Page 46 of Yearning For Her

“Because you, Violet”—he reached out and placed a finger beneath her chin, tipping her face up so she met his gaze—“are my mate.”

Thirteen

Willow withdrew from his touch. “What?”

He hadn’t just said what she thought he had. No. That…that couldn’t be right.

“You are my mate,” Kian replied, his gaze unwavering. “The Fates have marked you as mine.”

“You’re lying.”

He leaned to one side, propping his chin on his fist. “Things would be much easier for me if I was.”

“But…but you’re an”—she glanced from side to side, bent over the table, and lowered her voice—“incubus.”

His eyes rounded, flashing brighter than usual. “I am?”

“No. No, you don’t get to do that. You don’t get to make fun of me after dropping a bomb on me like that.”

“I’m sorry, Willow. That wasn’t my intention. But what should I do?” Kian’s brows angled down toward the bridge of his nose, and a crease formed between them as he sat up straight. “Everything I’ve ever known was altered in an instant. You unmade my world, mortal.”

“You can’t put the blame on me.” Willow picked up her burger and took a disgruntled bite. She barely tasted it.

“Fuck,” he rasped, “you’re even sexy when you’re irritated.”

“Can you stop trying to get in my pants for even one minute? Anyway, I’m stuffing my face. There’s nothing sexy about that.”

Kian smirked. “Ah, Violet. I can think of something to put in your mouth we might both find arousing.”

Willow released a heavy breath through her nostrils. “Can you feel my desire right now?”

His lips stretched into a grin. “Always.”

She snatched up a fry and threw it at him. It bounced off his cheek and fell onto the table with grains of salt scattered around it. He blinked and stared down at the fallen fry, lips parting as though he meant to speak.

Only a confused huff emerged from his mouth.

“What, you didn’t sense my desire to throw something at your smug face?” she asked.

He laughed and brushed the salt from his cheek. “I’ve never met anyone like you, Willow.”

“Maybe that’s because you never actually took the time to get to know anyone.”

The humor faded from his expression quickly, smile falling. “No, I suppose I haven’t. I’ve never needed to know anyone.” A shadow passed over his face, and for an instant, the long years he must’ve lived were apparent in his eyes. “I’ve never needed anyone. Not until you.”

Willow glanced at the family seated at a neighboring table. The two children were making goofy faces at one another, using their fries as fake moustaches, eyebrows, and fangs, while their parents laughed. An ache formed in Willow’s chest. That was what she’d wanted, what she’d longed for. A family of her own. A loving family. It had always seemed so far out of reach, and she was beginning to lose hope of ever having it.

“What exactly is a mate?” she asked. “Do you mean like, soulmates?”

“It’s…” He sighed and shook his head. “Soulmates, yes, but on a level mortals can scarce imagine. I can’t even imagine it, and part of me doesn’t want to. Because it’s…everything. And as you’ve already surmised, I’ve tended to be somewhat noncommittal in my past relationships.”

“All the more reason this won’t work, Kian.” Willow set her burger down and wiped her hands with a napkin. “I’m done dealing with men like that. It…it hurts too much to give everything you have to someone, only to realize they never intended to give anything back to you.”

“I can promise you pleasure, Willow. Anything else…I can only try.”

“You saw my bookcase. If I want pleasure, all I need to do is pick a book and break out my vibrator. Happy endings all around. That’s all a girl needs.”

Kian tilted his head, eyes narrowing as he studied her. “You say that, but you don’t believe it. We both know that’s not what you really want.”

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