Page 45 of Protected by the Vampire

Before I could stop myself, I pulled him closer, sliding my hands around his waist, drawing him flush against me. I pressed my forehead to his as the water continued to fall around us.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

We didn’t need to.

Theo traced his fingers along the back of my neck, through my damp hair, the touch slow and deliberate.

It was comforting and felt claiming.

I tilted my head slightly, brushing my lips against his. The kiss was gentle at first, but it didn’t stay that way for long.

It couldn’t.

Too much had built between us. There was too much fear, too much relief, too much need, and love.

Theo responded immediately, tightening his hands against my hips as he kissed me back. There was urgency there, but also something deeper. Something steady and sure.

He was alive.

I deepened the kiss and slid my palm up his spine, pulling him closer as if I could fuse us together and never risk losing him again.

When we finally broke apart, Theo rested his forehead against mine again, his breath uneven but his gaze clear. “Soren,” he said quietly.

I hummed in response, not trusting myself to say much more.

“I need to ask you somethin’.”

That got my attention. I pulled back slightly, studying his expression. He gave me a small smile.

“What is it?” I asked.

He hesitated for only a second. “Tell me what it takes to become a vampire.”

The words landed like a stone dropped into still water.

Everything inside me went very, very tense.

“No,” I said immediately.

Theo didn’t flinch. “You didn’t even?—”

“No.” My voice was firmer this time, edged with something sharper. “Absolutely not.”

His jaw tightened. “You don’t even know what I’m gonna say.”

“I know enough.”

I stepped back, creating space between us, though every instinct I had screamed against it. This wasn’t a conversation I could have while touching him. Not when my control was already stretched thin.

“It’s not a solution,” I continued. “It’s not a fix for what happened. You’re just worried about me and how I reacted and what I felt. What about you?”

“Me? I want this. I ain’t askin’ just for you,” Theo shot back, his voice rising slightly. “I’m trying to make sure nothin’ like this happens again.”

“You think becoming like me will guarantee that?” I asked, incredulous.

“I think it’ll give me a fighting chance, and wasn’t it you sayin’ at the club the other day that you were worried about the risks that come with being with you?”

He had me there. “I did.”