“I know.” I gave her a small smile. “And I appreciate you caring enough to tell me about you and Nikolas.”
She reached across the table to lay a hand on mine. “I do care about you, and no matter what happens between you and Chris, it won’t change our friendship.”
“Thanks.” I looked down, blinking away tears. “I’m sorry. I don’t usually cry this much.”
Sara chuckled. “Been there. The bond makes you more emotional. It’ll pass after you…”
Her words trailed off, and I looked up to see her pressing her lips together. She didn’t need to finish the sentence because I knew what she’d been about to say. Once you completed the bond, things settled down. But what if you broke the bond? Did your heart recover from that?
We finished our coffee, and I reluctantly drove us back to the house. The faint flutter from my Mori told me Chris was there before I rounded the garage and saw him sitting on the front step of the guesthouse. There was no mistaking the relief that passed over his face as he watched me park the SUV and shut off the engine. Was he afraid I’d run before he could break the bond?
I sat there with my hands on the steering wheel, until Sara’s voice jolted me from my thoughts.
“Talk to him,” she said softly. “You’ll have to do it sooner or later, and sooner is better in this case.”
I nodded and took a deep breath before I opened the door and got out.
Chris
I stood when Beth exited the SUV, and my body tensed, half expecting her to run away again. I understood her hesitation to talk to me with the way things had been between us before last night. But we had bonded, and there were things that needed to be said, like the fact that I had no intention of walking away from her this time.
When I’d come to the guesthouse earlier and discovered she was gone, I’d been afraid she’d left for good. Nikolas told me she and Sara had gone to check out the schools, and I’d been relieved but also disappointed because I’d wanted to see her and to know she was nearby. As the hours had passed, I’d used the time to think about what I would say to her when we talked and how I would convince her to give us a chance.
The way I saw it, there were two ways to approach this. I could wait until Beth decided that being bonded to me wasn’t awful after all, forgave me, and fell in love with me again. Or I could come right out and make my intentions toward her clear from the start – and then get her to forgive me and fall in love with me again. Both would have the same final outcome, but I’d always preferred the direct approach.
I watched Beth walk toward me, and my chest tightened as it hit me again that I was bonded to this beautiful woman.
“Hi,” I said when she reached the step. I smiled, hoping to dispel the apprehension in her eyes.
Her fingers twisted in the bottom of her top, and she looked ready to flee.
“Hi.”
“Can we talk?” I asked.
For a moment, I thought she was going to say no. When she nodded, some of the tension left me. I opened the door for her, and she walked past me into the house. There was no mistaking the stiff set of her shoulders or the way she leaned slightly away as she passed me. I smiled at her back as I followed her inside. I had my work cut out for me.
Beth went into the small open kitchen and took a bottle of water from the fridge. She offered me one, and I accepted it. I expected her to go to the living room, but she stayed where she was, keeping the breakfast bar between us.
She took a drink of water and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, looking around uneasily before finally settling her gaze on me. Her voice sounded small and uncertain when she spoke.
“How do we do this?”
I hadn’t expected her to jump right in, but I was happy she was willing to talk.
“I think we should talk about the past first.”
She frowned. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“It has everything to do with this. I hurt you, and I deserve the anger you’re feeling toward me. We can’t move on until we get it all out there and you can forgive me.”
“Why does it matter if I forgive you?” Her lower lip quivered, and she trapped it between her teeth.
I set my water bottle down on the counter and braced my hands on the edge of the granite.
“It matters because your happiness is all I care about. I know you’re not happy with any of this or me, and I’ll do whatever it takes to change that.”
Her brows drew together. “I don’t understand. You need me to be happy before we break the bond?”
My Mori growled, and my voice deepened.
“We’re not breaking the bond.”
Water sprayed everywhere, drops of it hitting my face. Beth gasped and stared at the crumpled plastic bottle in her hand as if she had no idea how it had gotten there.
I grabbed the paper towels, handing several to Beth, who still stood there frozen. She began drying her face and hands as if she was on autopilot, while I wiped down the counter and floor.
I took the crushed bottle and sodden towels from her, and she looked at me in confusion and disbelief until she finally found her voice.
“What do you mean we’re not breaking the bond?”
“I mean exactly that. I don’t want to end it, and I don’t think you do either.”
“Yes, I do,” she blurted.
The lack of conviction in her words told me she was lying, probably to herself as well. I felt lighter at the knowledge, and it was all I could do not to smile. Something told me that would only damage my cause.
“No, you don’t,” I said softly.
“Don’t tell me what I want.”
Her chest heaved, and color rose in her cheeks. My body stirred in response. I wanted nothing more than to pull her to me and kiss those lips I’d spent too many hours thinking about.
“Okay. Then I’ll tell you what I want.”
I walked toward her, and she backed up until she was in a corner with no escape. Her gray eyes were wide as I reached up to graze her jaw with my fingers. The contact with her skin sent heat surging through me, and I almost groaned when her lips parted slightly as if in invitation.
Instead of claiming her mouth, I leaned in until my lips brushed against her ear. I smiled at the shiver that went through her.
“What I want is you, Beth.”
“No. It’s the bond,” she said breathlessly. “It makes you feel things you normally wouldn’t. You think you want me, but you don’t.”
All I had to do was press my body against hers, and she’d know exactly how much I wanted her. But she’d only claim it was a physical reaction to the bond, and I needed to prove to her that what I felt for her went far beyond desire.
I leaned back so I could look into her eyes. “You don’t sound convinced. You feel it, too, and you’re lying if you say you don’t.”
Her throat worked as she swallowed. “The bond –”
“The bond doesn’t make you love someone.”
She moved her head back and forth. “I don’t love you. I might have once but not anymore.”
“Liar.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but I placed a finger against her lips. Her breath tickled my skin, sending a fresh wave of heat through me. If I didn’t leave soon, I was going to lose all control and kiss her.
“I won’t push you, but I’m not backing off either. I’m going to prove to you that we belong together.”
I heard the catch of her breath as I closed the distance between us. But all I did was press a brief kiss to the corner of her mouth. Then I turned and walked away from her and out of the house.
Beth
“Want to dance?”
“Huh?”
I blinked at the blond boy standing in front of me, wearing a hopeful smile. I’d been so distracted by my thoughts I hadn’t seen him approach. Some warrior I was if a human could sneak up on me in plain sight.
“Uh, sure.”
I gave him a smile and followed him out onto the dance floor. Around us, at least a hundred people moved beneath the flashing lights to the music coming from the DJ on a platform in the corner of the club.
My body swayed with the music, but my mind was soon far away again, replaying Chris’s words from yesterday. I couldn’t block them out, just as I couldn’t forget the warmth of his touch that made my stomach do flips every time I thought about it.