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“I…” he changed his mind and said “I don’t know if another family would take you if they knew I made you.”

I tucked that finger away and took the next one. “You make me your family.”

He was off the bed and pacing at vampire speed, toppling me over.

“It’s not possible.”

“It’s not possible because of the magic or the culture?”

“What?” He stopped in his tracks and stared at me.

“What makes it impossible? Whatever magic there is in vampire bonds or all these rules you have about who is allowed to do what?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“Well, let’s logic this out. You said bonds can’t be broken, but transferred, right? And there are a lot of vampire families, a lot of, what’s the word? Patrons? If it was magically impossible to start a new family, there would only be one vampire family, right?”

He sank to the couch opposite the bed and put his head in his hands.

“I… you… I can’t ask you to do that. You don’t know what it means. Bonds are forever. We don’t ask vampires to bond for years.”

“Well, you didn’t ask me if I wanted to be a vampire in the first place.”

He sat back into the couch rubbing his head.

“I’m sorry. That came out harsher than it sounded.” I pulled the blankets around my shoulders, needing some insulation. “Forever bonds might not be the most outlandish thing of the week.” I muttered to myself.

“How do you mean?”

Fuck. I said that out loud. I looked at Lachlan, his stunning face with those eyes I want to get so lost in that I find myself. I took a steadying breath. I was ready to jump off a building yesterday, this leap can’t be that bad.

But I couldn’t, I just couldn’t say it yet. I wimped out.”I think… it’s bonkers really when you think about it. You killed me,” he bristled against that idea, “turned me into a vampire, you’ve been holding me hostage, and now I don’t want to be anywhere else. That’s pretty fucking outlandish, wouldn’t you agree?”

Slowly, Lachlan unfolded himself, stepping up on to the bed on his knees, freezing me in place with what would happen next. I pulled the blanket tighter around me. He held my face in both his hands and tilted my head up.

He brought his lips to mine and held me there. Our breath becoming one again.

I felt his kiss in my very soul. The banked desire that had been smoldering exploded and raced like wildfire. I grabbed for his belt and heard fabric tear. I growled and struck at his neck, my teeth not quite getting the job done in the frenzy.

He grabbed my wrists, pushing me on my back. He sat on my hips as I thrashed. I watched him slice his tongue on his fangs. Blood mixing with our kiss sent me to another whole level of desperation. He fucked my mouth with his tongue, slowly, deliberately, until my frenzy was subdued to his pace.

He broke contact with my mouth, I gulped the air to cool my burning lungs. He squeezed my wrists, pressing his forehead against mine and then took a slow steadying breath.

“Patron bonds are one thing, the Scion bond is…”

He weighed me down, pinned me to the bed, until the blind lust subsided to that sharp cramping.

He finally released my arms and pulled me up to sitting. He kissed my wrists, I was surprised they weren’t marked with bruises from his grip. He arranged my shirt collar to sit right and brushed hair out of my face.

“You need blood,” he sighed, “and I need to think.”

FORTY-FOUR

LACHLAN

Creepy. I was being creepy and I just couldn’t stop myself. It was creepy just to lie here staring at another person like they were the last lifeboat on the Titanic, wasn’t it? Every time I even thought about putting distance between us, that ache, that empty hole in my chest, would just open up ready for me.

Tiffany was sleeping. Actual sleep. She had asked for a mug to drink blood from. A mug, of all things. Like it was a proper cup of tea. Said it might help her feel more normal about it. Normal was just sinking fang into someone.