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Benjamin ran his hands down my chest and over where the shrapnel had ripped my abdomen open. I’d nearly been eviscerated with that wound.

“Are you really okay?” he asked, worry furrowing his brow.

“Yes, I’m really okay. Because of you.”

“How does that even work? I mean, Byron said you couldn’t feed from anyone but me. Is that true?”

I took a deep breath and pulled him towards the sofa. The one I hadn’t bled all over. “Why don’t we sit? We will be more comfortable, and you can ask me anything. I’ll answer what I can, but some secrets might not be mine to share.”

“Damyr,” he growled in warning.

“Benjamin,” I said as I pulled him onto my lap, tucking his head under my chin. “Ask anything about me, or vampires in general, but I won’t answer questions on the men in my family, if that’s okay?”

“That’s fair,” he replied as he settled himself comfortably. A waft of my body wash hit my nose and a primal rumble vibrated though my chest. “Damyr?”

“I just like the way my scent smells on you. Makes me feel… possessive.” I tightened my arms around him and held him closer. “But, to answer your earlier question, no. I can’t feed from anyone but you.”

“So what have you been doing since finding me?”

I didn’t answer straight away.

He lifted his head from my chest and fixed me with a hard stare. “Damyr?”

“I, um, haven’t been feeding.”

“What?” he shrieked, and it was adorable that he cared so much.

“Well, I can go a week without feeding and it had only been a couple of days. I really was trying to find a way of telling you everything.”

“You’re ridiculous,” he said as he rolled his eyes before curling back up on my lap. “What is a mate? I’m guessing it’s not just another word for buddy.”

“No,” I said with a chuckle. “It means that you’re my other half. A perfect match for me, and I am for you. It means we belong together, for eternity.”

He swallowed. “Eternity?”

It was a daunting word, eternity. It meant forever, for always, and the only way to break a mate bond is with death. “Don’t worry about that for now. Let’s just take some time to learn about each other and we can go from there.”

“Okay,” he replied with a quick nod and a deep breath. “Wait, how old are you?”

“I was turned at about thirty but I was born in 1525.”

“Holy fuck. You’re 500 years old?” Disbelief had his jaw dropping and his eyes blowing wide.

“500 this year.”

“I can’t even begin to comprehend the things you’ve seen. The people you’ve met.”

His eyes met mine and they were full of wonder and brimming over with questions.

“I’ve certainly met a few, but they all pale in comparison to you, Benjamin.”

He practically melted in my arms. “You say the nicest things.”

“Only to you.” Then I pressed a soft kiss against his lips and marvelled in how lucky I was. Benjamin knew my secrets, had risked his own life to save mine, and here he was, sat on my lap, kissing me back. I’d never felt this way. Not even when I had thought I’d been in love before.

Chapter Nineteen

Benji