She shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe it was that our future together was uncertain.”
“That makes no sense to me. From the second I saw you, I wanted you. Even knowing on some level that you’d turn my life upside f**king down, I was determined to have you. And after the first kiss, I was f**king hooked. Believe me when I say that I’ve explored every possible theory as to why you weren’t in that vision and I haven’t come up with squat. The important thing right now is that you aren’t going to take the vision as a sign that we shouldn’t be together or some stupid shit like that.”
She scrutinised my face. “Why have you told me this? I can sense just how much you’re panicking that I’ll do a bunk. Why tell me about the vision?”
“I don’t like keeping things from you. I don’t want lies – not even lies of omission – between us. I don’t want there to be anything that can eat away at the bond, and it didn’t feel right to keep this from you. I’m trusting that you won’t leave.”
And that was a damn difficult thing for me to do, because my two greatest fears were that something would happen to her or that she would leave. Honestly, it was still a shock that she had given me a chance to begin with, considering that I’d been a total ass**le when she first arrived at The Hollow. The fact that she Bound with me still boggled my mind because I just found it too difficult to accept that she’d always care for me. I knew my faults, knew how f**ked up I was. And when your own mother couldn’t love you, it made it hard to believe that anyone else would. Yet, here Sam was. And she thought I’d let her go? The crazy bitch wasn’t going anywhere. If she believed differently, then she was crazier than I thought.
She stroked the tip of her finger over my bottom lip. “Thank you for trusting me. It means a lot to know that you do.” She knew me well enough to know just how big it was for me to place trust in another person. “I don’t care about the vision, Jared. I’m here and I’m staying.”
It didn’t sound like there was a ‘but’ coming. Still, I needed to be sure that she wasn’t going to try fighting me on this. “You’re not stupidly worried it means something bad?”
“No. Besides, I know that you would choose to be with me over replacing Antonio if you were made to choose. So I have nothing to worry about, do I?”
A relieved smile spread across my face. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about.” I licked at the seam of her mouth, coaxing her to open for me. When she did, I plunged my tongue into her mouth, stroking her own, drinking her into me. It was a few minutes before I finally pulled back. By then, I was hard all over again. Gently, I lifted her and slowly impaled her on me once more. We both groaned. “All that other stuff means nothing if you’re not with me.”
She swiveled, pulling another groan from me. “I told you, I’m here and I’m staying.”
I snorted, slowly impaling her again. “Like I’d have let you go anywhere. It just meant that I would have had to tie you to the bed for a while, keep you prisoner until you changed your mind about leaving me.”
She brushed her mouth over mine, doing another swivel. “That actually sounds like it would have been fun, but it won’t be necessary. I love you; I ain’t going anywhere unless you’re coming with me.”
I flexed my c**k inside her. “Oh I’ll be coming.” I laid her down on the sheet and then gently rolled so that she was straddling me. I let her take the lead this time; it was slow, but still deep, and I came as hard as I always did.
When the aftershocks finally subsided, she sighed. “Now take us back to bed before any sand makes its way into places it has no right being.”
I chuckled, bringing her to lie flat against me. “Hold on tight.” I meant more than just right then, and she knew it.
Her face softened. “Always.”
Chapter Nineteen
(Sam)
Where the bloody hell was Jared? As I scanned the crowded parlour room wherein soft piano music was playing and smartly-dressed vampires were standing around drinking champagne-flavoured NSTs, I was reminded of the reception of my Binding ceremony. This type of posh, formal gathering wasn’t at all my thing, but it was part of the build-up to the Coronation, so there wasn’t a lot I could do about it. Yep, in under an hour’s time, Jared and I would be officially declared the Grand High Pair.
Note to self: When Jared and I step down from our positions, make the pre-party to the Coronation fun.
It had been three weeks since the attack on The Hollow, and with the help of hundreds of volunteers, the place was miraculously back to its original state – if not better. There were slight differences here and there. The main difference was that half of the mansion was now office space. When Antonio had heard that Jared and I didn’t want to move into the mansion – it just wouldn’t have felt right to us, it seemed too much like Antonio’s home – he had insisted on minimising his ‘living quarters’. He felt that us having individual work space in the very centre of the community placed significance on our role in The Hollow.
He had also insisted that the Grand High Pair couldn’t live in a simple apartment. Jared and I had told him not to be daft, that we didn’t care where we lived and didn’t need a spacious, luxurious home. So what had Antonio done? Built us a house. I had been pissed off about his complete lack of respect for our wishes until I realised that the house was built on the beach. Antonio, the sneaky sod, knew I loved the beach and that I’d find this too hard to resist. I’d still ranted at him a little. But he’d been perfectly aware that I’d been absolutely thrilled with the house – the fact that I’d uncharacteristically kissed him on the cheek might have tipped him off.
Spotting Wes with his mate and two of the High Masters Rowan and Ricardo, I made my way over to them. Wes thought of Jared as a grandson, so he had no doubt spoken to him at some point in the past hour. Although tradition was for only a few witnesses to be present at a Coronation while everyone else watched over V-Tube, Antonio had felt that these allies who had come to us at the greatest possible hour of need and had aided us in fixing The Hollow deserved to be present if they so desired. He had a good point.
Noticing me, Wes turned away from the group. “Sam,” he drawled with an affectionate smile. He placed his hands on my upper arms. “You look?”
I held up my hand. “Let me stop you right there. Compliments aren’t my thing.” Of course he already knew that.