Chapter 30

She watched him come down the ladder without issue, carrying several of the bags. She had barely been able to do it with one bag.

“Why isn’t Nova using the upstairs?” He stepped off the ladder.

“She’s trying to adjust to it.” Liri shrugged, “Bastian is going to have the appliances wired in or something, then she said she’ll use that kitchen.”

“I’d say it’s pretty weird, a hidden house under another house,” he smirked over his shoulder as he walked into the kitchen, “but I’ve had to hide out, and I would have loved someplace this cool.”

“You’ve been through a lot.” She set the bag on the counter, “which proves what Capri said at the meeting, that those left behind are the ones that suffer.”

He put the bags down, “it would have been worse if my dad hadn’t come back to us,” he opened one and started taking the items out and setting them on the counter, “although we still had no idea what we were, it was easier being together.”

“Whereas I’ve had a pampered life.” She felt pangs of guilt.

“A gilded cage is still a cage, Liri.”

His words shocked her. She paused and looked at him.

“You may have been treated well, but you were still being made to grab a partner and have children.”

“I know, and it hasn’t been easy. I want my realm to continue,” she put the boxes on the shelf and hoped Nova didn’t object about the cereal choices, “without soul watchers, the humans would die off, but,” she opened the fridge and then looked for the milk in the bags.

“But you didn’t want to have a child because you were told you had to.”

Finding it, she put it in the tiny fridge and then closed it. “Yes.”

“What are you going to do now?” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall, “you don’t have to have children,” she watched him clench his jaw, “unless you want to.”

“Are you talking about with you?” She picked up the next item, not even looking at what it was, and set it on the shelf.

“The thing is,” she could see so many emotions in his eyes, she knew he was struggling, “I don’t think I can let you go back and have kids with someone else.” He breathed loudly. “I feel like a Neanderthal, wanting to stake my claim, but at the same time, I don’t want to do something we’ll regret later.” He held her look for a moment. “Sorry.”

Her heart felt like it skipped several beats, “why are you sorry?” That wasn’t at all what she wanted to ask.

“Because you’ve already been told what you can and can’t do for your entire life, and now I’ve just told you something else.”

She blew out a breath, her shoulders sagging. “No, you didn’t.”

His brows furrowed.

“You just told me how you felt about me.”

“In the form of an order.”

Liri smiled. “That was not an order. Wait until you meet my mother. You’ll know the difference because…”

He moved so fast she couldn’t have responded if she’d needed to; he was across the small kitchen, his hand behind her neck and his mouth on hers before she could blink. Liri was eighty and had been kissed many times in her life, in secret, of course. This was so much more than that. She felt like she was being consumed, and there was no desire to stop it. Her whole body was affected as heat filled her, and the warmth buzzed through her veins. She knew was her soul trying to touch his.

He changed the angle and grasped her hair, holding the back of her head. Her knees felt weak, and she wanted more. His tongue brushed against hers, coaxing her to do the same to him. When she felt the sharpness of his teeth, she moaned. Never had she imagined that something like fangs would be so erotic, but they were.

Abe growled, lifted his head, and pushed her away by her hips. His eyes were red, and she could see his fangs as he fought to breathe. She didn’t want him to stop, but something inside her told her that if they didn’t, they wouldn’t, and the ramifications of such actions would change everything for so many, not just them.

“I’m,” he inhaled through his nose and blew it out, “I didn’t mean to do that.” His mouth quirked, “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it too many times, but,” he stepped back, put his hands on his hips, and looked at the floor. “Biting someone, feeding, has never felt sexual before, but with you,” he looked at her, and she could see his eyes were changing back slowly, “if I feed from you, I don’t think I could stop there.”

Liri had never wanted to be bitten in her life, and now it was all she could think about. She touched her throat and wondered how it would feel. Would it hurt, or would her body go up in flames of desire?

“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do.” He nodded slowly as if he was talking it through in his head before he spoke the words. “You have to get over to Alterealm, the Princess from Fa Terra is meeting you there to add to your timeline,” he took a deep breath and nodded once more, “I need to get over to Solrelm, your cousins are taking some of us on a tour, to more or less announce that we’re policing there again.”

Liri couldn’t stop looking at his mouth as he spoke. She licked her lips and tasted him.

Abe stepped back further and rubbed the back of his neck. “You are so gorgeous,” he groaned and held up his hand, “after we’re done all that, let’s have a coffee date, just sit and talk—does that sound good?”

Liri had never been on a date in her life. How sad was that? She’d been on potential partner arrangements, but it was never about just being together. “Yes. I would love that.” She smiled.

“Okay.” He nodded once abruptly, “It’s a date then.” His beautiful blue eyes were searching her face, she wasn’t sure if she was supposed to say more, and she didn’t want to change this moment, so she stood there looking back at him. “Ahhh,” he moved toward her, grabbed the back of her head, kissed her hard, and then he was gone.

Liri stood there grinning like she had the world’s best secret for how long, she didn’t know.

Nova came into the kitchen and looked around, “I hear you had some,” she paused and tilted her head, “You look very pleased.”

Liri bit her lip and then released it. “I have a coffee date with Abraham later.”

“Oh, I see.” She smiled, “A private one, or are you going somewhere.”

Liri blinked, “I think he meant private.” She rolled her eyes. “With all of the issues going on, I’m sure he means that.” She wanted to giggle. “He said I was gorgeous.”

“I have just the outfit that Alona insisted I have, but I’m way too short to wear.” She looked her up and down, “and some treats from the café would be perfect for a private coffee date.”

Liri put her hands over her mouth and then dropped them. “Oh, I have to go to Alterealm and talk to the Fa Terra Princess first.”

Nova looked around, “I’ll finish putting this away. I’ll set the outfit on your bed when you return.”

“Yes.” Liri couldn’t help grinning again. “I will pop out and get the treats and then come back and change.”

“You look so happy.” Nova put her hand over the pendant around her neck. “I feel like that when I’m with your cousin.”

“Really?” Liri pushed her hair away from her face. “I can’t believe how I feel. I can honestly say I’ve never felt like this.”

“You need to go, or you’ll be late.”

Liri jolted. “Yes. Right. Okay.” Flipping open the porter bracelet, she pushed the button that would take her to Alterealm.