“I will take that one under consideration. You said there was another way.”
“We develop a soul bond. Sounds simple but it’s not. Also it has a deep implication. You would be required to make a life decision that is irreversible. You may prefer death.”
“Whatever you just said doesn’t sound simple but it does sound scary. I need more information before I say yes.”
“Paige, you and I were meant to be mates. When mates accept each other they form a soul bond. Your word would be marriage, but once a soul bond is formed there can be no divorce. You will also find that mates cannot survive apart. We will physically become one in two bodies. Our hearts will beat in synch, we will breathe in synch, we will be one. If I die, you will die and if you die I will die. Once we become one, I will teach you how to keep the snake from releasing the venom. After that you will have two weeks give or take, to learn how to defeat the venom snake and the Sudir who will come for you. The decision is yours.”
“I always thought I would get taken out to dinner, have such great sex that it would make me think I couldn’t live without him, and then the guy would drop to his knee and asked me to marry him with a ring so big it would make my eyes pop.” She eyed him laughing, her voice sounded a little stronger. “Just kidding, I never expected to marry. So if I can’t learn what you teach me then we will both die?”
“Yes.”
“You’re willing to tie your fate to mine?”
“Yes.”
“You unclothed me.”
He gave a loud throaty chuckle. “You just noticed that, Sunshine.”
“I have been watching how you avoid looking at my body.”
He turned to look at her, slowly moving his eyes over every inch of her. A heat rose inside of him, the desire to touch her, to place his hand on her abdomen again followed by his lips and his tongue.
“How do you expect me to concentrate when you’re lying there looking like the goddess of desire tempting me to kiss you, touch you and take you?”
“You like what you see?”
How could she ask him such a question? Already he felt her invading his heart. Victor told him it would be this way when he met his fated mate. He found it hard to believe, now he knew his brother was right again. No words would ever explain how important she was after just one short day.
He leaned over and kissed her. A spark jumped from his body to hers as she opened her mouth to accept his tongue.
She tasted of apples, the sweetest nectar he ever tasted. He plunged his tongue deeper meeting her dueling tongue. His body hardened from the taste of her. A groan of need was pulled from him as his Matra tasted deeply of her.
He pulled back, she had to not only accept him, but his Matra also.
“Paige, if you agree to this you will not only be my mate but the mate of my Matra. We are a package deal.”
“Will your Matra want to…”
“He will enjoy you through my body. Will that displease you?”
“I don’t think so. Does he like me?”
“Yes, Sunshine, he likes you very much.”
“How can I agree to become your mate when I’m not in love with you?” She might not love him but she was definitely suffering from a bad case of lust. She wanted to stroke his body, make it hers.
She smiled feeling safe and warm as she thought of him protecting her, stepping in front of the Sudir, then picking her up and bringing her upstairs to fight for her life.
“I believe in time you will.”
She didn’t like the thought of him dying and that’s what would happen if she married him and she failed. Of course, she didn’t like the thought of him turning those beautiful brown eyes on another woman. There was no other choice she wouldn’t fail.
“I hope so, I agree to become your mate. What do we do next?” Marriages of convenience happened all the time.
Cal stood up and quickly took off his outer garments.
“We sleep until tomorrow, daylight seems to be your time of strength. Tomorrow you and I will complete the bond. Victor and Selma will watch over us while we no longer guard our bodies.”
She curled into his arms. “You can explain that tomorrow.”
Chapter Seven
Paige opened her eyes as daylight crept through her window. With the sun bathing her she felt a little stronger, but the drain on her energy was apparent to her. Some foreign evil entity lived within her sapping her energy. How could her life get any worse than it already was? Oh, she knew it would kill her in two days unless she bonded with a male she didn’t know.
Not just bonded, no that might have been the easy part, but this bonding was marriage and he and the thing that lived inside of him would enjoy her body together. What a nice delicate way of saying they would be having sex, lots of hot, sweating, orgasmic sex in which she would scream in pleasure while begging him to do it again.