Page 31 of Alpha's Embrace
Before he could cut me off, I said, “They say bonded mates will break down walls to get to each other during the Alpha’s Burn. I don’t know what you feel regarding me and my Burn. But at your next Burn, I think I will feel it.” I was being overly bold now, in all new territory. I spoke from my inner emotions, nothing to do with rational thinking. But to my heart, everything I said was true. “It’s because you touched me. It’s forbidden for a reason. The gloves are there for a reason. I didn’t really believe it until now. Until you touched me. But it made me happy, too, so I don’t think it’s wrong.”
His face flushed. He looked angry or—no—that wasn’t anger. He was mortified. Afraid.
“I have no clue what your Burn will do to me, how it will affect me,” I continued. “That’s why I said I think I’m dying. Because I want you too much.”
Geo got up from his chair so rapidly it rocked back and forth. He would not look at me.
“I do know what I’m feeling, don’t you. What if--” I prodded.
“You are fine.” He interrupted. “You’ll be fine.”
I stood. “If you’re sure, then.” I let my voice trail. “I can’t help but wonder. And if you are wrong, what will happen to me?”
“Nothing. You’re fine, believe me.” His head was lowered, his fists tight at his sides. “You’ll continue with the freedoms I’ve given you. You will be treated fairly and I will make sure you’re safe. I’ll have a meeting with the doctors to discuss a possible field trip for the future. As I said, one step at a time.”
“But Geo. You must know.”
“What?” He sounded slightly impatient.
“I’m not safe. I’m not safe anymore. From you.”
His head swiveled upward. His eyes locked onto me. We stared for several seconds, unmoving. His gaze was fierce and strong and pained all at the same time.
“You need to leave now,” he said through gritted teeth.
“I’m not safe,” I repeated. “From your Burn. We’ll find out, won’t we?”
He shook his head. It was a dismissal. Already he was turning away from me.
“You know I’m right. No matter what, there is something between us.”
But he wouldn’t acknowledge me. He wouldn’t respond.
Only my third meeting with the king, the man I wanted to mate-bond me, and I’d blown it.
Chapter Eight
Geo
I stood before Doctor Prim with my white sleeve rolled up to the elbow as he fastened the tourniquet.
“This is to be kept private,” I said.
“All matters between a doctor and patient are private, sir,” he replied.
“How long before the test is complete?”
“Two days.”
He drew two vials of blood in a matter of seconds. Then he released the tourniquet and pressed a bandage over the small wound.
The lights hurt my eyes. I couldn’t wait to get out of there, go home and take a long hot shower.
Misha. He was all I could think of. He’d said he felt a bond between us. While I, too, could not get him out of my mind, I denied it. He couldn’t be right. He couldn’t.
I’d touched him, but that was all. Could a bond form from just that?
With Sylphs, so little was still known, especially about ones Misha’s age. Adult and sane and with properties none had had a chance to study before, there was nothing to go on but his words, experiences, everything like new. He should have been a lab rat. Instead, he had been stuffed away here at Riverside Colony and long forgotten.
