Page 27 of Dermot

Dermot wiggled on the couch, which told Bastien that he knew exactly what Bastien was talking about.

Good. Bastien wanted Dermot to understand, but at the same time, their relationship didn’t have anything to do with Celeste.

“I don’t really care if you don’t like my sister,” he continued. “I just need you to accept her once she’s back. You’re my mate, and she’s my family. I can’t choose between the two of you. I don’t want to have to, and you shouldn’t ask that of me.”

“I won’t,” Dermot promised. “I can admit when I’m wrong. I know that Celeste doesn’t want to be with Parrish and that he’s forcing her to be there. We’ll get her back.”

“I hope so.” Bastien swallowed. This was the complicated part. “I know that, considering everything, now isn’t the best moment for us to get into a relationship, even though we’re mates. I understand if you said no or wanted more space and time, but I’m alone here, Dermot. I don’t know where my sister is, and I’m not planning on going back to my family. Besides, you’re here, so how could I leave?”

“You’re saying you don’t want to leave because I’m here?”

“I’m saying that I don’t want to leave because you’re my mate and I want to be with you, even though now isn’t the right moment. I don’t think we’ll ever have a right moment. We’ll have a moment that we make right, and I hope that moment is tonight.”

* * * *

DERMOT DIDN’T KNOW what to say. He’d thought about this moment happening, but he hadn’t allowed himself to hope. Why would Bastien want to be with him after what happened with Celeste? Even if he did, Dermot had expected him to want to wait until Celeste was back. He’d wondered about that, because they couldn’t know how long it would take for them to find Celeste and defeat Parrish, but he’d been willing to wait. Bastien wasn’t just a guy. He was Dermot’s mate, and even though Dermot had tried to resist, that mattered.

He hadn’t wanted a Krsnik as his mate. It had unsettled him, and if he was honest with himself, he wasn’t sure he’d fully made peace with it even now. Part of him was terrified that Bastien was going to change his mind and abandon him the way the Krsniks he’d grown up with had abandoned him when he needed them the most.

Dermot had a choice to make. He could allow his fear to rule him and put itself between him and Bastien, or he could kick it to the curb and focus on his future.

That future would involve Celeste. There was no way around that, but now that Dermot had accepted that Celeste wasn’t the monster he’d made her out to be, it felt easier. He still didn’t like that she was bonded to a Kudlak, but he could understand why she’d agreed to it. Right now, he would agree to bond with Bastien, too, just like Clay and Rowan had bonded, or Tamsin and Nico. There was no way to know what the future would be like, but Dermot could only trust the bond.

That bond was pulling him toward Bastien, just like the bond between Celeste and Parrish would’ve pulled her toward him. She could have tried to resist, but why should she have? She hadn’t known the kind of person Parrish was. She did now, and she wanted out, and that was what mattered.

“Dermot?” Bastien asked. He didn’t sound worried. He sounded patient, as if he knew that Dermot needed a moment.

He wasn’t wrong. Dermot’s mouth was dry. He had a dozen questions, but he wasn’t sure where to start. “When you say that you hope that moment is now,” he said slowly. “What do you mean exactly?”

“I mean that even though it would probably be best if we waited so I could fully focus on Celeste, I don’t want to. I already know what you’re going to be in my life. I already know that I won’t be able to let you go. Do we really have to wait if we’re both okay with this? Why should we?”

“You mean we shouldn’t wait to be together?”

The smile Bastien gave Dermot was a little crooked, and the sight of it sent warmth all the way down to Dermot’s toes. He swallowed, telling himself that he needed answers before he climbed his mate like a tree. It was hard to resist the urge, though.

Dermot was pretty sure that Bastien knew that. His smile widened, and he pressed even closer. It took everything Dermot had not to say to hell with it and climb into Bastien’s lap. Instead, he squeezed his hands into fists and buried his nails in his palms. The slight sting of pain was enough to calm him down, at least for now.

“Dermot,” Bastien said, his tone soft and gentle. “I don’t want to wait to be with you. I don’t want to wait to spend the night with you, doing whatever you’re comfortable with, although I have high hopes that you’ll be comfortable with everything. I don’t want to wait for us to live together and to bond. Unless you have a reason why you want to wait, why should we?”

“Because we only just met and I didn’t like you until three days ago.”

Bastien arched a brow. “Really? Or were you telling yourself that you didn’t like me because it made it easier for you to stay away?”

Dermot shook his head. “Even if that was the case, we just finished talking and clearing things up. Don’t you think it’s a little bit of a rush?”

Bastien squeezed Dermot’s hand. “Do you? Because if that’s the case, we can definitely wait. I won’t force you or push you into something you’re not comfortable with. I can only tell you what I’m comfortable with, and it’s everything.”

“What if I end up being like Parrish?” Dermot murmured. “What if, like Celeste, you regret being with me?” It was something he couldn’t stop thinking about, and he hoped that Bastien would understand.

Dermot hadn’t been rational when it came to his distrust of Kudlak and anyone associated with them. He wouldn’t say that he’d hated Celeste, but he’d let his hatred of Parrish influence the way he felt about her. More than that, Celeste regretted being with Parrish. Dermot didn’t know if Parrish had forced her into it, but even if he hadn’t, she still regretted it. She would still run as soon as she had the opportunity.

What if Bastien wanted the same once he got to know Dermot? What if he didn’t like what he found?

“Well, you’re nothing like Parrish,” Bastien said. “I don’t think you’re going to bond with me and use my abilities as a Krsnik to keep up the shields around the village or anything like that. It’s not like you can get much from me, anyway.”

“I’m serious,” Dermot told him, exasperated. “You were avoiding me as much as I was avoiding you.”

“I wasn’t avoiding you. I was giving you space because it was obvious that you needed it. Frankly, I was amused by how grumpy you were. Every time you saw me, you frowned. It’s cute. I wanted to pull that frown off your face until you smiled.”