He opened his mouth to protest; no one hadevertold him what he could and couldn’t do, not even Ronan, but the words died as Killean recalled the look on her face after he fed on the woman from housekeeping. Simone hadn’t been his mate then, but she’d radiated a fury he hadn’t expected from her.
She was his mate when he fed on that woman earlier, and he recalled her displeasure with him afterward. He hadn’t liked watching her bite Andre, and that had been an attack. If the roles were reversed and he had to stand by and watch her feeding on a man, he would shred the man in a fit of jealousy. He felt like the moron she’d accused him of being for not seeing earlier that such a thing bothered her. He was over four hundred years old, and he was clueless about so many things, especially women.
“I’m sorry. I never meant to upset you. I didn't think when I fed on that woman earlier; it was an impulse I couldn’t control, and I’m not used to being out of control.” He despised admitting this, but Simone already knew exactly how close to unraveling he was. “It won’t happen again unless it’s necessary to protect you.”
“I understand what you are, Killean. Understand you’re stuck somewhere in the middle of being what you once were and this new creature who’s not entirely Savage but certainly isn’t merciful.”
“Make no mistake, Simone, I was never merciful.”
“Maybe not,” she said. “But you were never purposely cruel to those you fed on either.”
“I am now. It is something I try to keep suppressed, but sometimes it slips free like it did with that woman earlier. You would be better off with Ronan and the others.”
“I’m better off with you, and that’s final.”
Physically stronger, he could force her back to Ronan’s, but what good would it do him? She’d hate him if he did, and being bound to a mate who despised him for the rest of their lives sounded like the worst kind of fate. “Simone—”
“This is not a negotiation, Killean. I accept everything about you, and we willnotbe separated.”
Before he could reply, she stomped past him and into the bathroom where she slammed the door behind her. Never in her life had she slammed a door, but it felt good. Simone found herself smiling as she stepped in front of the mirror to wash her face and regain some of her composure.
When she emerged, Killean sat on the edge of the bed looking a little shell-shocked. She would have felt sorry for him if she wasn’t still annoyed with him. It must be difficult for a vamp of Killean’s age to adapt to anything new, and Killean had given up the existence he’d known for centuries with Ronan, become someone he wasn’t quite sure of, and acquired a mate all within a week’s time.
He’d also expected her to be more of a pushover, but then, so had she.
Lifting his head, his golden eyes locked on hers as he held his hand out to her. “Come here.”
Simone hesitated; she longed to take his hand, but she didn’t want him thinking she was giving into him.
“We’ll stay together,” he said. “For as long as we can, but there might come a time when youhaveto go somewhere safer, and you’ll go because if something happens to you, Simone…”
His voice trailed off as the possibility of losing her threatened to choke him. He’d never wanted a mate, and certainly not one who was a hunter, but now that he had her, he would do anything to keep her, even if it meant she ended up hating him at some point. For now, he could give her the assurance they wouldn’t be separated.
Some of Simone’s resistance melted, and she took his hand; he pulled her forward until she stood between his legs. Taking her other hand, he clasped them both behind her back and smiled at her. The last of her irritation melted when that breathtaking smile lit his eyes.
“To tell the truth, I’m glad you don’t like me feeding on other women,” he said.
Simone was uncertain how to take that when his eyes were gleaming mischievously. “Why?”
He kept her wrists clasped behind her with one hand while he rested his palm on her hip and gave her a small shake. “Because it means I make you as crazy as you make me.”
Simone grinned at him and tugged one hand free to brush back a strand of dark brown hair falling across his forehead. Her fingers lingered on his temple before sliding down to trace his scar. He stiffened a little but didn’t knock her hand away, and though the smile slid from his lips, his eyes still twinkled.
“You drive me insane,” she told him.
“You have to be a little insane to be with me,” he murmured as he clasped his thighs against her sides and his hand rested on her ass.
“I agree. I was perfectly poised, well-mannered, and rational before you, but you make me throw out all my training in an instant.”
“I like you ill-mannered and ill-tempered,” he teased.
“You’re incorrigible.” Simone’s fingers stilled on his cheek when his smile returned.
“Come now, dear hunter, you know I much prefer you wild and improper; I think you prefer yourself that way too.”
“I do,” she admitted to him, and to herself. “I really do.”
Releasing her wrists, Killean rose in one fluid motion to stand before her. Simone would have taken a step back from the abrupt movement, but his hand cupping her butt kept her from doing so.
