Page 46 of Wonder
I went to bed late, but I couldn’t sleep. How long would Reno allow us to keep our bond after Marcas and Roibeart were dead? Would he want to have sex when we completed the bond? I wanted to make love to Reno more than anything, but it might not be the best idea. I’d know what I was missing after the bond was gone.
Part of me wanted to rage at the universe for only giving me a taste of what happiness could be like, especially after I’d given up everything to stay on Earth and track theluchd-òl folafor almost half my life. But Reno had needs too, and they weren’t conducive to a proper mating.
I didn’t fall asleep for hours.
I woke up to the clink of dishes in the kitchen. Slowly, both from being tired and from halfway dreading hearing Reno’s decision, I took a shower and put on some jeans and a t-shirt. When I couldn’t delay any longer, I went out into the living room. “Good morning, everyone.” They were all in the kitchen, so I made my way over to the coffee maker. I met Reno’s eyes, and he gave me a grim head shake. No vision then. Fuck.
My hand trembled as I set the coffee mug down on the table. What had he decided?
I managed to choke down some eggs and toast. After breakfast, Jackson took Nicky outside. They set him up on one of the Adirondack chairs in the middle of the backyard, and Nicky threw Tucker’s softball in Jackson’s general direction while Jackson swung the bat at it.
Reno finished putting the dishes in the dishwasher and sat down next to me at the table. “I didn’t have a vision.”
I nodded and clenched my fingers around the coffee mug. “What did you decide?”
He gazed out into the backyard. “Hunter security guards or not, Nicky’s in danger every second those vampires are out there.”
“So you want to complete the bond?” My stomach was clenched tight.
Reno’s eyes were serious, resolved. But he was still blocking our connection. “I think we have to.”
“And you want it to be temporary.” I didn’t make it a question.
His eyes skittered away, looking first at the kitchen, then down at the tabletop. He took a breath and met my gaze. “I don’t want to give you false hope. I want to go into this with the intention of it being temporary. But Shane—” He ran one hand up and down over the opposite forearm. “Shane said once we were mated, I might not be able to go through with severing the bond.”
I felt like I was getting thrown around on an amusement park ride, but I wasn’t having any fun. “And you’re okay with possibly being permanently mated?”
He cringed a little. “I’m open to the possibility that my feelings on the topic might change.” He grimaced. “Which I know isn’t fair to you at all.”
Reno’s phone buzzed with an incoming text, and he flinched. The Wonders wanted answers. And then there was Nicky, who’d be in danger until Marcas and Roibeart were dead.
I pressed my palms against the tabletop and closed my eyes. I could sit on this for a few minutes, but I already knew I was going to do it. I was going to bond with Reno even though he might ask me to sever it later. And if he stayed mated with me, I’d always wonder if he regretted it.
I must’ve been a fucking masochist.
Or I was in love with my mate.
I opened my eyes. “Let’s do it.” I glanced outside at Jackson and Nicky. “Can Tucker come over and hang out with them while we’re, uh, busy?”
Reno’s cheeks flushed. We hadn’t discussed sex yet. I wouldn’t pressure him, but my cock was highly aware it might happen.
“Yeah, I’ll call him.” He picked up his phone and I went out to the backyard to wait.
Tucker breezed in forty-five minutes later, bringing donuts and coffee. “I figured Nicky’s probably never had a donut.” He carefully didn’t comment on what Reno and I were about to do, just went out to the backyard. Nicky was basking in the sun with his eyes closed while Jackson attempted to kick a soccer ball.
Reno cleared his throat. “Uh, my bedroom?”
I gestured for him to lead the way. My heart was pounding. I hadn't been in his bedroom yet. The walls were painted a dusty blue that gave the whole room a feeling of being safe in a romantic cocoon. When I shut the door behind us, I managed to ask the big question. “Did you want to have sex, or you know we can bond without it, right?”
His cheeks went even ruddier than they’d been earlier. “I kind of assumed we would? Have sex, I mean. But if you don’t want to, that’s fine, I?—”
I put my hand on his cheek. Our magics sparkled together. “If I only get to have you for a short time, I want it all. But I need to warn you that vampires bite during mating. I’ll take a little of your blood.”
His eyes dilated, and his heartbeat sped up. “Will it hurt?”
“Only for a second. Then it’ll feel amazing.” I eased closer, not wanting to spook him. “Can you unblock the connection?”
“Oh, shit. Sorry.” He released his block, and I felt a surge of stress, terror, lust, and hope.
