Page 43 of Bleeding Love

I ran a hand over my face, trying to push down my panic.

What if she got mad? What if she felt betrayed? What if she hated it?

I should have asked. I should have waited, but this…this wasmychoice. It was me binding my soul to her without reservation or expectations. Me, promising to love her for the rest of my eternal life. She had made no such vow. She could…she could…

I left the thought unfinished. Instead, I lay back on the bed next to her, moving her arm to rest on my chest. She snuggled closer, nudging her face against the crook of my shoulder. Intertwining my fingers with hers, I brought them to my lips, praying that come morning, the mark would still be there and once she saw it, she’d realize the truth.

That I loved her and she loved me.

And that our hearts and our souls were now one and the same.

Chapter 21

Celeste

Mybodywasmelting.My skin was hot, my blood was boiling, and there was something slipping between my legs.

My eyes sprung open, ready to extinguish the fire, but there were none. I was just covered with two heavy blankets that were making me sweat like a pig. Pushing them off, I looked around for Roman, only to find him lying on the edge of the bed like he often did. It was like he wasn’t used to taking much space or like he was trying to keep away from me, afraid I’d be uncomfortable. He had the strange habit of putting another’s comfort ahead of his own—or at least that’s how he was with me.

It was one of the reasons I trusted him, why I felt safe enough to ask him to do what I once hated him for—take away my power. The first time I told him to put the cuff on me before we had sex, he refused. He had thought it was some kind of test to see if he would break his word. When I assured him it was not, he surmised that, as it did in that basement, the thought of feeling powerless in his arms aroused me. I didn’t disagree, since I wasn’t ready to tell him the truth.

For so long, I had been the oldest witch in the world, the being no one could match. Yet not once did my power save me—from death, from torture, from pain. When I ran out of it, I was always too weak to do anything about it. Without it, I was reduced to nothing.

A human. Worse, for I didn’t even have a soul.

But that didn’t have to be the case. The hunters didn’t have magic or supernatural abilities on their side, yet they fought monsters every day. They failed often, but they also won. Killing vampires, killing shifters, fae, witches. Killingme.

So I knew what I had to do—learn to live without my power, so that even when it was stripped from me, it wouldn’t leave me helpless and afraid. It wasn’t like the thought had never crossed my mind before, but I could never afford to try until now, always looking over my shoulder for when the next attack would come. But now, I had Roman.

I could learn. Slowly, patiently, safely.

I got up, wincing as I sensed something sliding down the inside of my thighs. Grimacing, I headed toward the bathing room to clean. I had to tell him to stop releasing inside of me—there was no danger of getting me pregnant, but this was annoying to clean. At one point, I thought he had some kind of breeding fetish since he almost always finished in me, sometimes more than once, but that would imply he had a fantasy in which he got me pregnant and that wasn’t likely. He had promised me no attachment, no falling in love, no expectations. He had given me his word.

I relieved myself at the chamber pot, then used some of the washing water to clean up. I grew cold as my body cooled outside of its cocoon, and I shuddered, eager to get back under the covers. It was almost winter, so we ought to start lighting the fireplaces again.

I was just on my way back to the bedroom when a light caught my attention. All the windows in Roman’s bedroom were covered tightly, so the sunlight wouldn’t accidentally hurt him, and we hadn’t bothered with candles last night.

I took a step back and almost jumped out of my skin when I came face to face with…myself. Realization slipped in as I studied the vanity mirror on the wall, but it lasted only until I noticed the light again. A light that was coming from my chest.

I drew closer, trying to read the rune that had appeared on my skin when I discerned that it wasn’t a rune. It was a mark.A soul mark.

Gasping in horror, I took a step back, glancing toward the room where Roman was still resting in our bed. It had to be daytime, considering how deep he slept. And now that he trusted me, he didn’t even wake when I moved about.

The air in the room felt as thick as water, choking me, and making it hard to move. When I bumped into the tub and almost kicked the large bucket beside it, I forced myself to stop before I woke him up. Crouching next to it and squeezing the edge, I tried to calm my racing heart.

He had bonded with me. He had marked me. Without my consent. He had…

Something rubbed against my leg, and I almost screamed in surprise. A pair of golden eyes found mine, full of concern that made them glow in bright golden.

“You are distressed,” he whispered, pressing against my leg. “Are you hurt?”

“I…” The words refused to come, refused to go in order that made sense. A low, worried sound came from my familiar and I hushed him, looking over my shoulder through the cracked door. Roman was still sleeping on his side, body entirely still. Nym followed my gaze, his eyes narrowing. Before he could say anything, I whispered. “We are leaving. Right now.”

I got to my feet, but my head spun again, so I grabbed the tub until the dizzy spell passed. When I looked down at Nym, his eyes were red with anger.

“We are leaving,” I hissed, and he hissed back. “Do not attack him, do not make a sound. Wait for me in the hallway. I’ll explain later.”

Nym started to shift into his true form, but I pointed a finger at him, giving him a warning look. A low, displeased growl was the only reply I got before he turned back into a cat and ran out on silent feet. I took another deep breath, stepping unsteadily toward the door and praying the vampire wouldn’t wake.

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