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“I’ve thought about that as well. I need her to be there for me when I can’t get to someplace that needs to be taken care of.” He asked him what he’d been up to. “Nothing much. The crib for the baby arrived today. I spent most of the day trying to figure out how to put it together without instructions. Of course my Cally Lily stopped me and read over the instructions, so she had it put together in no time. I swear to you, women are smarter than any man I know. I’m not going to tell anyone I said that, but I swear, they should be running the world.”

“I agree.” He waited for him to ask him what he’d been up to and was glad that he did. “I found my mate. Or she found me. I’m not sure how that works. But we’ve bonded, and I love her.”

“Congratulations. That’s wonderful news.” He said that they were going to be moving into his new home as soon as tomorrow, and he couldn’t wait. “I heard that you found your dream home. And that it had a pool. I’m happy for the two of you. You’ve had a busy day today. Really, congratulations. It couldn’t have happened to a better man than you.”

“Thanks so much. She’s wonderful. And all mine.” Brew laughed a little and said that he knew just how he felt. That having a mate was the best thing that happened to all of them. “I agree. I knew that I couldn’t wait to find my mate, and that I said I was going to pamper her, but the way things are going, she might be the one to be pampering me. She’s nothing like anyone I’ve ever seen before.”

When she stirred, he watched as she turned her back to him. Letting her do that, he spooned in behind her and felt her nakedness all the way to his bones. Knowing that he couldn’t do anything about it right now, he told Brew that he needed to get off the connection so he could get some sleep. He was going to need it to keep up with his new mate.

“If you want to come with us tomorrow, let me know. I know you’re going to be busy with moving in and all, but the more vampires we have there, the better it will be if they think they can get out of trouble because we’re so few.” He told him that he’d let him know in the morning. “Thanks and congratulations again on finding your mate.”

Snuggling up to Katlynne, he decided that he was more tired than he thought. Closing his eyes, he thought of how much he was already in love with her and how much more he was going to love her tomorrow. Just as he was dozing off, he remembered that he was going to have to ask her to marry him as soon as possible. He didn’t want anything to come between them and thought that having her married to him was going to be epic. Rutger thought that he had the best mate of all but would keep that to himself. The others were going to be jealous, and he didn’t want any hard feelings between them.

As soon as he fell asleep, he didn’t dream of anything but his mate and how much he loved her. Feeling his body start to shut down, he realized they were going to need a bigger bed for them and that he was going to start as soon as tomorrow in getting the house ready for guests. He wanted his family, the men and women of the kiss he was in, to get to know Katlynne as well as he did. And he couldn’t wait for them to love her as much as he did.

Chapter 3

Katie didn’t know what to do with herself. She’d been alone for most of her life, and to have a man, a man that professed to love her around all the time, was almost too much. Finally turning to him, he smiled when she pointed her finger at him.

“I know, I’m annoying you.” She said that he was. “I’m sorry. I’m so new to all of this; all I can think about is just being with you. And your scent is all I can think about.”

“I’m just trying to get things finished up with moving in. I know that I didn’t have a great deal, but it’s all I have to get it moved into the bedroom that we’ll be using.” She looked at him with a sharp eye. “You said you’d give me a couple of days. I’m sore.”

“I knew you would be, and I’m profoundly sorry for that.” She felt her face heat up when she thought of where she was sore. Her pussy was sore, as were her breasts and hips. He said that he was sore as well but didn’t seem to be all that bad as he was walking around with her, helping her move her things in the bedroom. “I can take away your pain if you’d allow me to. All I’d have to do is lick your wounds and see about making them better.”

“You cannot be licking me everyplace I’m sore.” Again, her face heated up, but this time he laughed. “You have to know that I embarrass easily. Why do you think that’s funny when I do?”

“It’s not funny, but sexy. I think when you get embarrassed like you do, it’s the most beautiful thing in the world.” He touched his fingers to her cheeks, then ran them down to her jawline and to her throat. “If I could nip you here, you’d no longer be sore. I promise you that it would only take a small nip to your skin.”

“You’ll make me come again, won’t you?” He said that it was part of the healing. “Why do I think you’re making fun of me instead of helping me?”

“I swear to you that I’m only trying to take away your pain.” He moved closer, and she took a step back. “After everything that we’ve done to one another, you’re afraid of me?”

“Just leery. I’m really sore.” He nodded and backed her into the shelf of books behind her. As soon as her back touched the cooler tomes, he put his hand at her waist and held her up right. “Don’t make me mistrust you. Please?”

“I promise you, this will help you.” He licked the path from her jawline to her throat. Once there, he kissed her earlobe and suckled it into his mouth. “Your juices will help you heal. And me giving you a bit of my blood will help you heal.”

She didn’t know whether or not to trust him, but she had no choice. She was really in pain, and it was starting to affect her ability to get around. As soon as he lifted his head, he bit deep into his wrist. The sight of his blood made her wet and uneasy at the same time. Just as she was licking her lips, he put his wrist at her mouth and told her to suckle.

Since she had no idea what to expect, she didn’t swallow it right away. But when it slid down the back of her throat, she moaned at the taste. It was warm, almost hot, and tasted of the earth. Taking his hand to her mouth closer, Katie wanted him to bite her too. Baring her neck to him, she came again and again when all he did was lick her wounds from before.

“Careful, love. You don’t want to take too much.” She could see his fangs now as they stretched. She wanted some of her own. Katie wanted to bite Rutger, sink her own fangs into his throat, and come with the feeling of feeding from him. When he touched her pussy, she came apart, throwing back her head, and screamed out her release by calling Rutger’s name over and over again.

When she woke up, she was sitting on his lap in his office. The desk was right in front of her, and she wanted to stretch out on it and let him have his way with her. Instead, she looked up at him when he said her name. Smiling at him, she felt her body was alive with emotions and pent-up energy.

“I don’t hurt.” He said she’d never hurt again. That she’d never be sick, never die of cancer, and that she’d be his from now through all eternity. “Because I took your blood inside of me?”

“Yes. You’ll have more magic as well. Gloom can help you with what you might have. I can as well, but he’ll be able to tell you right away. So will Brew.” She smiled at him, and he smiled back. “Your skin is glowing. It’s like you’ve been given a great deal of magic. You might well have been. You did take a lot of blood from me.”

“I wish that I could bite you too.” He said that if they kept exchanging blood, she might well have them with him. “That would be epic. I’d love to be able to have sex with you and bite you the way you do me.”

The two of them talked about what sort of magic she might well have, and they played around with it. She could do things that he couldn’t. Like she could make a ball of light that was about the size of a small lantern.

The light didn’t bother either of them, which she was glad. Sunlight was hard on her right now, making her tender skin burn like a bad sunburn. And she still had to rest during the day while the sun was the hottest in the sky. She didn’t just rest but slept and slept hard.

They talked about the house too. She was thrilled to be able to use the pool when she wanted, and sometimes Rutger would join her. It was wonderful when he did. It was like they were sharing something special together, and they both enjoyed it.

“What do you know about older vampires? I mean, will you tell me what it is about them that makes them so powerful? You are too. Almost as powerful as Brew. I’ve seen you move through the air like you’re disappearing and reappearing in a different spot. How is that possible?” He said that, with years as a vampire, the stronger they got, and that was all he knew about it. “So it just comes to you? That doesn’t seem all that hard to be strong. Does it?”