“Kylie,” he says quietly as he brushes his lips against mine, “you underestimate what I’m capable of when it comes to you.” He leans back to meet my eyes, and he drags his thumb slowly across my lower lip. “I don’t hurt people without reason.” He slides his hand to my neck, fingers resting over my pulse. “But you’re not a reason.” His voice drops. “You’re the line.”
“And if someone crosses the line?”
“I’d kill them.”
His teeth graze across the skin of my neck, and my pulse jumps in anticipation.
“Do it,” I whisper and wrap my legs around his waist, forcing his cock inside me by shifting my hips. I’m already so wet that he slides in easily.
And then he sinks his teeth into my neck. The bite isn’t painful, though. It’s fire. It’s ecstasy. It’s heat rushing through my veins and exploding in my chest.
He starts to thrust inside me, each drive of his hips backed by power and hunger and strength. He pushes himself as deep as he can go, stretching me to my limits, and his mouth sucks at my neck, taking drop after drop of my blood.
I feel so much pleasure I can’t contain my moans or panting breaths.
No restraint, Rook feeds on me. Fucks me. And feeds some more.
And all I feel is heat. Our bond. And the unwavering certainty that there is no world in which we untangle from each other now.
I can’t live in a world without him.
Rook
Kylie sits barefoot on a kitchen chair. Her hair rests on her shoulders in adorable, messy waves, and she’s wearing one of my shirts like it belongs to her.
She takes a bite of eggs and hums, eyes closing in appreciation. “Okay,” she says. “This is unfair. You shouldn’t be able to cook this good when you don’t even eat the freaking food.”
I smile and walk over to put a freshly cooked piece of bacon on her plate. “And just think, you haven’t even tried the bacon.”
She takes a bite, and a little moan escapes her lips. “Totally unfair, Rook.”
Sunlight slips through the cabin windows in pale gold bands, catching on the edge of the table and the cast-iron pan on the stove. Mornings out here in our wilderness cabin are quiet in a way that only makes you feel peace.
Before Kylie, I would often come here by myself just to feel something. Before her, before our bond, I didn’t feel much of anything besides annoyance. Irritation. And a lot of times, total apathy.
But she’s changed all of it. Turned my world on its fucking head. She makes me feel like I’m finallyliving.
“Baby, I think you’re looking at it the wrong way.” I toss a wink at her over my shoulder. “I mean, you have your own personal vampire chef now.”
“Yeah, okay.” I look over my shoulder to find her grinning around a mouthful of eggs. “Maybe it’s not so unfair.”
I laugh, and I can’t stop myself from walking back over to her and leaning down to press a kiss to her lips. She tastes like coffee and salt and morning, and the feeling that rolls through me is so intense it may as well be a living, breathing entity.
I’d burn the world for her without hesitation.
There’s no undoing what we’ve done. When fated mates consummate, it locks. It binds. It’s permanent. The elites can’t breed her now. They can’t even use her blood for pleasure or power or strength.
If they’d try to drink from her, they’d risk their own death.
The past few days, Kane and Cal have been rotating watch and moving in the shadows. They stayed local to listen and track and try to gauge retaliation.
To the elites, I took something that didn’t belong to me. And worse—I made sure it can never belong to them.
Last update Cal gave me was yesterday evening. He said he’s definitely heard shit—threats, posturing—but there are no actual plan in place yet.
But to me, that doesn’t mean safety. The elites won’t just forget about this. Not a fucking chance. Right now, they’re calculating. They’re figuring out their next move.
Bottom line, they want me dead. And they probably want Cal and Kane dead too.
