Page 76 of Immortal By Morning
“Yes,” he said simply, and then turned to head out of the kitchen, barking, “Make sure we have everything we brought with us, boys, and let’s get moving. If we are quick, we can make it home before dawn.” Pausing at the doorway, he swung back to spear Cassius with a look. “I presume you are staying to help Detective Roberts out until Crispin gets the worst of this new life mate business out of his system?”
“Yes,” Cassius said at once. “I already discussed it with Alexander and he is fine with that.”
“Good,” Lucian said abruptly and then glanced from Abril to Crispin and announced, “I expect an invitation to the wedding.”
He was out of the room before Abril could grab something to throw at him. The man was just—
“We shall be in Abril’s room,” Crispin announced, catching her hand and tugging her in the same direction Lucian and the others had just gone. Obviously by room, he meant the guest bedroom she’d been using and not her office, she thought wryly.
“That’s fine,” Cassius called after them. “We will take care of getting the contractors back here to resume the work on the addition.”
“And we’ll handle Lilith too until you surface,” Roberts added reassuringly. “You two go on. You have a lot to talk about.”
Abril highly doubted it was talking Crispin was interested in. She fully expected him to have her naked on the bed before the door had finished closing behind them. So, she was a little surprised when instead, he urged her into the room, pushed her toward the top of the bed, closed the bedroom door and then simply leaned back against it, as far as he could get away from her while still in the same room.
Confused, she tilted her head and eyed him in question. “Is there something wron—?”
“Have you really decided to be my life mate?” he asked solemnly.
Abril hesitated.
“Was Lucian wrong?” he asked sounding amazed at the possibility.
“He wasn’t wrong,” she said and when he started forward, said quickly, “But he wasn’t right either.”
Crispin stopped abruptly, just steps away. His eyes narrowed. “I do not understand.”
Abril heaved out a sigh and then said with some exasperation, “Well, neither do I. I mean what is a life mate? I want to agree to be yours, but how can I when I don’t know what that entails?”
Crispin was frowning now. “Abril, I explained that a life mate is someone we cannot read or control, who cannot read or control us. Someone we can—”
“Live in peace with yada yada yada,” Abril said impatiently. “So basically, a human tranquilizer.”
Crispin arched one eyebrow, his lips twitching. “If you feel like a human tranquilizer for me, then I have been doing something wrong in the bedroom... and the pool room... and your office... and—”
“Crispin,” she interrupted with exasperation, “What does being a life matemean? What would be expected of me? Is it like a wife? Would we marry? Or would I be a walking blood bag for you to feed off of when you felt hungry? What?”
He relaxed suddenly, a gentle smile pulling at hislips and then closed the distance between them. Taking her hands gently in his, he said, “A life mate is very much like a wife, but it is an unbreakable bond.”
She frowned slightly. “Unbreakable? Like no divorce?”
“Unbreakable like the bond will never break and the passion will never die,” he explained. “I, of course, would be very pleased to marry you with a proper wedding, but whether we marry or not, we will always be life mates, no matter where we are.” He fell silent for a minute to let that sink in and then said, “And you will never be a walking blood bag to me. Immortals sometimes will bite their mortal lovers if both parties agree, but once both parties are immortal that just cannot happen. It is too dangerous. The nanos will not mix and blend. The original nanos see the new nanos as an invading force they must remove and a battle will take place in the body that can kill the host.”
“Really?” she asked with surprise.
“Yes,” he assured her.
Abril was silent for a minute, and then cleared her throat and said, “You saidonce both parties are immortal. Does that mean...?”
When she couldn’t give voice to what she really wanted to know, he said solemnly, “It is customary for an immortal to use their one turn for their life mate so that they may live out their long lives together. I would wish to turn you.”
Abril winced at the very idea and admitted, “I really don’t like needles and I’m not a big fan of pain either. In fact, I’m kind of a wuss about stuff like that. I don’t know if I could—” She shook her head, and then said, “And it’s such a big commitment to makewhen we’ve only known each other for a matter of days. What if—”
Crispin silenced her with a kiss. Abril thought it was terribly unfair of him to do that, for all of ten seconds and then she was kissing him back, all her worries and fears pushed out of her head by the passion he stirred to life in her.
Breaking their kiss a moment later, Crispin pulled back and began to undo the blouse she’d donned when she’d given up trying to sleep this morning as he said, “I will not rush you. We can take our time. I wish to woo you anyway, and we will do nothing until you are comfortable.”
Giving up on her buttons, he reached down to slip his hand under the skirt she’d put on that morning, purely because it was so convenient for moments like this. Though, she wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone.
