Page 157 of Kingly Bitten

“Yes, My Prince,” she replied dutifully. Although, I didn’t miss the note of amusement in her tone. It seemed my newfound infatuation entertained everyone.

Given my history, I supposed I deserved that.

But it felt right.

Like this was exactly where I should be.

Calina made me stronger. Happier. More strategic.Complete.

“I’m starting to wonder who I was before you,” I admitted as I carried her into the bedroom and directly to the en-suite bathroom. “You’ve changed me irrevocably, Calina. I’m not sure I’ll ever be the same.”

“Is that bad?” she asked, her smile having disappeared into a more serious expression.

“I never knew I needed to change,” I told her. “But now that I know who I can be with you, I wonder how I was ever satisfied before.”

I set her on the bench and finished removing my clothes while she watched from beneath a hooded gaze. A dozen ideas scrolled through her mind, all of them centered around my cock and each of them more appealing than the last.

But none of them were what I intended to do to her.

“Stand up, little genius,” I said, reaching over to turn on the water. “There’s a part of you I haven’t claimed yet. And I intend to make every inch of you mine.”

42

Calina

I shiveredat the promise in Jace’s voice.

What part?I wanted to ask, but the dark intent in his gaze had me complying with his command instead. I also heard murmurs of it in my mind, his intention one I would never have considered.

His hands found my hips as he pulled me under the falling water, the shower larger than any I’d ever seen. Except for the one at his home in Jace City—the bathtub alone had been made for five or more people to enjoy at a time.

Something I didn’t want to think about because it only brought up whispers of Jace’s past.

He caught my chin, forcing me to look at him. “I won’t apologize for my past, Calina.”

“I never asked you to.” Nor would I ever ask him to. It was just a part of him that I had to accept. Besides, it was the future that concerned me more.

He canted his head, his grip on my chin and hip tightening as the jet began to move around us.

The water continued to pour around us, the warmth washing away some of the ice forming inside me at the thought of what our future held.

Our bond was undefined. I might be able to sleep with others. I might not.

But Jace absolutely could.

And I strongly disliked that notion.

I wanted to call him mine, just as he’d said moments ago about me. Yet I felt as though I couldn’t stake a similar claim because he really wasn’t mine at all.

TheErositalink was unfair in that regard, giving the vampire all the control and leaving the mortal reliant on the connection to survive.

Jace continued to study me, the air between us charged with unspoken words and a myriad of thoughts. He could hear each of mine, including my hesitancy regarding our future together.

His previous experiences had created the male before me. I’d never begrudge him for that. But I wondered how it would impact our relationship long-term.

He didn’t believe in monogamy.

Meanwhile, monogamy was the only choice for me unless I wanted to risk my immortality.