Page 66 of Craving Carla

Tofi hesitates, looking up at me, then back at Amari. After a moment’s consideration, she slowly backs away from him, then climbs up the tree trunk with remarkable speed. I watch in growing horror as she reaches the top, positioning herself to cut the straps holding my silk bed in place.

“No, no, Tofi!” I yell, holding my hands up in surrender as panic climbs through me. “If you cut Mommy down, I’ll fall and hurt myself. Don’t listen to Amari.”

“I’ll catch her, Tofi baby,” Amari promises, his voice confident and steady. “Haven’t I been keeping my word so far? Have I ever let any of you down?”

And the thing that shocks me most is how Tofi seems to consider his words, to weigh them as if they have substance, history, meaning.

“Amari, shut the fuck up! She’s about to do it!” I yell, looking to Tofi, pleading with my eyes. “Tofi, don’t.”

Amari’s voice drops, becoming a silky, seductive command. “Do it for Daddy.”

And then Tofi does it—she swiftly slices through the straps with her legs. I plummet off the web-silked bed, a scream tearing from my throat as I hurtle toward the ground. Just before I hit, Amari steps forward and catches me effortlessly. I bounce slightly in his arms, the air knocked out of my lungs as I stare up at him. His eyes are filled with so much love, it’s almost enough to bring me to tears.

“I’ve got you, baby,” he says sweetly, and I just stare at him, once again lost in the eyes of this beautiful, maddening vampire.

But I gasp once he pulls me close to his chest.

I can feel it, his heart. It’s beating. And while I couldn’t be more happy for him, my heart sinks.

He’s found her. His fated mate.

And his happiness feels like death to my heart.

Because I know it’s not for me.

23

Amari

I’m holding Carla in my arms, cradling her close, when she stiffens. Her entire body goes rigid as realization strikes. She feels the subtle flutters—rhythmic, steady—something that hasn’t been there for centuries.

She knows my heart has awakened.

I want to keep holding her, to never let go, but she kicks her feet, demanding to be released. It feels so damn good to have her in my arms right now. The time I spent away from her has been agonizing. After I fed, a wave of heavy exhaustion hit me, and I had to go into a deep slumber. The awakening of my heart took more out of me than I expected—a millennium of dormancy ending in a single moment of clarity when I realized she was mine.

“Amari, have you lost your mind?” she grumbles, kicking her feet harder now. “Put me down—right now!”

I gently set her down on her feet, but keep a firm hold on her waist. She presses a hand to me, trying to urge me away, but I can’t let go—not yet. I want to hold on for as long as I’m allowed.She’s soft, warm—a quiet comfort in all my darkness. My gaze traces her face as she places her hand over where my heart now stirs, and the feeling of her fingers against that fragile spark sends a jolt of something electric surging through me.

“You found her,” she says, keeping her hand against my beating heart.

I smile, then lean in to kiss her, frowning when she pushes back, rejecting me. The rejection stings more than it should. I’m not used to women pushing me away—they’ve always fallen at my feet, begging for my attention. But Carla is different. She’s always been different.

“No, Amari, we can’t do that. I’m not...”

I see where this is going, so I cut her off quickly. “Carla, my heart beats for you, only you.”

She stares at me, confusion rippling across her features. This is frustrating. My mate can’t feel the pull to me, but I feel everything now. I can even smell the fated scent on her, which was masked before—a sweet, tantalizing scent that makes my newly beating heart race. How is it possible she doesn’t feel what I feel? The bond between us is undeniable to me—like a physical tether connecting us.

“This can’t be possible. I’m not...”

I pull her closer, smiling as I catch the scent of her arousal. Her body knows me, responds to me, even if her mind is still resisting. The contrast fascinates and frustrates me all at once.

“Oh, but you are fated, Carla. I couldn’t smell it on you before, but I do now.”

She pushes against me with more force, her hands flat against me, her eyes wide with something like panic. The rejection feels like a physical wound, tearing at my newly beating heart.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” she says, still pushing. “Please, Amari, I can’t. This will hurt...”