Page 104 of The Vampire's Seduction

“Yes. It’ll hold as long as no one destroys any part of it.”

“Then let’s leave him for now. I just want to save Betsy and get out of here.”

Marek froze at Olivia’s words. Get out of here? Was she planning to leave him? No. Impossible. He wouldn’t let her go. The time he’d spent away from her had been sheer torture. Did she not feel the same?

When she’d kissed him, when she’d leaped into his arms earlier, as if her very breath depended on him, he’d thought that she was ready for the mating bond… to spend eternity with him.

Do you think anyone would want a failure like you?

“You found the spell, right?” Andrea asked, cutting off his brooding. “Do you need help?”

“Wait. You found the life force transfer spell?” Marek asked.

Olivia gave him a questioning glass. “Yes. I texted you, remember?”

“I smashed my phone.” Marek scrubbed a hand over his face. He wasn’t going to tell her it was to stop himself from messaging her. He’d been distracted and out of it, blaming himself for leaving her the way he did. Destroying his phone had made him feel better for all of an hour.

“Oh.” She looked lost for a second before her expression brightened. Then she seemed to catch herself and frowned. “Yes, I found the spell, but I haven’t finished translating it yet.”

“You should rest. The spell can wait,” Marek said, knowing what she already planned for the rest of the night.

“Nobody asked you. I feel better already.” Olivia asked Andrea, “Will you come help me translate? It’ll go faster with two people.”

“I can translate it,” Marek said. “I told you I’m not leaving you.”

As people passed them to get on the elevator, Marek moved their group to the corner.

“What about your job? Don’t you have better things to do?” Olivia asked him with challenge flashing in her pretty eyes.

Marek’s jaw popped. She was right. The mission in Denver had been an abject failure. No one had died, but he hadn’t saved anyone either. He should meet up with Sascha and the others to plan their next move. He’d told Julian he would give CDI his one-hundred percent. Yet here he was, breaking his promise.

Screw that. He’d spent enough time away from Olivia. Without her, he was nothing. He had nothing.

“No, you come first.” The words rose from deep in his soul. “Always.”

Olivia turned her face away, but not before he saw the sheen of tears. There was so much more he wanted to say to her, to apologize for being an idiot, for whatever pain he’d caused her. He shouldn’t have left with how things were between them, shouldn’t have blown up at her about her job. She’d worked toward building a future for them, but he’d been too caught up in his own insecurities to appreciate it.

Before he could spill his heart out in the lobby for all to hear and make a fool of himself, Olivia drew in a deep breath and said, “Fine. You can help. Let’s get this over with.”

“Wait, so you don’t need me?” Andrea asked as they headed toward the building’s main entrance.

“No. Marek will translate it faster.”

“Sounds good.” Andrea hesitated for a second. “Should I keep going, with, you know?”

Marek had the sense Olivia wished to fold in on herself as she whispered, “Yes. Please.”

“Okay. I’ll go finish it. Call me if you need me, for anything, anything at all,” Andrea said, glancing at Marek meaningfully.

Marek suppressed a growl. What did the woman think? That he would hurt Olivia?

“I will.”

Andrea scowled, but she waved them goodbye and stalked off. Marek asked the valet to bring around a car to take them back to the Secondary Tower.

“What’s Andrea up to?” Marek asked as they waited.

“Nothing to concern you.” Changing the subject, Olivia asked, “How are you feeling?”