I love her.
Deeply, I realise. For her brain, her wit, her humour, and yes, her craziness. There is no one else like her in this world. She’s strong and stubborn, but so kind and caring. She wants to help people, to protect them. She’s a fighter, a warrior with scars I want to map and learn the stories behind.
Bella, I’m not letting you get away from me.
I know she hears it, but she chooses to ignore me. That’s okay. She will realise soon enough that we are meant to be and when she does...I almost groan at the thought. I can’t wait to taste my mate again, to prove how good we can be...to make her come apart in my arms like she did. To hear her scream my name and milk my cock.
I change my thoughts after shifting to rearrange my hard cock. It wouldn’t do well for her to catch me ‘sporting wood,’ as she calls it. She will probably stab me again, she has a tendency to do that, the thought makes me smile. Oh yes, my little mate is crazy, and all mine.
We drive through the night and into the next day, only stopping the next night because I force her to. My plan depends on her not being able to drive away, stab me, or leave. So I make her pull into an alley between restaurants and get out of the car. She follows me, grumbling to herself about ways to kill me which only makes me smile.
I grab her keys when she isn’t paying attention and pocket them. She turns with a whirl and a glare, poking her finger into my chest as her red hair flies behind her. “Give them back,” she snarls.
“No,” I retort, leaning back against the alleyway. “We need to talk and I’m not having you driving off halfway through because you don’t want to. I know you have walls a mile high, but we need to get through them. We need to sort this out before it’s too late, so we are not leaving this alley until we have, get it, Bella?”
She glares at me and takes two steps away, pressing her back to the wall and crossing her arms. “Like you don’t talk enough?” She huffs. “Fine, talk, I don’t know what you think we need to sort out. You owe me nothing, we find my man and part ways, what more is there?”
“Oh, Bella.” I shake my head. “You aren’t getting away from me, ever. We are joined, bonded now. It means forever, love, so we need to deal with our issues now, because I’m tired of being kept at arm’s length. I want you and you want me, there is nothing more to do—”
“Wait a fucking second…Bonded? What the fuck are you talking about?” she yells, pushing off the wall and meeting me in the middle of the alley until we are almost touching.
I frown then, staring into her eyes and searching them, but all I see is genuine confusion. She doesn’t know. It hits me like her shovel she loves so much, and I understand now. All this time, she thought I was talking about another woman being my mate, she didn’t know I meant her. It makes me smirk and she starts to stroke her blade at her hip when she sees it.
“Don’t push me, Romeo. What the fuck are you talking about?” she warns, deadly as hell, and I know she will kill me if she’s given the chance. The thought makes me hard and I only smile wider. “I swear to all that is holy, I will rip off your nuts and wear them as a fashion statement,” she snaps.
“Bella,” I start, trying to control my mirth. “You clearly haven’t been listening to me. All this time I’ve been going on about my mate—”
“Yeah, yeah, she will be perfect and you will love her, have awesome sex, kids and shit, what the fuck are you talking about bonded?” she repeats, interrupting me.
“Shut up for once, will you?” I murmur, and she snaps her mouth shut but carries on glaring, and I feel her trusty knife pressed to my balls again in warning. It shouldn’t turn me on as much as it does, especially with such big news to tell her. Nerves race through me, how will she react? Will she give us a chance? I know she wants me, even know she’s leaning towards me unintentionally, her heart beating in time with mine, her mind brushing against me like a lover’s caress.
“Bella, you are my mate. When I fed from you, our minds reached for each other and bonded. We shared blood, we are mated,” I tell her softly.
She stares at me for the longest time. “Doesn’t mated mean you need to have sex?” she asks almost coolly, making me smirk at her again.
“That’s part of it, Bella, a fun part, and if you are offering we could do that right now,” I tease, and then turn serious. “It doesn’t always have to be sex. If the thoughts, the wanting is there, then all it can take is...a moment. There was blood and release and that was enough for the bond. It’s unusual, but not unheard of.”
Her knife drops as she stumbles away from me, her face pale and confused. “But you were talking about your mate—and last night, I thought you meant someone else.”
“I was always talking about you, Bella, I thought you knew that. I was trying to give you time. I know we weren’t expecting this, but I knew when I felt your call. You are what I’ve been waiting for all these years, and you are perfect, Isabella. I know we still have so much to learn about each other, but we can do that. We don’t have to be alone anymore, we have...us,” I offer, stepping closer, my heart racing in my chest at the panic on her face.
“The memories, the other women—” She starts, as if thinking of reasons to push me away, and that hurts more than I can ever explain, that she would use my past as a weapon, but I understand. She needs to trust me, and that takes time.
“They are forgettable, but you? You are unforgettable, Bella. I regret my past more than you can ever imagine. If I knew I would find you, I would have waited every day until you walked into my life, but I can’t change the past. I made mistakes, I found oblivion and love in strangers’ bodies, and when it was over I left and I felt emptier every time. Then you came in with your crazy thoughts, your smile, and you brought me back to life. I can’t lose that. I will spend the rest of my days earning your forgiveness and your body and heart,” I declare, laying everything on the line. I usually keep everything close, but for her I will speak the words even if she never can…all it will take is a moment for her accept, but she doesn’t say anything, just stares at me pale faced and panicked.
“Bella?” I murmur, starting to feel spooked myself...she’s not rejecting me, is she? The thought sends a bolt of fear right to my heart.
“I—” She shakes her head, still backing away from me. “I can’t be your mate, I just can’t. How—”
I stumble back, feeling like my heart is being ripped from my chest, our bond cracking. “Bella, please,” I whisper, never having begged for anything in my life, but I will beg for her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers, her gaze darting everywhere but at me.
I can’t stand to look at her, it hurts too much because I want to pull her close and make all the words go away. Wishing I didn’t tell her yet. She wasn’t ready, but I can’t, and she doesn’t want me, so I do the only thing I can.
Walk away.
My heart heavy and broken, back bent and slumped, I leave her there in the alley as I hear a sucked in cry let out behind me...but I don’t turn around.
Bella