Page 17 of The Vampire's Mate

“Ryder…” He attempted to scold me, but his admonishment trailed off into laughter.

“Okay, okay.” I combed through his hair and he all but purred. “So, Angel is a literal angel.”

“He is.”

“Did you know?”

“The moment I laid eyes on him. I’ve only seen an angel once before, but marks like his are very distinct.”

“You mean his tattoos?”

James nodded against my belly. “That’s how the marks manifest to humans. Adaptive camouflage—it helps him blend in.”

I gnawed on the inside of my cheek. Questions flickered through my mind like pictures in a View-Master. I was dying to know more about Angel, but that wasn’t the most important thing at hand. I gulped, trying to focus on the strands of hair running through my fingers instead of the invisible weight on my chest.

“Do I have a choice?” As much as I tried to swallow my fear, the tremble in my voice betrayed me. James looked at me, and I could see he was every bit as scared as I was. I sighed in relief when he bobbed his head—even if his pretty eyes did turn sad.

“You do,” he said softly. “It’ll be painful for both of us, but you can reject the bond.”

“Painful how? Would it mean we can’t be together at all?”

“No, but…” He paused to think. “It’ll be like leaving the house knowing you have everything you need, yet you still feel like you’ve forgotten something—only you can’t go back to get it.”

“That sounds infuriating.”

James winced. “I’ve heard of some people going mad over a rejected bond.”

The corner of my lip twitched. “Well, we can’t have you going mad, can we?”

I had to give it to him: he could hide his emotions well. But a flicker of hope flashed across his eyes. “That was easier than I thought.”

“What if I do? Accept it, I mean. Is there a whole thing? Do we have to get married? Because?—”

He interrupted my spiraling by grabbing my hand and dusting a kiss across my knuckles. “Breathe, love. We don’t have to do anything more than what we’re doing right now. Accepting the bond is as simple as acknowledging what fate has chosen for us.”

“That’s it?”

“Our connection will grow stronger. We’ll feel each other’s pain, each other’s emotions. You’ll be accepting that you’re the only one for me, and I’m the only one for you—forever.”

My brow furrowed. “This is more curiosity talking than anything, but there’s only ever one mate? For everyone?”

James shifted, crawling up the bed to sit next to me, his hand finding mine once more. “Multiples are possible—but I’ve only ever heard stories about them.”

I let James play with my fingers, his thumb brushing each nail before moving onto the next. “How did Luke know?”

“Kian’s brother? If he and Dani were half as competent as they claimed to be, they must have known about our marks. When you…” James trailed off, the memory of me and Luke being intimate together too much for him to bear.

“You don’t have to say it.”

“He likely saw your mark. It’s shaped too perfectly. Anyone in tune with the supernatural could identify it. That, coupled with the fact something likely felt… odd about it, probably tipped him off.”

“Are you saying I’m bad in bed?”

James laughed, that true laugh that brought out the swirl of red in his deep eyes. My stomach fluttered, but I tamped that down. Ryder Clark didn’t dobutterflies.

“No, love. That’s not what I’m saying at all.” James rose onto one knee, slotting his leg between mine and leaning in until our lips brushed. He latched onto a thick handful of hair until he pulled a gasp out of me. “I’m sure you were more than satisfying. Butthis,” he slipped his free hand under my shirt, feathering touches over my pebbling skin. I squirmed, pressure building between my legs, “this breathtaking, electrifying feeling? That’s reserved just forus.”

James slanted his mouth against mine, swallowing any hope I had of responding. He dropped his jaw and I moaned as our tongues clashed together. With his t-shirt clenched in my fists, I poured everything I had into that kiss. The temperature rose; my breathing grew ragged. I tugged on his shirt, desperate to remove the pesky fabric between us.

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