Page 109 of The Awakening

Jae looks off and toward the lake. It’s silent and moving with an invisible current. Peacefully reflecting the moon and the night sky.

“Are you upset about this?” He turns, looking at me. “You didn’t want this before.”

I slide my hands down into his, clasping our palms. “Do I seem upset? We share a connection now. Can you sense me?”

His face is calm as he looks me over, examining. After a moment, he nods. “I can. A little.”

“So?”

“You seem relieved and… horny?”

“Correct. I think your sense of me will grow stronger as you open yourself more. As you embrace and experiment with your energy?”

He nods in agreement, inhaling a deep breath but stifling a smile. Obviously, I can read him, too. And since I know what I’m doing, I can read him better. He’s delighted. Thrilled. But he doesn’t want to show it. He’s worried about reacting too strongly and letting himself get excited. To protect himself and me, in case I get turned off by it—like I did when he first awakened.

Jae’s energy radiates and speaks to me like an open book. He doesn’t seem to realize this, because he’s still trying to hide his real feelings from me. But that’s okay. We’ll get there. The hardest part is done.

“I came out here,” I say, “because vamps are starting to leave. We’re wrapping things up.”

“That’s odd. I would assume that vampires would party all night?”

“Vampires day-walk and have jobs. Shall we go inside and get ready to go back to the house?”

“Okay…” Jae pauses a moment, squeezing my hands. “Will they know? About this?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“Because our energies have changed. When we arrived, we had two distinct energies presenting from our individual bodies. But now we share the same one.”

Jae reaches up, scratching the back of his head. “This is awkward.”

“Slightly.”

“Will they think we were having sex out here?”

I shrug. “Probably.”

“Ah, bloody hell—”

“That doesn’t matter!” I reach and wrap him in my arms again, grinning helplessly. “Who cares what anyone thinks? I love you and I have you, and you have me. We’rebonded, Jae.”

I want him to let himself be as excited as I know he is—as excited as I am. But he just holds me tight with his palms flat against my spine. I can feel the warmth and delight radiating from within him, but he doesn’t say a word.

* * *

A little later,when we open the door to the back room of the villa, we’re met with wide eyes across the board. Cellina is sitting on the couch with her bare feet in Giovanni’s lap as he rubs them. Haruka is sitting in an armchair, and Nino is jacketless and pacing around behind him until he sees us and stops dead. Cellina sits up straighter on the couch as we walk inside.

“Oh wow! Congratulations!”

“Thank you,” I say, holding on to Jae’s hand. Giovanni cocks his head to the side.

“So you two were fucking in the garden? Who bonds at someone else’s bonding ceremony?”

Cellina frowns, moving her feet from his grasp. “You are so out of control today.”

“Actually, I only fed from his hand,” I clarify.