“I don’t know. But I figure it’s worth exploring, don’t you?”
His gaze dropped to her mouth. He remembered how good she tasted, how perfectly she’d fit against him when he’d kissed her that first time in his room. Two days ago. That was all it had been, but it felt like a millennium.
“I won’t lie,” she stated. “I haven’t been saving myself for anyone. But in that same regard, I’ve never encountered a male I wanted the way I want you. I don’t know what that means, but I know we’ll never know if you keep pushing me away.”
Heaven help him.
“I don’t want to push you away,” he said, his voice so low he wondered if he’d merely thought the words.
“Then don’t.” She placed her hands on his chest.
He covered them with his own, continuing to hold her stare. “Forgive me, Briony.”
“There’s nothing to forgive.”
But there was. So much. He wouldn’t be an easy male for her, he knew. He was highly sexual, his needs intense. It was a character trait unique to vampires. She deserved better than that, but the bonded side of him wasn’t capable of releasing her. The mere thought of another male touching her, kissing her… It was enough to make him mental.
Easing down to his knees, he peered up at her. “Forgive me, Briony.” He knew he’d said it once, but he couldn’t move forward until she accepted it.
Her soft, cool hands cupped his face, her eyes glittering. “There’s nothing to forgive,” she repeated. “But if that’s what you need, then yes, I forgive you.”
Mirakel leaned forward, his arms moving around her, holding her as he pressed his face to her abdomen.
“I never want to hurt you. But I fear I will.”
Her arms curled around his head. “I’m far stronger than you give me credit for, Mirakel. Perhaps you should give me the chance to show you that.”
Yes. A chance.
He wanted that.
With all that he was.
“Mirakel?”
“Hmm?” He pulled back, looked up at her.
“Let’s explore this together. Just the two of us.”
“I’m going to want more than you can give.”
Her smile was radiant. “You don’t know that.”
Oh, he knew, all right.
How else did he explain every other person in his life abandoning him? He’d never been wanted before, and he’d learned over the centuries not to get his hopes up.
As much as he wanted to think otherwise, he found it difficult to believe now would be any different.
Chapter Twenty-Six
A movie.
That was what was on the agenda come morning.
Which meant Bijou simply needed to get through the next eight hours and she was home free.
Of course, being immersed in the middle of the chaos known as the training center wasn’t exactly how she’d hoped to spend her evening, but when Huracan had asked her to stop in to meet the new recruits, she hadn’t been able to refuse.
