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“Oh, shit.” Her chin dropped to her chest.
I laughed, because it was kind of funny. “Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but okay.”
“Damn it! Don’t make me laugh. Especially when I’m about to make an idiot of myself.” She pulled a necklace from under her shirt and lifted the chain over her head. “Look at it.”
I glanced down at the necklace she was handing me. This was going to make her look stupid? I sometimes thought I knew her, but other times… “I don’t know—”
“It opens, you moron.”
“Moron?” I gave her my most fake-stern look I could manage.
“It’s no wonder why I love you when you treat me so well.” I found the tiny crack. I opened it and saw a picture of me. God. I didn’t even know she took it. But knowing that she was wearing this made me feel like I could do anything—defeat anything—to make this work.
I snapped the locket shut, and put it down on the bed. “Oh, man. You have it bad. Stalker-level bad.”
Her cheeks turned the prettiest shade of pink. “Shut up.”
I crawled up her body, forcing her to lie back on the bed, until my nose was touching hers. “You’re carrying a picture of me around. You’re in love with me. Like, kind of obsessed with me.”
She laughed. “You’re such an asshole. I wish I could hate you.”
I shook my head as I hovered over her, our lips barely a breath apart. “But you don’t. You love me.”
She closed her eyes. “I do. I really do.”
“Good.” I pressed my lips to hers, and when she gave out a breathy moan, I lost myself in the feel of her.
We’d slept in a bed together, but we’d never crossed any lines. Never. Not once. No matter how much we both wanted to. But now, today, I was going to cross all of them. And I wasn’t going to let her out of that room until we’d both had our fill.
Chapter Twelve
COSETTE
My breath came in quick gasps as I lay over Chris. His heart was frustratingly steady. He ran his hands through every curl in my hair, and I wanted to stay like that—tangled with each other—forever. If I squeezed my eyes tight enough, I could almost make myself believe that we could have a simple life. Something happy and bright and full of love. I could almost, almost believe it if I tried. But not quite.
It’d been nice to lose myself in Chris for a moment, but his plan was insane at best. Deadly at worst. The stakes were impossibly high. And I was terrified to leave the quiet, momentary safety of this room. I didn’t know what would happen next or what was going on beyond these walls, but I’d waited so long to find this—to find love. I knew how impossibly fragile life was, even for us. One wrong move and it was all going to crumble. I couldn’t afford to make a mistake. I wasn’t sure I could take it if the worst happened.
I ran my fingertips down his arm, finding his hand. He brushed a soft kiss on my forehead, and my heart felt healed and complete. This thing I’d been searching for my whole life had finally been found. I was Christopher Matthews’ mate.
I was fey and could never be turned into a werewolf. I didn’t know what that meant for the bond or what it would become, but I could feel the magic that tied us together now. We’d crossed the line, and there was no turning back. For either of us.
But there were so many things to deal with. Nex was dead, and that meant that I had to question Cyros, Taslin, and the rest of my guards. I needed to yell at Ziriel—even if my heart wasn’t fully in it—for two attempts when I was supposed to be under his protection. But I guess he’d never quite said that he would stop anyone from trying…
Ziriel probably wasn’t worth the effort. My guards weren’t either. It wasn’t worth the breath I’d use to speak the words, but I had to say something. If only to remind everyone else that I was paying attention, not easily killed, and that the weight of the Lunar Court would be on them if they kept on this path.
My mother was going to be very angry that I was with Chris. She’d warned me not to do it and told me that I’d be at risk if I allowed my relationship with Chris to continue. Although sometimes I wondered if she would mourn me at all if I died. Maybe. Or maybe she would think my death showed a weakness in me.
I used to think I understood our relationship, but not anymore. Not for a while.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
I didn’t want to be the one to bring him down to reality. I didn’t want to be the bad guy. Not right now. “I thought mates were supposed to read each other’s minds.”
He tugged my hair for a second, before running his fingers gently through it again. “We didn’t say the words. We didn’t exchange blood. It’s not official.”
“It feels pretty official.” I could smell him on my skin, feel his skin on mine, hear his heart beating. I wasn’t sure how much more official we could get, but I was honestly a little relieved. There was still hope for him, even if there was none for me.
“I want to say something dirty, but I’m not sure if you’d find it funny or not.”
