Page 50 of Protecting His Vampire Mate

His voice sounded wrong to my ears, all thick and halting, like each word was harder and harder for him to get out.

Bryan’s eyes snapped open, and I saw that they were wet with unshed tears. His jaw tightened. “Please leave, Tobias,” he said thickly. “Please? I don’t want you to see me like this.”

“Whatever it is, you can tell me. I promise. We’ll handle it.” I paused, eyeing him. “You’re upset but not surprised.”

“I’ve seen her.” He sucked in a breath. “Teresa.”

“Teresa,” I repeated, not getting it. Then my eyes widened as understanding crashed through me. “Wait. Teresa Dames? The first person—”

“That I murdered? Yeah. Her.” He paused. “I saw her at the house. When I drew all the manifesting sigils. With everything that’s happened, I haven’t really given it much thought. But it makes sense. I mean, I killed her. Why wouldn’t she haunt me?”

“You didn’t end her life. Giles did.”

Bryan just shook his head, dragging in another breath he didn’t need. When he blinked, tears spilled over. “Fuck. And now I’m crying in front of you.”

“Look, we can deal with this. If she’s really hanging around, I can find out. And then it’ll be a simple fix. I can just banish her for you. Problem solved.”

“No! Absolutely not! She deserves whatever measure of revenge she can get. And I’ve just seen her once. Hell, I might’ve imagined it.”

I pursed my lips. “What if she escalates? What if she turns malevolent?”

“Promise me that you’ll leave her alone. I’m fine, I swear.”

I didn’t want to make any such promise, but I couldn’t help myself. “Fine. But the moment you say the words, I’ll send her packing.”

“She’s been through enough because of me. If she wants to haunt me, she can go right ahead.”

I scowled at that but didn’t have it in me to argue.

Yet.

Instead, I said, “Ella is a jerk. She shouldn’t have used her powers on you like that, without asking. It wasn’t cool. If you want, I’ll go back into the shop and turn her into a toad for you.” I paused, then added, unwillingly, “And, if you really want me to leave right now, I will.”

“It’s not her,” Bryan said, shaking his head. “And I’m actually not one hundred percent sure I want you to leave.”

“You say that like it’s such a bad thing.”

“Because it is. It’s a selfish thing. It’s a really fucking selfish thing for me to not push you away, Tobias.” He locked eyes with me. “Because I don’t really want you to go anywhere, but this still can’t happen. I can’t be yours. Not really. And that’s not fair to you.”

“Maybe I don’t want fair,” I said, coming to stand right in front of him. “Maybe I just want you to be okay. And if my being here makes you feel even a little more okay, then I’m not going anywhere. Not until you tell me to.”

“Can you just…” He trailed off, then looked up, meeting my gaze. His fangs were gone now, and he seemed so fragile that it triggered all of my protective impulses. I’d fight a thousand evil spirits for him if he’d asked me to.

“Anything,” I breathed.

“Can you just hold me again? Please? It feels like it’s the only fucking thing that helps.”

He looked so raw and open, perhaps for the very first time since I’d laid eyes on him, that my heart gave a little lurch in my chest. He was my mate, even if he wouldn’t admit what that meant, and I couldn’t deny him anything.

I didn’t want to deny him anything, ever.

I put my arms around him, noticing the way that his body, smaller and more compact than mine, but still firm and solid, fit against me perfectly. He laid his head down against my chest and I held him to me, wishing with all I had that I could shield him from anything and everything that might want to hurt him. Strangely enough, the feeling of him against me, the rightness of it, like he’d always belonged there, settled some anxiety I hadn’t even realized I was carrying, like some secret and hidden part of me had been knotted up with tension for my entire life and now could finally relax.

“You always smell so good,” he whispered. “Like cinnamon and nutmeg.”

“Wait,” I smiled down at him, amused. “Are you saying I smell like a pumpkin pie?”

He was quiet for a very long moment. Then, finally, he spoke. “No, Tobias. You smell like home.”

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