Page 950 of One More Kiss

Odessa

It takesfour days for us to emerge from our mating nest, or so that’s what the guys call it. I don’t think I’ve ever been this tired in my entire existence. Every muscle is sore, my head is pounding, and my skin feels raw to the touch, but I can feel them inside of me, existing like the other half of myself.

I’ve never been in love before, and that’s not what this is. It’s something greater and larger than I could have imagined. It’s everything I’ve wanted in love, but it’s still not enough. The need to leave and heal is greater than the need to stay with them.

“Morning, gorgeous,” Julius says, kissing my head as he passes me by toward the coffeepot.

“Hey, you. How did you sleep?” I ask, tapping my finger on the side of my mug. It’s not filled with blood, and the taste of the potent brew makes me yearn for the life I left behind.

“I missed you, but sleeping in my bed alone was heaven. Fucking Draven snores too much.”

I laugh, thinking about our first night all together. Draven practically vibrated around like a phone on silent.

“Where are the guys?” I ask as he takes his seat in front of me.

“The gym. They texted me before seeing if I wanted to work out. I told them I did plenty of that this weekend.”

His smile is sexy, and it’s taking all of me to not reach over the table and slam my lips onto his. Julius is an attentive lover and if my lady bits weren’t so sore, I’d be taking advantage of that.

“Let’s go see them. I want to talk to you all together,” I say, bringing my mug to the sink and splashing water to rinse it out.

“That doesn’t sound good, Dessa. Is everything okay?”

It’s not, but it also is. So many conflicting things run through my mind. Part of me wants to hide with them for an eternity here, doing nothing but enjoying each other, but the other half — it’s screaming for freedom.

I grab his hand in mind and lead us into the basement where the gym is. Draven is on the treadmill and Theron is lifting weights in front of the mirror. They both stop when they see me towing Julius behind me.

“What’s wrong?” Draven asks, hopping off the treadmill and wiping his face down with a towel. “I can feel you being uneasy through the bond. Something happened?”

Stupid supernatural bond. It can’t hold a secret for nothing. “I want to talk to you about the future and what this all means.”

Draven looks confused, but I can see it dawn on Theron’s face.

“You still want to leave us?” he asks.

“What the fuck?” Draven yells before I have time to say anything.

“Leave? Dessa, tell him he’s wrong,” Julius adds.

I sigh, sitting on one of the weight benches and placing my head in my hands. I’ve waited four days to tell them this, and it still doesn’t seem like enough time. But I need to do it for myself. If I don’t then I’ll never be able to move on.

“I don’t want to leave you. I need to. Understand, this isn’t something I asked for. Yeah, now we’re bonded and the blood lust is gone, but I have to be alone for a while… to heal.”

“Heal?” Theron whispers. His face falls as he crumples to the floor. If he wasn’t a vampire, I’d think he’d be having a fainting spell. It almost makes me smile.

“Time away from you guys will give me a chance to know the new me. Always being around this place, the club, it’s going to make me think of my old life. If we’re going to be together for eternity, I want it to start on our terms and not from curses or bloodlust.”

“We’ll go with you,” Julius says, hands crossed over his chest.

“No, I need to do this alone. I’ll come back, promise.”

“This is bullshit. You’re our mate. We’re not meant to be apart,” Draven says, coming to stand next to me.

Tension rolls off his shoulders as he clenches his hands at his side. I’m not sure whether he wants to scream or break something.

“You’re my mate because of this stupid curse. It wasn’t a choice. And that’s what I’m asking for. A choice to choose you for the rest of my existence.”

My words hang in the air as they all think. I’m bouncing on the edge of my seat by the time Theron answers.

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