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I get a towel to clean us, pull on my pants, and reach for her wrists. As the rope falls to the floor, I’m grateful it only left a slight rub mark that should be gone soon. I lift her and pull the covers from underneath. I rub her wrists gently.
“Thank you, Marie,” I say softly. I kiss her and slide in beside her.
“I should be thanking you,” she says. “I’ve never experienced anything like that. I like the ropes.”
“Good,” I say. “We will use them again.”
“Are you coming to work with me?” she asks, her voice sleepy.
“Yes,” I confirm.
She falls silent, and her breathing evens out. Her head rests on my shoulder, and it feels right to have her there. I wrap my arm around her. I don’t remember the last time I slept in the same bed as a woman; it’s been years. I won’t be able to sleep all night beside her. She’s too tempting—her blood is calling to me.
“I don’t think my heart is big enough for love,” I whisper as I stare at the ceiling.
“That’s okay,” she whispers, startling me, and snuggles closer. “Mine’s big enough for both of us.”
My throat closes up, and the emotions I have denied and pushed away for so long bubble to the surface. I want to tell her everything about me and my past, but I’m afraid to test her declaration. For the first time, I fall asleep beside a woman, my mate, hoping that Marie’s heart is indeed big enough.
Chapter Eight
Marie
I wanted to sing and dance. I wanted to shout and scream. Last night was the very best sexual experience I have ever had. I didn’t have any reservations about letting him tie me up, which was surprising. My past sexual partners were few and never used any binds on me. For some reason, I trust him completely. Is it the bond that reassures me? The memory of the way he touched me sends shivers over my skin even now as I’m dressed.
I woke to an empty bed, my bed, but I didn’t care. Bash must have moved me. I knew it was a lot for him to give so much of himself, plus he didn’t sleep much, so I wasn’t offended. He thought I was asleep when he said what he did and didn’t expect a reply. My words just slipped out. I felt them down to my core. He was unsure of being my mate. He was uneasy about talking to me about his past for fear of judgment. He didn’t know how to feel about me. So, I would be sure for both of us. I would love him. I think I was already falling.
I decided to wear something I never thought I would since I felt confident. I put on a blue off-the-shoulder, tight-fitting, short-sleeved shirt. I paired it with another pair of skinny jeans and, of course, my combat boots. I tried to put on makeup, but I looked like I had a black eye. The bruise on my face wasn’t as bad as the makeup was, so I gave up. I settled on lip gloss and some blush. Even though I didn’t need the blush with how flushed my skin was every time I thought about what I did with Bash.
I hear him in the kitchen when I leave my room. I give myself a pep talk on the way down the stairs. If he’s grouchy, he’s just trying to protect himself. I know he enjoyed what we did; that was very obvious.
He’s in the kitchen in front of the stove. He’s dressed the same as yesterday, with black slacks, but this time with a blue dress shirt. He could dress in anything and still be sexy. His white hair is perfectly in place. I have hope that he will explain why he hates anyone touching it. I have a feeling his reasons are because of something traumatic. He watches me walk down the stairs just as my phone rings.
I groan when I see it is my mom. I try to keep in touch and talk to her regularly, but she has horrible timing.
“Hello, Mom,” I answer.
“Hi, dear. How are you?” her soft voice asks.
“I’m good.” I can’t tell her that I just found out I’m the mate of a vampire, who gave me the best orgasms of my life, and I’m working on making him fall head over heels in love with me. “What’s going on?”
“I hadn’t heard from you. I thought I should check in,” she says.
“Sorry I didn’t call this week. I’ve been busy with work,” I say.
“I understand you’re busy, dear. Your dad says hello. You know he worries about his little girl.” I can hear her shows in the background. She loves watching reality television. My mom loves drama. My dad puts up with it because he wants her happy. When she wasn’t in front of the television, she was in her office playing games on her computer. My whole childhood, the office was off limits. My Dad told me it was the room that my mom could have to herself. She would spend hours in it and it drove me crazy that I couldn’t even open the door.
“Tell Dad that I’m doing well,” I say. I lean on the kitchen counter, watching Bash pour me a cup of coffee.
“When are you coming for a visit?”
“Soon. Hopefully, within the next couple of weeks. Anything exciting going on there?” I smile at Bash as he sets a cup in front of me. His lips tip up slightly.
“You know we don’t have an exciting life, dear, but the neighbors are moving. Donna is divorcing that sad excuse of a husband finally. She could have stayed here, but she wants a fresh start somewhere else. They are fighting over the custody of the animals. You know she loves those dogs; he couldn’t give a rat's ass about them; he’s just being difficult.” I almost spill my coffee when Bash kisses the corner of my mouth. “Their kids are all grown up and moved out, as you know, but they have been over helping her pack. They think their dad is an ass, too. I saw Sammy the other day, Stacy’s son. He stopped by the house. He asked about you and where you are now. He was always such a shy kid, but he was eager to get back in touch with you. He certainly grew up nice. He’s very handsome. He was putting together a reunion of sorts for the class. I gave him your number. His dad was always an ass. He was so mean to him. I was surprised he turned out so well. Do you know he works at some bank as a manager?” She finally takes a breath so I can speak.
“I don’t remember a Sammy,” I say, confused. Bash is standing too close, distracting me. My mom can talk forever if I let her.
“Sure you do. He said you were friends.”
