Page 20 of In the Dark

Kelvin managed to keep his laughter inside. He loved this side of his mate. “We’re mates –”

“Tell me something you haven’t said a hundred times already.”

“I would if you stopped interrupting me.” Key pursed his lips, then waved him on. “Thank you. We’re mates. You are it for me.”

“Are you it for me too?”

“I… no. You could find a man and have a life with him.”

“But you can’t.” Key smiled widely. “I hold all those cards.”

“Mates never cheat. Mates don’t go looking elsewhere for satisfaction because they get it from the one person they have mated to. As your mate, it would be my honor to take care of you as I have been. You’ve felt my presence because of who we are to each other. Even now, when I’m telling you this, you know deep down that I’m speaking the truth. You can feel it. Take earlier when we kissed. You pushed me away before kissing me back because your body knows who I am to you. I would never hurt you, cheat on you, leave you. You are the most important person in my life. Always. That’s why I’m here night after night, making sure you get home safely.”

“Didn’t work out so well last night, did it?” Key touched his bruised cheek.

“I got here in time and saved you, but yes, I was delayed by my job.”

“What is your job?”

“I guess you would call it security, but I’m an enforcer of sorts. I enforce the laws and make sure no one breaks them, but I watch Maxim’s lot as well and try to keep humans safe from harm. It was how I found you. I was following a vampire and saw you, and I knew.”

“Just like that.”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

Key nodded. “How did that make you feel? I’m human and you said you have laws that say we can’t do what you want to.”

“I was ecstatic to have found you,” Kelvin murmured. He sat next to Key on the sofa, pleased when Key didn’t move away. “Then I realized what it meant, but I vowed to always make sure you were happy and safe. Even if that meant that it was with someone other than me.”

“That must have been hard to accept,” Key murmured.

“It’s the way things have been for a long time now. We had to do it so humans could be safe.”

“But we’re not, are we? You said this Maxim and his gang still hunt us.”

“And when caught face they punishment for it.”

“What’s the punishment? Can’t be too bad if they still do it.”

Kelvin leaned back on the sofa and looked at Key. “The punishment is usually a long prison sentence or in severe cases, death.”

Key’s eyebrows shot up, causing Kelvin to give him a small smile. “Death?”

“Yeah, and they still do it. They don’t care about you, or the laws, or anything. They are a law to themselves and do whatever they want. Some days… it’s hard to keep going out.”

“Trying to stop them? You do it every night?”

“It’s a job like yours. I have days off.” Kelvin watched as Key looked away and sat up. He slowly reached out and touched theback of Key’s hand, and was surprised when Key turned his hand over and twined their fingers together.

“Don’t read anything into it. Still don’t want you to drop fang on me.”

Snorting, Kelvin asked, “Can we have sex, though?”

“Oh yeah. Sex is okay.”

“Good to know. Now?”

Key chuckled and gripped Kelvin’s hand. “In a rush?”

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