The brush of his lips against hers causedher heart to jump. He didn’t deepen the kiss but sat back and slidhis fingers into hers. “The man you first saw in that bar is gone.If you decide you’ll stay with me, then I’ll be with you, andonlyyou, for an eternity. If you decide to leave me, therestill won’t ever be anyone else for me again. You’re everything tome.”
She didn’t know how to respond, not when hewas staring at her with such reverence and need. “You barely knowme,” she whispered.
“I know enough. We haven’t gone far in ourrelationship; I could let you go if you chose to walk away fromme.” He wasn’t sure he could let her go, but he couldn’t tell herthat. She had to make this choice on her own. And if she did decideto walk away, he would let her, even if it destroyed him. Herhappiness is all he wanted. “But I will always be there to makesure you’re protected.”
“I can’t stand the thought of you being hurtby anyone, and he will keep coming for me. If I leave he’ll followme.”
The flash of red that ran through his eyescaused her breath to inhale sharply. “So will I,” he grated.
“I don’t want you to be hurt because ofme.”
“I could have killed twenty of them today; Iwillnotbe hurt. Don’t ever worry about that, and don’tleave me because that’s what you fear. If you chose to leave me doso because it’s what you want, but know that I am here willinglyand will not go anywhere until this vampire is dead.”
Paige nodded, but she couldn’t shake thelingering doubt and fear that she would be the cause of his demise.She’d be broken if anything happened to him, she realized. “Whatexactly has to be done to complete the mate bond?” sheinquired.
“Sex.” The way he said the word caused thehair on her nape to raise and a shiver to go through her. “Blood.You’d have to become a vampire.”
The heat seeping through her body was dousedby those words. Her mouth dropped, she closed it again, before itfell once more. Ian braced himself for her rejection, for herrecoil, or shouts of denial. She remained stunned into silence. Hereyes drifted down to their laced hands; he thought she would jerkaway from him, but her fingers stayed entwined with his. He couldhear the rapid beat of her heart, see the pulse vibrating in herneck. Her scent intensified as she continued to stare at theirhands before finally looking at him again.
“That’s such a huge commitment. It meanscertain death.Mydeath.”
“I know.”
“I barely know you.” And yet he was the onlyperson in the past four years who had shown her any kindness. He’drisked his life for her, before he’d believed her to be his mate.He’d protected her and cared for her; he’d listened to her and goneout of his way for her. He was the best man she’d ever met, and hewanted to spend an eternity with her. In some ways it all soundedso wonderful, yet she couldn’t shake her lingering fear and doubt.“What if you’re wrong?”
He rested his forehead against hers. “I’mnot. If we ever completed the bond you would never have anotherdoubt about what I feel for you, and you would know how much I loveyou, all of the time.”
A breath escaped her at his ‘I loveyou’. “The bond would make it so you could sense my thoughts,my feelings, and we’d be able to communicate with each otherwithout saying a word out loud,” he continued as if he hadn’t justcompletely rocked her world. “You’d never doubt how I feel for you,ever.”
Helovedher? She leaned closer tohim, unable to ignore the lure of him, the physical pull he hadover her. Was it love? She didn’t know the answer to that question,she kept telling herself she hadn’t known him long enough for it tobe love, but she’d definitely never felt this way about someonebefore. She cared about him so much that when he’d mentioned herbecoming a vampire, it hadn’t sent her screaming out of here likeit would have two weeks ago.
“Does becoming a vampire hurt?” sheasked.
His eyes flew over her face. She hadn’t saidno and she hadn’t completely denied him. She still sat beside himand hadn’t screamed at him that she would never become a vampire.“I’ve been told it’s exceptionally painful,” he admitted. “But it’sover quick.”
Her thumb caressed the back of his hand asshe contemplated his words. “I’m not sure about drinkingblood…”
“You’ll only ever have to feed from me. Iwill keep you nourished.”
How was it possible that he somehow madedrinking blood sound tempting, or at leasthisblood? Shelooked at the vein in his neck, was she actually considering this?She shook her head, but it didn’t clear her of the troublingthoughts filling her mind. “I see. I… uh… I need some time tothink.”
“I know.” He leaned forward and pressed atender kiss against her forehead. “But you have to know what youmean to me, and there’snothingI won’t do for you. If youdecide to walk away from me, I’ll let you go, but if you decide tobe with me, it’s irrevocable. It’s an intense bond that can neverbe broken and I want it with you, more than anything.”
She lifted her head to brush her lips overhis. A sigh of pleasure escaped her when the heat of his mouthseared into her. An eternity with this man sounded like a littlebit of heaven to her lonely soul. She may have only known him for ashort time, but he’d become the most important man in her life.
He pulled away from her reluctantly. “If youdon’t mind, I should probably take a shower.” He glanced pointedlyat the blood still staining his skin and clothing.
“Oh yeah.”
“Are you still going to be here when I getout or am I going to have to hunt you down again?”
She folded her hands in her lap and liftedher head to look up at him. A million witty retorts went throughher mind, but in the end she responded with the simple truth. “Ihave nowhere to go.”
He stood, torn between washing the blood offof himself or comforting her. She looked so lost and confused. Apart of her world, something she’d believed strongly in, had beentaken away from her today and he didn’t know how to make it anybetter for her. “The hunters aren’t bad either. They simply have itwrong,” he told her.
“What is it they have wrong?”
“Like I’ve told you, we’re not all monsters.They don’t realize that just as you didn’t. The ones of us who arekillers should be stopped, the rest of us only want peace and to bewith our families.”
