Page 28 of Hellhounds Never Lie

Ash's breathing changed as he twitched and rolled toward me. Him seeking me out was a good sign, right? Or was he so out of it he didn't know what he was doing yet? I held my breath and hugged Ash loosely, unable to stop touching him, but not wanting to scare him by making him feel trapped or confined.

His long, dark eyelashes fluttered as he opened his pale gray-green eyes. He smiled at me, then snuggled closer and pushed his face into my chest.

"Hey," Ash whispered.

"Um, Ash?"

He pulled back to look at my face. "What's wrong?"

My heart hammered in my chest. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I bit you without talking to you first."

"Huh?" Ash reached up and touched the place where I had sunk my teeth. The marks were still there, slightly pink. By tonight, they should have faded completely, but that didn’t matter. They shouldn’t have been there in the first place. "Why? What does it mean? I thought that story about shifters biting people to claim them as a mate was a bogus myth. Are you saying it isn't? Did you mate me and ruin me for anyone else? Are we shifter married now?"

"What? No." I shook my head. "I may not know a lot about mating practices, but I know that much. We aren't linked any more now than we were before, except for, you know, having just shared something amazing."

"So why the apology?"

"I bit you," I said slowly. I was no better than whoever had hurt him before. I’d taken from him without consent. He just looked at me with a puzzled frown, so I continued. "Without asking. Like a rabid dog or something."

"Yeah, but it was hot, right? I mean, I've never passed out during sex before. It was intense and…" He grinned goofily. "You may have ruined me."

I blinked. "So you aren’t… uh… angry with me for doing that?"

"Hell no. I'm trying to figure out if I have enough energy to do it again."

A bark of startled laughter erupted from me. I grabbed Ash tight and pressed my face into his neck to hide my unexpected tears from him. I’d thought I’d ruined everything, but maybe I hadn’t. This little mage was perfection—or maybe it was just that he was perfect for me. He shouted in surprise at being manhandled into a hug, but then he relaxed against me and sighed. As my panic ebbed away, I became aware of the way his legs tangled with mine and the way he wiggled closer. We should be getting out of bed and dealing with all the shit that had been stirred up the night before, but lingering here with Ash sounded a hell of a lot more fun.

"And? What's the verdict?"

"Not yet…" Ash yawned as his thin fingers drew circles over my skin. "But I want to."

After several long minutes of cuddling in silence, the air between us seemed to change.

"What are you thinking about?" I finally asked.

Another long stretch of silence.

"Did you feel my magic?" Ash's question was barely audible.

I didn't know why, but I instantly understood this was an important question for Ash. Normally, I'd answer with a simple yes but I sensed Ash was asking for a specific reason.

"The air was singing with it. It was beautiful. It's what triggered the bite, I think."

"What do you mean?"

"I've heard rumors, well, they were more like fairy tales, but after tonight I wonder if there was more truth in them than I'd thought." I rubbed Ash's back, loving the feel of his body under my palm—even if he was still covered by a T-shirt. "Sometimes, when two supes come together—"

"Wait. Are you giving me some supernatural birds and bees talk?" Ash snorted. “I suffered through the requisite sex talk with my mother when I hit puberty. I don’t need another.”

"You asked."

"Fine, fine," Ash said, still sounding amused. "Go on. When two supes love each other very much…" His words trailed off and his body tensed. "I mean… well, not that you love me. Ha, ha. No, I was just kidding. Yeah, okay. Let's forget I said anything. Please continue. You were saying?"

I smiled. I figured I’d be doing that a lot around this little witch—mylittle witch. Because although Ash was right and we weren't at the I-love-you stage yet, it didn't seem like such an outlandish idea that we could get there.

Or maybe I was being optimistic because Ash hadn't freaked out about the bite.

"When people are compatible, I've heard there can be a power exchange during sex. When I bit you, it completed a loop between us. My ejaculation in you, your blood in me."