That didn’t feel right either.
“Could be.” He didn’t look convinced. “Either way, she’ll be disappointed to see me on your arm, that’s for sure.”
I leaned in for a quick kiss. “We’ll never find out if you don’t get changed.”
He went to the door and stopped. “This isn’t a game. We’re walking into some kind of trap.”
I turned around, leaning against the sink. I crossed my ankles, hoping I looked more confident than I felt.
Fake it ’til you make it.
“But we know it exists so we’ll be careful.”
He shook his head, a corner of his mouth tugging into a lopsided smile. “Have you always been this brave?”
I didn’t feel brave, but I had determination for days. “This is our best chance to find my sister. I’m going to help her.”
“Have you heard her again?”
“No. Not yet, anyway. I keep trying.”
He nodded. “Keep me posted if you hear anything more.”
I was still struggling with accepting that I seemed to be able to communicate telepathically. Knowing that I’d probably inherited the ability from my apparently psychic mother didn’t make it any more believable to me, and I was the one living it. Embrace it, I’d be yelling at a heroine in a book.
Now I realized it was easier said than done.
I looked over my shoulder, but Cole was already in the other room changing. I focused on my reflection in the mirror. If my mom knew I was hearing voices, she must’ve known I’d inherited the psychic ability from her.
And instead of teaching me about telepathy and how to use it, she’d sent me away to be “cured.”
I picked up the curling iron and rolled another section of hair into it. If my mom had been abused for her abilities, maybe she’d been protecting me, or at least thought she was. I set the curling iron down and turned it off. I was as ready as I was going to get.
Cole came out of the walk-in closet straightening his tie, and I almost swallowed my tongue as I looked him over. “You should wear a suit every day.”
He lifted his elbows, the fabric of the coat straining to contain his biceps and broad shoulders. “You think so?”
I chuckled, nodding as I went over to fix the back of his collar. “Oh yeah. Wow.”
He smiled and wrapped his arms around my waist. “The cows won’t know what hit them.”
I grinned. “Okay, maybe not to work.” I sobered. “Now that we’re about to do this, I’m nervous. We might not get another chance to find my sister.”
“We’ll find her. You schmooze and keep everyone busy, and I’ll sniff around and see if I can get into that wine cellar.”
I stared up at his handsome face. He believed me—believed in me—and made me think maybe true love really did exist. I’d never been so happy that I’d taken that leap of faith to move here. We might never had met.
The thought chilled me. Although we hadn’t known each other long, he’d already made my life richer, the colors of my world more brilliant. I rose on my toes and kissed him slowly.
His hold on me tightened as he growled into my mouth. “Maybe we just skip the event and break in later tonight after it’s over.”
“You make it sound easy, but the place is a fortress. She used a security keypad just to bring me inside for a tour. This is our best chance.”
He sighed and took a step back. “Just promise me something.”
“Okay…”
The intensity in his gaze pinned my feet to the floor. “You do what I say tonight—no questions. If I sense danger and I tell you to haul ass, I expect you to run and not look back.”
My stomach tensed. “What about you? I’m not leaving you behind.”
“You are if things go south. I can defend myself.” He searched my eyes. “I’m stronger than any human at that party.”
“Unless they’re one of the human’s with Deidra’s serum in their veins, right?” I pressed my lips together, unable to fathom the thought of someone hurting Cole. “You said that mate thing about giving me your heart and your protection and your life. Well…” I squared my stance and lifted my chin. “It goes both ways. I’m not going to let anyone capture you the night before the full moon.” Just thinking about it filled my eyes with hot tears. “I didn’t give you my heart for just a couple of weeks. You’re stuck with me now.”
He stared at me, not moving. “I can’t fight if I’m worried about you.”
“And I can’t run away if you’re going to be arrested the night before a full moon.” Saying the word out loud made it a million times more real. The stakes in this new world were so much higher than my old life.
Embrace it.
“We’re in this together, Cole.”
He raked his hand through his hair, frustration lining his face as he tightened his jaw. “You’re not a werewolf. You’re…fragile.”
I shoved his chest without thinking. “Enough!” I shouted. “I’m so sick of everyone in my life treating me like I’m a porcelain doll. Everyone lied to me, keeping secrets because they thought I was too weak for the truth. You were the only one who trusted me with it. You said you were done lying to me. You let me into your world. It’s too late to start treating me like some kind of outsider.”
I swiped the tears from my cheeks. “God, my mom lied to me for my whole life. Vivi, my best friend in the world, lied to me. My brother lied to me.” I lifted my gaze to his as another tear slid down my cheek. “I can’t take it anymore. If you can’t accept me as your equal, as the mate you claim I am, then this isn’t going to work out, Cole. I was straight with you from the beginning. It’s all or nothing with me.”
He came forward, invading my personal space, but didn’t move to touch me. The air between us sparked with electricity. “Nothing isn’t an option for me. You’re all there is for me, my one true mate. If something happens to you, I’ll hate myself for the rest of my life.”
A twinge of anger twisted in my belly. “And if you tell me to run and I leave you behind and you get arrested, or worse, I’d have to live with that for the rest of my life, too.”
He shook his head. “At least you’d have a chance at a life. You’re amazing, Madison. You’d find someone else, fall in love, have a family.” Pain shone in his eyes as his voice dropped. “You’d be safe.”
“You don’t get it, do you?” I reached up to cup his face. “I gave you my heart. You’re it for me, too.” I brought my hand down to his chest. “So don’t you dare ask me to leave you behind to die. I won’t do it.”
He searched my eyes. “I don’t understand.”
I shook my head, my vision blurring with tears. “I’m saying, I love you.”
He kissed me, hard and hungry. Our tongues tangled urgently. When he broke the kiss, his voice was raw. “I love you, too.” He rested his forehead on mine, breathless as his lips curved into a smile. “Okay. Let’s make a new plan. I’ve got your back, and you’ve got mine.”
“Deal.” I nodded as my heart skipped a beat and my breath hitched. “Let’s do this.”