Cassie went over the entire mission. Partly to get it off her chest and partly because she couldn’t bear to start with the scene in the throne room—she needed to work up to it. Kat and Liv listened silently, only rarely interjecting to ask questions.
“And that’s why I’m such a mess,” she finished at last. “But as you can see, none of it was Stone’s fault.”
“That’s not how he feels, I’m afraid,” Liv said, frowning. “He’s already asked Sylvan to lock him away several times.”
“I need to talk to him,” Cassie said. “He needs to know it’s not his fault. Only…” She bit her lip. “Only, he might not want to be alone with me.”
“Why?” Kat asked, frowning.
“Because he bit me—multiple times, like I told you. It was the only way to counteract the burning from the stuff they injected me with after he, you know, finished inside me.” She coughed. “And he always said that if he bit me, he would want to do more than bite me.”
“You mean he was afraid if he bit you, he would want to bond you to him?” Liv asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Exactly.” Cassie nodded. “And he doesn’t want to bond me to him. He wants us to just stay friends.”
“He does?” Kat’s voice was more skeptical than ever. “Come on, Cassie—you expect us to believe that?”
“It’s true!” Cassie protested. “He’s said it all along—that we should just stay friends.”
“But didn’t you also say that he admitted he had always wanted to taste you?” Liv asked, frowning. “Generally a Kindred Warrior who wants to do that to you, wants to do a whole lot more.”
“Like bonding!” Kat exclaimed.
“But…but that’s not what he said!” Cassie protested. “And besides, just look at him. He belongs with a super model. Some girl who’s six feet tall and gorgeous and bone thin. Not…” She trailed off but Kat finished for her.
“Not a curvy girl like you? Is that it, hon?” she asked gently.
“Exactly.” Cassie nodded. “He’s out of my league.”
“No, he’s not,” Liv said firmly.
“Didn’t I tell you that you’re an Elite?” Kat demanded. “Plus, you’re gorgeous! With that long black hair and those big brown eyes—come on, any guy would be lucky to get you, doll!”
“I have a feeling that maybe your partner keeps saying he only wants to be friends because he thinks that you only want to be friends,” Liv said, frowning thoughtfully. “I bet if you admitted how you really feel, he would admit to feeling the same way.”
“Do you really think so?” Cassie asked doubtfully. “I just don’t know…” She shook her head. “I would hate to put him on the spot like that only to find out he doesn’t feel the same. It would ruin our friendship for good!”
“Then the two of you will just be stuck wanting each other the rest of your lives without doing anything about it,” Kat said, frowning. “It sounds to me like all either of you can look forward to is a passionate celibacy.”
“I just don’t know what to do!” Cassie exclaimed. “I mean, it would be great if he really cared for me the way…”
“The way you care for him?” Liv asked softly.
Cassie nodded. “Yes, I…I guess so. I didn’t used to want to admit I had, um, feelings for him, but after what we went through in the palace at Bachanalius…”
“You can’t hide it from yourself anymore, can you?” Kat asked.
Cassie nodded again, reluctantly.
“I’ve been lying to myself for the last two years, I guess. Trying to tell myself that I just liked being with Stone because he was such a good partner. Or that I liked spending time with him because he’s so handsome and he always smells so good.”
“Wait—what about his smell?” Liv looked at her alertly.
“I don’t know what it is,” Cassie said. “If it’s some kind of cologne, it’s amazing. But every time we get close it seems to get stronger and it makes me just want to—”
“Jump his bones?” Kat asked, grinning.
“Well…yeah,” Cassie admitted.
“That’s his Bonding Scent! He’s making his Bonding Scent for you!” Kat exclaimed.
“His what?” Cassie frowned.
“It’s a type of pheromone that Kindred males make when they’re trying to attract a specific woman to bond with them,” Liv explained. “And it’s actually tailored to the one woman that they want. In this case, Stone’s scent is tailored to attract you.”
“It pretty much guarantees he wants you as much as you want him—probably more,” Kat assured her. “Otherwise, his body wouldn’t make it for you.”
“Really?” Cassie asked doubtfully. “Stone never mentioned anything like that to me before.”
“He might not know he’s making it,” Liv told her. “You know, you don’t usually notice your own smell. And the scent is something a Kindred’s body makes without any conscience effort on his part. It just happens when he finds the woman he wants to be his mate.”