Free To Love (Vampire Assassin League Book 21) by Jackie Ivie Page A

too,” he said.
    “What?”
    “The mate bond.”
    “The...
what
bond?”
    “Ah.
Ionmhainn.
It’s the Gaelic word for beloved. You are my mate. That is what
anam-charaid
means. Actually, it translates better as soul-mate. It is what every vampire craves. And what this one has finally found.”
    Her brows rose. So did her temperature. The look he gave her was indescribable. She felt singed. Electrically zapped. And completely surrounded by all kinds of intensity. It was probably what a shock victim felt just before lightning hit. While on water. In a thunderstorm. She heard him speak again, but it sounded like it came from a long distance off.
    “You look a bit peaked, lass. You’re na’ going to faint on me, are you?”
    It might be a stone slab they sat atop. It looked hard. It would’ve felt harder if he hadn’t caught her to him.

 
     

CHAPTER TEN
    Well. He’d done it. He’d told her. Not everything, but she knew the basics. She took it well. She didn’t look like she’d faint. Or rage at him. Or react unfavorably. And she felt nice in his arms.
    Very nice.
    Cullen gazed into her dark eyes, trembled with how it felt to be close to her, but otherwise, didn’t move. It was a bit harder than he was used to. He’d stayed immobile and watchful for entire nights before. He’d never had this experience, though. Having his mate and regaining sensation was such a gift. The tremor had emotion behind it that he had difficulty stanching.
    Then she sighed. It was a pretty heavy one. Air brushed his chin, throat, chest, and then it got troublesome as she licked her lips before she looked away.
    “All right. I believe you.”
    “That’s nice.”
    “You aren’t lying.”
    “Of course na’. A Corrick clansman never lies. We might embroider about the truth a bit, but that’s the extent of it.”
    She pushed on his shoulder. Cullen actually released his hold. It wasn’t easy. She wavered in place as she regained her seat. And then she pulled in a large breath. He matched it. It still felt unbelievable. He was afraid if she looked up she’d mistake the expression on his face. She’d wanted seriousness. So he complied again. And then she started speaking and sent his heart into palpitations that hurt.
    “I...really should be going. Um. It’s been really nice. Last night was...well. I can’t really describe it, but uh...I think I should go. Crap. I don’t even know where I am. I’ll probably need my passport. That’s going to be difficult. But, what the heck. I’ll worry about that when I have to. First things first. Where is the door?”
    “We canna’ go out yet, lass. It’s still daylight.”
    “Give it a rest, Cullen. Okay?”
    She was moving away from him, using the edge of his
feile breacan
to slide atop the stone slab. Cullen grabbed at the mass of plaid in his lap and that stopped her. For a moment. She just scooted off the material and onto bare stone.
    “Give what a rest?” he asked.
    “Your story.”
    He growled. His fangs tingled as the sound throbbed outward. She flashed a glance to him, eyes wide. And then she looked away again. He hadn’t meant it to sound as menacing as it did.
    “Please don’t tell me you’re going to turn into a male chauvinistic asshole now. I think I have enough to deal with already.”
    “The lone thing I might turn into is a vampire. As I just told you.”
    “I really can’t deal with this, Cullen. Not right now. I mean, I was open to the idea of a new beginning. Starting a new chapter in my life. But meeting a guy who thinks he’s a vampire is a little off the map. A lot more than I was envisioning. Okay?”
    “I do na’ think it, Marla Sanders. I am a vampire. I swear it. I am over seven centuries old. I’m immortal. And I have certain powers. One of them is speed. I can move so rapidly it’s akin to flight. Surely you noted that last eve?”
    She shook her head. She didn’t look at him.
    “No? Then explain what happened at Stonehenge. You were