Page 79

Gabe

G abe had driven fast—faster than he ever had in his life—feeling that pull toward his person guiding him, directing him. He’d been ready to fight. To rip skin and break bones. To use the new strength he could feel coursing through his veins.

And then he was there. A weird, abandoned-looking cabin with smoke coming out of the chimney. He could smell his mate even over the stench of burning flesh. And there was Soren—blood-spattered clothes, soot smudging his skin—having already fought his own battle. Not in trouble at all.

For all the urge to run toward him, Gabe found himself suddenly…

nervous. Soren had just been through an ordeal.

Had been recaptured by the same person who’d tortured him on and off for centuries.

And Gabe had been no help at all. Had been used as bait, in fact.

And was now here too late to do anything but help clean up the mess.

Soren looked at him strangely, his eyes uncharacteristically dull, holding on to what looked like a rusted gas can. “You’re unsettled,” he said, after a long silence. “I can feel it. Nervous about being bonded to a murderer?”

“What? No.” Gabe took a step forward. Paused. The new presence inside him was restless, unsure. It wanted their mate where they could feel him, touch him. But Gabe wasn’t sure Soren would want that.

“I would have killed him for you,” Gabe offered lamely.

Soren arched a blond brow at him. “Upset I did it myself?”

Gabe’s mate was feeling prickly. Defensive. Gabe could hear it in his words and also… feel it. A current of emotions running from Soren to Gabe. It was hard to pick everything out—Gabe was barely used to labeling his own emotions, let alone someone else’s—but little bits of clarity came through.

Guilt. Apprehension. Hope .

Gabe fought to find words, wrestling with his very human concern and his new, less-than-human instincts. “No, I didn’t— I don’t—” He stopped, unable to finish the thought. He found there was only one thing to ask. “Can I hold you?”

Soren’s face softened, almost imperceptibly, as he nodded, setting the gas can onto the ground. Gabe rushed forward, wrapping Soren up in his arms, tucking his vampire’s head under his chin.

Fuck. That was so much better.

They should just…always be touching. The knots in Gabe’s stomach untied themselves. The beast inside him settled. He breathed in deeply, inhaling Soren’s clean, cold scent.

Soren was stiff at first, unyielding. But slowly the tension in his body eased.

After a long moment without speaking, all of Gabe’s attention on the feel of the small, warm body in his arms, Soren giggled—that familiar, delightful sound.

“You, uh, really like touching me, don’t you, Highness? I can feel it.”

“What?” Gabe asked, confused. He wasn’t hard. He’d been too keyed up to feel anything but relief to have Soren in his arms again.

Soren giggled again. So lovely. “ Inside ,” he clarified. “I can feel it through the bond.”

“Oh. Well…” Gabe was glad Soren couldn’t see his blush from his position under his chin.

Gabe had just been learning to share his feelings, and now he didn’t even have to.

Soren would be able to sense them, whether Gabe intended him to or not.

Gabe found he didn’t mind it nearly as much as he might have in the past. He couldn’t think of anyone else he’d want inside his brain like that, but Soren…

Soren was different.

“I was supposed to tell you love stuff,” Gabe found himself blurting out.

“Love stuff?” Gabe couldn’t see Soren’s face, but a rush of fond amusement came through the bond.

“Yeah…like…I love you?” It was easier than he would have thought to say the words with Soren in his arms, keeping him grounded, but it still came out like a question.

Something stronger than fondness leaked through the bond this time. Gabe cherished the feeling. Soren rubbed his head into Gabe’s chest, speaking his next words into Gabe’s shirt. “You turned for me.”

“Yes,” Gabe answered simply.

“I killed him.” There was no regret in Soren’s voice, or through the bond. A statement of fact only. A request for understanding.

Gabe responded with equal frankness. “I know. I can smell the burning.”

Soren sighed, his breath warm against Gabe’s collarbone. “It wasn’t very nice of me.”

Gabe hugged his vampire tighter. “You did what you had to do to protect yourself.”

“I think I felt you,” Soren said, turning his head to the side so his words came out clearer. “My anger at Hendrick, it was like—like it multiplied. Intensified. I think that must have been when you turned.”

“Mm.” Gabe had definitely been angry, to say the least. Had wanted to gut Soren’s stalker like a fish. He’d never known he could feel rage like that before.

“You and I could be very dangerous together,” Soren said, pressing a kiss to Gabe’s chest.

Gabe wasn’t sure he cared. If it was evil assholes like Hendrick that took the brunt of their combined anger, he could live with that. Easily. “I guess we should hope no one pisses us off, then,” he said mildly.

Soren hummed in acknowledgment.

They ended up burning the whole damn cabin down to the ground. It was strangely satisfying, watching it all go aflame. Maybe Gabe had the makings of an arsonist.

They sat in silence together on the forest floor, within view of the flaming building but a healthy distance from the heat, until it was nothing but smoldering ashes.

Gabe, lost in thought, startled when he felt Soren’s delicate hand curl into his. Huh. It was usually Gabe initiating the hand-holding.

“I love you too,” Soren said softly, eyes on the smoking rubble in front of them.

Gabe grinned smugly. “I know. I can feel it.”

Soren huffed at him. “You’re going to be insufferable with this bond, aren’t you?”

“Probably.”

They sat in silence again. Eventually Soren turned to face him, and Gabe was surprised to see pain etched on his vampire’s features.

“I didn’t mean what I said. Any of it,” Soren said, pale eyes pleading.

“Baby.” Gabe wrapped an arm around Soren’s shoulders, tugging his small frame against himself. “I know you didn’t. You were protecting me.”

“You turned for me,” Soren said for the second time, voice breaking on the words.

They were already touching, shoulder to shoulder and hip to hip, but Gabe reached out a hand, wanting even more contact. He traced a finger along Soren’s cheek. “I did.”

Soren grabbed onto his finger, halting its progress. “To help me fight Hendrick.”

“Yes.”

“But you didn’t— He was already—” Soren gave him a helpless look. “Do you regret it?”

Gabe smiled softly, plucking his finger out of Soren’s grasp and resuming its tracing, etching the shape of Soren’s face. “Not a bit.”

Soren glared at him. “Why not?”

“I want to be with you. Always. Forever. I want to be your mate .” He pressed a brief kiss to Soren’s lips, fighting to ignore the beast inside him that wanted him to deepen it, demanding he take more.

He could wait. He would wait. They had time…

Soren flushed. “How did you even know? I never said…”

Gabe laughed. “As much as you love to call me one, I’m not actually an idiot. I guessed we were mates.” He paused, removing his hand from Soren’s face, suddenly uncertain. “Is it okay that I did it?”

Maybe Soren hadn’t actually wanted to be stuck with Gabe for a whole eternity.

“Of course it is,” Soren huffed, pressing his face back into Gabe’s palm. “Idiot.”

Gabe smiled, warmth blooming in his chest. “Glad you feel that way.”

“Speaking of feelings…” Soren gave him a sly look, swiping his tongue over pink lips. “I can feel how much you want me. You’re practically bursting with it. Why aren’t you making a move?”

It was true. Gabe knew he should be in a somber mood, what with the murder-covering arson they were committing, but all he could think about was how much he wanted to touch Soren…

All of Soren.

This new energy inside him wanted to claim their mate more than anything. Wanted to touch and lick and fuck him into oblivion.

Gabe shifted uncomfortably. “It’s just…you’ve been through something. With someone who has a history of…taking without consent. I can wait.”

Soren stared at him. Gabe flushed at the scrutiny.

“You really would,” Soren said, long seconds later, awe in his voice. “Newly turned, the baby vampire inside you raging for its mate, and you would… wait for me. To be ready.”

Gabe wondered if he should be offended at the surprise Soren felt at that, but one second of reflecting on Soren’s past and he couldn’t blame his mate for any amazement he might feel at others’ restraint.

He shrugged, refusing to take credit for common human—common vampire , he corrected himself—decency. “You’ve been waiting for me a whole lot longer. I can hang on.”

Soren kissed him then, soft and sweet, in a way he rarely did. He licked gently at Gabe’s lips, coaxing them open, slipping his tongue into Gabe’s mouth. Gabe groaned, leaning into the kiss, unable to keep himself this time from deepening it, licking into Soren’s mouth.

Soren released the kiss first, leaning back with a wicked smile on his face. “You need me to make the first move, Highness?”

Heat burst along Gabe’s skin. It was a form of torture, not reaching out to touch his mate. But he wanted to let Soren lead.

Soren leaned in closer again, his lips a breath away from Gabe’s. “Let me tell you a secret.” Soren lowered his voice to a whisper. “I trust you.”

Gabe let out a slow breath, his whole body tense with the effort to remain still. Soren’s smile softened at the edges, but heat blazed in his eyes. “I trust you to touch me,” he continued. “I trust you to fuck me. I trust you to love me. I know you won’t use your strength against me.”

Gabe was trembling. The power this vampire had over him. “Can I…?”

“Not here.” Soren grabbed his hand, dragging Gabe upright in an instant. “I want to be away from this fucking place.”