His mouth curled into a knowing grin. “I’m not raging with jealousy, don’t worry.”
I bit my lip and fought through the bashfulness. “Good… because I had the best orgasm of my life.”
He made a low, animalistic sound that curled my toes. “I can’t say I’m overjoyed I missed out on seeing that, but… I committed to sharing a mate, and I’m standing by it. Don’t ever be afraid to share that kind of thing with me.” He rubbed my butt cheeks playfully and smiled. “Or anything. So go on. Tell me what happened next that upset you.”
Cuddling closer, I let it all out. “Well, maybe it was the stress of thinking Conrad and Armand had almost taken me back to hell, but I freaked out when Seb’s fangs grew. And the worst part was, I could hear his thoughts, you know? He wanted to feed.” To calm my involuntary shudder, I slipped my hand up under Dagger’s T-shirt and massaged his abs in circles, warming myself with his skin. “I—it wasn’t anything aggressive or disrespectful, but he definitely wanted to bite me, and I…” I shook my head fast. “I just can’t. But I’m worried I caused another issue between Hunter and Seb. Or that I really hurt Seb’s feelings.”
Dagger tucked my head under his chin and rubbed my thigh. “Serenity, I saw the horrors of that Marchand-run feeding den, the terror in those girls’ faces as they escaped. Your reaction was totally understandable. Don’t feel bad. I’m sure Seb understands, he’s a good guy. I’m sure they all get it.”
His callused fingers creating blissful friction on my cotton pajamas stirred heat between my thighs. “I know, but he still looked so sad. I want to be with all of you. In every way. Emotionally. Physically. I don’t want to hold anything back. I feel so connected to you all. Like we share a bond that makes us part of each other. But I’m worried it won’t work out. Even putting the feeding thing aside, there’s you and Hunter…”
“I’ll talk to him, explain my reasons for trying to arrest Winterborn. When he sees it was with your long-term safety in mind, he’ll come round, I promise. He’s a raging bull when histemper snaps, but the second he calms, he’s logical to a fault. And Bryce’ll have my back on this, don’t worry.”
I swallowed hard. “Thank God for Ceci sending her guys after me.” My exhale quivered. “As much happiness as I’ve found here, I still sometimes think that I should have run to the border the second those den runners threw me out, gone back into the United States. At least then I’d be free of Conrad.”
Dagger shook his head, his scruff mussing my hair. “Maybe if he’d never gotten that invisible trick of his. But as it is? Who knows what other magic he has. And what connections. If he could get around the wards surrounding New Nebraska. He’d slither through the gates, past the border security and be right on your trail. You’d be looking over your shoulder forever. I’ve put a few stalkers in the pen, and the only thing that stops them is bars or bullets.” He tightened his legs on mine more firmly, taking hold of my wrist the same. “I hope when those thoughts come up, you tell them to take a hike. Because if you left now, right after I finally found you? God, that would twist a knife into my soul.”
I shifted on the pillows so I could kiss him, rolling partially onto his chest. He pulled me the rest of the way, lying on his back now. As I pulled back from the kiss, I brushed my nose against his, saying, “Well, we wouldn’t want that, would we?”
A smile cracked across his face. He looked so… content, and the joy in his eyes warmed my insides.
I planted a peck on his nose. “I’m starting to realize that moving somewhere else isn’t going to help me find home. I already found it in you guys. Wherever I go, or wherever you go, I want us together.” I took his face in my hands. “I love you, Dagger.”
He blinked, surprise making his face unguarded. A flash of emotions swept over his face. Joy. Devotion. A bit of lingering doubt.
“It’s true.”
“Thank God.” His fingers tangled in my hair, and he broughtmy mouth to his again. He kissed me gently at first, then greedily, sending tingles from my lips straight to my belly.
My hands explored his muscular shoulders, and I gripped him greedily between my thighs.
“I love you too, Serenity,” he rasped between slow, sensual kisses.
“I want you so bad,” I murmured.
His cock grew beneath me, and with his next kiss, he pulled my tongue into his mouth.
“You have no idea,” he growled, fingers rubbing then gently tugging my nipples until they hardened in his grip, spreading crackling heat through my stomach and chest. “I’ve wanted you so bad—since the moment we met—I feel like I might die without you.”
I laughed. “Well, I don’t want that. But I’m a little worried about… logistics.”
His fingers paused, and he barked out a surprised laugh. “Logistics?”
I chuckled. “Okay, maybe not the right word, but…” I reached beneath me to rub his cock through his jeans. “The size of you guys… I don’t know how I’m going to handle all the things I want all of you to do to me. I’m a human. I don’t think I’m built for that. I worry… it’ll hurt a lot.”
Dagger brushed my hair behind my ears and nodded, mulling over the issue. “You know, vamp venom is the strongest known painkiller in the world, when injected directly from their fangs. It’s better than all the human-made stuff put together.”
I reared up on him, forearms braced across his wide chest. “It is?” My face scrunched. “I always had pain when, you know.”
“They can hold back their venom when feeding. I’m guessing that was the case when you suffered what you did. But Seb isn’t a sadistic gangster piece of shit. Doing my job teaches you about people. He’d never hurt you, ever.”
“So, you think an injection of that would work if I wanted to enjoy some hunk dick?”
He laughed. “Yeah, hunk dick would be all pleasure and no pain.” He shrugged. “Well, not any more than any other first timer has. Fleeting, followed by a shit ton of joy.”
Who would’ve thought? The thing I feared, the thing that had cut short our evening, could give me exactly what I wanted.
A vampire bite could help instead of hurt.
