Page 38 of Crave Me

“Mates can reject the bond,” I said, my words gravelly to my ears. “But sex overpowers the rejection. So once you…fuck… there’s no going back.”

“Even for us?” she asked. “I’m not a being of this reality. Maybe the rules for us are different?”

As much as I wanted to test that theory… “I think that assumption is one we shouldn’t consider. Because once fate’s magic has secured two souls, it’s impossible to break.”

“Not even with death?”

“Are you saying you want to fuck me and kill me?” I countered, not appreciating the direction our conversation had taken.

She laughed, the sound unexpected and making me frown.

“No. I’m just curious as to how the bonds work when one dies. I have no desire to kill you. Only a desire to taste you.” Her hand went to my thigh again, and this time I didn’t stop her. “And fuck you.”

Yes. Definitely a threat to my control.Because I could smell the desire she’d mentioned, that intoxicating arousal weaving a web around my senses that begged me to take her. To pull this SUV over, strip her, and lick every inch of her godly form.

Some women were over the top in their seduction, blatantly throwing themselves at me and making it clear they would doanythingI demanded.

However, Nyx’s approach was different. She was confident and forward, but not in an overly easy kind of way. She made her interest known while also telling me I’d have to work for her pleasure.

And if I didn’t meet her expectations, she surely would not see to mine. Because she demanded to be worshipped before she agreed to reciprocate.

A very different experience for me, one that had me placing my hand over hers and bringing her wrist up to my mouth. I nibbled her pulse, my predatory instinct to bite a throbbing reality in my fangs.

“If a mated half dies, it can drive the other person to insanity,” I said against her skin, responding to her question about how death played a role in the fated bonds. “The souls connect, almost thriving as one. So wounding a half damages the whole.”

I pressed a kiss to her wrist, then placed her hand back in her lap again.

“So I suppose ‘no fucking’ is our only rule, as it’s more than a precaution; it’s potentially life-changing. Because while you might be from another realm, our souls will forever be linked. If we fully bond and you leave, it will likely feel as though you’ve died, and I rather like my sanity.”

CHAPTERNINE

NYX

Vesperus’s commentsregarding the fated-mate bond swirled around in my mind for several minutes while he drove in silence.

I didn’t like the notion of being his downfall. From the short amount of time we’d spent together, I could tell he was a decent ruler. Which matched what I’d heard about him while wandering Ireland prior to meeting him.

If we allowed this mating bond to thrive, and I eventually decided to move on to a new reality, it might destroy him.

Unless I took him with me.

But then he’d be leaving his kingdom behind for a woman he hardly knew, all because of some fated magic that said we should be together.

I frowned. “Maybe we need to reject it,” I said, thinking aloud. “Before it… before it clouds our judgment and makes things irreversible.” The latter part of that statement came out far less confident from where I’d started. It almost physically hurt to say.

Strange. I pressed my palm to my breastbone, attempting to massage away the dull ache that had formed inside me with my statement.

Vesperus remained silent for a long moment, the hum of the engine purring with this world’s strange magic the only sound between us.

“It would be the practical decision,” I continued. “To… to reject the bond, I mean.” I massaged my breastbone a little harder, trying to erase the ache as I pushed my words forward. “This enchantment is unlike any I’ve ever experienced. And while I enjoy the sensation of it, I’m… I’m not sure the benefits are worth the risk.”

Particularly as it seemed clear that this bond could dismantle his throne.

He was a king. He needed a mate who could rule at his side, and I likely wasn’t the right candidate for that role. “I’m here to explore the realm and to potentially call it home. And while you are the best experience I’ve had thus far, I don’t want a spell to taint my choice to stay.”

“Spells often do taint our choices,” he murmured. “Or magic, anyway. It’s created chaos numerous times in this world, the last of which being a bit over twenty-four years ago—The Great Sacrifice.”

“What happened?”