Page 29 of Immortal Bastard

“Whoa.” She scooted forward. “Wife?”

He faced her. “You’re my mate. Of course, we will marry.”

Her annoyance trumped her fear when he said dumb shit like that. “Uh, Christian, darling, you have to ask.”

He frowned, no longer pacing. “Pardon?”

“Marriage is another one of those pesky personal choices that can’t be dictated. You can’t force someone to marry you. You have to ask.”

His head cocked as if he never heard of such a concept. “Will you be my wife?”

“No!”

He drew back, his look of surprise comical. “But you’re my mate.”

“See, you say mate and I think Animal Planet. You’re not so good with the lady talk, Christian.”

“Mates are predestined partners. We only have but one for all eternity. I’ve waited lifetimes to find you. You’re my mate, Delilah. Marriage or no marriage, what we are to each other is bigger than any legal contract or vow. I’m not letting you go.”

She remembered an article she read in the last issue of Tat about how to deal with crazy, stalker exes, but her head hurt and she couldn’t concentrate with all the intrusive noise. For a farm, it was an ungodly loud place.

Insects chortled through the thin walls as animals brayed from every direction. Leaves rustled as if a hurricane were on its way. And her stomach was really starting to ache. She jammed her fist into her side and rubbed her brow.

Huh, that pimple finally went away.

“You’re hungry.”

As much as she despised the idea of accepting food from him, she needed to think and that meant getting something in her stomach. “Do you have crackers or something?”

“Crackers are what you crave?”

“I’ll take anything. How about an apple? Pop-tart? Something quick and small. I’m a vegetarian, so—”

“Delilah, sweet—”

“Unless you want me to call you one nut, please refrain from using the cutesy pet names. Especially ones that don’t fit me.”

His jaw ticked. “You’ll find your tastes adapting here on the farm. Your needs can no longer be met by vegetables alone.”

She rolled her eyes. “Why does every carnivore think meat is the only source of protein? Trust me, my diet’s just fine. I just need something to—” A cramp grabbed hold of her stomach and she doubled over in pain.

Christian was by her side in a second, rubbing her back.

“Ew!” She shouldered him off. “Don’t touch me.”

“Delilah, you must feed. Your body’s been through a lot in the last eight hours. You need to feed in order to sustain your energy.”

She gritted her teeth and breathed through the overwhelming pain twisting her stomach, fearing she would retch from the discomfort. On an empty stomach, puking would only bring more pain. She fucking hated throwing up so she swallowed back the urge.

Grumbling, she glared up at him. “What did you give me?”

“This is all part of it. You need to feed.”

A ceaseless thumping came from his chest. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

She rolled to her side and moaned in agony, hand clamping over her mouth as her gums and face radiated with a sharp ache she couldn’t fathom. What was happening to her?

He continued to stroke her hair. “Your body’s changing, pintura.”

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