Page 68 of Taming His Vampire Mate

“No. Iwasmated.”

The finality was impossible to miss.

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” he said, swallowing hard. “He died.”

“It was that creature?” The words slipped out before I could stop them. “It was that…” I trailed off, unable to even find words. “Thatthing?”

Jeremy nodded, looking sharply away. The even cadence of his heartbeat sped up.

“That was what killed him? Was that actually real? It couldn’t have been, right?”

I realized—too late—that demanding answers now wasn’t kind. But how the hell was I supposed to know the right thing? I had never been kind. That was for people like Nathaniel, Ethan, or Rico.

Jeremy paled. When his gaze met mine, his eyes were haunted and a thousand miles deep. “No, Thierry. It was very real. We were seeing a memory, imprinted on the dreamscape. I’m sure of it.”

That hung between us. I knew monsters existed—creatures from myth and legend were real—but in the same way I knewblack holes existed. Distant. Harmless to me. Michael and Danny had sometimes encountered strange and deadly things in their time as hunters, but I’d never understood what it was like to stand face-to-face with an unnatural, predatory creature you couldn’t possibly reason with. A being that was completely alien and hungry.

“It doesn’t get easier,” Jeremy said, obviously catching at least the tone of my thoughts, if not every single word. “Each time I see something like that, it’s just as bad as the first time. Wolves can sense them. We’re sensitive to the flow of spiritual energies, and their unnaturalness is like a beacon for us.”

It was unkind to make him talk about this, wasn’t it? I wasn’t sure how I felt about him anymore—I needed time to process that—but I wasn’t willing to becruel.

“Do you want me to go?”

His brows slammed together. “No!”

I blinked, startled by his vehemence.

“I’m surprised you stayed,” he said. “But I guess I wasn’t expecting you to ask questions.” He gave me a rueful smile. “Though, given what I know about you now, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re still here.”

“I stayed because you needed me,” I said flatly, as though that explained anything.

It didn’t.

“You hate my guts,” he reminded me, his gaze intent, as if he could peel my secrets away.

“Oh, I’m aware,” I shot back, even though it wasn’t true anymore.

I rose, my sudden anger carrying me. Did he really still think that? I didn’t hate him. I might want to clobber him over the head, but that wasn’t anything new.

I crossed the room in a blur.

Then I got right up in his space, seething. If I hated him, I wouldn’t have cared enough to stay. Or to save his life. Or to be worried now.

Stupid, idiotic,moronic—

He kissed me.

Good God, his lips were warm. And shameless. His tongue met mine without guile. He took what he wanted, and I let him. Maybe I was shameless too—because I wanted him to.

My mouth parted, and my cock hardened. His arms wrapped around my waist, his hands palming both my ass cheeks, dragging a needy sound from me.

I cupped his face with one hand, sliding the other up his back, marveling at his warmth and solidity. The lean strength under his skin. The rough chest hair scraping my shirt, making me want it off. All of it off. No barriers.

“Thierry,” he breathed, pulling from my mouth to kiss my throat like a vampire preparing to bite.

My cock jerked. Another soft moan escaped my lips. His bare skin was so warm, so good. I almost couldn’t believe I’d tried to talk myself out of this—out of Jeremy, who felt like the missing piece I’d searched for nearly a thousand years.