“Seeing how you're half naked in front of me, I didn’t think we were too concerned about things being too personal,” he says, looking far too amused.
My eyes snap down to my hands covering my breasts with my shirt. “Shit!” I hiss, turning around too quickly to put my shirt back on.
Crossing my arms over my breasts, I try my hardest to hide them because I know the still wet fabric isn’t doing anything at hiding my bra.
“To answer your question, yes, I know my father, not that it's any of your business.”
His smirk drops. “Sorry, that was pretty rude of me. Can I at least get your name? I’m Zed by the way, Zed Cross.”
“Abigail Morningstar.”
His eyes widen, and I can tell he knows that last name. I mean, no one else but the devil himself has it. “No fucking way.” He lets out a disbelieving laugh.
Rolling my eyes, I turn away from him and grab my bag. “Yeah, yeah, my dad is the King of Hell, blah blah blah. Now, if you don’t mind, I have to get home.”
“Abby, wait!” Zed says from behind me, following me out of the stone gazebo. It’s still raining out, but not as bad as it was ten minutes ago. “I don’t care who your dad is.”
I snort. “Yeah, sure you don’t,” I say sarcastically. Everyone I’ve met so far seems to get their panties in a twist over who my father is.
“Really, I don’t. I’m the last person to judge someone by who their parents are,” he says, catching up to me. I don’t slow down, and his long legs keep a steady pace next to me.
“I’m sure that's true, but I really need to be getting home.” Just as I say those words, my foot slips on the grass, sending me flying backwards. My eyes squeeze, waiting for the hard impact with the ground. Only, it doesn’t happen. A jolt of pleasure shoots up my spine, spreading through my body. I feel like I’m walking on clouds, a sense of euphoria overtaking my senses. I’ve felt this before, years ago with Leo. That means... that means, fuck! We sparked.
My eyes snap open, and I find Zed staring down at me, his eyes heavy with a desire so intense that I’m left speechless.
“Mine,” he growls, the arm that caught me tightening around my body.
My chest is heaving, my body doing all kinds of new things the longer he continues to touch me. The need to kiss him, to touch him, to consume him threatens to take over me, but I force it down... because I just met this guy. I can't go jumping into a relationship with him.
“Whoa there, big guy,” I say, struggling to stand up straight. He helps me to my feet, and I take a step back.
“You’re my mate.” His voice is low as he takes a step closer to me. He looks like a predator, me his prey, but I don’t feel scared or in danger of him. No, quite the opposite, actually. It’s taking everything in me not to jump into this strange man's arms and ram my tongue down his throat.
“You don’t know that for sure.” Yeah, I’m just grasping at straws right now, because that's bullshit. We sparked and we both know it.
“Really?” he growls, cocking a brow, calling my bluff.
“Fine.” I let out a defeated sigh, as my back is met with the stone wall of the graveyard. “It appears to be that way.”
He steps into my personal space, my knees threatening to give out as his fingers brush against my cheek. He leans in close, and I can feel his warm breath against my cheek as the smell of mint mixed with tobacco surrounds me. It should turn me off, but it doesn’t.
“Is that really such a bad thing, Little Bird?” His lips brush against my jaw line, and my body reacts instantly.
“We just met less than a half an hour ago,” I whisper, my eyes searching his, hating how much my body is betraying me, how much he's affecting me right now.Damn bond.But I can’t lie. Before we touched, I was feeling something towards him. What that was, I’ll never really know now.
“True,” he says, taking a step back. “Get to know me then. Let me show you why the universe has chosen me to be your mate.”
I can’t reject him, I would never put someone through a Hell like that. But I can’t just hop on the happily ever after train either. If I made Leo wait, then it wouldn’t be right to start something with Zed so quickly.
Leo, damn it. Looks like I didn't take after the pure blood side of my DNA when it comes to only having one mate.
My head is swimming with everything going on. “Okay,” I agree, and his face lights up like I offered him the world. “But we need to take this slow. I’m not looking to settle down or anything right away.” Because that would be crazy. Unfortunately, that’s how it is here. As soon as you meet your mate, it’s like your future is all planned out for you, and a lot quicker than you planned.
“Of course, and I would never ask you to. I just want the chance to get to know my mate,” he says, with a low, sexy, gravely aspect to his voice as he takes a step towards me, his hand twitching to touch me once more. There's that word again.Mate.
“Speaking of mates...” I nibble on my lower lip. “I should probably let you know, I have another one. He’s back in Hell. One of my best friends, and I’m not giving him up.”
He nods, not seeming bothered by it. “Angels don’t take on more than one mate, but demons do. And I would never ask you to give up a mate, that’s just cruel.”