It took me a couple of seconds to find my voice as he stared at me with a mixture of anger and hurt. I’d never felt so horrible before. “You said you need sex to survive.”
“I do.”
“Then what were you going to do if I asked for more time?”
“Give it to you. I’ve gone longer without sex, and no matter what it took, I would have abstained until you were ready.”
“And starve and weaken yourself in the process? We’re chasing the horsemen; you have to be as strong as possible.”
“By weakeningyouin the process?”
“I don’t feel weaker after being with you. Tired from being so thoroughly used and pleased by you, yes, but in areallygood way. I can feel you feeding on me, but I don’t feel weaker because of it.”
When he studied me as if he were trying to discern the truth, I held his gaze and tried to make him understand I wasn’t lying.
“Maybe that’s because you’re my Chosen,” he murmured. “The Chosen bond does make demons stronger.”
“Then you should have told me you needed to feed.”
“No, I shouldn’t have. You had to make your own choice about what this is between us, and you couldn’t do that with additional pressure from me.”
“I had a right to know.”
“No, you didn’t. You’re my Chosen; you’re the only woman I’ll ever be with again, and I will do whatever is necessary to make sure you’re safe and happy, even if it means going without.”
I resisted kicking him for his stubbornness at the same time I almost threw my arms around him and hugged him. Instead of telling me he was suffering, he’d kept it to himself to make me happy.
Something inside me shifted, and this time, my reaction to him had nothing to do with my demon DNA. Instead, it had everything to do with my very familiar, human emotions; I was losing my heart to this man.
“Did you think I would have sex with you again if you told me you were hungry?” I asked.
“I suspected you would; itisamazing between us.”
“You’re pretty sure of yourself,” I said.
He grinned as he rested his hand on my hip, and his fingers slid down to my thigh. His touch instantly brought my body to life. It was as if I’d spent my whole life waiting for him to come and wake me up.
“I am,” he said. “I smelled your desire in the mornings, but I wanted you to come to me because you were ready and not because you felt sorry for me.”
“I don’t feel sorry for you.”
“Hmm,” he said as he ran his thumb over my bottom lip.
“Next time, you’ll tell me when you have to feed,” I said.
“If that’s what you want.”
“It is.”
“And what of us? Do you still need space?”
I still wasn’t thrilled about my demon DNA declaring my single life was over without any warning, but if I was going to be bound to someone for eternity, it would be Hawk. He was a good man who put my needs ahead of his, I liked him, and if I was honest with myself, I felt more for him than just like, but one step at a time.
I could easily see myself spending the rest of my life with Hawk. If we were still human when we came across each other, I would have chosen him. As a little girl, I sometimes dreamed about my future husband, but none of those imaginings compared to this man.
I wasn’t in love with him yet, but it would be so easy to tumble into it with him. Still, I had to keep a part of myself distant from him. I’d never experienced a broken heart, and I wasn’t about to start now. Just because I was his Chosen didn’t mean he had to love me, and I couldn’t imagine anything lonelier than being in love with a man who didn’t love me back.
“I’m not going to let you go hungry,” I said.
