Page 38 of Protected by the Vampire

What if…? I swallowed hard. What if he saw me differently now?

Like I was a nightmare.

Something to be feared.

Something that disgusted him.

He could see me as too much. My life would always be covered in blood and violence.

“I—” My voice came out rough, and I tried again. “Theo….”

He stopped in front of me. Our bond hummed pleasantly in my chest, but it could be a ruse.

“You’ve seen what I can do,” I said, quieter, the words slower than usual as I tried to make sense of the thoughts mixing in my head. “What I will do again if anyone threatens you. I?—”

He gripped the front of my shirt, and he tugged me close. “I don’t give a fuck about what you did. Told you that you’re mine in every way, shape, or form, Soren. Nothin’ you do will scare me. Nothin’ will change. I stand at your side willingly.”

My worry melted away.

He obliterated it completely.

My throat thickened with emotions. “Th—” The rest of his name disappeared against his mouth.

The kiss was hard and demanding. Possessive in a way that sent heat spiraling through my chest and straight down to my cock. My body slammed into his, and whatever hesitation that had been holding me back shattered on impact.

My hands came up, and I grabbed onto him all over—arms, shoulders, whatever I could reach—as I kissed him back just as hard. There was blood between us, the metallic tang sharp on my tongue as his wondrous flavor filled me, but it didn’t matter.

None of it mattered.

We ignored the body on the floor, our audience, and the fact that we were both a mess.

This was just him.

Us.

But always him.

He was safe. I would always make sure of it, and he would now have to get used to the idea of me being glued to his side day and night.

A sound tore out of me, low and wrecked, as I leaned into him, closer, needing more, needing him in a way that made my head spin.

When he pulled back, it felt like losing something vital.

I didn’t let him get far, though. Our foreheads pressed together, his heavy breath fanning over my face.

“If you think,” he said, voice rough and low, “that a little death and blood is gonna keep me from you, then you don’t understand how much you mean to me. Fuckin’ love you, Soren.”

My chest tightened.

Something in my throat worked, but no words came out as I searched his face. There was nothing there but certainty. Possession. Something deep and unshakable that wrapped around me just as tightly as his grip still did.

He slid his hand up, fingers curling against my jaw.

This man.

My fated mate.

He loved me.