Page 69 of Dark Flame

She looks utterly disheveled. A mess from her run, from being attacked in the woods, from our fucking.

She looks likemine.

The one in this blasted, eternal world who can end my immortal soul by a single act of her own hand.

The one who’s now forced to walk in the shadows with me for the rest of our lives.

The one whom my entire body is attuned into. To protect, care for, be whatever she needs from me.

Fuck.My head thumps. Seeing Harlow—a goddamn Sinclair—in my bed is everything wrong. It’s everything right…but it’s also everything that should never be.

Only bliss comes through the bond as she smiles up at me. Her happiness is too much. She should hate me. Hate me so I can actually hate her in return and attempt to end this fucking connection—if such a thing is possible.

Protect. Keep her.

Has there been a situation of a vampire ending a bond with their Bride? I haven’t heard of one, but it must be possible.Mustbe…or I’ll go mad. I can’t keep her.

Even considering the possibility of breaking the bond makes my insides churn, a feeling I’ve never had during my life as an immortal. But she makes me weak.

She’s also a weakness I’m stuck with.

Twenty-Six

HARLOW

He’s staringat me like he’s never seen me before. As thoughhe’snot the one who acted so fucking odd tonight.

Kidnapping me—that made sense. He’s a vampire while I have the cure. I rationalized his reasoning.

Locking me up—again, from his perspective, I get it.

Selling my blood—not right, but I’ve processed his reasoning.

Chasing me through the woods—he was pissed I escaped. It was expected.

But everything after that? The taunting, the biting, the sex. The way he seemed to be fighting himself every second of the way until I gave him permission.

Alec studies me as intensely as I am him, but for once, he doesn’t seem like he’s the hunter. He looks terrified, if I didn’t know better. His expression is taut, body wound tighter than a rope.

“What was?—”

He gets out of bed, retrieves his pants, and heads for the door.

“Alec!” I scramble upright, a wave of dizziness washing over me. Maybe he drank too much. I mean—he hada lot, but I couldn’t stop wanting it. I get it now, how sex and feeding go together for vampires; there’s a depravity in it. A recklessness, a hedonism I found myself craving. Not that his cock wasn’t impressive, but I think half my orgasm was because of him drinking.

“Stay.”He glances over his shoulder, his eyes reverted back to black, mouth in a snarl. “I’ll return later. Rest. Your body went through a lot tonight.”

“Yeah, no.”

Since when has he ever cared? I slide off his insanely tall bed and cross the room towards him. Something flashes across his face, making me aware of the blood staining nearly every inch of my skin. Even between my thighs, mingling with our combined cum.

“Not until you explain what that was out there.” I gesture to the window, indicating the forest. “After you first drank, you changed. You were different.”

He laughs humourlessly. “You have no fucking idea how right you are.”

“So tell me.”

His jaw works back and forth. “You won’t enjoy the answer.”