“Doing what?” she asks, though she knows.
“Looking at me like you need me.”
She steps closer. No hesitation in her words. “I do. More than anything.”
Something in my chest tightens. “Resonance.” It comes out a soft rumble, tickling her fingers.
“I’m afraid of something,” I murmur, eyes locked on her. “That I want you so wildly, so violently I could hurt you.”
She shakes her head, a small smile curving her mouth. “Never.”
I study her for a long moment. “How can you be sure?”
“Because of the bond. Our oneness now. And you forget,” she says with a chuckle. “That want you’re feeling? That desperation is mine, too.”
My hand slides to her waist, pulling her in. Slow. Deliberate.
“You know what this means,” I say, voice low.
Her breath catches slightly. But she doesn’t pull away.
“Yeah,” she whispers.
I lean down, my forehead resting against hers.
“I don’t run anymore,” I tell her.
“Good,” she breathes. “Because I’m not letting you.”
A low sound rumbles in my chest. Not warning or restraint. Something else entirely.
My mouth finds hers, slow and deep.
Her fingers curl into the collar of my shirt, pulling me hard against her. We devour each other, thoughts merging until I can’t tell which of the two of us is hungrier… or naughtier.
When we break, heavy pants mixing with the chirps of crickets and cicadas and the distant lowing of cattle, she asks, “Can youactuallyread my mind?”
I chuckle, thrown off by her question. “Why do you ask?” I press her hand against the thud of my heart.
“Because for me, it’s all feeling, sensation. But sometimes, I have the impression you’re getting more.”
I take her mouth again, can’t stay away. Lost in bliss that doubles back on itself. Exploring her, exploring me.
I hold her gaze when we have to breathe again, answering, “First-generation Wildbloods are feared for their psychic abilities. Especially among other Wildbloods. My grandma thought that came from the original Sentinels. But for me, with you, it’s emotions mixed with thought forms when I concentrate very hard. Or it’s very quiet like tonight.”
“And this?” she asks, pressing wicked plans into my head. Faint images, anticipation that hums up and down my spine.
“Mmm,” I say. “Out here? Beneath these stars?” My voice drops to gravel. “Tied up?”
She giggles. “You’re good at this.”
I shake my head, pulse racing, blood heated. “Need practice. Rusty when it comes to humans.”
“And how about when it comes to your mate?”
That last word lands hard. Puts a dangerous sting behind my eyes.
“Kael?” she asks, blinking slowly.
