Her breath catches. “Permanent how?”
“There’s no walking away from it,” I say. “No undoing it. No pretending it didn’t happen. We’ll be connected forever. We’ll be together forever.” My hand moves to the back of her neck, holding her there gently. “You and I will basically be one, baby. No takebacks. No detours. It’ll be you and me for life. And you’ll live a long life, at that. Much longer than a normal human would.”
Her lips part like she’s about to say something, but I do my best to make sure she understands what a fated mate bond truly means. That she knows what she’s signing up for if she gives me all of herself.
“I know you’re a virgin, baby,” I whisper. “And that’s why this will be such a powerful thing. It’s why if we cross that line tonight, you and I will be bound. Completely.”
She studies my face for a moment, but then something softens in her expression. “I’ve tried to fight this since the moment you took me,” she says quietly. Her fingers slide up my chest again, resting over my heart. “But I can’t.” She takes a slow breath. “I’m always thinking about you,” she admits, and her words hit me square in the chest.
But she keeps going. “I always want to be near you. Even when I was angry at you, even when I thought you were some crazy psycho who ruined my life… I still wanted you close. I still only felt safe when I was by your side.”
Her eyes shine in the dim light of the room.
“Kane, when you’re not there, it feels wrong. Like something’s missing. Like I’m only half a person. And when you touch me…”she continues softly, “everything else…stops. I just want you. I only want you.”
For a second, I can’t speak. Every word she just said echoes something inside me that I’ve been carrying alone. She’s giving me everything I’ve been desperate for, and I honestly wasn’t sure if I would ever get anything from her.
I wasn’t sure if she’d hate me forever.
“The moment I laid eyes on you, my entire fucking world shifted. Like everything I was before suddenly had a direction. Like you were my compass and purpose and home.” I brush my knuckles along her cheek. “It’s why I took you.”
Her breath catches.
“It’s why I killed for you.”
Her hand tightens against my chest.
“And it’s why I’ll do anything for you.”
The room goes still.
“You’re mine. And I’m yours. And if we take the next step…” I pause, making sure she hears every word. “…there’s no going back.”
She studies me for a long moment.
Then she moves closer.
She slides her hands up my chest and around my neck. “I don’t want to go back,” she whispers, and then she brushes her lips against mine. “I want you.”
Our connection surges between us, and my restraint cracks.
I pull her back into my arms and kiss her deeply, my hands sliding along her waist as she melts against me.
Every instinct in my body recognizes her.
Mine.
And when she whispers my name again against my lips, I know neither of us is turning back now.
Blair
I’ve never seen a more beautiful sight than Kane naked. His thick muscles look corded as they flex to remove the rest of my clothes, and his big, hard cock juts out from his body like it’s already trying to find a way inside me.
Goodness, I want him inside me.
I haven’t showered. I still have mud on my body, but I don’t fucking care. I just need him. I need him so badly that my entire body aches.
A little moan leaves my lips when he spreads my thighs and kneels between them. His gaze is fixated on my exposed flesh, where I’m already waiting and throbbing for him, and he licks his lips.
