Page 8 of Slake His Thirst

Chapter Seven

Lucius

For a moment, Lucius stilled, listening to his beautiful mate take him to task. His dick actually twitched against his stomach. She would have seen his reaction if she hadn’t locked him in her gaze.

Had he ever been at a loss for words?

She spoke through the silence. “I can almost feel you trying to find the answer you think I’ll like. Don’t. Be honest with me. I’m guessing it’s probably best not to start off an eternity with you trying to pacify me. I won’t always be this weak.” She rolled her neck as if to rid herself of the anger and frustration he knew she felt. “Tell me what happens next, because even though I’m annoyed, this power feels like too much, and I’m starting to really need a replay of our earlier activities.”

He waited a beat then answered her first question. “My sister would say I bowl her over as well. It’s not because I see you as weak. It’s because of who I am.”

Her lips curved a little at his admission, and he took that as a good sign. He’d never had to explain himself before, and he had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last time.

Being cut off from her thoughts made him edgy. He hated having that barrier between them, but if he’d have allowed her into his mind, he would have scared the hell out of her. He was worried about what this power meant for her. His mind was going over all the potential options when he wasn’t dying to get inside her. And if she knew how rabid the scar on her chest made him, he wasn’t sure she would understand how much he hated that she’d been hurt and he hadn’t been there. His protective instincts made him swift and deadly.

Add all of that to the fact that he had to temper his strength while riding the high of a mating frenzy. She was stronger and faster than a mortal should have been, but she wasn’t a match to his strength. She would still be fragile until they finished this.

He ran his fingers up and down her arm as he watched her. Her soft skin was so smooth and warm. He would never get enough of her, but it was time to do what he’d been dreading. She’d asked what they needed to do. “The next step is to blood bond.”

She stilled. “You want my memories?”

It took everything inside him to keep his voice calm. What would he see in her past that made her so nervous? What horrors had she lived through when he hadn’t even known she existed? “You’ll have mine as well. We have to do this. I’ll warn you that you’ll probably see a lot of blood in my memories. I’m not human, little one. I’ve lived a long life. A very different life with very different rules.”

He watched her closely as he said each word, wishing he could hear her thoughts. Her gaze seemed to stutter. “And we have to do this?”

“Yes.” He took a fortifying breath to keep his voice soft. “I know you were hurt.” His fingers slid to the scar on her chest. “I’d have given anything to protect you.”

Her smiled confused him. “That was from me not dodging a fireball. It was a lesson. Nothing too traumatizing.”

Some of the tension left his shoulders, but he would still kill anyone who’d hurt her. She would understand that soon enough. “What are you worried I’ll see? I’d give my life to keep you safe, Sage.” Immortality was only a long life. Even he couldn’t regenerate a head.

She raised her eyebrows. “I sure as hell hope not. I’d be more impressed if you lived instead of worrying over a scratch.” Her eyes grew serious again. “I’m more worried about the things I’ve witnessed. I’m worried about you keeping the secrets I’ve promised to keep.”

“I’d never betray you. Our souls will be connected soon. No part of a mated pair would harm the other. And sharing your secrets would hurt you.”

“‘Hurt’ isn’t the word I’d use. I’d be furious, and I’d find a way to make you pay. I take my word very seriously, Lucius. And my friends are part of my family.”

Everything she’d done, every word she’d uttered made him want to take her again. She was fucking perfect. He slid his hands into her hair and pulled her in for a kiss. She tasted so damned good. Every inch he’d sampled made him itch for more of her. Her tongue slid over his, and he fought not to get lost in the lust rolling over them.

Little tremors wracked her body, and she broke the kiss. Her eyes were glazed with lust and more, making his pulse triple in speed because he could feel the magic inside her. “The power?”

“It’s… uncomfortable.”

“Then it’s time,” he warned before kissing her, his hand softly stroking her back to soothe her nerves. In her mind, he whispered the vows spoken by every mated pair for thousands of years, “I vow to honor and care for you with my body, soul, and in blood for all eternity.” He felt the magic flowing around him, accepting his sacred promise.

She moaned into his mind and repeated the words exactly. His cock had gotten impossibly hard, but they weren’t done. They needed to finish this. He’d given her all the time he could.

He continued rubbing her back, easing her as he broke the kiss to bite into his tongue. Moving with preternatural speed, he reclaimed her mouth, giving her his blood in the easiest way possible. She moaned and greedily sucked on his tongue as she grinded her body against his. He grazed her kiss-swollen bottom lip with a fang and lapped the sting. The first taste of her pulled a low groan from deep inside his chest.

Lucius found himself in the memories of a child, his mate.Mentally, he smiled as he felt her thoughts when she realized she was getting a sister and another mom.

She glanced down at a toddler with chocolate skin and little golden eyes. They’d played before. The little girl was cute—she had chubby little cheeks and a pet snake, and Sage thought it was so cool! She would have someone to play with all the time. There weren’t that many kids so deep in the swamps. She eyed the moms gazing down at her with matching nervous smiles, loving smiles, light and dark like their daughters. She didn’t understand any of what she saw. He did. Her moms were anxious she wouldn’t like the new arrangement. She was thinking in far simpler terms. He felt young Sage’s excitement. “She can share my toys, but not my cookies,” she declared firmly. In her mind, two moms meant two times the cookies and a playmate. She practically vibrated with glee as she grabbed her new sister’s hand and dragged her out of the room to show her their room.

He fell into another memory from when she was a little older. He felt her excitement when her moms taught her spells. She sat with her small family on an old stool in their big kitchen, laughing and singing badly while chopping up ingredients for dinner. She concentrated on using the power of the ivy growing almost wild in their home. It helped her settle a ward around the house. Her moms whooped and danced around the room when she’d gotten it right. She was so proud, so excited to try it again, so loved.

Many memories flashed as she learned her craft and played with her sister and friend Ash. Lucius mentally frowned at her thoughts of the boy.

Before he settled in, Lucius was dropped into another memory. He could feel she was about ten and doing something she felt was dangerous and daring. Calista was her lookout as she snuck down into the nearly collapsing cabin of smugglers who’d caged so many magical creatures. Inch by inch, she moved. She was full of magic from all the trees and giant lily pads around her. Her mom and mama had taught her spells to protect their home, and the swamps were that home. The bad men had stuck the animals in small cages, and she’d heard their cries when she and Calista were exploring.

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