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That was exactly right. He was her perfect match, and she had never felt like this before. She was burning up, and since her kind didn’t get a fever…

She was seconds from losing control.

Now, he was close enough that she could smell his blood through his flesh, and it was intoxicating.

“Logan, please,” she whispered.

He took that as an invitation.

Holding out his hand, he put all of his faith in Cerise. He remembered her putting her body over his to keep him safe, and whispering words of promise into his ear that she’d not let him die.

“I trust you,” he said, his hand still out. “I’m your mate, and I’ve come for you. We’re meant to be,” he said, not sure why he believed that, but he did.

She watched the water droplets run down his body, and she never saw a more handsome man. His body screamed virility, and she was so hungry.

For him.

Fighting, there was a part of her that was still in control.

“If I drink from you, Logan, you’ll never be free. I’m giving you free will because I love you. Please take it, and go live your life. Once we do this…you’re trapped.”

He didn’t care.

While he should be freaked out that she would leave him and stay here, in that moment, he was willing to do whatever it took.

She.

Was.

His.

For the first time in his life, he saw what he could have, and it wasn’t being a cop. It was being with her. If everything his partner said was true, they’d live forever, and he’d never be alone again.

He’d have his mate.

His woman.

His wife.

They both heard the cave walls shifting, and when they looked over, they were locked inside the grotto together.

There was no way out until the lair decided it was time for one of them to be free.

“I offer you my blood, Cerise. I offer you me. Please don’t throw me away,” he whispered, barely audible to himself, but she must have heard him.

His hand was still out, waiting for her.

“If I hurt you…”

He stared into her gorgeous eyes.

“You won’t. You will never hurt me, and I’ll never hurt you. Please, Cerise. I put my faith in this, and I walked away from her. She’s not you. God. She can never be you,” he whispered.

Her body was craving his, and she knew there was only one option.

Reaching for him, the second their fingers touched, he took her hand in his and pulled her toward him.

He did not know what he was doing.