“Forever” echoed through my mind and through my heart as Bo joined his body to mine in one smooth motion.
With that one action, in that one moment of the most intense ecstasy I’d ever experienced, he sealed our fates.
He sealed our fates, our bodies, our lives, our love and our future.
We delighted in each other’s bodies for what seemed like hours before we rested. It was as my body was floating back down to earth from the clouds that I became aware of Bo rubbing my ring finger. Slowly, I opened my eyes.
There, poised over me with his weight resting on his forearms, was Bo. He had my hand in his, brushing his thumb back and forth over the empty space below the knuckle of my left fourth finger. When he raised his eyes to mine, there was stil passion in them, passion I could clearly remember us slaking only moments before. Or had we?
Bo opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it with a snap of his teeth. When I saw the wetness of my blood stil glistening on his lips, I became even more confused, different memories col iding in my mind and wrestling for the truth, for reality. Raising my head, I glanced down between our bodies and saw that my bra was stil intact, stil hiding my nakedness from Bo’s gaze.
I lay my head back down and my eyes met Bo’s again.
We looked questioningly at one another.
“What just happened?” I asked in a whisper.
“Did you see it, too?” he inquired, his voice husky with desire.
“Yes, I saw it. And- and I felt it, too,” I confessed, feeling suddenly shy.
One side of Bo’s mouth pul ed up into a satisfied grin.
“So did I.”
I felt a flush of warmth suffuse the skin of my cheeks and I couldn’t quel the nervous giggle that bubbled in my throat.
“I- I don’t understand,” I admitted.
Bo shrugged, shaking his head in amazement.
“Neither do I.”
“Maybe it’s because we drank each other’s blood.”
“But we’ve done that before and never had this happen.”
“True,” I said, chewing my lip in thought. “Of course, I wasn’t a vampire then.”
“Good point. Maybe our connection is just getting stronger,” he said, shifting his weight to one side and brushing a strand of hair from my cheek with one hand.
“We’re destined to be together. That’s just more proof.”
“Maybe,” I answered agreeably.
I knew that my attempt to be casual was a miserable failure. It was undoubtedly belied by the smile that I felt wrinkle the corners of my eyes and beam out at Bo from my face. But I couldn’t help it. To hear Bo speaking about our destiny, about our lives as if they were forever joined by divine wil was like pouring sweet, warm honey al over my heart.
Tracing my lower lip with the tip of one finger, Bo asked,
“So how do you feel?”
I felt the blush again as I answered, “Wonderful. How do you feel?”
Bo chuckled and my stomach clenched in response to the rich, sensual sound.
“That’s not what I meant, but I feel wonderful, too,” he said, brushing my lips with his. “I meant, how do you feel thirst-wise?”
“Oh,” I said, making a concerted effort to pry my focus away from Bo long enough to take inventory of my body. “It’s under control. Why?”
“If that’s the case, I’m thinking we should probably go check on Cade.”
My eyes widened. “Oh, crap! I forgot al about Cade and Annika. Oh my gosh, I—”
“I’m just referring to Cade and his throat.”
I frowned at Bo in confusion for only a fraction of a second before my memories came flooding back. I gasped.
“What have I done?” I wondered, slapping a hand over my gaping mouth.
“I’m sure Annika was able to take care of him. What happened?” Bo asked, watching me careful y. “What was he doing in here?”
“I don’t know. I was asleep and I think it was the smel of his blood that woke me. I saw the doorknob twist and the next thing I knew, I was drinking from him.”
A vague feeling of nausea over what I’d done warred with a rising thirst at the remembered pleasure of his slick blood sliding down my throat. I closed my eyes against it.
“Mr. Hearst,” Bo said flatly.
My eyes popped open and Bo was looking at me, chagrined. I smiled sheepishly.
“Sorry.”
Once Mr. Hearst helped me to bring my wayward body back under control, Bo and I dressed in intimate silence.
Then, taking my hand, he led me from the bedroom.
We made our way to the den where Annika and Cade sat. Cade smiled at us as we entered. Annika, however, seemed a bit perturbed.
Spearing Cade with his eyes, Bo asked without preamble, “What were you doing in her room?”
Cade looked to Annika before turning his attention back to Bo.
“Maybe you two should sit down.”
His answer was one that seemed to throw open the windows of foreboding and usher in the dark cloud that settled over the room.
I thought Bo might argue or become antagonistic, but he didn’t, probably because he felt the cloud, too. I could sense the tension in him as if it were my own. And maybe, somehow, it was.
“I’m sorry about that, but it had to be done,” Cade said as we sat.
“You mean you had to go into my girlfriend’s room while she slept and nearly get yourself kil ed? What were you trying to do?”
“She had to drink my blood. That’s why Annika was so adamant about going with you to bury the bodies and feed.
She knew I wanted to be alone with Ridley.”
A surge of jealousy rose up inside me and I heard nothing beyond the part about Annika and Bo feeding together.
“She went hunting with you?”
Bo had the decency to look guilty for not tel ing me.
“Yes. She has to feed, too.”
When I looked back at Annika, the corners of her mouth twitched as if she was having trouble containing a smile. I wanted to throttle her.
“And why, exactly, did Ridley need to drink from you?” Bo asked, undeterred by my aggravation. He was like a dog with a bone.
“Because I can give her something she desperately needs,” Cade answered calmly.
Bo shot to his feet.
“I can give her everything she needs, and the next time I find out you’ve been near her in my absence, even Annika won’t be able to save you.”