Page 9

Dorian

Since I’d brought Neo home with me two weeks ago, the two of us had barely left our room. Neither of us could stand to be far from the other for long. Neo was on the same schedule as me now, so I even walked with him down to the kitchen every night when we woke to get enough food for him for the night. I couldn’t keep my hands off him.

It’d been the best two weeks of my life.

Neo grabbed my hand and grinned at me. “Are you ready?”

I leaned in and kissed his neck. “Mm. Definitely.”

As we walked through the courtyard, Neo pulled me to a stop simply to kiss my lips. It made me smile even wider than I already had been. He’d really come out of his shell and was completely comfortable with me now and not shying away from talking to me or kissing me whenever he wanted. Including when other people were around. Not that we were making out in front of people, but he would lean on me and kiss my cheek and hold my hand. It was something that I hadn’t really had since I’d turned. By nature, vampires weren’t the types to cuddle, but when it came to our True Mates, all those feelings of being near and touching them came rushing in.

I led him up to the top of the castle where one of the balconies was still intact, and we set up our blanket and basket of food for him. Once we were settled, Neo pulled out his food and leaned against me as he ate.

“I really like it up here.” He shot me a small grin.

“Me too. It’s nice when it’s a clear night like tonight.”

“Mm. I love looking up at the stars.”

I kissed his temple and put my arm around his shoulders. “Me too. Can I ask you a question that you don’t have to answer right now?”

He set his food down and turned to look at me, but remained leaning into my side. “Sure.”

“Would you ever… consider becoming a vampire?”

He tilted his head and examined me. “You want to turn me?”

I was afraid of making him angry, but I knew I needed to be truthful. “Honestly, yes, I want to. But if you don’t want to be turned, I’ll respect your wishes.”

“Uh, so Remi told me that bestowers live longer lives from the venom in your fangs. They live even longer when they drink vampire blood like I’ve been doing.”

My heart sank, but I tried not to let my disappointment and worry show. “That’s true, but most bestowers are turned before they pass, if they wish.”

He nodded. “So… if I didn’t want to become a vampire, you’d be okay with it?”

I closed my eyes for a few seconds to gain my bearing since it felt like I was stabbed in the heart. Then I looked at him and his sweet blue eyes. “I would respect your decision, but that doesn’t mean I would be okay with it. But I’ll take whatever years you’re willing to give me, and once you’re gone, I’ll see one last sunrise.”

His brow furrowed. “Are you saying that you’d kill yourself if I… died?”

I nodded. “I wouldn’t be able to bear living without you.”

“Oh, Dorian.” He wrapped his arms around my neck and pulled me close. “I’m sorry, I was only thinking out loud. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Leaning back, he cupped my cheek, rubbing his thumb over my skin. “I want to spend eternity with you, too. If that means being turned, then that’s what we’ll do. I don’t want to live—or die—without you, either.”

I breathed out in relief, but still managed to say, “You don’t have to decide now. We have plenty of time before the Holy Tree is ready.”

He climbed onto my lap and hugged me close as I wrapped my arms around him, and he whispered, “I love you, Dorian Mortas Kiebusinski.”

I leaned back to look him in the eyes. That was the first time he’d said it. “You do?”

He nodded. “Very much.”

Sighing, I hugged him and buried my face against his neck. “I love you, too, Neo Lachlan Farone. So much.”

He kissed my hair and whispered, “I’m ready.”

I leaned back again. “You are?” He nodded. “Are you sure?”

He grinned at me. “Yes.”

I kissed him deeply, then stripped his clothes off before he had a chance to change his mind. It’d been so hard being patient, but I wanted him to feel ready before we completed our bond. He laughed at my hastiness, and I smiled at him. He had such a wonderful laugh—he’d brought so much joy to my life in the short time I’d known him; I couldn’t believe that he was mine.

He pulled my shirt over my head and scooted off my lap to pull his pants down and unhook his knife from his leg while I pulled my own pants off. He had a small blade that I’d started making him carry on him for protection. Then he climbed back on my lap, and we both groaned as our skin touched. He ground his hips on me, and I grabbed his ass, pulling him in so our cocks rubbed together. He pinched my nipples and kissed my neck, then licked his way down to the spot he’d bite into to complete our bond.

We had to bite each other at the same time with the intention of connecting to have a complete bond. If only one of us did it, we’d have a partial bond. He could use his knife to cut my skin first, then bite down on it. It would hurt for a few seconds, but it’d be worth it. And I was sure that it would feel amazing once he started drinking from me.

I shoved my fingers in his mouth, and he licked them seductively before I pulled them out and ran my wet fingers over his hole, then pushed one inside. We moaned in unison as I began opening him up.

He threw his head back, so I licked and nipped at his neck while I pushed two fingers, then three inside of him. Neo grabbed my face and pulled me into a deep kiss that made me groan as he rode my fingers.

“I’m ready, Dor.”

I groaned again, then pushed him onto his back and lined my cock up with his hole. I used my spit to wet it before slowly pushing inside. We’d had so much sex over the past two weeks, he was practically ready for me all the time, but I still froze to let him adjust once I was fully sheathed inside him.

He smiled up at me and ran his hands through my hair, then gently pulled me down for another kiss, and he melted under me, so I began thrusting slowly. I kept the pace slow because I didn’t want to rush. I wanted him to feel good. Neo’s fingers dug into my back, and he met my thrusts, trying to make me go faster, but I didn’t comply because he was trembling and falling apart in my arms. And it was gorgeous—the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

“Dorian.”

I kissed his lips, then ran my tongue down his neck. “You’re so sexy like this.”

“Oh, Dor, I’m so close.”

I could tell that he was—I was too—so I whispered, “Cut my shoulder.”

“I don’t know… if I can.”

I kissed his lips, but kept the slow, torturous pace. “I need you to. I need you to drink from me.”

He was panting and out of breath and flushed from his chest, up. But he was as beautiful as ever. He reached over his head and grabbed the small knife, unsheathed it, and held it in front of my shoulder. “You sure?”

“Do it, baby. Now.”

He searched my eyes, then nodded and wrinkled his nose as he cut a small slit in my shoulder. I held in the hiss that wanted to escape because I didn’t want him to feel bad for cutting me.

“Drink, my treasure.”

He dropped the knife over his head, then grabbed my shoulders and sucked on my wound. It stung, but then the pleasure of being drank from overtook the pain, and a small moan escaped my lips.

When he leaned back, I kissed his blood-covered lips and whispered against them, “You ready?”

“Please.”

I grinned and pecked his lips, then leaned down and bit into his neck. As I drank, I thought about how much I wanted our connection, how much I wanted him in my life, how much I loved him. Just drinking wasn’t enough; you had to think about how much you cared for your mate, and I’d never cared for anyone half as much as I cared for my Neo.

I leaned back and our eyes met. I could see how much he cared about me, too. But more so, I could feel it in every part of me. But our bond wasn’t complete yet.

“We have to drink together, baby. Is my wound still open?”

He looked and nodded. “Together, Dor.”

We nodded, then both leaned in and bit down. As soon as we gulped in each other’s blood, I felt a surge of emotions fill me—emotions that weren’t my own, but reflected mine. I felt his appreciation, his joy, his excitement, his love for me. I felt it so deeply within my soul that I laughed against his skin. It lit me up from the inside out, and the love we held for each other sparked brighter than a star.

Everything that I was feeling from him, he could feel from me. I could sense him so easily that I knew his eyes were filled with tears of joy.

And then we were coming together in this crazy powerful ecstasy that coursed through our bodies, hearts, and souls. I could feel his pleasure, and he could feel mine. And it was fucking wonderful.

Memories that weren’t my own flashed through my mind. Faces of his brother and sisters and parents. Memories of him playing with his dad out in a field where they planted their food; memories of him helping his mother bake cookies; memories of him playing with and fighting with his siblings; the memory of their deaths; the memory of a giant wolf named Chris carrying him on his back to safety. And all of the emotions he’d felt came with every memory. It all came flooding in at once and was overwhelming, yet amazing.

Neo was seeing flashes of my life as well and feeling my emotions.

But then the memories faded and all that was left was the two of us and the love we felt for one another.

He loved me so deeply it blew me away.

We pulled our mouths away, I licked his wound closed, and we held each other as our bodies trembled.

Can you hear me, my treasure? I asked in my head.

Neo gasped, then those happy tears trailed down his cheeks. I hear you. This is so crazy.

I kissed his tears away and chuckled a little. It is, but I hear we’ll get used to it. We’re connected together forever now. No matter how far apart we are, we’ll still be connected.

He wrapped his arms around me and held on tight. Don’t even think about testing that theory.

I laughed and tucked my arms under him. I have no intention of ever testing that.

Good.

I love you, Neo.

I love you, too, Dor.

I smiled down at him. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For doing this with me, for being here, for being my True Mate. Take your pick.”

He grinned. “Vampires are so sappy.”

I snorted out a laugh, then laid my head back down on him.

We stayed that way for a long time, just soaking each other up and talking and testing our new link. But when it got too late, we had to clean our mess and get inside before the sun came up.

As we were walking back hand in hand, Neo said, “I never thought I’d meet my person, but now that I have, I’m glad he’s you.”

“Yeah?”

He stopped me and kissed my lips. “Yeah.”

I smiled and let my True Mate pull me all the way back to our room.