Page 47 of Urn My Love

“Don’t you dare try to heal me,” I growled. “I will heal with time, and you need to save your energy and rest.”

“But that has to hurt!” She tried to pull her hands free, but I refused to let go, needing her to know I wasn’t going to back down on this.

Jazriel sighed and pushed to his feet. “Allow me.” Smoke curled around his fingers and circled my skin.

“I would’ve healed,” I pointed out, uncomfortable accepting his help, even if I did appreciate the pain disappearing.

Jazriel shrugged. “Yeah, you would. But it’s upsetting our mate. She wants you to look pretty, since you’re far more delicate than her.”

His eyes glinted with anger, then he blinked and it was gone. “You have a lot to learn about our mate. So let’s start with this: make her cry again, and I won’t be anywhere near as understanding and patient as I’ve been thus far.”

Dropping his hand from my shoulder, he sat back down on the bed, this time beside Iolani.

As I stared into her big blue eyes, the memory of seeing her in the middle of the scorched earth with bullet holes in her skin, still trying to protect Jazriel’s fallen body as the wind screamed and an unseen monster lacerated her skin, was a sight I’d relive in my nightmares for centuries to come.

She’d refused to give up, even as I’d listened to the slowing of her heartbeat.

“Why didn’t you trust me enough to tell me?” I dropped to my knees in front of her. “I never would have left your side.”

Iolani brushed her fingers through my hair. “It wasn’t about trust, August. I knew you would be willing to face any monster for me, because you’d consider it your duty.

“But I didn’t want you to be with me out of some misguided notion of honor and obligation. I wanted you to be there because you wanted me,” she whispered, brushing her fingers along my stubbled jaw.

Iolani thinks you claimed her because the pull of the mate bond forced you to, Jazriel spoke in my mind. Now set the freaking record straight so she can be happy and you two can finish claiming each other.

“Iolani, I resisted the pull of the mate bond. It was uncomfortable and mildly irritating, but I could have kept resisting it. A bond is a sign of a good match, and it encourages our beasts to mate and mark. Have I been rock hard every day since I saw you on Xerxes’ lawn? Yes. I’m wildly attracted to you, and you are the first woman to cause me to experience lust. But I could resist that.”

Her lips were parted, and she barely breathed as she listened.

“It was you I couldn’t resist. It was your laughter I woke up wanting to hear. It was the joy you find in everything around you and the kindness you show to both humans and animals. It was the adventure of hours spent trail riding with you, never knowing what waited for us around the next bend.

“It was falling asleep with you next to me, and waking to find you covering me with your wing because you wanted me to be comfortable. I fell more in love with you every single day. I want to make love to you until you can’t walk straight and Jazriel would have to carry you everywhere. But that’s not because of the pull of the bond, and it’s not why I begged for you to accept me as your mate last night.”

“It’s not?” Iolani asked.

“No, it’s because I can’t imagine a single day of my life that doesn’t have you in it. I want your heart.”

“August.” Tears streamed down her face.

“I’m asking again. Iolani, will you claim me and mark me as yours?”

Her answer was to throw herself into my arms, toppling us backward onto the floor.

August held me against his chest, laughing softly. He’d dropped the walls he used to hide behind, and instead of looking away, he held eye contact. My heart melted as he let me see everything he felt for me.

After our partial bond last night, I’d been able to pick up part of his thoughts and finally understood why he’d been so determined to leave. This man, who thought he couldn’t show me love, had so much love in his eyes it stole my breath.

Last night, he’d protected not only my body, but Jazriel’s because it mattered to me. Not once had he winced, groaned, or shown any sign of the damage being done to his back. He’d kissed me like we were the only two there, and all the while he’d been taking the blows meant for me.

Then he’d managed to get the three of us back to the lodge and guarded us all day, ignoring his need to rest and heal.

For a man who didn’t think he could love me enough, he’d shown a depth of devotion and love beyond my wildest dreams.

August cupped my face, his touch slightly hesitant. Was that because he worried I was weak and needed to rest? Or was he afraid of moving too fast and pushing me away?

“So what’s next, my beautiful bluebird?” His hand was so large it covered half my face, and he easily brushed his thumb across my bottom lip. “I want to make sure I’m part of the team, and that I’m there when you need me.”

“You were there when I needed you. Just like you were when the cliff collapsed, and when the bear tried to eat me, and when the moose tap-danced on me.” Darting out my tongue, I licked his thumb, enjoying the flare of his nostrils and the rumble in his chest that such a simple touch caused.

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