I snorted. “Thanks.”
“De rien. Are you feeling better about us now?”
I took a second to listen to his calm, steady heartbeat. “I think so. Yeah.”
“In two nights we’re having the ceremony. It’s not a wedding, but it’s as good as one in the pack.”
I narrowed my gaze. “Don’t you think you should’ve asked me something first?”
His nose scrunched for a second. “I kind of skipped that part when I bit you.”
I poked his stomach. “Well, I’m still a traditional, ex-human girl.”
“I’m aware. When the Tribunal is done, we’ll do things the way a traditional, ex-human girl would want. Even the ring part.”
I was liking the sound of this. “The ring part?”
He grinned. “I have one for you.”
“Can I have it now?” I held out my hand with a grin.
“I don’t have it on me,” he said with a laugh, and I shoved him into the ground.
Dastien shook his head.
“Fine. But you need a ring too. It’s more than a piece of jewelry. It’s a sign to everyone else that you’re off the market.”
“Don’t worry. Everyone will know you’re taken.” He pulled me down to him.
I nipped his neck. “That wasn’t what I was worried about.”
He was smiling when he said, “They’ll know that I’m taken too.” I melted into him. His tongue brushed against my lips, and I opened. Heat swamped me. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and ran my fingers through his hair. My hips rocked, and he groaned. I couldn’t stop the motion. My need for him was so strong, I couldn’t breathe.
He rolled until I was on the ground. His weight was on his forearms, but every bit of his body was against mine. He reached up, palming my breast, and my own moan slipped free, causing me to break the kiss. He licked my neck before placing a soft kiss just below my ear.
“We have to stop this,” he said.
“No,” I said, trying to pull his face back to mine.
He sat up after a second. “Yup. We have to stop.” He rolled back on his heels when I tried to reach for him. “Or else we’re going to go too far and we’re outside in the open.”
He stood and held a hand out for me. “Come on. Let’s go get some food.”
“Why aren’t I as weak or starving as I was yesterday?”
“Yesterday you nearly fully drained yourself before you started pulling from me and the pack. This time, you pulled equally. Plus, you weren’t trying to talk to someone so far away through a mate bond. You had a physical grip on Meredith. It made things easier.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
“But I’m still hungry, which means you are, too. Come on, cherie.”
I took in the sight of him as he held out his hand. He was over a foot taller than my five feet plus a few and ripped. Without his shirt on, I had a delicious view of his sculpted abs. His arms were thick and chorded with muscle. I loved how his hair had grown out in the past few weeks, long enough for him to tuck it behind his ears.
He was everything I wanted. “You sure you want me forever?” I asked. I opened myself to the bond so I could feel what he was feeling.
“Absolutely.” No hesitation or question.
My heart stuttered at how happy he made me. “Okay.” I breathed deep. “Okay.”
I took his hand, but he didn’t pull me up. “What?”
“And you? Are you sure you want me?”
I bit my lip to try and stop the smile that spread across my face. “For as long as you want me.”
“Forever then,” he said as he pulled me to my feet.
“Okay. Forever.” I stood on my tip-toes and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.
He said something in French.
“I don’t know what that means.”
He laughed again, not telling me.
Damn it. That meant I was going to have to learn the language.
“Now, let’s really go get some food.”
“Okay.” I would’ve agreed to anything he said in that moment, with those dimples in his cheeks and love in his eyes.
He pressed his forehead against mine. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being you.” He sighed in a huge dramatic way as he stared down at me. “This is good. We’re good.”
I cupped his cheek with my hand. “Are you okay?”
“I am now.”
“And before?”