AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Do I have a choice?”
“No.” He grabbed the long strands of his hair and swept them aside to expose his neck. “I will be feeding you for the rest of eternity. We might as well start now.”
She arched a brow at his arrogant tone, but he could see the tips of her fangs between her lips and catch the scent of chamomile that swirled through the air. She was starved for the taste of him.
“You made that decision all on your own?” she demanded.
“Fate made that decision.”
He watched a shiver race through her body, but there was still a hint of fear shimmering in the depths of her eyes.
“You aren’t thinking clearly.”
“I don’t need to think.” He cupped her pale cheek in his palm, silently willing her to accept the inevitable. “Everything inside me—my very essence—yearns to be with you. For an eternity.”
“I’m a recluse who lives in a mountain,” she reminded him.
Ryshi shrugged. He didn’t mind the thought of sharing an isolated lair with this female. In fact, nothing had ever been more tempting.
“I’m half imp.”
“Precisely. You would hate the darkness.”
“My fey blood means I can create portals.” He skimmed his fingers down the stubborn line of her jaw. “Traveling between your lair and the Oasis would be as easy as stepping from one room to another.”
“What about your sister?”
He flinched as she struck a direct hit. It was the only shadow in their future together. Well, the only shadow unless you counted the fact that they were currently trapped with a group of minotaurs who wanted them dead.
“My sister will be found,” he said, the words a solemn promise before his lips twisted into a rueful smile. “Any other barriers you want to put between us?”
She paused, then she offered the true reason for her hesitation. “You’ve seen what I can do.”
Ryshi understood how important his answer was going to be to their future. Sofie had convinced herself that she not only had to punish herself for what had happened in the past, but that she had to isolate herself to protect others. But even as he sought to find words of sympathy to ease her fears, he decided on blunt honesty.
“I’ve never felt prouder in my life,” he told her, remembering the moment she’d defeated the minotaurs. He was not a demon who celebrated death but watching Sofie overcome an impossible situation was amazing. “You’re marvelous.” He bent his head to press a light kiss on her mouth. “There’s something extraordinarily satisfying about knowing my mate can kick anyone’s ass.”
“I’m a deadly weapon,” she insisted, as if he’d somehow forgotten.
He nipped her lower lip. “True, but you don’t need special powers to be deadly. I watched you in the arena. You were cutting your way through those gladiators like a lava sprite through ice.”
She grabbed his face in her hands, gazing up at him with a troubled expression. “I massacred my clan.”
“An accident.”
“An accident that could happen again.”
“You held my mind with yours.” He pulled her hands away from his face, turning them over to place a lingering kiss in each palm. “I trust you.”
“Ryshi.”
His name came out as a soft plea, but Ryshi could sense she was on the brink of capitulation. She knew that they were destined to be together, but she’d needed to be reassured that she could trust herself.
“You said that you secluded yourself to learn to control your powers,” he reminded her in gentle tones, leaning down to grab her shoes and tug them off.
She made a strangled sound of excitement. “Nothing is perfect.”
“Exactly,” he readily agreed, straightening to send her a teasing glance. “Except for me, of course. See?”
