Eryx inviting me into it is a big, big deal.
A knot forms in my throat as he turns and looks at me. He hasn’t put a shirt on since he’s woken up, and even though his chest is scarred, I can still see the cut of his muscles.
My fingers itch to trace the lines and planes of his chest, to relish the warmth of his skin under my palms.
I remember how he felt when he kissed me—his chest pressed to mine, blood-slicked and desperate. How he tasted. How he demanded I call him beautiful.
I want that again. All of it.
“Chelsea? Are you listening?”
“Yes,” I lie.
His mouth twitches.
“Okay, you caught me. I was distracted.”
“By what?”
“You,” I whisper.
He goes very still.
For a moment we just look at each other, him shirtless and wounded, me in his dream room about to do something that will bond us permanently.
I should be nervous, my stomach flipping.
But I’m not.
This feels like an inevitable next step for us—skip kissing, skip lovemaking and go straight to magical bonding.
Like it’s been from the beginning.
“If it makes you feel better, it’s hard for me to concentrate when you’re in the room, too,” he says.
“Which room?”
“Any room. All of them. But…” He slowly crosses to me, his face barely hiding the pain he’s in. But I don’t stop him. Eryx is strong, and stopping him would only insult him. He pauses when he’s directly in front of me, and he gently tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. “But if I can control myself, then you can, too.”
I meet his eyes. “Challenge accepted.”
His smile is slow, devastating. “Good.”
I feel the heat radiating off his skin, see his pulse flutter at the base of his throat and count his breaths. Everything about this man breathes me to life.
I take a step back to help myself focus. “How do we do this?”
“We’ll join hands, and Nightmare will…transfer.”
“Will it be permanent?”
“That depends on you.” Worry flashes in his eyes, but it’s brief, gone as quickly as it appears. “It’s promised to be on its best behavior.”
“What’s its worst behavior?”
Eryx grimaces. “I’m not answering that. But if it does anything inappropriate, tell me. We’ve had a long discussion about it, and it’s not supposed to touch any part of you that you don’t allow.”
I nod. “Understood…and what will it feel like?”
