Page 106 of Taste of Forever
“As if I could say no to you.”
My lips pulled into a grin. “Does that mean we could grab my laptop, too?”
A smack on the ass made me squeal with laughter.
“Don’t push your luck, Science Barbie.”
“Fine, fine.” I resettled against body, snuggling into him for the most comfortable position. “Speaking of science, is there any kind of work I can do here?”
“I’m sure there is.” Laith curled a lock of my hair around his finger. “Novak would love help with whatever nerdy science projects he has going on. The blood bank would probably have something for you, too.” His lips brushed across my forehead. “But only if it’s something you enjoy. You don’t have to work to live anymore.”
“I do enjoy it. Plus I want to stay busy and keep my mind sharp. And, if I get sick of lab work, maybe I can try a different field of study.”
“That’s essentially what Bea does. I think she’s helping Tavia with the winemaking a lot lately, but for the past twenty years she’s just been taking courses in whatever seems interesting.”
I lifted my head from his chest. “What is Bea’s deal? When I was meeting the girls, she was pretty cagey about whether or not she had a vampire mate.”
Laith let out a long sigh. “It’s her story to tell, but everyone assumes she and Kalix had a thing.”
“Kalix? The friend you’re trying to break out of prison?”
Laith nodded. “He’s the one who turned her into a brusang. Right before he got taken away.”
“Oh…wow. Did he…”
“He did not kill her. He’d never harm a woman. But he saved her life. He got taken away before she woke up so he probably has no idea if the turning worked. A human only awakens as a brusang maybe fifty percent of the time.”
I returned my cheek to Laith’s sternum. “Wow. Thatiscomplicated.”
“She hasn’t been with anyone else, so the unspoken assumption is that she’s waiting for him. Sometimes I feel like someone should tell her to move on. Nobody would blame her if she did. Twenty years is a long time, even for us. But we are trying to get him back. Which, even if we succeed, who the hell knows what kind of state he’ll be in.”
“Yeah.” I ran a light touch up and down his torso. “It’s a sad situation. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
Laith squeezed my shoulder. “Thank you. Assuming we can get him out, he’ll probably need some kind of intense drug detox. More than the usual draitrium addicts we see.”
“Not my field, but I can get started on the research.” I pressed up, as if planning to start right that second.
Laith immediately pulled me back down with a laugh. “Later,” he grunted, wrapping around me tightly. “We’ll leave at dusk to get your picture. Then we’ll get you settled in with your new family.”
I smiled against his warm skin. “That sounds great to me.”
Chapter 29
Laith
Heather’s hands sat relaxed on my waist as we approached her old apartment complex. So I grabbed her fingers and pulled them forward to clasp over my stomach.
“Don’t let go unless you want a spanking,” I told her over my shoulder.
“Don’t threaten me with a good time, then.”
Her voice was muffled through the motorcycle helmet, but I heard the smile in her words. My girl had a mouthy, bratty side to her, and I loved it. I had seen glimpses of it when we first met, but her confidence was growing in leaps and bounds already. I loved that she wasn’t afraid to mess with me and push my buttons.
I lovedher.
The realization hit me like a rush of cold wind. I had known it, felt it for some time, but not in those exact words. I knew she was mine forever, knew that her blood was the most delicious substance to ever pass my lips, but that was run-of-the-mill blood mate stuff. Two people could be bonded as blood mates without ever falling in love.
This had nothing to do with her blood and everything to do with her mind, her laugh. Her warmth and the way she touched me. Her curiosity and how my bed had always felt empty until she was in it.
