Page 25 of Starstruck with the Krampus

“Oh.” She touches the mark she left on me, sending a shiver through my body. “So it’s permanent?”

I duck my head, focusing on her other hand. Her fingers are so delicate compared to mine, her skin so soft. What the fuck haveIdone tonight?

Regret slams into me. I might be obsessed with her, but I wanted to give Gianna a chance to get used to all of this, to learn of my life and my people’s customs before tying her to me.

“It is,” I admit. “We’ll wear them always. They’ll fade to silver, like scars do, but they won’t ever go away.”

Her small fingers close around my chin, and she tips my face up until I look her in the eyes. Her gaze is serene, her lips tugging up in a sweet smile.

“I like that,” she says. “I like that I’ll have my mark on you.”

I frown at her. “You don’t understand. This is…” I try to find the right words to describe what happened. “To me, this is more serious than a marriage. It’s a life-long bond. I’m sorry I bit you tonight. I should have told you what it meant, too.”

She’s quiet for a long time, then yawns deeply, covering her mouth with her palm. Finally, she snuggles closer to me. “Are you upset because you think I’ll hate it or because you don’t want the bond in the first place?”

I peer down at her, incredulity forcing out some of my regret. “After everything I told you, you still doubt me?”

She purses her lips. “I told you all the same things, and you’ve been in my head for months, and you still doubtme. So. Will you stop moping now?”

I show her all my teeth. “Krampus do not mope.”

“Okay.” She pokes my chest firmly, unafraid. “Could have fooled me.”

I catch her wrist and bring her hand to my mouth to kiss her knuckles. “Brat.” Then I trap her palm against my chest and ask, “So you’re really not bothered by it?”

“Really.” She yawns again. “Now I need some rest before we do this again. I’m human, you know.”

I allow myself to smile. This is my life mate, my future wife, and she’s a demanding, bossy little thing.

CHAPTER 11

GIANNA

Ashaft of sunlight pierces my eyelids, and I groan. Then I try to roll away from the offending brightness but find myself pinned to something hard and warm and fuzzy, and my heart does a happy flip at the realization that this is Dominic and it’s morning, and I’m still in his bed.

I enjoy a moment of pure bliss, remembering everything we did last evening—and at midnight, and at three in the morning, at which point I fell asleep with Dominic still hard inside my pussy because I was too exhausted to stay awake.

The twinge between my legs tells me that I might need a day of rest before we attempt to repeat all of this. But I regret the fact that Dominic’s cock seems to have slipped from me sometime in the night, and not just because of the sticky mess we’ve made.

It turns out that having him inside me is my new favorite thing. And the Krampus might not know this yet, but I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to get my favorite thing, over and over again.

I carefully shift to my back and peer at his handsome sleeping face. Somehow, I don’t think he’ll mind me trying tostay as close as possible. He’d confessed to being obsessed with me, and I love it. How he treats me, how protective he is of me—I don’t mind any of it, and if this is going to be my future, I’m here for it.

It’s a good thing it’s Christmas, so I don’t have to go to work.

Then it hits me.

“Oh, shit!”

I scramble up, reaching for the beautiful, old-fashioned alarm clock on Dominic’s bedside table. But even before my bleary eyes make out the clock hands, I know I’m screwed. It’s the middle of winter in Maine, and the sun is high, which means it’s no longer early morning at all…

Eleven-thirty.

“Shit!”

Beside me, Dominic groans and peers at me blearily, then covers his head and burrows deeper into the pillows until only his horns are sticking out, apparently deciding that I’m in one piece and therefore not in immediate danger.

“Dominic, wakeup!” I shake his muscular shoulder and try not to get distracted by how good his warm skin feels under my palm. “We’re late!”

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