Page 80 of Bite of Passage
He rested his head in the hollow of her neck.
“I’m so tired of all the other things.Chasing evil.Don’t know why I continue.”He whispered the words into the peace of her stillness.With her he didn’t feel alone.
“I’m afraid this world needs you to be the one to handle those evils, but you don’t have to do everything by yourself.I don’t know how to be helpful to you in those situations, but I learn fast.You can teach me.”She framed his head with her hands and tilted up his head to place kisses along his lips and jaw but hovered above his neck.
“I don’t want you exposed to the kind of vile creatures I fight,” he said.
“I’ve seen some pretty awful things.I’m still me.”
“You might not be after seeing what these being do.It changes you.”
“How about we not stress about that right now?”She unbuttoned his shirt and kissed along his muscles to the nipple ring, which she took into her mouth.Small jolts shot through him with each tug and press.“How much time do we have before those big windows fry us?”she asked.
“Not enough.”
She eyed the small space.“How about a rain check?”
“A what?”
“A delay until sunset.”
He nodded and stepped into the small space first.She backed in, tripped, and landed on him.
“Oof,” he grunted.
“Sorry.”
He shifted her onto his chest, angling her so that her mouth hit his jugular.
He breathed in her scent, florals and something erotic.He met her reddened, dilated eyes.Most people found the red-hued sclera terrifying.To him, it was sexy as hell.
“Take it.I know you want it.”He leaned back, pulling her with him.With a tilt of his head, he further exposed the vein in his neck.It was all he had to give her.
She kissed his neck.“I think I’m starting to be in seriouslike-like of you.I’m not saying it only because you’re offering me what I want more than…almost anything.I think I prefer sex to biting.”
“Not sure whatlike-like means.”
“It means I don’t just like you, Ilikeyou.”
“Infatuation?”
She nodded against his neck.
He chuckled.“Sweetheart, you were infatuated when you spit your drink down your shirt the first time I spoke to you.”
“Perhaps.One glimpse of your naked ass and I was a goner.It’s the most perfect ass in existence.”She attempted to touch him, but her hand wouldn’t fit past his pelvic bone.“I’m not bringing out the big L word.One hint of love and you’ll probably develop hives and get weird.”
Emotion welled up so strong inside him he could barely breathe.Love.What did it mean?That she owned his soul?That he was trapped?That wasn’t what he felt for her.There wasn’t a word seemed right for these emotions.She was a light in his darkness, and at the same time a turbulent storm upsetting the tranquility he’d created for himself.He wanted to figure out what it was she needed most and then provide it for her.If this vast emotion was love, then he hadn’t been prepared for it.
“You have nothing to say back?This is awkward.Do you think you could love me someday?Maybelike-like me?”In the darkness, her hands roamed his face and she finally rested her face against his chest.“I can feel the emotions pumping from you, almost to the point of smelling them.How’s that possible?There’s fear and something else—close to happiness, but not quite the same.”
“For now, I’m giving you all I can.”
ChapterThirty-Three
When they arrivedat the inn after their second night of rainy travel, Skarde handed the horse off to a stable keeper.He and Gemma ran through the rain to the back door, but it was bolted.As they dashed to the front door, dread built inside him.
The initial entry into any dwelling where humans congregated sucked.
