Page 85 of Wanted

Her eagerness pulses brightly, like a beacon. The desire to experience something new and pleasurable is almost overwhelming.

It’s as if she’s never felt real pleasure before…

“Come to me,” I command.

I want… no,need, our bond to be fully open.

But I only get confusion from her.

She knew how to open for me, but she doesn’t know how to do it in reverse.

And fuck if I know how to explain it.

I need her to reopen my side of the bond. To drop that fucking wall blocking it off.

But you can’t command someone to do something they don’t know how to do.

I fucking hate not having full access to her. She is my soulmarked and there should be no barriers between us.

But the wall is still blocking off half of our connection.

My half, specifically.

I can feel her, but she can feel nothing from me.

And this will not fucking do.

She needs to know how I feel about her. She needs it so the turning won’t terrify her.

If anything, the long centuries have taught me that patience is not a virtue I possess in abundance.

“Drop your wall,” I order.

“I don’t know how…” she says.

Dammit.

How are we going to get past this?

Not knowing what else to do, I kiss her.

I expect to taste the bitter blood again, but there’s only the vaguest hint it was ever there.

Pulling back, I look at her in confusion.

“What?” she begs, her body shuddering with need.

Holding her back, I say, “Wait.”

“What did I do?” she cries and tries to kiss me again before I stop her.

Turning my head toward Asher, I ask him quickly, “How fast do humans heal?”

Asher frowns and looks between Alena and me. “What do you mean?”

Moving my hands to Alena’s mouth, I gently pry her jaw open with my fingers.

Her eyes widen and I hear her faint thought.Why is he doing this?