Page 66 of Taming His Vampire Mate

Since meeting Thierry, I had almost forgotten my pain. But it was still there, waiting to drag me under. Waiting to make me into something monstrous—a person capable of yanking an ordinary man out of his life and tearing away his humanity just to ease my own grief.

Ian would have been disappointed in me.

Another wave of nausea hit, and I retched again.

An eternity seemed to pass.

But it wasn’t an eternity.

Thierry returned less than a minute later.

Gently, he pulled my hand from the toilet and pressed something cool and smooth into it. A glass of water.

“Drink.”

I gulped it down.

He took the empty glass, set it on the sink, and handed me a towel.

“Clean your face. You’ll feel better.”

Blinking at him, I obeyed, dropping the soiled towel beside me.

“If you were human, I’d give you aspirin and some pink stuff. But I doubt that would work on you.”

I said nothing.

From where he stood over me, face pinched with concern, the overhead light framed his head like a halo. Like he was an angel.

I let out a bark of laughter, closer to a gasp of pain.

“Do you need to vomit again?”

I shook my head.

“Right. Then let’s get you into bed,” Thierry said, hauling me to my feet without waiting for an answer. He frog-marched me into the bedroom.

When I hesitated—suddenly all too aware I was in only my underwear—Thierry pointed at the bed. “Sleep. You’ll feel better in the morning, I promise.”

Unable to stop myself from believing him, I climbed in. A part of me wanted to ask him to stay, but most of me was just grateful he was here. With him close, the dream lost its sharp edges.

He pulled the covers over me, tucking me in.

“You’re still an asshole,” he said softly. But through the bond, I felt his concern.

“Yeah,” I rasped. “I know.”

He huffed, looking marginally relieved, and turned to go. He didn’t slam the door.

And knowing he was nearby helped. It shouldn’t have, but it did.

The wolf in me—eerily silent all this time, as it always was around Thierry—let out a soft rumble. Our mate had shown up when we needed him. We hadn’t asked him to, but he’d cared for us anyway.

Even though thoughts like that were dangerous where Thierry was concerned, I felt safe enough to slip into a deep, dreamless sleep.

CHAPTER NINETEEN || THIERRY

The wolf woke just after dawn.