Page 62 of Blood Bound

Well, after her outburst last night, I’m not so sure about that anymore.

“Do you touch her?”

“Christ, no,” I say, taken aback by her question, but understanding why she asked it. “The last woman I touched was you.”

She sniffs, then hugs the overcoat closer to her body. “How did you know… about this?” she says, holding up her left hand. I’m assuming she’s looking at the Red Thread since I cannot see it yet.

“Valentine told me right after you left. He wasn’t aware of my need to find my Fated and produce an heir within ten years,” I say and her head snaps up.

“Excuse me? An heir? Christ, Gabriel, I don’t even know you that well and you’re already talking about knocking me up,” she says with a scoff, rolling her eyes, then lowering her gaze again. “Is that the only reason you’ve been looking for me? Because of what the council wants?”

I struggle to contain a growl when I lean over the armrest, pick her up and plant her right on my lap with her legs on either side of me. “Gabriel–!”

“I’ve wanted you since our eyes first met, little lamb. The fact that I now need you at my side as my Queen is simply a bonus,” I say, attempting to gauge her reaction to my words.

“These past few months have been nothing short of dreadful, wondering if today will finally be the day that I feel our Bond severing.”

Guilt clouds her eyes. “You know about that,” she says.

“Yes, and it completely devastated me that you wanted to do it,” I say, drawing my forehead to hers. “Horrid, sleepless days, wondering if you felt the same way about me, or if the Fated Bond wasn’t as potent as everyone said it was.”

She sits back and chuckles sadly. “I fall asleep clutching your shirt every night; I think it’s safe to say that I feel the same way.” She says, comfortably taking my breath away and nuzzling into my neck.

“Why did you run from me?” I ask the question that has been eating me alive since I found out she is my Fated.

“Guilt?” she says, drawing closer to me. “For what my family has done to yours. I didn’t want you to end up with someone whose name is responsible for so much pain.”

She was thinking about me in the same way Valentine did, and the thought alone makes my heart burn with guilt of my own.

How do I tell them I can take whatever they give? That I was made to withstand whatever life throws at me since I am a Pureblood?

“I’ve missed you so much.”

And just like that, my self-control snaps away and I capture her mouth in a kiss that sets my undead heart ablaze.

My greedy tongue begs for entry and she happily obliges, devouring my kiss as if she’s been starved. Her fingers rake through the hair at the back of my neck and her heady, familiar scent takes control of me.

I grab her hips, grinding into her hot core and loving the way she gasps at the friction and pulls on my hair. This moment is perfect, even as we’re sitting here in soaked clothing and her blood is enticing me to have a taste.

Shrugging off the overcoat, I push her back, rip open her button-down shirt and cover her pebbled nipples with my warm mouth and hands. She moans, tangling my hair in her fingers while my mouth explores her once more.

“E?ti atât de perfecta,” I murmur, while laving her chest with chaste kisses and feeling my cock painfully strain against my jeans. “So fucking perfect.”

“Gabriel… wait…” she moans, and my heart drops. I sit back and narrow my eyes, confused as to why she wanted me to stop. “Wait… not yet.”

“Not yet? Do you have any fucking idea how long I’ve waited for you, little lamb?” I say, cupping her face in my hands.

“Months, years, decades… nearly a fucking millennia. Time stood still for me without you, and I’m not planning on letting go.”

Her eyes shine with unshed tears and that sexy bottom lip trembles again, so I tease it with the pad of my thumb.

“No, it’s not that,” she says, smiling sadly. “I want this; I want all of this. But please understand that I need to think it over.”

“What is there to think about? We’re Fated,” I say, perplexed, and place my hands on her thighs.

She exhales and shakes her head, then draws her hand to my face, caressing it. I place my hand over hers and close my eyes while exhaling a pent-up sigh at how heavenly her skin feels against mine.

“We’re Fated, yes, but that doesn’t mean we need to jump into this. I need to think about what you’re asking of me, Gabriel – that and I am in a fuck load of pain and need to clean up.”

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