Part 30 (1/2)

The notion of being bitten or sharing blood did not appeal to him. The werewolf did enough of that for his taste.

So she had become the animal he already was, and he was having trouble dealing with it?

Lifting his head, he sniffed the air through the open patio door in their bedroom. The snow cleaned the fall rot from his senses and his focus immediately found her. She was behind him, sweet with lemon shampoo and minty toothpaste.

Yet he wasn't confident he truly wanted to be here.

Yes, he was.

Probably.

”h.e.l.l, pull it together, man,” he muttered.

She smelled like the Bella he remembered. But there was something else. Some undertone he didn't want to translate into thought.

Yet his mind processed the scent and reacted to it before he could argue. His body stiffened, his fingers arching into claws. A defensive tickle ran up his neck.

Vampire.

”Severo?”

Shaking out his hands at his thighs, he cursed his instincts and put on a smile as he turned to her.

The white silk robe clung to her nipples. Like a bride marching down the aisle for her groom, Bella stepped up to him. Winter's blossom-with a taint of blood.

He hated that he could not make this perfect for her. For himself.

You can. Just put off all doubt. See her for the woman you first fell in love with. Remember you savored her fear?

He could scent that same fear now. And he hated himself for making her feel that way.

”You look great, sweet. Two days away and I'd almost forgotten how bright your eyes were. Come here.”

Yes, he could do this. He wanted to do this. He needed to make the effort of stepping into the usual, with the hope that it would erase his rising doubts for the future.

Her body fit against his. The scent of lemon in her hair and the silk threads briefly overwhelmed her clean smell. And yet she was no longer clean or human.

Her chest melded with his. He buried his nose in the crown of her hair. She might be tainted, but she was his mate.”I missed you,” she said. ”I didn't know if you'd welcome me into your arms. I know this is hard for you.”

”Nonsense,” he murmured and stroked her hair down her back.

The feel of her made his body react as it always did. He hardened and the l.u.s.t surfaced. Good, then. He hadn't lost the desire.

The quick interlude out in the alley had simply been a reaction to something so intense. This was different. They were alone now.

No secrets. No lies.

”You're mine, Bella. My mate. Forever. Did you learn what you needed from Ivan?”

”He was a perfect gentleman and showed me the ropes. I've blooded my fangs, as Ivan called it.” She smirked. ”I like that.

Sounds so decadent.”

She was different. Not so uptight, easier with him. Accepting of what, he imagined, was an incredible change in her life.

A stroke of her finger along his beard, accompanied by sad eyes, made him look aside. ”It made me feel good that you took me in the alleyway, after watching,” she said.

”I needed you. It was an instinctual thing.”

”It felt great. Like it always feels when I'm with you. You controlled me. I belong to you.”

”As I am yours.”

”Will you kiss me now?”

A kiss?

Why the h.e.l.l had this been done to him and Bella? They had been so perfect. His future had been designed with her at his side.

Even the werewolf loved her.

All that had changed now. The werewolf would never accept a vampire. Never.

”I won't bite,” she whispered, a touch of hope lifting her voice.

A nudge of her nose along his jaw sweetened the l.u.s.t, which predominated over the all the emotions he'd rather not deal with right now. Maybe she had the right idea.

Just let go. Concentrate on the now.

Severo kissed the corner of her mouth. She tasted like Bella. Soft, salty, clean.

Things would be fine. This kiss bonded two souls. It drew the two together, wanting and needing and giving.

They hit the bed stripped of their clothes. Bella couldn't have dreamed of a better welcome home than this. He had accepted her.

The werewolf had welcomed a vampire into his home.

He'd once said to her that she would always have his heart. And she did still.

Severo's hand glided up her back as he pulled her on top of him. She bent to lick his nipple, a small, hard jewel. His satisfied groan heartened her. A familiar tune, yet one she could listen to over and over.

His fingers ma.s.saged her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Her loins tingled, aching for his entrance. He flipped her on the bed so she lay on her stomach. He trailed kisses down her spine as he slipped a finger inside her.

”So ready,” he growled. ”So hot. I've missed this, Bella.”

”Quickly, please,” she cried.

Gripping the pillow, she spread her knees as he lifted her under her hips and brought the backs of her thighs against his. His favorite position.