Page 64 of A Half-Blood’s Escape
"I can't," I said and lowered my eyes.
"Yes, you can," he said darkly.
I shook my head a little. It was hard to really move it since he was holding on so tightly.
"No," I said.
"You can, and you will," he said. "One day, you will give yourself to me."
"That day doesn't exist," I whispered, challenging him.
"We will see."
He finally moved away from me. The good thing about such a big bed was that there was more than enough space for the both of us. He laid down to get some sleep, turning his back to me, and I was glad he wasn't going to truly pressure me into saying the words. The truth was, saying it out loud was something a part of me actually wanted to do. It was hard to always be on the run and trying to deny myself something I knew had a chance of evolving into something good, but I also knew the dangers that came with being the queen. It was hard enough to be a half-blood. I didn't need another target on me shaped like a crown.
That was why I couldn't say it because I knew once I did, Dominic would never let me go. The words would be something final. I knew it, and I couldn't allow that to happen.
***
The next night I was slowly waking up, as I rolled to my left side, but it was when my hand touched something hard, that I really got out of dreamland. What was I touching? I slowly blinked my eyes open, realizing I wasn't alone in bed, nor was Dominic in it.
"Gabriel?!"
He was on his side, popped up on his elbow, and he was smiling down at me with a teasing smile.
"Slept well, little queen?" he asked.
I sighed and moved away from him, rubbing my eyes from the sleep.
"What are you doing in bed with me?" I asked.
"Well, I didn't want you to feel lonely, now that Dominic had some work to do," he told me.
"He left?" I asked and looked at Gabriel again.
"Disappointed?"
I could see what he was really trying to make me say, by smiling at me like that.
"No," I lied.
Gabriel just continued to smile smugly, knowing I wasn't speaking the truth. The damn mate bond. It was getting to me, I realized. It meant I had to hurry if I wanted to find my way out of there.
"Come on, you can tell me the truth," Gabriel said. "Let us share some secrets."
"Secrets?" I asked.
He nodded, and I sighed, rolling my eyes.
"Does Dominic know you're in bed with me?"
Gabriel seemed to act like he was thinking about my question, even if the question just required a no or a yes.
"Hmm," he said.
"Gabriel?" I asked annoyed.
"No," he finally said.
