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“Yolen, this whole things scares me. We came so close to losing everything we had.”
“I know. So, how about we fix that now.”
“What do you mean?” But her heart had started thumping really hard as though she already knew what he would say next.
“Will you bond with me? Will you be my blood rose?”
She wanted to say yes, but what flashed through her mind was all his tidy boxes. “I’ll need calling rights.”
At that, he smiled. “Honey, from this moment on, I’m turning all my rights over to you. Make a list. I’ll follow it to the letter.”
She couldn’t believe what he was saying. “And you’re really serious?”
“I’d be offended right now, but I’m smart enough to know that you have reason to doubt me. So, here’s how this is going to go. I want you to move in with me and you can call me every hour on the hour, or the half hour or the quarter hour. And you can call whether I’m working one case or a thousand.” He drew a deep breath. “That old life is over. It ended the moment I realized my stubbornness had almost cost you an enslavement to Keynes, because it would have been nothing less.
“So, what do you say? Do you feel like packing a few things and letting me fly you back to my riverside home? Or, if you prefer, we can stay here.” He smiled once more, “Though I really did have something planned for us tonight.”
Brianna’s throat ached. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she kissed him. “I’d love to be in your home.”
“Our home.”
“Oh, Yolen.” She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him hard. He returned the favor, wrapping her up in a tight embrace.
After a moment, she drew back. “So, you have something special planned?”
He smiled, his brown eyes full of affection. He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her once more. “I want to make love to you in front of the fire. I want to fulfill all that we have between us. And I want to make you my blood rose.”
Brianna’s heart pounded harder still. Was this really happening, everything she’d hoped for and then some?
“Let me change my clothes and pack a bag.”
***
Chapter Six
While Brianna packed, Yolen called his housekeeper and had her recreate the romantic setting, lighting more candles, setting up a new bottle of champagne, and spreading fresh rose petals on the carpet near the fireplace.
Once Brianna descended the stairs, he made sure her security system was armed, then led her to her backyard. Holding her close to his side, with his free hand carrying her satchel, he rose into the night sky. He flew slowly, wanting everything to be ready when he opened the front door for her.
She clung to him and kept sighing.
He couldn’t believe this was happening, that he would have Brianna with him forever from this moment forward. He would build a life with this woman and what had seemed so impossible just a few days ago now felt as natural as breathing.
First, however, he needed to bond with her, to make sure that no other mastyr ever stood a chance of getting close to his blood rose.
When he finally flew her up the long, shady walk of his two story home, his heart thrummed in his chest. He’d never brought one of his dates here and now he understood why. Letting a woman enter his house was a significant act, akin to letting her into his soul.
He dropped down lightly to the front door, but didn’t release Brianna. Instead, he turned her in his arms and held her gaze. “I love you so much, more than I ever imagined being able to love anyone. And you’ve done this for me. You’ve made it possible.”
She smiled and touched his cheek. “You’ve done the same for me. All this time, until you came along, I was never serious about any man, only my art.”
“I think it’s all very realm, that we’re fated somehow.”
“After the exhibition, I thought my heart would break when you didn’t call.”
“And I wish I had. I wanted to. You must know that. I wanted to call. I wanted to be with you every fucking minute of every day. Tell me
you know this is true.”
