Page 156 of Craving Carla

Carla’s body convulses around me, her own orgasm intensified by the blood bond. I push her down harder, deeper, making sure she takes every drop of my release as she continues to feed from my neck.

After what feels like an eternity suspended in pure bliss, she finally pulls back, her tongue darting out to lick the wound, sealing our bond for all eternity. She looks at me with dazed eyes, her lips stained red with my blood.

I’m in a state of bliss I’ve never known before. My mate has claimed me—marked me as hers for all to see. The emotions are too much, overwhelming me with their intensity.

I’ve witnessed so much in my long life. I watched my civilization burn to nothing, endured the horrors of chattel slavery, fucked countless women just to feel something, anything. I’ve done some of the most evil things imaginable, trying to settle the score of white supremacy.

And then I met Carla—this magnificent, brave, beautiful woman who was meant for me all along. I don’t deserve her. I don’t deserve any of this happiness after the life I’ve lived. And yet, she gave me the world, loved me unconditionally.

Something breaks inside me, and I begin to sob against her. She pulls back, concern written across her features.

“Oh, Amari,” she whispers, wiping blood from her mouth with the back of her hand.

I hold her tightly, lifting myself out of her and flipping her onto her back. I rest my head against her, listening to the steady rhythm of her heart—the heart that now beats in time with mine.

Carla remains quiet, holding me, caressing me, running her fingers through my curls. “I love you,” she whispers. “We are one now. It’s okay, baby. We have forever now.”

I let the emotions wash over me, cleansing me of centuries of pain and loneliness. When I finally calm down, I look up at her, my eyes puffy from tears.

“Thank you,” I say simply.

Carla giggles. “For what, silly?”

I rise up and kiss her, tasting my blood on her lips. I fucking love it—the knowledge that a part of me is now inside her, just as she is a part of me.

I grab her wrist and pull it to my lips, watching her, waiting for approval to feed on her. She nods, and I bite down, drinking her essence for a few seconds. She’s so fucking delicious—sweet and rich and powerful. Carla caresses my face as I drink, her touch gentle and loving.

I pull back quickly, licking the wound closed. “You have no idea what this moment means to me,” I tell her, rolling onto my back and pulling her on top of me.

She stares into my eyes as I gaze up at the ceiling, momentarily lost in thought.

“What are you doing?” she asks.

“I’m thanking Fate,” I admit. “You don’t know this, but our first night together, I prayed to Fate in bed, begging her to make you my fated mate. I wanted it more than anything, and I didn’t know I was already connected to you.”

I stroke her hair, remembering that night. “I woke hours later, and my heart started beating. I had taken too much blood from you, and you were in a deep sleep. But I just watched you, unable to believe that this magnificent woman was for me.”

I shake my head, still amazed by how far we’ve come. “But then came all the challenges—the veil, learning more about yourself, learning more about myself. This beautiful journey we’ve been on, learning each other, growing with each other... it’s been so beautiful that I finally broke.”

Carla presses her lips against right over my heart. The gesture is so tender it nearly brings fresh tears to my eyes.

“I thought Wintermoon was a cage, a zoo,” I confess. “I had no idea that a real home was waiting for me—a family. I’m going to thank Fate every night for this.”

“We’ve been fighting to get here,” Carla says, “and now we’re here. I wonder what’s next for us.”

“More adventures,” I tell her, running my hand down her back. “New ones.”

“Tabatha told me I would make many sacrifices,” she says hesitantly. “Some of them would be painful. I wonder how that’s going to affect you.”

“It won’t,” I say quickly, lifting her chin so I can look into her eyes. “Do you know why? Because I’m here with you until the end. And you need to know that. You have a family now—a man and children. Not conventional, of course?—”

Carla laughs at that, the sound warming me from within.

“But I meant it, Carla. I will die for my woman and children.”

“I love you,” she says simply.

“I love you more than you’ll understand,” I reply, the words inadequate for the depth of feeling behind them.