Page 58 of Sweet Dreams

I wrinkled my nose. “Are you really making me decide this?” I asked. “That’s not very nice.”

He smiled, waiting.

“If you asked me,” I continued, forcing myself to be honest with him, “I think I’d like a little more time with our families–especially my grandparents. I didn’t think I’d ever say this, but I’d like to explore what’s happening in Salus Glen. Do you think that would even be allowed? Us, I mean.”

Zaldi shrugged, making me moan softly as our positions shifted. He shot me an apologetic grin before continuing. “I think it’s worth asking.”

“And how are we going to do that?” I asked.

A slow grin spread across his face. “I think it’s time for me to introduce you to the Prince of Hell.”

It wasn’t until we were getting dressed—just a few minutes after we finally disentangled ourselves—that I realized something.

“You didn’t bite me,” I said, my voice trembling as the thought hit. Had I done something wrong? After all this time, after keeping him waiting… somehow it felt like rejection. I’d thought the bite was a key part of the whole mate-bond thing.

Zadi shrugged honestly. “I was spending the whole time trying not to come too early. I guess I didn’t get to the biting part, yet.” He flashed me a fanged smile. “Don’t worry, sweet thing. I’ll bite you when I’m ready.”

I scoffed and stomped toward the more sunlit fields just beyond the stand of trees we’d been hiding in. I’d only made it a few feet when a warm, strong hand wrapped around my elbow and jerked me, gently, back against his body.

“Lulu,” he said softly. “Look at me.”

I refused, staring stubbornly across the small, wooded clearing. There was a tree there. I decided it was the most fascinating, captivating tree I had ever seen. Definitely worth me staring at it.

“Lulu,” he said again, his voice threaded with warmth. “Look at me. Please.”

I finally gave in, slowly tipping my chin upward until I met his eyes. My mate’s eyes.

Oh shit! Was he, my mate?

Unwelcome panic swirled in my chest as I stared up at him. His hand rose to cup my cheek, a sharp-clawed thumb smoothing gently over my cheekbone.

“I’m sorry if I teased you,” he said quietly. “I only meant to say that the bite is an outward sign of the bond. It isn’t the bond itself.”

He paused, watching my face. “It’s like a wedding ring. Just a symbol that there was a wedding once, not the marriage itself. Does that make sense?”

His finger kept brushing away my worries even as I nodded. “I think so,” I said softly.

His smile turned lopsided. “Besides, if I bit you now, we’d be here all night—and I’m fairly certain someone is already looking for both of us. So, unless you want one of my family members wandering down here…”

“Absolutely not,” I said, shoving him backward. “I want none of that. It’s going to be awkward enough walking back knowing everyone already knows what we just did.”

Zaldi laughed, then came up behind me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Sorry about your clothes, by the way,” he added casually.

I rolled my eyes, tugging the remains of my shirt closer as I tried to walk back toward the village with whatever dignity I had left.

He chuckled, the sound warm and rumbling against my side as he tucked me closer. “I’ll run ahead and get you some of my clothes,” he said with a smile. “Not that you don’t already smell like me, but wearing my clothes and my scent like this…” He shot me a wicked wink. “Now everyone will know exactly who you are to me.”

Warmth bloomed in my chest. “Does that include this Prince of Hell we need to find?”

“Especially him,” he said, already jogging ahead. “I’ll see if anyone has an obol to call him.”

I sighed. “Okay, but how are we doing this? Do I need to ask him something? Or do I just sit there quietly and pretend to be a dumb human?”

Zaldi stopped so fast he nearly stumbled then swiveled to stare at me in horror. “No. Please, don’t do that,” he said firmly. “He’ll want to know why I intend to remain in the living world as much as possible. And having a mate who can’t speak for herself isn’t a reflection of what I want to build there.” He softened. “Besides, his mate is human too. Maybe, we’ll even get to meet her while we’re there.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about that,” I said honestly, hurrying to catch up with him for a moment. “What kind of woman marries the Prince of Hell?” I added with a crooked smile.

“Probably the same kind who falls in love with a sex demon in college,” he shot back, giving me a pointed look.