“She can’t stand him.”
Noah frowned. “The one that’s always pranking her?”
“They do it to each other. They are always bickering and doing childish pranks. I thought they disliked each other.”
“Well, sometimes, just sometimes, people act nasty to the ones they want to pay attention to them. Of course, that’s not healthy behavior.”
“I wonder how much she had to drink to … Was she even sober enough to consent?”
“They had time to put the sock on the doorknob.”
“I should go downstairs and give her my shoulder to cry on. I’m also curious to know how this happened.”
“You should let her calm down.” Noah got up and stretched.
“Was the couch too uncomfortable for you?”
“No, it was fine. Did you sleep well?”
Grace nodded.
He smiled. “Do you want to shower first?”
“No. You can go first. I’ll grab my clothes and go downstairs to get dressed.”
“Okay.” Noah dragged his feet to the bathroom. “Don’t forget about our date this afternoon.”
“We can meet for breakfast and leave after that. I don’t have anything better to do.”
He combed his messy hair with a lopsided grin. “That would be great. See you downstairs.”
The bathroom’s door closed, and Grace contained a squeal against the comforter. They had a date, she slept in his bed, and they were going out again. Her life was becoming exciting.
Chapter Fifteen
One minute they were talking about music and poetry, and the next, they were in each other’s arms with their mouths glued together as if breathing depended on it. Grace’s lips were soft and tasted of chocolate. The chocolate she had in her milkshake that afternoon.
Noah could barely function with the need to taste and hold her. It wasn’t bloodlust or simply lust. It was a lot more than physical need. He had his share of hookups. Some of them were needed to lessen the loneliness, others to fulfill a need for blood and sex. With Grace, he worried about hurting her physically and emotionally.
They started in her car in front of the mansion and rushed inside, grabbing each other in the corridor, a few steps from his bedroom.
“We should talk about this,” Noah said breathlessly while holding her face between his hands. He watched her with hooded eyes. Her beauty was mesmerizing. Her lips were a magnet. “Grace...”
“We’re only kissing,” she mumbled. Gulping, she nibbled on her bottom lip and met his gaze. “Don’t you want to kiss me?”
“Yes, but it’s highly unprofessional. I work for your grandpa, and you are technically my student.”
“You talk too much.” Her lips searched for his and silenced the shred of rationality that was left.
“Your grandfather is going to kill me,” he breathed out as he walked with her to their favorite spot—the sofa under the attic window.
“I won’t let him.”
He smiled against her lips.
They had a perfect date. He barely noticed the time go by. They didn’t run out of a conversation, and he couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was perfect. The way she smiled. The way she averted her eyes when she felt shy. The soft red tainting her cheeks when he complimented her or their hands touched.
They took a stroll around town. It didn’t have a lot to see. The entertainment was a local pub, a burger joint, and an old movie theater. There was a park where families gathered, but he wanted somewhere less noisy, so they could talk.
Grace laced her arms around his arm, and they promenaded like a couple. He didn’t protest. He liked to feel her close and sense her energy surrounding him. It soothed his mind and soul. Noah didn’t feel anxious and on high alert when he was with her. She seemed happy, wearing a summer dress with high-heeled boots and a leather jacket. Her hair was braided, exposing her sleek neck.
The heat of her body against his brought him out of his reverie. She felt amazing, his hands itched to touch and undress her. He was turned on beyond reasoning, but he was going to be respectful. Grace wasn’t a one-night stand. By the way she pushed away his wandering hands, sex was off the table.
Noah fell back on the couch, and she crawled on top of him, letting her body mold against his.
“You’re making it hard for me to control myself,” he complained.
Her lips left a trail from his mouth to his ear. “I can sense that.”
Her teasing made him harder.
Giggling, she kissed down his throat, and her hand caressed his chest.
“That’s unfair,” he protested. “You stopped me when I tried to put my hand there.”
“Do I please you, Noah?
Her question and her nibble on his neck made him moan.
“I thought you could sense it,” he teased back.
“Not just to have sex,” she explained.
Noah lifted her chin and raised her head, so she looked him in the eye. “Grace, you’re intelligent and pretty. Anyone would be lucky to have you, but you can’t—”
Her mouth covered his. Their tongues entwined until he was out of breath.
Her mouth escaped his long enough for her to talk. “I’m glad you said that I’m intelligent first. I might grant you access to the second base if you keep that up.”
Noah chuckled. “We’re using baseball terms to describe this?”
She nodded, but instead of kissing him more, she sat up.
Noah did the same. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to give you the wrong idea about me. I don’t do this with...any guy.” She rubbed her hands over her anxious face. “I wouldn’t do this if we... weren’t... or maybe we are not. I’ve been bewildered for the past few days. But we seem to click. It isn’t my imagination, right?”
Her widened eyes when facing him made Noah shake his head. “You please me a lot, Grace.”
“Just please? Would you ever kiss me if I didn’t kiss you first in the car?”
“I wanted to kiss you, but I wasn’t sure if you were being friendly or flirting.”
Grace got up and walked to the other side of the room. “Maybe I rushed things between us. I should have waited until Grandpa came back. But it’s hard. I feel the pull between us and …”
Noah got up and fixed his shirt. “The pull?”
Grace sucked in a breath and narrowed the distance between them. “I didn’t save you because you helped us. I saved you because you were glowing. I saw you glow from where I was. I threw a fire dart against your enemy. Do you remember that?”
Noah nodded. “It allowed me to kill Maximilian. You saved me. Twice.”
“We had too many enemies around us, and I had to protect my friends. When I got to you, you were dying. Your gold light was fading, and my heart was breaking. I felt it deep inside of me that we had already met, maybe in a previous life. But I was sure, my angelic form was sure, that you were mine. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do to save you, even if I had to fight them all and face Vincent.”
Grace’s words made Noah’s head spin. Swallowing dry, he finally understood. “We’re mates.”
“Do you see or feel anything different in me? Am I alone in this?”
“I felt the attraction the moment we met. Even when I was in and out of conscience. I just didn’t know what it meant. Vampires find their mates by bloodlust. My vampire side is extremely controlled around you, but I can’t say the same about my inner beast. He sees you differently. He smells you and ... you’re mine.” His hand combed his hair. He secured her against him. “Do you want to be mine?”
Grace’s mouth opened slightly, and she closed it again without answering.
“Grace?”
“Are you going to run away from me if I tell you yes?”
Noah shook his head. “I don’t abandon the ones who need me.”
Her body shook, and she hooked her fingers against his shirt. “Good. I don’t want to give you up. It doesn’t matter what you di
d before arriving here. Grandpa will make sure you have a home from now on. With me, if you want.”
Noah’s answer was holding her in his embrace and kissing her passionately. He let her mouth melt against his and patiently offered her the longest and tenderest kiss he’d ever given in his life. Grace was more than a fling. Grace was his life. He would do anything to keep her safe.
Chapter Sixteen
GRACE
Noah’s reaction to their bond was better than Grace expected. So far, he was the perfect boyfriend and gentleman. She couldn’t get enough of him. Being apart from him physically hurt. Once they shared their first kiss, Grace was sure that she couldn’t resist him even if she tried. No wonder their parents did everything to stay together. Rationality and self-preservation meant nothing if they had to be apart. What was the reason to live if they weren’t allowed to love each other? The thought of losing Noah was unbearable. She would go mad and destroy everything if something happened to him. Grace was absolutely sure of that.
Being this dependent on someone to be happy scared her. She couldn’t prevent this irrational detachment from the other beings and the world if there wasn’t Noah in her life. As a hunter, she was taught to put innocent lives first and protect them with her life if she had to. As a mate, her heart told her that no one was innocent if something happened to Noah. No one was more important than her mate. Maybe, with time, the overpowering need to protect him would subside. At the present time, anything or anyone that could jeopardize her mate’s life would be destroyed. Her angel side was fearlessly protective. Her werewolf was possessive by nature. She was doomed in trying to control the overwhelming feelings that assaulted her.
Noah’s acceptance of their bond had triggered her protective side. His searing kisses had awakened a hunger in her. As much as she tried to control her desire, her body and soul craved for his touch. How were they going to behave when Grandpa returned home? Without him here, spending time with Noah in the attic wasn’t suspicious to the other students. With Grandpa home, he would know why they spent so much time together. That was awkward. Would he force her to marry Noah before they could consume their love? Would Grace want to marry him when she had so many plans for the next years of her life? She had a career she wanted to pursue. Once the mate bond was established, and her desire tamed, would she regret giving up her dreams to stay with Noah? Did she need to give up everything to be with him?
They had so much to talk about.
Smiling, Grace looked at Noah and raised her foot, sliding it up Noah’s leg. He ignored her attempt to break his concentration from what he was reading. Her teeth nibbled on her lower lip, and she moved her foot higher up his leg.
“Is the book more interesting than me?” she asked.
Noah peeked over the page, and his arm secured against the back of the sofa. Dropping the book on the table beside him, his other hand moved to clutch her foot. “Are you bored?”
“No.” She giggled with the movement of his fingers on the sole of her foot and removed it to the safety of her corner of the sofa. “I just wanted to look at you.”
“If you’re bored, we can do something else.”
Grace smiled mischievously and mumbled, “I’m doing exactly what I want.”
Noah leaned forward and narrowed the distance between their faces. “What’s that?”
“Being with you, here, while reading and teasing you.” She moved closer and pursed her lips to kiss him.
His lips caressed hers, and he drew back. “Let me finish this chapter, and I’ll give you my full attention.”
Grace chuckled. “Your full attention might alert the others that something is going on here.”
“I can’t do anything about you being ticklish,” he flirted.
“As if you don’t like that I’m ticklish.”
Noah kept his lopsided smile, cleared his throat, and resumed reading.
Grace frowned, displeased.
Noah continued to read.
“We can close the door,” Grace proposed.
He raised his eyes to look at her and shook his head.
“We look like an old couple, hiding in our home on a rainy day.”
“I had no idea we were a couple,” Noah teased. Before Grace could grab a pillow to attack him, he dropped his book and raised his hands in defeat. “I’m joking. You’re my beautiful girlfriend and sexy mate.”
She huffed. “That’s better.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I want to move to your arms and read there.”
“You were the one who sat far away from me, fearing that your friends might come in here and see us.”
“I have no problem with us being a couple. Do you?”
“I need to talk to your grandfather first.” Sighing, he sat up and placed the book on the coffee table. “We haven’t talked about how we should act in public from now on. We still have a sort of teacher-student relationship.”
“I’m your assistant, not your student.”
“You attend classes here.”
“Not yours.”
Noah’s face became serious. “I have no problem announcing to the world that you’re mine.”
“There’s no rule that says we can’t be together.”
“You’re half-angel.”
“They never accepted me as one of them. I don’t agree with their philosophy and their claims of superiority above the other races.”
Noah smirked. “I’m fine with cuddling and kissing you in public. I can go downstairs and announce that we’re together if you want.”
Grace giggled. “That would be awkward and over the top. We don’t have to tell them anything. We just need to be us and do what we want.”
“Until your grandfather gets here and probably—”
Grace’s finger covered Noah’s lips. “He knows you’re mine and wants me to be happy. Whatever he told you, it was to assess your worth. Nothing more.”
His eyes softened. “You’re beautiful.”
Her skin shivered at his words and the closeness of their mouths. “It must be something inherent to the bond, because I can’t take my eyes off you, either. My insides twist and turn whenever I look at you.”
“My chest burns, and it’s hard to breathe when we are together. I just want to be close to you.”
Grace’s arms circled around his neck. “Are we turning into one of those mushy couples who always say the corniest things to one another?”
“Don’t you want us to be one of those?”
“I want us to be able to say anything to one another. A mate should be an extension of ourselves. A safe haven where we can feel safe and be true to our personalities.”
“My personality is rather romantic when it comes to us. Sorry about that,” Noah said with a husky voice.
“I like it.”
He furrowed his eyebrows. “I feel defenseless around you.” His hand touched her cheek. “I don’t know if I should let my guard down so much. I’m not used to feeling vulnerable like this.”
“I’d never hurt you, Noah.”
“If you leave me, you’ll hurt me.”
“I saved you and kept you with me.”
His lips covered hers in a tender kiss. His arms circled around her body and pulled her closer into an embrace. Grace surrendered entirely to the overwhelming desire that took over her every time they touched. Her body shook and overheated. Her heart threatened to come out or explode. Irrationality clouded her mind, and she often found herself losing track of time.
“I could be with you like this forever,” she said breathlessly when his mouth scattered kisses down her neck. “You make it hard for me to control myself.”
Noah remained silent, his lips spreading shivers down her shoulders and back. A tickling sensation took over her body, and she moaned with need.
His fingers brushed her neckline, slid down her throat, and played with the third bottom of her shirt, the one covering her breasts. Heat exploded between her legs, and she t
ilted her head back.
“You smell so good,” Noah whispered before planting a kiss on her chest. His arms pulled her closer to his lower body. “I want to rip your clothes off.”
Grace giggled. “I want you to rip my clothes off, too.”
“We need to behave,” he said.
“Yes.”
“It’s too soon.”
“Everybody is downstairs, making noise, and … we could close the door,” she reasoned.
“You should tell me to control myself.”
“I should.” She smiled. “It’s hard to control myself with you kissing me.”
“It’s hard to take my hands off you when you’re so sexy and feel so good against me.”
“We’ve been acting rather irrational since we kissed each other. That might have triggered some sort of overwhelming attraction that exists between mates.”
His mouth covered hers, and his hand massaged the back of her neck. “I was already overwhelmingly attracted to you before our kiss.” He leaned back enough to keep talking. “But, yes, the common mate bonds seem to trigger irrationality and desire. The first weeks are more intense. I’m not familiar with the mating ritual between soul-mates.”
“But attraction isn’t love.”
“Love comes with time and grows stronger with the obstacles and evidence that we can trust each other.” He swallowed hard, his mouth inches from hers. “But we know that mates are meant to love each other. Even if they are from different races.”
Grace breathed in to control her urges. “We’ll wait for Grandpa’s arrival to mark each other. Agreed?”
“I’ll do as you please,” he answered.
“Are you always this charming?”
“Only to you.” He kissed her forehead. “Your happiness is my top priority.”
“What if I want you to take over and do as you please?”
His eyes glinted, and he smiled mischievously. “I can take control and show you how dominant I can be. But I know you, Grace. These days together gave me a good idea about your personality. You’re an alpha like me. You don’t like to be told what to do. You don’t like to be pushed into doing something you’re not sure about.”
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