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“It was a long time ago,” he repeated, eyeing me. “Are you sure you want this story?”
“Yes.” I sat down on the edge of the bed, not entirely sure, despite what I’d just said.
He continued. “I didn’t think it would happen again, but when she texted me, I gave in. I couldn’t drink enough lust from her to keep the hunger at bay, because we weren’t potential mates, but I’d never managed to keep it at bay anyway. We didn’t do anything together outside the sex—it was just sex. But it mattered to me.”
I could see where the story was going, and my heart hurt for Bash.
“After a few months, I invited her to spend a holiday with my family. The request shocked the hell out of her. She thought I was joking. She asked what I thought we were, and I told her I saw us as dating. She asked how I thought that would work, given my immortality.”
He continued, “When I suggested she could eventually become a vampire so we could spend our lives together, she laughed. The next day, she was gone. Her stuff was out of her apartment, she’d given Zander her resignation, and taken her things from there, too. When I texted to make sure she hadn’t been abducted, she called and told me she was fine. She’d resigned in person, and was posting pictures of herself in another state two days later.”
“She wasn’t interested in a serious relationship,” I said quietly.
“No. It wasn’t important to her. I saw it as something that would grow over time, that might lead to having kids, but she was only in it for the sex. That’s all there is to it, Brynlee. I’m not trying to hide it from you. It’s just awkward. I’ve never been good with women, and clearly, I’m shitty at relationships.”
“You’re not shitty with me.”
He lifted an eyebrow, obviously disagreeing.
“I’m serious, Bash. You listen to me, well enough that you remembered my casual comment about how I feel about flowers. You take care of me first when we’re together, whether sexually or just physically, with food. You make me smile. You make me laugh.”
I set my hand on his thigh. “We’re still trying to figure things out, but you’re right—a relationship grows over time, as long as both people put effort in. I think we both are, even if most of my effort has been focused on trying to seduce you, and most of yours has been on trying to fight the bond.”
He set his hand on top of mine. “I’m not fighting it anymore.”
“Good.” I hesitated, then added, “What was she like, personality-wise? From the pictures, she looks like my opposite.”
He grimaced. “She was a lot like Miles. Anal. Organized. Particular. We were a terrible match. We disagreed constantly, and she wasn’t playful like you are when shit hit the fan. She was… grumpy.”
“So you were dating yourself in woman form,” I said. “There was no sunshine to balance it out.
“Basically. It was a while before I could look back and realize how shitty we were together. It wasn’t until you moved in that I realized why fate matched you and I.”
“Why?”
He lifted my hand off his thigh and brushed a kiss to my knuckles. “Because you’re fun, Brynlee. You wake me up. You make my life happier, and give it purpose. You find joy ineverything, and when something happens, you roll with it. That’s difficult for me.”
“You rolled with me feeding you.”
He chuckled. “I wanted that so damn much, it hurt constantly. It’s not hard to accept getting what you want.”
That was fair.
He kissed my knuckles. “It’ll take me time to get used to opening up about shit like that. You’ll have to push me sometimes, but I’m trying, Brynlee.”
“I believe you.” My words were honest. “And I’m pretty good at pushing you.”
His lips curved upward. “It’s a unique skill you possess.”
“I know.” I ruffled my hair with my free hand.
He dragged me across the bed until my hip met his, our bodies facing in opposite directions so we were looking toward each other. “I didn’t explain myself well when it came to why I want the mate bond now. To me, the bond would be a starting point. It would change you, and give us both stability. We would promise each other our lives, then make it work.”
“I have a hard time looking at it like anything other than marriage,” I admitted. “And in my mind, you don’t get married until after you have everything figured out and decided. I think I would feel different if any of my brothers were mated, but I only ever knewofmates—I never saw them together as a kid.”
“Well, I can wait as long as I need to.” He dragged his tongue lightly over my knuckles. “But I’ll probably keep trying to convince you to seal the bond.”
“That’s alright. If you push me, I’ll push back.”
