Page 94 of Imprisoned with the Vampire King

She shot me a look. "You own it."

"You own it, Ophelia. I put it in your name before I moved you in. That was one of our errands. It's your house; it's just nicer than your other one, friendlier to your magic, closer to royals' mansion, and closer to the prison."

Ophelia looked away. "You never told me that."

"I assumed you would see the folder of paperwork on the kitchen countertop. Obviously, I should've said something."

"I don't like paperwork."

"I can see that, now. Can we at least agree that I didn't force or manipulate you into my life the way you claimed I did twenty minutes ago?"

"Yes. We can agree on that," she said grudgingly.

"You asked what a mate bond means to me," I said.

"You didn't answer."

"I was thinking."

"You and your thinking," she muttered under her breath.

"My parents were obnoxiously happy and in love nearly from the day they met. When I started dating, I couldn't settle for something less. Even after losing them. I figured I'd never find the right person."

"Your chance of finding the right person is long gone, now."

"I don't want the right person. I want you," I said bluntly. "I have, since I saw you in the prison."

She scowled. "Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying."

"You don't even want to spend time with me, Dante. You⁠—"

"Stop putting words in my mouth. Being busy with work doesn't mean I don't want to be around you. It means I'm busy with work. And for the record, I was giving you space on purpose. You told me you didn't want me around. If I thought you were interested in having me nearby, I would've made myself less busy."

She opened her mouth to argue.

Then closed it.

"After nearly losing you to the prison, I'm done giving you space. We're going to figure out a way to merge our lives, whether you like it or not. I'm not accepting less. Not anymore. We can talk about how to do it over breakfast, or we can put it off longer, but you're not getting rid of me again," I stated.

She let out a long breath. "This situation is such a fucking mess."

"We can agree on that."

"I still need to figure out what to do about the penitentiary," she added.

"We'll figure it out in a few days. After you've had time to recover."

Ophelia nodded slowly.

There was a moment of silence between us. It was slightly more comfortable.

"You went to a charity event alone?" she finally asked me.

"I did. Jazz went with me, but she and River were both basically overrun with admirers, so they left early. It was strange."

She wrinkled her nose. "Light angels have this allure about them. People are always drawn toward them."