“Yes, nosy butt,” Mateo grumbles from behind Kyson.
Kyson’s posture falters as he adjusts to let Mateo pass.His face practically has a seizure.
I giggle as warmth floods me, and my eyes immediately find Mateo’s.I’m bouncing on the balls of my feet with anticipation of his touch before I even realize it, as if I haven’t seen him in days.
Mateo pulls me close and nuzzles my neck.I swear my own lungs fill when I hear him draw a breath.“You left the bed,” he murmurs against my skin, before licking the shell of my ear on his way back up.
I flush but make no move to pull away from him.“I had to pee,” I say honestly.I’m pouting when he’s standing straight and meeting my eyes again.“And I’m hungry.”
His lips lift in a smile that feeds my soul.
Kyson sighs, reminding us both of his presence.“Make sure you let Aziel know so he can reach out to arrange the ceremony.”He claps Mateo on the shoulder as he turns to retrace his steps.“Congratulations.”His eyes find mine for a lingering second, he dips his chin in acknowledgment, and then he walks off.
I blink and look up at Mateo.“Does that mean he doesn’t hate me anymore?”
Mateo chuckles and encourages me to start down the stairs, his arm around my waist.“He never hated you,mi alma.He was just upset about the risk Scarlet took, which I played a hand in exposing her to.”His arm tightens around me, nearly toppling me off my feet.“I can’t say I don’t understand.”
I remember a bit about an exchange like that, from before the attack that wounded Mateo.At the time, I had been too out of sorts to process much of it.Now, I can see Mateo’s point.I loop my arm around his waist as we round the corner that will take us through the sitting room and into the kitchen.“Will they come back?”
Mateo is quiet for too many seconds.“Noah and his hunters?”
I bob my head and grip him tighter.
“Yes, undoubtedly.If not Noah himself, then someone else.”Mateo lifts me onto a stool at the kitchen island and brackets me in place, gripping the island’s edge with both hands as he leans close.His eyes gleam in the low light with a fierceness that resounds inside me.“When they come, we’ll protect our home, just as we always do.We’ll protect our coven.We’ll protect each other.”He brushes his lips over mine in a light caress.“If you’re with me, and if you’re safe, I can fight as hard as I need to.”
My hands latch onto his shirt even though he’s made no effort to retreat.“I don’t want you to have to fight.”The vision of him bleeding out, as he had before, assails my memory.
Mateo lifts a hand from the island to cup my face, his thumb lightly brushing over my cheek.“Sometimes it’s necessary.Those are the times I’ll have to join the rest on the front.Mostly, I’m a behind-the-scenes guy.I promise.”
That isn’t the most reassuring promise I’ve ever heard, but the rational part of my brain recognizes his sense.The unpleasant things aren’t always unavoidable.
He leans in and presses a kiss to my lips, but he doesn’t linger.“How about some food, hm?”
My stomach rumbles on cue.
Mateo releases me and moves toward the refrigerator, and I decide that if he’s volunteering to prepare food for me, I’m not going to argue, at least not until I see how well my vampire lover can or cannot cook.
But he’s barely pulled out a carton of eggs—apparently aiming for breakfast—when Aziel steps into the kitchen, looks between us, and settles his stern expression on Mateo.Lead forms in my stomach before he even opens his mouth, and when he does, his words turn my blood cold with dread.
“We’ve found where Noah ran to lick his wounds.If you’re healed up, I want you with us.We’re taking him off the board tonight.”
