Page 31 of The Bodyguard and the Alpha (Witch Twins #2)

Electra

I returned to consciousness gradually, slowly cataloguing sensations.

Arms held me tightly against a warm body but the air around us was cold on my ears.

I snuggled closer to the warm body, determinedly keeping my eyes shut.

The arms around me felt right and if I spoke it might ruin the magic.

I wanted to stay in the moment, right now, to go back to sleep and ignore reality for a little longer.

But the wind whipped around my ears, and my hair blew over my face.

Tree branches creaked and I heard the warning call of a bird.

That was too weird. I cracked open an eye and my vision was filled with a close-up of grey skin and muscles. Oh .

Be calm, mate.

I had been calm until he said that, but of course, being told to ‘be calm’ had the opposite effect. How did males not understand this? My chest tightened as I remembered. Bastien had made me come on his tongue. He had marked me. He had… bitten me.

He had bonded me as his mate.

Safe . Trust me. Bastien’s mental voice was gentle and almost tentative.

I trust you , I told him. I felt his relief at my response.

I did trust him. The mental bond, experiencing the intensity of his emotions, had shocked me.

Even though I’d consciously lowered my shields, I had instinctively tried to push him out when he barged in, and when I couldn’t, I’d spiralled to the point where I’d passed out.

But I wasn’t afraid of him. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me on purpose.

Never.

He wouldn’t hurt me, but I could hurt him.

I was afraid for him. Most days I was an anxious mess, barely holding myself together and he’d bonded to me.

I couldn’t let him tie himself to my disaster of a psyche.

He was the President. He needed a mate who could make him proud, who wouldn’t require constant reassurance. Who wasn’t needy.

I blew out a breath as I formed a plan. I had to replace my own shields so the bond couldn’t get any stronger.

But I needed to get the damned manacles off then I would need time and a quiet space for the ritual.

And once we were rescued, the bond could be undone before that would cause damage.

I ignored the jagged pain that bloomed in my chest at the thought.

No . The arms around me tightened.

No?

Mine. Mate. Claimed and bitten.

I ignored the way my core clenched at the memory of how he had claimed me. I wasn’t good for him and he would see it soon enough. But there was no point arguing about it now.

It was time for a change of subject. “So where are we?” It wasn’t subtle, but at this point I didn’t care. And I wasn’t going to use the mental link anymore either.

Mountains.

I thought about the geography of the city.

If we were in the mountains, we’d been taken well away from the city.

A couple of hours’ drive at least, depending on how far we’d been taken into the mountain range that cut across the country.

But at least Luc would get a better signal on Bastien’s tracker now that we were outdoors rather than in the windowless complex.

“How did you get us out?”

No men left.

Right. Anyone who’d seen the slaughter Bastien was capable of had wisely run away. Except for me. I’d run into his arms.

Good mate , he crooned. My body betrayed me at his praise, my nipples tightening. No. I couldn’t let this happen.

“Let me down, please.”

Too cold. Fragile mate will freeze .

My lips curled in a smile before I caught myself.

Only an eight-foot ogre Shifter who was immune to cold would call me fragile.

No-one had treated me as a person who needed looking after since my powers had come in.

It was exactly how I had dreamed that he would behave when I had allowed myself the fantasy.

That he would focus all his Alpha dominance and protectiveness on me. That he would take care of me.

A shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ran through me at the memory of how well he had taken care of me . But I couldn’t let the warm blanket of his protectiveness, or his magic Alpha tongue and fingers soften me towards him. I couldn’t think about what it would be like if he fucked me.

We were wrong together and I had to make him see it. Realisation sat like a rock in my empty stomach. I had to be the Ice Queen. But he was also right, I would be too cold if he put me down. For now, I’d enjoy the feeling of being held in his arms. But it had to be temporary.