Page 37 of Kidnapped Forced Mate

“Hm…” I hum, my heart racing in my chest. “... Are you any good with a brush?”

When Stryder groans frustratedly, I open my eyes to see him lost in the vortex of a mind link again. When his eyes return to normal, he flips me a feeble smile.

“They’re almost here,” he informs me despondently. Because of his family’s return to the island, we had to cancel our plans to paint on the mountaintop today. That didn’t stop him from devouring me after breakfast, and he would have ravished me in the bathroom if we weren’t interrupted.

Still, I understand that he has obligations he must see to. He kisses me chastely on the lips, then climbs into the shower stall.

I turn back to the mirror to dry my hair, pursing my lips in contemplation. We haven’t discussed what this means for either of us. We’ve grown close in the past two weeks, the passion between us unmatched. But naturally, I’ve been wondering what happens next for us. Is there a future, or will it all come to an end?

“Stryder…?” I call out, keeping my eyes on my reflection.

“Yes?”

“How does a human become immortal?”

He shuts the shower off and tilts his head through the door. “Why do you ask?”

“I’ve just been wondering, that’s all,” I shrug. “You told me about the immortal humans but didn’t tell me how they came to be immortal. Did your brothers have to bite them?”

Stryder chuckles as he exits the shower. “We’re not vampires, Olivia,” he muses while pulling a towel off the stand. “A human becomes immortal when she gives birth to a dragonspirit child.”

“Oh…” I nod. “Good thing I’m on birth control, then,” I giggle nervously.

From behind me, Stryder stares at me warily for a long moment. It’s not something we spoke about, but I’d been on birth control to regulate my hormones since I was twenty-one. I can’t determine if his pause is because of relief or realization.

“We’ll speak about this when I come back,” he finally says. Suddenly, there’s an awkward tension in the air while he dresses in silence and leaves the bedroom we’ve been sharing all week.

I find myself floating toward the balcony, in deep thought, as I wrap my arms across my chest, hugging myself the way I wished to be hugged by Stryder’s arms. What was I expecting, anyway? I’m not even sure. I don’t even know where I stand with Stryder, yet, I find myself falling into a tunnel of the unknown.

What is this feeling, that brings tears to my eyes as I watch a group of dragon shifters flying into the island? They all seem so united, two immortal women being carried in the arms of their dragon shifter lovers. A family, of which I do not belong.

I suddenly feel like an outcast, an outsider in the world of the immortals. I’m just here for my own safety, while having fun with the dragon shifter who’s meant to protect me.

There’s nothing more between us.

Even if I wish there was.

***

Wallowing in my conflicted thoughts, I sniff when there’s a knock on the door.

“Come in!” I call out, swallowing down the lump forming in my throat. After watching the dragon shifters with their immortal human lovers enter the island, I’d felt so highly out of place, that I’d sat perched on the bed for the rest of the afternoon.

Stryder’s need to first greet his family meant he wouldn’t be back until much later. I frown while watching the door as it opens up, surprised when an unfamiliar face pops in.

Though the woman is unfamiliar, she resembles the twins with her sparkling green eyes and strawberry-blonde curls framing her face and swaying just above her shoulders. I gasped in awe of her ethereal beauty, recognizing her from what Stryder described.

His only sister, Kairo Vulkan.

“Hello, Olivia,” she greets cheerfully with a broad, pretty smile that touches her eyes. “May I come in?”

“Of course,” I say, climbing off the bed and smiling through my confusion. I hadn’t been expecting anyone over. “You’re Kairo, right?”

“Yes,” she beams, closing the door gently behind her. “My brother doesn’t know that I’m here. I overheard him telling Draco that you’re on the island. I just had to meet you before you’re stolen by everyone else’s charms.”

My smile widens as she saunters forward and lifts my hands into her own. “Wow! You’re more beautiful than I imagined! Like a life-sized doll.”

I blush profusely when she compliments me, thinking about how Stryder calls me “baby doll.”

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