Page 23 of The Bodyguard and the Alpha
My eyes were open, but I stared blindly at Bastien’s shoulders, trying to process what the fuck was happening. His teeth withdrew from my skin and a warm tongue laved the wound. My hands tightened into fists at the tingles of pleasure it evoked in other parts of my body.
Let me in little Pixie.
Bastien?What a stupid question. Who else could it be? His consciousness pressed against my mental shields. Shields that prevented hostile magic targeting my mind.
He drew back, burning blue eyes seeking mine.Let. Me. In.
I was reeling. Was this really happening? Bastien hadbittenme. He called me his mate. He could mind-speak to me. Incredulous, belly fluttering with hope, I did as he asked. I dropped my shields.
And everything changed.
Bastien stormed into my mind. An overwhelming presence. Powerful emotions drowned me, battering at my sense of self. I wanted to rend every one of the humans who’d held us prisoner. I wanted to fuck my beautiful mate. Give her all my cum. I would cherish her, spoil her and love her until the day I died.
I couldn’t get enough air. His need for violence, for sex, was raw, visceral. It was a rogue wave, swallowing me up, drowning me.
Breathe, baby.
Ice picks stabbed behind my eyes as my consciousness fought against the intruder. He was too much. It was everything I’d wanted but it was so much more than I had expected. Too intense. Too powerful, leaving no room for me.
For the first time in my life I fainted.
Chapter 28
Bastien
My mate slumped in my arms, unconscious. Panicking, I reached for answers from the one person I knew could help.
What did I do?
You fucked up dude.
Mating her was not a mistake, I growled at him.
She wasn’t prepared for the bond and you went in like a Mack truck.
Oh.
He was right. I’d fucked up. I’d been frustrated that Elie’s shields had stopped our bond forming fully. So when she opened her mind I’d driven in hard, too eager to form our link. And although I hadn’t frightened her, I had pushed too hard. Like the Beast that I was, I had barged in, with no finesse, and hurt my mate.
My ears drooped in shame. I had to make it up to her. I would show her that I could be gentle. That I would neverhurther. I would make her understand. Pleasure. I would show her pleasure. I would feed her. I would give her everything she wanted. She had me. All of me.
I had to get us out of here. I wasn’t worried about the Humans First weaklings anymore. They were all gone. But Luc would find me soon. The tracker under my skin was a beacon, calling my brother to me. Right now, I couldn’t let that happen. Not until my mate was comfortable with our bond.
A den. I needed a den where we could hide and make her fully mine.
Cradling my mate in one arm, I reached behind my neck with the other, feeling for the telltale lump under my skin. There. My claw dug deep, until I could feel the outline of the small piece of tech. A wiggle of my finger and I had it under the tip of my claw. I flicked it out, ignoring the blood that dripped down my back. It was nothing. I would be healed from the small wound in moments. My arm returned to my mate, holding her against me.
I stood, cradling my mate bridal style. Under my foot, the tracker crunched and splintered into tiny pieces.
I smiled. Then I ran.
Chapter 29
Electra
I returned to consciousness gradually, slowly cataloguing sensations. Arms held me tightly against a warm body but the air around us was cold on my ears. I snuggled closer to the warm body, determinedly keeping my eyes shut. The arms around me felt right and if I spoke it might ruin the magic. I wanted to stay in the moment, right now, to go back to sleep and ignore reality for a little longer. But the wind whipped around my ears, and my hair blew over my face. Tree branches creaked and I heard the warning call of a bird. That was too weird. I cracked open an eye and my vision was filled with a close-up of grey skin and muscles.Oh.
Be calm, mate.
