Page 78 of Crossed Fates

“Yeah?” I bent to bite her neck, breaking the skin and laving the wound. She hissed with pain, then grabbed my shoulder and dug her claws into my skin.

“What the hell?” she demanded.

I grinned against her throat. “Just testing your healing,mate.”

She growled.

I growled back. Then I kissed her cheek. “So you’re immortal, then?” That would certainly pose an interesting challenge for ourconnection. It was a revelation that should probably bother me a bit more, but all I could think was,That makes her indestructible.And that thought strongly appealed to my wolf.

“I stopped aging, or will stop, sometime in my twenties,” she said. “It’s not an exact science. But yeah, I’ll stay this way… and I’m hard to kill.”

“Well then, that just makes it even easier to accept your job,” I admitted. “Not that I needed the extra reasoning. You can clearly take care of yourself. Knowing you’re more unbreakable just adds another layer of security to it.”

She met and held my gaze, her blue eyes searching. “You really don’t care that I take jobs that put my life on the line every day?”

“You just claimed to be immortal.”

“Yeah, but I can still die.”

I studied her. “Are you trying to convince me to lock you up, Makayla? Or do you want to be free? I’m confused.”

“I’m just… I’m surprised you’re so open to the idea of me working.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I countered. “I work for E.V.I.E. for a reason. I’ve taken numerous cases that endangered my well-being. Case in point, the hybrid. So I’d be a hypocrite to keep you from your passion, especially when I’m also passionate about your kind of work.” I cupped her cheek and pressed my lips to hers. “I’m not going to chain you down, Mak. Not unless you beg me to while naked, of course.” A man had his standards, after all.

Her lips twitched, the first sign of true humor touching her face. “I’ll never beg for that.”

“Never say never,” I teased, kissing her again before drawing back, my tone falling serious once more. “Let’s not overreact to this, okay? I understand it’s a lot to accept, especially with the whole realms thing. But I’m not going to go all beast on you and start making demands. As I’ve said, I never wanted a mate. However, last night certainly proved there are benefits to it, and I’ll very happily indulge in those benefits again.”

Makayla

Veracity radiated from Alaric,his conviction palpable.

He meant it.

If I wanted to continue working, he wouldn’t stop me. And while he’d joked about caging me and chaining me up, I knew he hadn’t really meant it—outside the bedroom, anyway. He wouldn’t force me to stay here with him. He wouldn’t force me to do anything. Because on some level, he understood my need to continue helping people. Probably because of his work as a slayer. Or maybe it was just his lone wolf relating to mine.

Regardless, his words set a part of me free.

The dread I felt this morning melted away, disappearing down the drain with the water from the shower, leaving me breathless and light.

One day at a time,I decided.We’ll take this one day at a time.He might be mine. Or he might not be really mine. The realms made it tricky and definitely provided an obstacle for us to overcome.

However, for the moment, I’d accept what this was, indulge in the sensations between us, and not worry about what it all meant.

For just today.

Tomorrow, I’ll… I’ll just see what happens.

I lifted onto my toes to kiss him, showing him my gratitude with my mouth. He indulged me in long, sensuous strokes with his tongue, his cock a brand against my lower belly. But he didn’t try to push us any further. He just returned my embrace, his mouth holding a whisper of promises. Vows. A subtle display of the future to come.

Mine, his touch hummed.

However, he didn’t force it.

He just enjoyed our connection, choosing to live in the moment rather than demand either of us accept our destiny.

And I found I liked that approach.