AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Then what is this about?” My stomach lurched. “Are you saying youwantto break the bond?”
His hand closed around my nape. He brought his mouth to the side of my neck. Warm lips traced over the pulse point.
“I can feel your heart beat,” he said thickly. “You know what that does to me?”
My breath sped up.
His mouth opened on my skin. “Holy Dark Mother, I want you,” he said in voice raw with need. “I wake up wanting you. I fall asleep wanting you. I have you and I only want you more.”
Sharp fangs pressed against the point he’d been kissing. I pressed my inner thighs together as heat seared down my spine. For a few seconds, I forgot everything except how good it had felt the first time he’d drunk from me: his mouth hot against my throat. His hard body inside mine. The incredible orgasm that, like an ocean wave, had seemed to lift me up and toss me down, leaving me limp with pleasure.
But I refused to be distracted—because damn it, I’d asked a question and he hadn’t answered. I pushed against his shoulders.
“Gabriel.Do you want to break the blood bond?”
He stepped back, leaving a full yard between us. “It doesn’t matter what I want. Say the word, and I’ll release you from it.”
I stayed where I was, my back against the door. The lust-induced haze had completely cleared, leaving me puzzled and a little afraid. “What do you mean?”
His nostrils flared. His hands fisted. But his voice was cool, controlled. Very much the crown prince.
“You would never have accepted the bond if not for Joey.”
A vise clamped my lungs. “No! That’s not how it was.” I paused, struggling to think. “I mean, yes, it was, but I would’ve come back in a heartbeat if I could’ve. I stayed away for you, damn it. And for my family. None of it was for me.None of it.”
His beautiful face looked sad. “We both know Redbone forced you to come to me. He needed a spy in my house, and you were perfect. You would never have accepted the blood bond if you hadn’t been desperate.”
My lips felt numb. My stomach was a cold knot of fear. Everything was slipping away, and I didn’t even know why.
“All right.” I forced myself to mimic Gabriel’s calm tones. “I guess that’s true—but it’s not the whole story. I told you what happened. I tried to say no. I toldAndre I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. I mean, Jesus, he offered me a million bucks and I turned him down flat. But then I found out they had Joey, too.”
“I know, cher. And it’s okay. But that’s why I’m releasing you from the bond.”
I took a step forward. “What about that promise you made me make? To give you a chance to work this out—to giveusa chance. That was just this morning. What the fuck changed since then?”
“That was wrong. I shouldn’t have asked that of you.”
We stared at each other. His face was an expressionless mask, but a muscle worked in his jaw.
Suddenly, I understood. He didn’t want me to leave. He was only doing it because he thought it was whatIwanted. The icy feeling receded.
“So let me get this straight,” I said. “You’re doing this for me, because I only accepted the blood bond to save Joey.”
A curt nod. “You can go home with him tomorrow. For tonight, you’d better sleep in another room.” He reached around me to the pad that controlled the door.
I blocked his hand. “No.”
His peaked black brows lifted. “What do you mean,no?”
“I mean no, I won’t go home tomorrow.” I reached for the hem of the T-shirt. “I said I loved you, and I meant it.”
His throat worked. “What are you doing?”
“I’m not under pressure now, am I?” I pulled the shirt over my head, dropped it on the floor.
“No.” His voice was hoarse.
“Then you know this is my choice.” I set my hand on his chest. “And I’m staying right here with you.”
