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“I don’t know.” Melinda shook her head sadly and looked away. “I don’t know why men cheat—human men, anyway. I guess they get bored of their wives and their lives and their families and they want to start fresh.” There was a little catch in her voice and a single tear trickled down her flushed cheek as she spoke.
“That’s wrong.” Liosh cupped her cheek and brushed the tear away with his thumb. “It must have hurt you very much when your father abandoned you like that.”
“Oh, he didn’t actually leave us until I started college,” Melinda said quickly. “He was still in our house until then—mostly because he didn’t want to have to pay child support,” she added dryly. “At least that was what he told my mom when he left her right after I went off to college.”
“Maybe he didn’t abandon you physically, but he certainly did emotionally,” Liosh pointed out. “It must have been very painful for you to be turned away by the male who was most important in your life and suddenly denied the love and affection he used to give you.”
“Well…yes,” Melinda admitted in a soft voice. “But how did you know?”
“It’s written all over your face.” Liosh brushed away another tear. “It’s all right, Talli—you can cry if you want,” he added, seeing she was trying to hold back more tears from falling.
Melinda buried her face in his chest for a moment, as though she was trying to get control of herself. Finally, she looked up at him and sniffed. She wasn’t sobbing but her eyes were certainly red, Liosh thought, feeling his heart twist for her pain. What a worthless bastard her father had been to push her and the rest of his family away just because he had a sexual interest in another female! It was clear he had wounded Melinda deeply—possibly affecting her ability to trust a male ever again.
“Thank you,” she said at last, giving Liosh a trembling little smile. “I know we’re just practicing pretending we’re a couple but you’re one of the sweetest guys I’ve ever met.”
“I’m glad you feel that way. I find you to be very sweet as well,” Liosh murmured. On impulse, he gave her a brief, tight squeeze and kissed her gently on the forehead. “Thank you for letting me cuddle you. Melinda,” he said.
“Oh…” She put a hand to her forehead uncertainly, her eyes going wide for a minute, then she kissed him back—her soft lips like butterfly wings against his cheek.
That soft, tentative kiss did as much or more for Liosh than an erotic or passionate embrace would have done for another male. He felt his heart twist again and a deep need to protect and care for the girl in his arms washed over him.
Gods, he was gone on her—completely gone. He hoped he could convince her that they belonged together and they ought to bond. It was the only way he could keep caring for her like this for the rest of their lives, which was all that he wanted.
For a moment they looked into each other’s eyes and Liosh almost kissed her more directly. Her pink lips looked so soft and inviting it was all he could do to hold himself back from tasting them. His fangs longed to pierce her flesh and inject the essence he could feel building up in them—marking her as his and Claiming her forever.
Only the very strong feeling Liosh had, that rushing this situation would be a bad idea, kept him from kissing and then biting her.
He knew a little of her past now and thought he understood why she was so hungry to be cuddled, but he suspected there was more—some other pain she hadn’t shared with him yet. Some reason he needed to be wary and take things very slowly.
So instead of kissing her, he murmured,
“It’s getting late, Melinda. Should I put you to bed and tuck you in now?”
Her blue eyes widened.
“If…if you don’t mind,” she said softly.
“Of course I don’t.” Liosh smiled and rose easily from the loveseat, still holding her in his arms.
“Oh!” Melinda gave a little gasp at the sudden upward trajectory and put her arms around his neck to hold on.
Still smiling, Liosh carried her the few feet from the small loveseat into the dormitory’s bedroom.
“Which bed is yours?” he asked, looking at the two sleeping platforms there. One was somewhat larger than the other but both had colorful quilts and blue sheets on them.
“Oh, I usually sleep in the full bed—that’s the bigger one,” Melinda explained. “But you’re so much bigger than me—you take it and I’ll sleep in the twin—that’s the little one,” she added.
Liosh frowned. “I do not wish to turn you out of your own bed.”
What he actually wanted was to have Melinda sleep with him, curled up against his side as warm and trusting as she had been on the couch. But of course, he couldn’t ask for that. She had to come to him on her own—had to trust him enough to be vulnerable even in her sleep.
