Page 191 of Tamed By Her Touch

Then she slipped one hand free and laid it against the side of his face.

“I accept,” she whispered. “All of it, you big, stubborn, impossible male. And all of you.”

She bent to kiss him and the Bond between them exploded with warmth and love—an overwhelming river of emotion washing everything away.

Suddenly, Kaelus couldn’t hold it inside anymore. She might hate and revile him when he told her the truth, but he couldn’t stop himself.

“Clair,” he said, looking into her eyes. “We are Bonded.”

Her eyes went wide, then narrowed.

“But I thought you told me Hybrids couldn’t⁠—”

“We can’t,” he said quickly. “But you and I did. I do not know how—maybe it had something to do with the chemical composition of the veloria or the hormones released into my system when I was injected with the Savage Syndrome virus. But however it happened, it happened—you and I have formed a permanent Soul Bond.”

He bowed his head as he spoke, unable to bear to see the look in her brown eyes when she realized what he had done.

“I know you’ll probably hate me now,” he said in a low voice. “You told me that after your parted from your ex-mate, you never wanted to be with a male again—let alone be tied to one for life. You don’t want⁠—”

“Kaelus, look at me.” Her small hand slipped under his chin and she tilted his face up so they were eye-to eye again. And then, suddenly, Kaelus understood something—she knew. About the Bond, about his feelings for her—somehow she knew about everything.

“Of course I know—I did some research,” Clair sent back to him. “At first I thought it was impossible—Hybrid Kindred aren’t supposed to be able to Bond. But the fact that we’re hearing each other’s mental voices and feeling each other’s emotions, well—there’s no other explanation. We Bonded when we had sex, didn’t we?”

“Yes,” Kaelus admitted heavily. “We did.”

“And when exactly were you going to tell me?” she demanded, pulling away from the kiss and frowning.

His first instinct was to panic but he decided it was better just to tell the truth.

“Never,” he admitted. “I thought it might be better to leave you and let the Bond fade.”

Clair’s face looked suddenly stricken.

“Then…you don’t want to be Bonded to me?” she asked.

“Of course I wanted to be Bonded to you!” Kaelus sent impatiently. “But you don’t want to be Bonded to me.”

“How do you know I don’t want to be Bonded to you, you big idiot?” she demanded out loud, glaring at him.

“Because you told me so!” Kaelus exclaimed. “You told me you never wanted to be with a male again!

“I said that because I’d just gotten out of a marriage to a narcissistic asshole!” Clair snapped.

“You said you were finished with relationships, that your marriage had taught you never to surrender that much of yourself again,” Kaelus said, switching back to his mental voice for the sake of privacy. “You came here because of the mission, not because you wanted a mate, and when I was infected, you offered your body because you believed it was the only way to save my life.”

“That wasn’t—” she began, but he overrode her.

“I should have remained restrained when you found me,” he sent, pouring out his guilt. “I should have protected you. Instead I broke those restraints, forced you onto my mating fist, bit you, and Bonded you to me without your consent!”

Clair put a hand on her hip, frowning at him.

“So that’s what all this is about? You think you don’t deserve me because of how we got Bonded?”

“I know I don’t deserve you,” Kaelus sent heavily.

“Well, what if I want you anyway?” Clair said aloud and her eyes were suddenly filled with tears.

Kaelus looked at her in disbelief.