Page 144 of Ulune's Daughter

I pin her against the wall. “My mate, you’re missing nothing.”

“You’re biased,” she says, nipping my chin.

“True. What feels amiss?”

She looks up at me, chewing on her lower lip. “There’s a connection. The cup. Isla Cedros. Sleep. Dreams. The Mists. Something I’m missing. What am I forgetting?”

I rub my nose against hers. When I feel her relax against me, I widen the gesture, rubbing my cheek and jaw over the silky planes of her face. “You intoxicate me. Your scent. Your skin. Your touch. I wish I could answer your every question, but I suspect you’d grow bored if you didn’t figure it out yourself. Let it simmer tonight. Eat with me. Drink with me. Lie with me and let me pleasure you. The answer may await you in the morning.”

She slides her hands down my back, cupping the long muscle, squeezing when she comes to my ass. “Yes to all of that. Just let me make a phone call first.”

I kiss her, take her lower lip between my teeth and tug. I dig my fangs in until I taste copper. Her pupils dilate as she curls her lip back in and sucks on the little wounds.

“I should say no,” I tell her, pressing my lower body against hers. “I should demand your attention. Your passion has held you captive all day; it’s my time. But I won’t. I know your questing mind won’t rest. Make your call then give yourself to your mate for the night.”

She purses her lips, showing the little red punctures on her lower lip. “Is that you being generous or?—?”

“Or?”

“Is that you teasing me for being preoccupied by people who died a thousand years ago and ignoring the flesh-and-blood man right in front of me?”

“Both.”

“Cait?”

“Cait.”

She smiles, a smile that contains no teasing. A smile that opens a cavern in my chest with how much emotion is in that simple gesture. I’ve seen hundreds of my mate’s smiles. This is different.

This smile saysI love you, even if she’s never said the words.

“I love you, too.” I give her another nipping kiss. “Make your call.”

“Don’t, um, go anywhere. I mean, hold that thought.”

“I’m not going anywhere, my mate.”

She pushes up against me, gives me a hard kiss, then ducks under my arm to retrieve her phone.

I don’t pretend not to listen to her conversation. She crawls into our bed and props the phone on a pillow. I climb in and spoon her, drawing her robe over my legs to enjoy the tactile sensation of the downy trim. She reaches back and curls her hand over my bare hip.

“Kells,” the woman on the other end of the call answers. “You heard?”

“Heard? Uh, no. What?”

“Evan’s being released tomorrow. It’s happened so fast. We thought he’d be out for Yule, then the Capricorn Guild stepped in. Sommat about one of their artifacts and a murder. They’ve requested Darwin collect him from Karkarus tomorrow.”

“Mother’s mercy, Teddy. Is Rach there?”

“Uh-huh, I’ll get her.”

There’s a short silence and then a voice I recognize squeals into the phone, “Kells!”

I fondly remember the hot-pink-haired Darkswerd. She sounds very excited and I can’t help but smile at her enthusiasm.

“Rach! You counting the minutes?”

“Girl, you don’t even know!”

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