“Different century, same problems,” I agreed.
“Now if you gentlemen will excuse me,” the duchess said as she headed for the door. “I’m needed upstairs to get ready for tonight’s competition.” She left the three of us standing in the crypt chamber while a few guards paced outside the thick marble walls.
“So…” Benedict leaned back against the doorframe and leveled a stare on me that was matched by Hawke on the other side of the room.
“So, what?” The tightness in my chest started to thrum, easing slightly. Olivia must be getting closer.
“So, I happened to notice Olivia’s wrist this evening when we broke our fast.” Benedict lifted his blond brows at me.
“And?” That thrumming in my chest turned to a bright buzzing, like champagne flowing over my ribs. If I had to put money on it, I would have bet Olivia was on the staircase right now, walking toward us. Anticipation bubbled up inside me.
Relax, it’s only been a few hours.
Apparently a full twenty hours of claiming hadn’t been enough to appease my instincts.
“And there’s a certain mark above her wrist.” Benedict tilted his head.
A smirk toyed with the edges of my lips. “Are you just now noticing that?”
“Her left wrist.”
“Hmm.” My fangs elongated just thinking about the permanent ink that now marked Olivia as mine.
“Which means I saw both marks.”
My smile widened. It was only a matter of time before someone noticed there were two marks instead of one, but I couldn’t bring myself to care, not when it was my mark on her body. “Okay, so that part might get us caught, but—”
“You’re mated?” Benedict grinned.
“We are.” I’d never been prouder of a statement in my life. Hell, I’d have crowed it from the top of the building if Olivia’s family hadn’t thought we’d already been mated for decades.
“That’s amazing!” Benedict punched me in the shoulder. “Isn’t that great, Hawke?”
“Sure, if he wants to be mated,” the vampire muttered, looking like he’d just swallowed a rotten egg.
“I want to be mated to Olivia,” I assured him. “Trust me, if it had been up to me, I would have put that mark on her centuries ago. I’m just glad fate finally got with the program.” And now that we knew what we truly were to each other, our possibilities were endless. We had an eternity to figure out what we wanted our future to look like.
“Better you than me,” Hawke responded, then blinked once. “With the whole mating thing. Not Olivia. You know what I mean.”
“I know what you mean.” I couldn’t stop fucking smiling. “And you’re sure you don’t want to jump into the marriage and mating pool? Seems to agree with a few of us.” Lachlan and Alek weren’t naturally happy guys, but they’d seemed to attain some kind of peace now that they’d been mated…well, when their mates weren’t driving them up the fucking wall.
He blanched. “Hell no. Fuck that. I pity any female who would be chained to me.”
Benedict rolled his eyes. “I pity us, and we only have to work with you.”
A dagger flew from Hawke’s fingertips across the room, landing in the wood trim just above Benedict’s shoulder. He casually plucked it out of the frame and sent it sailing back across the chamber.
Hawke caught it in midair. Guy had always been freakishly good with knives.
“What about you?” I asked Benedict, the brightness in my chest easing as Olivia’s voice echoed in the cavern outside the chamber. She was close.
“I’m not exactly looking to mate.” Benedict ran his hand over his perfectly coiffed hair in thought. “But I wouldn’t argue if fate found me a female to balance me out. Someone soft-spoken and honest.” His eyes widened momentarily. “God, could you imagine being mated to someone who changed my ink out every few seconds?” He cringed.
“You can keep the mating bullshit to yourselves.” Hawke leaned in, examining Samuel’s heart rate monitor. The beat was slow, but steady. “And just hope these guys don’t wake up and think we’re a bunch of love-drunk pussies because they heard this whole convo.”
I felt her before I saw her, a calming peace stealing over me even as my pulse skyrocketed. I turned just in time for Olivia to launch herself into my arms. I caught her with ease, barely biting back a groan at the feel of her soft curves against me.
“Good evening, mate,” she whispered in my ear.
“Keep saying words like that and I’ll have you up against the wall,” I growled back.
“We are right here, you know,” Benedict interrupted. “Right here. In front of you.”
Olivia laughed and kissed me once. It was brief, chaste, and not nearly enough, but she slipped right through my grip before I could pull her back for more. Damn, she was fast.
“How’s it going down here?” she asked, tucking her arm into Avianna’s elbow, even though Hawke had moved to stand at her other side, maneuvering in between Avi and Katya.