Bit by bit, her muscles uncoiled and her breaths steadied to match Tate’s.
Too soon, he gentled his grip in her hair and slowed his kiss, his words murmured against her lips. “That’s only for you, Elise. Only you.”
Only for her.
Why the simple statement meant so much she didn’t understand, but she clung to it. Hoarded and protected the knowledge like a dragon with its jewels.
Around her, the room finally began to register. A foreign one she hadn’t yet seen, but obviously belonging to Priest given its size and the artwork on the walls. She forced herself to uncrimp the death grip she had on his shoulders and sucked in a shaky breath. “I’m sorry.” She smoothed her palms against the hard slab of his pecs, the trembling of her fingertips impossible to hide. “I don’t know what happened. I just... I was fine and then I saw her. And then... I... Something tripped.”
“I know what happened.”
She froze and met his gaze. “You do?”
He nodded. “It’s okay. Totally normal.”
“No, it’s not. Not for me. I don’t act like that. Ever. But I seriously wanted to hurt her. I wanted to—”
“Elise.” He paired her name with a gentle press of his thumb against her lips and kept it there until she’d drawn a steadying breath. “It’s okay. What happened wasn’t wrong. It’s part of who you are and what you are to me.”
“What I am to you?”
He held her stare, a mix of determination, hesitancy and fear reflected in his eyes. “What we are to each other. I’ll explain it to you. All of it. But I need to get Emma done so we can have time to talk.”
Emma.
The gorgeous woman stretched out on the table in the next room and waiting for Tate.
Right.
She could act normal.
Maybe.
She jerked a nod and tried to push away from the wall. “Okay. I’ll just spend some time with Jade.”
“No, you’ll stay with me.”
“Tate, I can’t.” She didn’t have a clue why that was the case, but it was an instinct she knew better than to ignore.
“You can, mihara. You’ll stay with me. Right beside me. So long as we’re close, you’ll be fine. I promise.”
Her blood hummed and her muscles shook like a near miss in a car accident, and where her brain normally wouldn’t shut up, now it just an empty flatline. “This is weird.”
The last thing she’d expected from him was a smile. Certainly not one so big and full of pride like the one he gave her. “It’s beautiful.” He grazed his thumb along her cheekbone as though memorizing the line of it. “To you, it’s a mystery, but for me it was a gift.”
“I don’t like mysteries.”
“It won’t be much longer. I’ll explain it all, but you have to trust me.” He pulled away enough to hold out his hand palm up. “One hour. That’s all I need to finish her up and you’ll get your answers. All of them.”
“All of them?”
“Everything.”
One hour. Probably the longest one of her life if the last five minutes were anything to go by, but if he could explain half of what she’d just experienced it might be worth it.
Maybe.
Assuming she could keep the inner animal she hadn’t known existed under control.
She gripped his hand and nodded. “Fine. Just don’t blame me if you end up with ink and blood on the floor.”
Chapter Ten
The bond was growing. That single thought had rattled around in Tate’s head so loud for the last hour and a half he’d been a little surprised Jade hadn’t stomped in from the main room mid-tattoo and told him to keep the racket down.
But it had to be true. No way would Elise’s primal instincts have kicked in like they had if the bond wasn’t growing.
And she’d run.
Holy hell...just thinking of the jolt that had gone through him when she’d torn out of his room made it hella uncomfortable not to fidget in the driver’s seat as he drove them back toward Priest’s property. How he’d kept his shit in check and not taken her against the wall he still hadn’t figured out.
In the passenger’s seat, Elise straightened and twisted, watching the long driveway to her house fly past them. “Where are we going?”
“Someplace private.”
She settled back into her chair, a tiny furrow etched between her brows.
“Relax, Elise.” He covered one loosely fisted hand in her lap and squeezed. “You wanted answers to questions. I don’t want to do that someplace where we run the risk of being interrupted every five minutes.” Or worse, where Jade could poke and prod his coyote into doing something stupid. “Besides, there’s something I want you to do for me and I want you to be able to concentrate.”
The teaser worked, turning the concerned frown on her face to something closer to shy intrigue. “What’s that?”
He grinned and downshifted enough to take the gravel drive coming up around the bend. “Hold that thought and I’ll show you.”
The long, winding path was a bear in his Camaro. Definitely not the type of surface he could take at the speed he wanted, but it did a decent job of distracting Elise from pushing for more before he was ready. When he rounded the last line of trees and the plain cedar cabin came into view her eyes widened and her smile guaranteed he’d just bought at least another five-minute delay. “Wow. Whose place is this?”
“Mine. Jade’s. Priest’s. Depends on who needs space the most.” He parked right in front of the raised porch and killed the engine. “Every bit of it we built by hand. Priest swore it was because he wanted to save money, but that’s complete bullshit. He’s got more funds than he’ll ever spend.”
“He does?”
“Oh, yeah. Don’t let the biker image fool you. He’s seventy-seven years old and has a capacity for learning that would floor scientists. What he doesn’t earn with his artwork, he more than makes up for in side businesses and investments.” He popped his door and rounded for Elise.
Elise kicked in the second he opened her door. “So, why build it by hand?”
“You never know with Priest.” Tate pulled her to her feet, gathered his bags from the trunk and guided her to the porch. “Could have been he saw it as a chance for the three of us to get over losing mine and Jade’s moms. Could have been he just wanted us to stay out of trouble for the time it took to get the job done.”
The inside was simple—one mostly open room with only a modest bathroom tucked into one corner for absolute privacy. The far end of the room faced the lake and had huge windows that provided the bulk of the light during daylight hours. A queen-size bed looked out at the view while a thick couch and coffee table sat facing the front of the cabin. Along the far corner opposite the entry was a kitchen and a small dinette.
Elise padded forward, her footsteps careful like she was afraid to make a sound. “Oh my God, I love it.”
“Which part? The flower child style, or the bachelor furniture arrangement?”
“Both.” She scanned the stunning scene of the lake below then trailed her fingers along the bed’s teal silk comforter. “Let me guess...the flower child part is Jade.”
“Yep. A lot of it came from stuff our moms had in storage, but me and Priest put our foot down when she tried to hang up the beaded wall dividers.” Duffel in hand, Tate paused at the bathroom and motioned to the floor lamp in the corner of the pseudo bedroom. At nearly eight o’clock at night there wasn’t much sunlight left. “Turn that on if you want. I just need a minute to get set up.”
“Set up for what?”
“The thing you’re gonna do for me.” He ducked inside the bathroom before she could drill him any more and started prepping. What would have taken him five minutes at the shop took triple that tonight, adrenaline and the need to get things just right making his movements emb
arrassingly shaky. He’d already planned to do what he was about to spring on her, and after what happened at the shop, she deserved to know the truth. But that didn’t mean his insides weren’t churning like the day he’d woken up in the Otherworld and faced the Keeper for the first time.
Finally satisfied with his work, he pulled on his T-shirt and exited the bathroom to find Elise in the deepening darkness framed in the center of one window, her arms hugging her chest and her gaze locked on the lake and what was left of a fiery sunset. “Are you cold?”
She shook her head, but kept her focus trained on the lake. “Not really. Just thinking I guess.” She peeked over one shoulder. “It’s a good view for that.”
“That’s why we picked it.” Tate dropped the duffel next to the big club chair near the window and got to work setting up. “I think Priest figured out early on that two teenagers and one high priest with a load of dark magic trapped inside him was a dangerous combination to have under one roof. So, he figured a place we could get away and be alone was a smart move. With the amount of property he bought when we moved here, we had a lot of options to choose from, but this one proved the best for view and accessibility. There’s a path from here to Priest’s house that’s easy to walk.”
Elise kept her silence, but she’d openly given up staring at the lake in favor of watching his every move. Even noted the fact that he’d ditched his shoes and replaced his jeans with simple track pants with an open scan of his body. By the time he ambled back to the bedroom with a tray of everything she’d need, her face was pinched with a rapidly growing frown of concern. In about five more seconds, the questions were undoubtedly going to hit, so he set the tray on the side table next to the chair and diverted with his own conversation. “You know, I’ve been thinking about the thing with Vanessa last night.”
That perked her up, shifting her concentration from the tattoo machine he busied himself putting together to his face. “What about it?”
“I think you’re right. Her bullshit’s only gonna escalate until she figures out no one will play her games, or someone stands off with her.” With everything in place, he shifted the ottoman so it lined up just right with the club chair, flipped on the gooseneck light Priest used for reading and aimed it so she’d have optimal lighting while she worked. He pulled his shirt off and moved directly into her line of sight. “So, I say let’s cut to the chase. Stand up to her and stake your claim.”
Her gaze dropped to the outline of her name he’d transferred from the stencil to the space above his heart. “You’re out of your mind.” Her focus shot back to his face. “I can’t tattoo you. I’ve worked on fruit, not people. And besides that, I don’t have a claim to stake.”
“Yes, you do.”
“No. I don’t. We’ve been on one date. You’ve barely known me more than a few weeks.”
“Elise, you have a claim.” He prowled forward and carefully grabbed her wrist and tugged her toward the chair. “You felt it this afternoon. There’s a reason for what you felt. All I’m asking for you to do is own it.” He sat on the edge of the ottoman and dipped his head toward the supplies on the tray. “Take what’s yours.”
She dropped to the chair in front of him and leaned in close, her hands clasped almost pleadingly between her knees and a mix of panic and bewilderment coating her voice. “Tate, what you’re offering is sweet, but I’m not putting a permanent mark on you just to get a bully to leave me alone. You said yourself last night—Voláns have fated mates. Don’t you think yours is going to be a little pissed off to have another woman’s name on you?”
“My mate’s not going to be pissed off. And dealing with Vanessa isn’t the main reason I’m asking you to do this. There’s a bigger one.” He gripped both of her hands in one of his. For all the times he’d imagined this moment, none of them featured the tightness in his chest. The ache and burn in his lungs and the slow-motion surrealness of every detail around him. “You asked me what mihara means.” His voice caught, and his heart kicked. “It’s an endearment. One a man only uses with his mate.”
A shudder moved through her, a tiny current that rippled from her joined hands into his.
“You’re my mate, Elise. I knew it the second I saw you. So, unless you’ve got an aversion to seeing your name on my skin, I want your mark. I want everyone to know with absolutely certainty, I’m yours. Vanessa included.”
“No.” She shook her head and tried to jerk her hands out of his.
He tightened his hold on her hands and cupped the back of her neck with his free one. “Don’t run.” He rested his forehead against hers, the animal half of him ready to hunt and claim what it knew belonged to them, and his lungs churning double time. “Please, dear God, don’t run right now. Talk to me. Scream at me or hit me, but don’t run. Please.”
Her body trembled and a soft sound far too close to that of a muted sob slipped from her lips.
He pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. Smoothed his hand up and down her back. He’d expected shock. Denial and even an argument, but not fear. Not the acrid scent of it or her salty tears. Inside him, his coyote whined and paced, the pain from her rejection a dull blade cutting from the inside out.
“You’re wrong about this,” she whispered. “You have to be.”
Another slice, this one deeper and jagged.
“I’m not wrong, Elise. A male who’s accepted his magic always knows when he finds his mate. The aura’s unmistakable and we feel it. We know it the same way you know basic right from wrong.”
She lifted her head, her eyes bright and eyelashes spiked with wetness. “But I don’t know what to do. My God, I’ve been on one date in my whole life. Have never been with a man. How am I supposed to be a mate if I don’t even know how to be a girlfriend?”
Not afraid of him.
Not a rejection.
A fear of herself. Of what she brought to the equation.
Confident she’d passed the state where she might bolt, he took a chance and cupped her face. “There’s nothing for you to do. Nothing for you to know. All you have to do is be you. Give us time together and get to know what works for us. The bond between us won’t seal until you’re ready to accept it. You control everything.”
Her breath caught on a hiccup and she swiped a tear from her cheek. “What bond?”
God, she was sweet. And gorgeous. Even with eyes red from crying and a tear-streaked face. “The connection between mates. Some couples say it’s an intangible knowing between them. Like what twins claim to have, but at a more intimate level. Some describe it as an emotional tether. A link that lets them feel the things their mate feels and keeps them in sync. Priest says he and Katy can actually communicate between it. Not with words, but with thoughts the way they do with their companions.” He wiped a fresh tear free with his thumb. “What you felt today...that was the bond, Elise. An instinct to get between your mate and someone you viewed as a threat.”
“But that was awful.”
“To you, maybe. To me... I was floored. Honored. And the only thing I could think about was finding a way to help you.” She searched his face like she still couldn’t comprehend the beauty of it, so he tried again. “Tell me about last night.”
She sniffled and swiped her knuckle beneath one eye. “What about it?”
“After I left, how did you feel?”
She frowned, and her gaze slid down and to the side. “Restless.” She refocused on him. “I had a hard time falling asleep.”
“Because mates—once they’ve found each other...touched each other—want to be together. The more that happens, the more being apart doesn’t feel right. That’s the bond, Elise. It’s there already. Waiting. Growing. Getting stronger. But the female controls it. Always. Until you accept it, nothing’s final.”
“So, what? You’re stuck with me? You don’t get a choice?”
Another clue. A kink in how she vi
ewed things created by her past. “Elise, you don’t give yourself enough credit. Apparently, you don’t see the woman me and everyone else sees when you look in the mirror.” He paused just long enough to make sure she was listening. Really listening. “I made my choice. I took one look at you and knew the Keeper had gone so far beyond my expectations of a mate, I happily accepted what I’d been given.”
“But you left.” A mocking chuckle slipped up her throat. “Almost ran out the front door not even thirty seconds after you met me.”
Oh, he remembered. Had replayed that critical stretch of time over and over in his head and cursed himself for the way he’d reacted. But, as Priest had reminded him repeatedly in the hours and days that followed, following his base instincts would have been a bigger hurdle to overcome. “I wasn’t running, mihara. I was protecting you. From me. You were new to the clan. Afraid. Thrown into a whole new reality after learning you were being hunted by a madman and looking at me with those big eyes of yours. If I’d done what I wanted, you’d have been up against a wall and learning the feel and taste of me before you learned my name.”
Her eyes widened and a comprehension to match the bright floor lamp overhead settled behind her gaze. “Really?”
“Really. It was natural. Perfect. Like walking out of a black-and-white world and finding color for the first time in my life. I wanted to gorge on the gift I’d been given and wasn’t the least bit in control.” He eased back and stroked her hair. “I’m yours, Elise, and proud of it.” Straightening, he pulled the table and the tray on top of it closer. “Give me your mark.”
She shook her head and wiped her palms on her jeans. “No. I don’t care what I am to you. I’m not messing up Priest’s work.”
“Elise, look at it.” He pushed his shoulders back, knowing full well the way he’d placed her name beneath the swirling knots and symbols Priest had inked after Tate’s soul quest was perfect. “These are the exact same lines you did over and over again today.”
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