Dastien brushed against my hip—not giving me even an inch of room as I went to the trunk. When it wouldn’t open, I banged on the hatch. “Unlock it, please,” I said to Chris.
The lock clicked and I grabbed a pair of sweats and flip-flops for Dastien. Meredith had stashed some stuff in the trunk after the whole vampire thing. Apparently, all Weres should have at least a few pairs of sweats and flip-flops in their cars for emergencies. I dropped pants, a T-shirt, and the sandals on the ground by Dastien, and zipped up the bag.
By the time I closed the hatch, Dastien was back in his two-legged form. He was wearing the pants, but didn’t bother with the shirt before pulling me into his arms. I took a breath with my face pressed against his chest. A shudder ran through him.
“What’s wrong?” My voice was muffled by his body.
He squeezed me tighter, then let go enough to look down at me. His eyes were still bright gold. “You disappeared.”
I was missing something. “No. I went to my cousins’ house…”
He brushed the hair from my face.
“I know I wasn’t supposed to, but I had to go.” I paused. His fear was slowly fading. “Why were you freaking out?”
“I…” He closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. “I thought you died.”
“What! Why would you think that?”
“All of a sudden, you were gone. I couldn’t feel you through the bond. You weren’t there anymore.” He pulled me against his chest. “I thought you were dead,” he said the words softly.
It wasn’t just me that felt the bond disappear when I went through the gate. He’d felt it, too. Only he didn’t know the reason.
I was a complete dumbass. I should’ve called him. This so wasn’t winning me the Mate of the Year award.
“I’m sorry.” I wrapped my arms around him. “Can’t get rid of me that easily.”
His hands tangled in my hair as he pulled me back into his chest. “Just give me a second and I’ll pull it back together.” His heart was still racing. “I’ve had close calls, seen my life flash before my eyes, but nothing like what happened when our bond went dead. I saw our whole future disappear. All the things we’d never get to do. Getting married, having kids, going to see Paul van Dyk play…”
Married? Kids? I was going to pretend he didn’t say that stuff. Instead, I reacted to the only thing on his list that I could mentally handle. “Paul van Dyk?”
“Merde.” He laughed. “That was supposed to be a surprise. For your birthday.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. He’s coming to Austin next weekend.”
I grinned. “Best gift ever. I can’t wait.”
“It was kind of a selfish gift. I wanted to go dancing with you.”
“Feel free to be that kind of selfish whenever you want.” I pulled him down, and pressed my lips to his. He lifted me and I wrapped my legs around his waist. The feel of him against me was all-consuming. Heat raced through my body as my tongue brushed his. I squeezed my legs tighter around him and he nipped my lip.
I couldn’t get close enough to him. It’d been like this since I first met him, and my obsession with him seemed to be getting worse instead of better.
Chris cleared his throat. “I’m still here. In case anyone was wondering.”
I pulled back from Dastien, resting my forehead on his. “Way to kill the moment, jerk,” I said to Chris, but I couldn’t look away from Dastien. Not when his need to be with me filled our bond.
“Je sues désole, mon amour. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
I pressed a small kiss to his lips. “Babe. It was my fault. But I’m fine. We’re fine.”
He took a deep, shuddering breath. “Right.” He closed his eyes, saying nothing, but he didn’t need to. I could feel his love burning through me as the last of his panic slipped away.
“Let’s go back,” I said.
“Probably a good idea. I might have run out in the middle of teaching the freshmen a new maneuver.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure the rumors will be flying.” Everyone on campus knew that the only person to freak out the ever-steady Dastien Laurent was his mate.
Dastien set me down, and I hopped in the backseat. When I turned back to him, he was by the door, holding the T-shirt in his hand. I couldn’t help but stare at his naked torso and the way his muscles moved as he shoved his arms into the gray cotton. He paused mid-motion, arms raised above his head, and looked at me.