Page 122 of Bleed

The corner of my mouth twitches despite myself.

She squeezes my fingers. “Only if you choose it, obviously. And only if he explains what the fuck happened the other night and guarantees it’ll never, ever happen again.”

My smile fades, and I turn my attention back toward the window.

Forever.

It’s such a stupidly enormous word.

“Remind me what the whole bonding thing entails again?” I murmur.

Taylor sighs, letting go of my hand and settling back in her chair. “Again? I’ve explained it like five times.”

“And yet my brain continues to reject the information.” My fingers trail absently over my wrist, only to find the Bite bracelet I’ve become so accustomed to fiddling with isn’t there anymore. Taylor said they took it off so it wouldn’t get in the way of my IV. Considering the ridiculous turn my life has taken, I don’t see any reason to put it back on.

Her eyes flick up to mine. “Fine, again. The way mine and James’ blood reacted suggested we were bonded, but in order to actually seal the bond, we had to share blood directly.”

I nod slowly. “So Elliott would drink from me. Again.”

She winces. “Yeah.”

“And I’d drink from him.”

“Yes.”

My nose wrinkles.

Taylor sighs. “I know how it sounds, but you get over the weirdness.”

“Says the woman that guzzles her fiancé’s blood,” I snort.

She rolls her eyes. “Do you want me to explain this or not?”

I mime zipping my lips.

“Once it’s sealed, the bond changes both of you,” she continues. “Elliott would become stronger, his senses would sharpen, his existing abilities would be enhanced…”

“Which seems unnecessary,” I grumble.

The man is already six and a half feet of superpowered vampire with a brain that makes Google look stupid. Giving him additional upgrades feels excessive.

“And you’d change, too,” Taylor adds, holding my gaze. “You’d still be human, technically. But you’d be stronger than you are now. You’d heal faster. Be harder to injure, harder to kill…”

“Comforting, considering the past few days,” I huff.

“And you’d stop aging.”

There it is.

No matter how many times she says it, those words still refuse to fit inside my head. I stare down into my tea, my vision blurring out of focus.

“So long as the vamp you’re bonded to is alive,” she amends.

I look up. “And vamps are immortal.”

“Exactly.”

“So…”