” He rang off.
Nate was so on board with that, not the resting part just yet, but another round of devouring his mate. He handed her the cell, and she rolled her gorgeous eyes. “You know I can sense your emotions, right?”
His mouth twitched in amusement. “Are you saying you don’t want all of this?” He drawled the words, waving a hand over his naked self.
She choked out a laugh.
