Page 48 of Newly Undead in Dark River

He stared down at me, his hand coming up to touch my cheek. My body shuddered in relief at his touch. He slid his hand down from my cheek, along my side, his thumb just brushing my breast, and then curving it around my lower back. He pulled me close until I was pressed right along his body, and he let out a little sigh.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one feeling the relief of our connection. His other hand gripped mine, bringing it up and tucking it close to our bodies. Then he began to sway gently, doing a shuffling two-step in the middle of the living room. I was tucked under his chin, and I ignored the whoosh-whoosh noise of his blood flowing through his jugular. I focused on the thump-thump of his heartbeat instead, and the near searing warmth of his skin. He smelled like home, like all my happy memories.

“I’m sorry about this, Tex. I’m sorry about everything,” I mumbled into his chest. It was easier talking to him like this. I could feel the heave of his breath as he sighed into my hair.

“Not your fault, Mika. You are a victim. I’m not angry anymore. I keep thinking that the other option is that you would be dead, and that is worse. The pain of thinking you were dead… ” His voice trailed off like it caused him physical pain. “I just don’t know how this is going to end. I don’t want to leave. I can’t leave. Even the thought makes me physically ill.”

I shuddered at the rumble of his voice against my cheek, a wave of relief flowing through my body at his words.

“Still, I’m sorry I dragged you into this mess.”

He huffed out a laugh. “I’m sorry I accidentally made you my mate.”

I smiled against his chest. “I’m not,” I whispered softly. But he heard. His body tensed up until it was almost vibrating with energy.

He pulled back, unthreading our fingers and sliding his hand back up to my cheek. “Mika, I’m going to kiss you.”

I stood on my tiptoes, so my lips were an inch from his, clinging to his shoulders tightly. “Yes,” I breathed.

As his lips brushed against mine, I realized my soul had been desperate for this contact. His lips pressed harder into mine, his hand slipping lower so he could pull my body impossibly closer. His tongue slipped past my lips, brushing along my teeth before tangling with mine. My hands roamed over his chest, over his sides, down along the curve of his spine as I tried to memorize every hard angle of his body, locking it away in my mind because he was right. I didn’t know how this was going to end either, but just in case, I was going to commit this sensation to memory.

Finally, gasping for air, he pulled away. His chest heaved, and he tucked me back against his body, moving again to the music over the radio.

“I talked to Brody.”

I resisted the urge to nuzzle his neck, in case he got the wrong idea. “Oh?”

“I don’t want to go back. Brody thinks I could stay if I wanted. That he’d make me part of his Pack. I’d have protection.”

I forced my body to keep swaying, even though I wanted to jump up and down in relief. “What about your parents? Your girlfriend?” I sounded way less invested in that question than I really was. What was I thinking? He was hot, talented, so fucking nice, of course, he had a girlfriend at home. And I’d kissed him, even subconsciously knowing that. I was a bad undead person.

He was silent, and I stared at the snake tattoo that curled as if to strike on his neck. I remembered when he got it. I thought he’d been the bravest person I knew. Maybe he still was.

He tangled his fingers in my hair. “Your hair always feels like silk,” he murmured. “There isn’t anyone else. Hasn’t been since before you went to college. No one serious anyway. It never felt right. At least we know why now.”

“Because my sexy skills blew your mind?” I laughed, and the grin on my face stretched wider when he chuckled too. It was low, and gravelly and so at odds with his baby face. He sang along to a Frank Sinatra song on the radio, and I tried not to swoon. Listening to him sing was like audio-foreplay. “Does it bother you? That I have… you know?”

“That you’re dating half of Deadsville?” I snort-laughed. Deadsville. “It doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. Brody is a nice guy, and the Sheriff seems alright, even if he is a bit uptight.” Yeah, those three had bonded over the last couple of days, because both Brody and Walker were genuinely likable people. Judge, however…

“And Judge?”

“He’s an asshole,” he grumbled. “But he kind of makes me want to take my pants off.”

I nodded knowingly. Same. Wait, what?

I jumped out of his arms. “Wait, what? I mean, I get that Judge makes you want to take off your clothes. Lord knows I’ve been there, but I mean, I didn’t realize that you, uh…” I let out a silent scream and waved my hands around. I sounded like an insensitive douche canoe when I was really just surprised.

“You didn’t know I was bisexual? Yeah, my parents are super conservative Catholics. There’s a reason for that, Mika.” He held out a hand, and I realized he was holding his breath. I took it quickly, and he dragged me back into his arms. “I figure, if you can remake yourself as an undead woman named Raine, I can at least come out, right?”

“Yeah, of course,” I said too loudly. Honestly. My brain had short-circuited. But hey, you try thinking about the seriously cut, sexy man of mystery that was Judge, and then add the nicest guy you’ll ever meet, who was packaged like the kind of boy your mama warned you about. Got that image in your head? Now imagine them kissing. Hot, right? Now imagine them more than kissing. Yeah. This is why my brain wasn’t firing well.

“Say something,” he groaned.

I leaned up and touched my lips to his softly. “I was just surprised. It makes no difference to me who you find attractive. It only matters how you feel about me, right?” Gah. I sounded so dumb. What was it about Tex that just made me sound like an awkward thirteen-year-old all the time? “Is that why you want to stay? So you can explore this side of yourself?”

I drew back. I wanted to see his face when he answered. The dark straight lines of his brows drew together, but he was shaking his head. “I want to stay because of you, Mika. Because you are my mate, and that means something. I feel like half of a person, and I didn’t even realize it until right now when I held you in my arms. It’s learning to live without ever taking a deep breath.”

We danced in silence for a little while longer, until the night started to edge out the light behind my heavy curtains. “So, you’re okay with me having, you know, more than one boyfriend?”

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