Page 79 of Love Bites Hard

The kind of love where I could feel safe.

Where I didn’t feel alone anymore.

I didn’t know how to create it… but I wanted it.

“I’m going to swim with the fae tonight,” Clementine said, lifting her voice as she forced cheer back into her tone. Clem was a professional at pretending to be okay until she actuallyfeltokay. Or until she managed to convince herself that she did. “I’ve never been around them much, so I’m excited to see what they’re like.”

“While glittering like a disco ball? They’ll know exactly what you are, Clem. You might as well put a sign on your head that says, ‘MATE ME’.”

She laughed. “One of Hale’s strongest guards agreed to pretend to be my mate for the night. He won’t let go of me, so I’ll be safe. We were going to draw mate marks on our necks with sharpies. Now, he’s the only one who will have to do it.” She gestured to the glitter covering her neck. “I can’t see your mark at all.”

“You’re insane,” I said, lifting my hand to my throat.

It was weird to think that my mark was completely hidden, but I didn’t think Porter would particularly care.

“We said the same thing about you.”

Avery broke the water and swam over to us. Her dark hair hung around her face, and she lifted herself up onto the side of the pool to pull it up in a bun on top of her head. “What are we talking about?”

“Clem’s dragon king,” I said.

Avery sighed. “Please tell me you talked her out of it.”

Clementine made a sound of protest, though she was grinning. “She didn’t have to. I’m not mating with the dragon king. I want a mate, but I’m notthatdesperate.”

“There are so many vampires you could mate with, Clem. If you keep going to the events and game nights, you’ll eventually hit it off with one of them,” Avery said.

“Theoretically,” she agreed.

“You don’t sound convinced,” I said.

“I’mnotconvinced. I’m tired of being alone.”

“Don’t we count for anything?” Avery asked.

“Of course you do. But at the end of the day, I don’t crawl into bed with you guys. I don’t get to have as much hot sex with you as I want—and that was not a suggestion that I want that, by the way. I love you, but having a mate would be different.”

She wasn’t wrong.

Itwasdifferent.

Because I had a mate, I had a partner that I was stuck with for the rest of my life, for better or worse. It had been for worse, but itwasgetting better.

“If you keep going on dates and meeting new people, it’ll happen eventually,” Avery promised, taking her hand. “And if it happens with someone who isn’t a king, that will be better anyway. No offense, Izzy.”

“None taken. There would be much less of a power struggle if you mated with a normal person.”

“Alright, fine, I’ll keep dating vampires. But Iamgoing to swim with the fae tonight. That’s not negotiable.”

Avery shot me a worried look.

“I’ll stay close to her,” I promised. “I’m sure Porter will be there, too.”

“See?” Clementine gestured to me. “That’swhat I want.”

Avery caught her hand and squeezed it. “You’ll find it when the time is right.”

Personally, I thought she was a little insane for wanting what I had in the moment. But it didn’t seem like anything was going to convince her of that, so I didn’t bother repeating myself.

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