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Except keeping her alive.
16
Lyric
“Can’t you reschedule?” Alek’s voice was pure gravel as he tangled his fingers in my hair.
A warm shiver danced down my spine, my every instinct purring at the simple touch. It had been like this for days and days. I’d wanted Alek on a near insatiable level when we were mated, but since I’d turned? The hunger for him had mounted to an all-consuming high. I’d never get enough of him. Never stop wanting him, craving him, needing him. Loving him.
“I’ve rescheduled twice already,” I said, sighing as he ran his nose along the seam of my neck. I arched into his body, my instincts roaring to grip his shoulders and walk him back to the bed we’d nearly broken just hours before. “And after all the meetings I missed when I first came here…” My voice trailed off as I slid my hands over his strong chest.
He felt warm and electric under my fingers, and I couldn’t believe how much had changed since I’d first been brought here. Then, I’d thought I’d stumbled into a nightmare and was desperate to escape. Now? God, now I knew fate had always been propelling me toward Alek—all the moving, the foster families passing me from one state to the next, it was all to be here. To come here and find my mate, something I never knew existed but felt so wholly right. My soul complete, thriving, stronger than it ever had been.
“I have meetings,” he growled, planting soft kissing along my jaw that made my knees weak. “And after the attack…I don’t like the idea of you going out without me.”
I leaned into his touch, smoothing my hands over his broad shoulders and reaching up on my tiptoes to capture his lips. His arms snaked around my waist as he hefted me to his level. I kissed him slow and hard and deep, losing myself in him. In the sounds he made when I trailed my tongue along the tips of his fangs. The way his grip tightened when I flicked my tongue along the roof of his mouth. The way he moved without breaking our kiss to lay me on the bed behind us.
“Alek,” I groaned, arching beneath him as he settled between my thighs. I’d donned a pair of jeans tonight, and usually I’d grumble about the barriers between us, but tonight? I needed the extra seconds to clear my head of all the things I wanted to do to him. “Please,” I said, and he paused his teasing of my neck. “I understand you worry, but don’t you trust—” I stopped myself before I said one of his Assassins’ names, the men who’d become my protectors, my friends. While I knew Alek understood my affection toward his brood was completely platonic, it wasn’t a good idea to say another male’s name while sprawled beneath my mate. “Your Assassins,” I said instead. “They won’t let anything happen to me,” I continued. “Plus, I’m vampire now. Stronger. Less breakable.” I used all my newfound strength to propel him to the side, flipping our positions so that I straddled him.
His blue-gray eyes flared at the show of power, though I knew he’d let me move him. “Stubborn queen,” he growled, his fingers sliding up my sides, teasing, torturing as he slipped them under my shirt. He cupped my breasts, rolling and pinching my nipples over the lace of my bra. I rocked over him, feeling his hard-as-granite length through my jeans.
Maybe I didn’t need to have my final meeting with my advisor.
Maybe I didn’t need her to hand me my doctorate.
Maybe nothing mattered but this—Alek’s hands on my skin, his scent in my nose, the way he made me feel powerful and alive and cherished—
“Alek!” I snapped, half-tease half-growl as I hurried off of him and across our chambers. My speed had increased a hundredfold, and I was still getting used to the powers, but Alek? He merely smirked, tracking my movements with the stealth of a predator. “No,” I said, a smile on my lips as I raised a warning hand for him to stay back.
He stopped in his tracks, his eyes churning with challenge.
“I love you,” I said. “But this is the meeting where I get my doctorate.” We’d decided on a small, simple degree exchange over the alternative—walking across a stage during the day. Luckily, tons of students elected to be mailed their diplomas or grab them themselves from campus. It didn’t always have to be a ceremony, but I at least wanted to say goodbye to my advisor, who’d helped me throughout this endeavor. It was likely I’d never see her again, given my newfound role in life. A soft sadness prickled in my chest for the life I was leaving behind, but the future? It was more golden and glorious than I’d ever dreamed. And it was filled with something I’d always wanted—a family. Love. Unconditional and beautiful. “I worked half my human life for this,” I continued, and the hard line of his jaw softened. “I want to close this door with the knowledge that I saw it through, that I earned it. And hopefully, all my studying will come in handy.”
