Page 24 of The Bodyguard and the Alpha
I had been calm until he said that, but of course, being told to ‘be calm’ had the opposite effect. How did males not understand this? My chest tightened as I remembered. Bastien had made me come on his tongue. He had marked me. He had… bitten me.
He had bonded me as his mate.
Safe.Trust me.Bastien’s mental voice was gentle and almost tentative.
I trust you, I told him. I felt his relief at my response. I did trust him. The mental bond, experiencing the intensity of his emotions, had shocked me. Even though I’d consciously lowered my shields, I had instinctively tried to push him out when he barged in, and when I couldn’t, I’d spiralled to the point where I’d passed out. But I wasn’t afraid of him. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me on purpose.
Never.
He wouldn’t hurt me, but I could hurt him. I was afraidforhim. Most days I was an anxious mess, barely holding myself together and he’d bonded to me. I couldn’t let him tie himself to my disaster of a psyche. He was the President. He needed a mate who could make him proud, who wouldn’t require constant reassurance. Who wasn’t needy.
I blew out a breath as I formed a plan. I had to replace my own shields so the bond couldn’t get any stronger. But I needed to get the damned manacles off then I would need time and a quiet space for the ritual. And once we were rescued, the bond could be undone before that would cause damage. I ignored the jagged pain that bloomed in my chest at the thought.
No. The arms around me tightened.
No?
Mine. Mate. Claimed and bitten.
I ignored the way my core clenched at the memory of how he had claimed me. I wasn’t good for him and he would see it soon enough. But there was no point arguing about it now.
It was time for a change of subject. “So where are we?” It wasn’t subtle, but at this point I didn’t care. And I wasn’t going to use the mental link anymore either.
Mountains.
I thought about the geography of the city. If we were in the mountains, we’d been taken well away from the city. A couple of hours’ drive at least, depending on how far we’d been taken into the mountain range that cut across the country. But at least Luc would get a better signal on Bastien’s tracker now that we were outdoors rather than in the windowless complex.
“How did you get us out?”
No men left.
Right. Anyone who’d seen the slaughter Bastien was capable of had wisely run away. Except for me. I’d run into his arms.
Good mate, he crooned. My body betrayed me at his praise, my nipples tightening. No. I couldn’t let this happen.
“Let me down, please.”
Too cold. Fragile mate will freeze.
My lips curled in a smile before I caught myself. Only an eight-foot ogre Shifter who was immune to cold would call me fragile. No-one had treated me as a person who needed looking after since my powers had come in. It was exactly how I had dreamed that he would behave when I had allowed myself the fantasy. That he would focus all his Alpha dominance and protectiveness on me. That he would take care of me.
A shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ran through me at the memory of how well he hadtaken care of me. But I couldn’t let the warm blanket of his protectiveness, or his magic Alpha tongue and fingers soften me towards him. I couldn’t think about what it would be like if he fucked me.
We were wrong together and I had to make him see it. Realisation sat like a rock in my empty stomach. I had to be the Ice Queen. But he was also right, I would be too cold if he put medown. For now, I’d enjoy the feeling of being held in his arms. But it had to be temporary.
Chapter 30
Bastien
I tightened my arms around my mate as I ran through the frozen landscape. She hadn’t realised that I could hear her every thought. And I wasn’t going to tell her. I didn’t care if she thought it was wrong. She was my mate and it was my duty to look after her. I needed to know every little thing about her. After five years I had learned all the superficial things: the food she liked to eat, the books she liked to read. But I craved more. All her innermost thoughts. How to fulfil her fantasies. How to eliminate all the negative feelings that swirled round in her big brain.
She didn’t think she was good enough for me? That this was temporary? She thought she could become the Ice Queen and push me away? Fuck no. She was never closing herself off from me. I had waited too long for her. The desire to cosset and cherish her burned like a flame in my chest.
I would find shelter. I would feed her and tend to the hurts on her body. Then I would fuck her till she sobbed my name. Then I would fuck her some more, until she could think of nothing but pleasure. The negative thoughts would disappear. I would get her as addicted to me as I was to her. And I wouldgive her a baby or five. My cock swelled at the thought of her pregnant with my baby. We would start tonight.
Yes, good plan.
She needs more than sex, you idiot.
