Page 25 of Freed

“Hmm?” I tilt my head down to see her beautiful blue eyes looking up at me.

“Will you kiss me?”

“Kiss you?” I ask in surprise, not expecting her to ask that right now.

She nods. “I just want to forget about all the bad stuff for a minute. I need you to remind me what’s real. That you’re here.”

I cup her face, my thumb stroking her cheek as my eyes soften, filling with love for my perfect little mate. “I am here, baby girl. I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

Unable to resist her plea, I lower my lips to hers and kiss her gently, taking my time to worship her lips, and she softly moans against me.

“I love you,” I whisper before kissing her a little more firmly. Her fingers dig into the back of my neck, making my dick jump up between us. Now is not an appropriate time to make love to her, especially not for our first time, but it reminds me how desperate I am to seal the bond.

I start to kiss down her neck, stopping to slowly suck at the juncture of her shoulder.

“Hunter,” she groans.

“I can’t wait to bite you,” I admit. “To seal our bond.”

“Do it,” she begs.

Someone taps on the window, and I jerk my head around to find Finn looking at us. He points in front of the vehicle, and I have to dip my head a little to see what he’s pointing at.

“Is that smoke?” Cherry asks in alarm.

I don’t answer; instead, I ask through the bond, hoping the others are close enough to respond with some good news.

“Is that smoke from you guys?”

Thankfully, Chase answers immediately. “Yep. We’re almost at the SUV. You got our girl?”

I hug her tightly to me as I reassure him. “I’m holding her right now.”

Looking down at her, I tell her, “They’re okay, they’re almost here.” She turns her head back to look through the windshield, her body tense until she sees the four of them appear through the trees.

I hear a small gasp escape her the moment she sees them, and she continues to hold me tightly as they pick up their pace, jogging up to the SUV as Alaric opens the side door for us.

Chase reaches us first, climbing in and pulling her into his lap. He gives her a quick kiss before hugging her, neither of them speaking.

Maddox leans in, rubbing her shoulder and making her turn to him. He leans forward, giving her a gentle kiss before speaking. “Let’s get you home, shall we?”

She nods, and he moves around to the driver’s seat as Gage takes his place, kissing her quickly before he climbs into the front passenger seat.

Bain steps up next, placing his hand behind her neck and leaning forward until his forehead rests against hers. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath then gives her a fierce kiss and jumps in the seat behind us.

Finn gives us a nod before shutting the door, joining the others in his car as they lead the way home.

Everyone is silent until we’re back on the main road. Then Chase presses his nose to the top of Cherry’s head and takes a deep inhale. “Fuck I missed this scent,” he says with a sigh.

She snuggles in closer to his chest, sniffing him before her nose wrinkles. “You smell like human blood.”

She glances around the vehicle, her nose twitching as she adds, “All four of you do.” She licks her lips, looking a little nervous before she asks. “Did you kill him?”

“Yes,” Bain says instantly. “We killed all of them, and there is no chance of any of them coming back to life.”

“Like Blaze,” she adds.

“We’ll get him, don’t worry,” Maddox says from the driver’s seat.