The glow in his eyes increased. “Yes.”
Wonderment filled me. Kole wasmy mate, and he’d been waiting. Waiting all this time for me to understand it becausetradition dictated that males wait for a female to acknowledge the mating bond before the male acted. It was said to elicit bad luck if the male pushed the female to accept the bond before she was ready. Some even said the bond was strongest when it was allowed to develop naturally.
His eyes glowed even brighter. “I knew you’d figure it out eventually, but you’ve beenmineever since we met. You just didn’t know it.”
And in those short words, a million things hit me all at once. The way he’d kissed me in the alleyway the first day we’d met. The way he’d saidmineso many times and with such possessiveness. The way he constantly wanted to please me and how he took such pleasure from it that he oftentimes overlooked his own needs. And it was why he hadn’t bed me. It was also said that most females didn’t feel the full effects of the mate bond until the first bedding.
My breath sucked in, and a sob of joy and shock filled me. “That’swhy we feel as we do for one another. It’s why I’ve always been drawn to you, and you to me, and you wanted me aware of the bond, in my own time, before we bedded one another.”
“Yes, Princess,” he said huskily.
A smile grew upon my lips, and tears burned in my eyes. My earlier irritation with him dissipated as the momentous realization of what we were took precedence. We were meant for one another, and all this time, Kole had been waiting for me to see it.
“When did you first know?” I whispered.
His throat bobbed, and his eyes continued to glow like sapphires. “When you kissed me in the alleyway in Whiteolf.”
My mouth dropped. Dropped to the floor. “You’ve known since thefirst daywe met?”
His lips kicked up. “Your kiss did it, Princess. All of the instincts reared inside me the second your tongue brushedagainst mine.” A blush warmed my cheeks, and he chuckled. “It’s been a long wait. I’m just glad it didn’t take you months or full seasons to figure out.”
A giggle escaped me. “And tonight, at the ball, that’s why you were so angry that I was dancing with other males and why you didn’t want me outside with Nathaniel?”
He nodded. “I may be a warrior and not a suitable match for you, but that doesn’t mean you’re not meant for me. And Ican’t standthe thought of any other male having you or being with you. It fucking kills me.” His palm caressed my hip, then slipped around my waist. He leaned down and ran his nose up the length of my neck, inhaling deeply along the way.
The light touch and growing energy surrounding him sent tingles racing down my spine.
“Oh, Kole.” My fingers curled around his tunic, drawing him closer.
“Do you want this, Princess? Do you need your warrior to claim you?” he said again, as though needing to know for certain that I was accepting him.
“Yes, but...what about my parents? What if they demand that I marry another?”
His breath sucked in, and he all but growled, “If they think I’ll let another male claim you, they’re fucking wrong.”
My heartbeat began to tick upward. “But what if they insist? Siltenite law states that I must obey them regarding my marriage, and they want someonesuitablefor me. What if they say you can be my lover but not my husband?”
His grip tightened even more. “First off, I will never willingly let another male touch you—husband or no—and secondly, do you think your parents would be so cruel as to force another male upon you if you were already mated to someone else, even if he wasn’tsuitable?”
I considered what he was saying and thought of the fae my parents truly were. Slowly, I shook my head. “No, they would know how cruel that is, but I have to marry whoever they approve of, which means we have to tell them about us.”
He paused, but eventually nodded. “All right.” His fingers danced across my waist, back and forth, and the fact that I needed his reassurance kept his Council magic at bay, but thinking of the Council had me gasping. “What about the Imperial Council? What happens when they discover that we’re mated, and you’ve bed me, and we’re bonded?”
His jaw ground together. “I don’t actually know. I can’t recall that ever happening in the past, but the courts do understand the instincts in a male who’s mated. A mated and bonded male isn’t always held responsible for his actions when his instincts are driving him. My hope is, in this case, it will be no different.”
I peered up at him and laid my hands on his chest. “But what if it isn’t? What consequences will you face?”
He leaned down and breathed in my scent, then said huskily into my ear, “Don’t worry about what happens to me, Princess. I’ve made my decision. As long as you want me, I’m yours.”
A light laugh escaped me. “It’s that simple for you?”
“It is.”
“Then why did you fight it initially? Why did you not act on it right away?”
“I always intended to.” He dipped his head more and kissed my neck softly. A full-body shiver raced through me. “I was going to protect you and love you from afar for as long as was needed. I was never going anywhere.” He kissed me again and slid his tongue along my throat. “So what will it be, Princess? Will you accept me as your mate? Or do you reject me?” His kisses stilled, his mouth hovering over my throat, and tension vibrated around him.
I gripped him again, my fingers sinking into his tunic and the solid wall of muscle beneath it. “I could never reject you, Kole. It’s not just you who’s made for me. I’m made for you too, but I need to speak with my parents first, and have them speak with the Council. I won’t allow you to be punished for something you cannot control, or punished because of something I decided for the both of us.”
