Page 29 of Hunted By Fear

Oh no, my worst nightmare…

But I’ll beg if that’s what she needs. I’d get down on my knees and worship her, kissing the floor she walks on because she is mine. Aeri is what I’ve been looking for since the dawn of time, and after eons alone, I won’t be able to face another moment without her.

She might not feel it yet, but I do. Even unmated, I know what this is. I can’t imagine what it will feel like once we are mated.

“I do trust you, Bast,” she says, pulling me from my musing and shocking me.

Did I hear her right?

“It’s me I don’t trust.”

“I know, but I’ve got you, Aeri. We’re going to figure this out, and then you won’t ever have to deal with him again.”

She nuzzles into my chest again, her breathing still stuttering from crying, but I feel the tension slowly drain from her as she drifts back to sleep. I hope it’s dreamless.

I sit with her in my arms all night, letting her sleep, watching for some sign of a nightmare. Her face remains relaxed; the only sound is her deep breathing, but her hands remain tangled in my shirt. I can’t help but love the way it feels to have her cling to me.

I sense her waking even before she blinks open those beautiful blue eyes. I feel her emotions, and while she’s a bit confused, she isn’t panicking, which I hope means she’s still herself.

“You stayed.” She sounds surprised, and it’s adorable that she doesn’t know how gone I am for her. As if holding her in my arms all night was some kind of struggle.

She finally releases her hold on my shirt to rub at her eyes with a yawn. She’s so damn perfect, and she's mine. A strand of her white hair falls forward on her face, and I reach out to brush it back behind her ear before I can stop myself.

Not that I want to.

Her mouth falls open, and her cheeks heat, turning a beautiful pink that makes her pale skin look even more radiant.

“Of course I did. I wasn’t going to let you wake up alone and afraid again if I could help it.” Her lips pull up in a smile, and it’s the first real smile I’ve seen on her face since before she disappeared. My black heart beats more in these five seconds than it probably has in a hundred years, but, fuck me… I don’t hate it.

“Thank you,” she mumbles, dropping her eyes back down to the bed as embarrassment gets the best of her. It only lasts a moment, though, as the same strand of hair once again falls forward. She attempts to blow it away, but it only flops back down again, making her purse her lips in annoyance.

It takes everything in me not to laugh, but somehow I manage it, even if only just barely.

“Turn around,” I tell her with a chuckle.

She doesn’t so much as ask why before she’s moving, and I feel every bit of her pressed against me as she goes. Between her submissiveness and quiet strength, I’m transfixed.

I need to see her come, to watch her fall apart in pleasure, pleasure caused by me.

That can wait until later, though, when she is of sound mind and able to enjoy it, able to let go.

I snap my fingers, summoning a brush from my room to my hand, and run it gently through her beautiful, silver-gray strands.

Making something from nothing is harder as a demon, but not impossible, though with the amount of power it takes, I usually just opt for stealing things when I can. This particular item I made just for her, though not just now. I’d made it months ago, even before Rome stole her away. I’d made it with the hopes of one day being able to do just this—pamper my mate.

She goes stiff for a moment, and I worry I’ve crossed a line, but after a moment she relaxes a little, and I let out a sigh of relief.

“Bast, you don’t have to do this.” She attempts to wave me away, but all I can do is chuckle.

“I want to, Aeri.” So damn much that something primal, more beast than man, settles in my chest, but I don’t tell her that. I don’t want to scare her with how much I crave her, and it very well could, especially with the life she’s lived with Rome.

We have to be different, better, and show her that she doesn’t need to fear us. That nice things can be done and should be done for those you care about, without strings, even more so for our mates.

But then again, I’m not sure she even knows about mates.

How would she? Up until a few months ago, she didn’t even know there were things out there beyond mortals.

We sit for a while in comfortable silence, and my mouth is moving before I can stop it.