Free Forged by Fate by Reese Monroe Page B

off the blanket. “Okay. Here you go.” She offered him what she’d gathered. “There’s a couch out there long enough for you. I think.”
    “Very funny, love.” He stepped to the door and engaged the dead bolt. No way would he leave this room.
    “You can’t stay here.”
    “I can and I will.” He stood over her. Nearly a foot difference in height, yet her presence filled the small room.
    “No. You can’t, and you won’t.” She shifted her weight, and her cheeks went rosy.
    Her beautiful blond hair streamed over her shoulders, the tips resting past her elbows. It shone like a spotlight was fixed on it. And the smells. A mixture of vanilla and peaches. Probably her shampoo.
    The tight tank top she wore hugged her features but didn’t quite go all the way to her pants. A sliver of pale flesh peeked through.
    Muscles. Each ridge defined. Her karate had really paid off. Not just in her confidence but in her physique, as well.
    But the thing that stood out the most was the Ahavah Mark on her shoulder.
    Mine .
    “Stop staring at me like I’m a side of beef you’re about to devour.”
    If she only knew. “Are you sure I can’t talk you into staying at my house? It’s much bigger. I’ll drive you back here for your exam.”
    “My exam is in about five hours. I need sleep. Can’t be driving.” She pointed to the door. “Now go.”
    He shook his head.
    She stomped her foot. “You are the most frustrating person I’ve ever met. I just want to get some sleep, you jackass. I can’t fail this test. Well, I could, and I’d still get a C in the class, but still. I don’t want a C. I want my A like I’ve worked for all fracking year.”
    “Fracking?”
    “Shut up.” She tossed the bedding to the floor and whirled around to her bed. “Sleep standing up for all I care.”
    Two steps brought him to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and pulled her close. She gasped, and he pivoted at the waist just in time to avoid her heel being jammed into his toe.
    “Let go,” she whispered.
    Confusion radiated off her, and his heart jumped into an erratic pace as he connected with her emotions. Feelings of rage, desire, and fear filtered into his body.
    He buried his face in her hair. Her usual scent now carried a hint of soap, and it wrapped around him like a comfortable hug. He fought the urge to turn her around and dive into her. No, his Mate needed comfort. Security.
    He would provide that.
    Gently he rocked, and she relaxed against him, resting her hands on his clasped against her stomach. Her heart pounded fast and furious, yet she said nothing. He held his Mate in his arms. No talking. No fighting. No demons hell-bent on killing her.
    For just a minute, he didn’t care about guarding the gates to Hades. The nine centuries he’d had life meant nothing until this moment.
    There they stood in the middle of her small dorm room, only the soft sound of a clock ticking disturbing their comfortable silence. And then he felt it. Her body started shaking.
    A tear dropped onto his hands, followed by another until they, too, cascaded off his hand and onto the carpet.
    He kept rocking and dropped kisses to her hair.
    “It’s not fair,” she whispered.
    “I know.” He continued rocking.
    “I don’t want this.”
    She might as well have said she didn’t want him, but he knew what she meant. She was scared. Overwhelmed. The fated connection between them would awaken. He’d already sensed that it had started to; she was just strong in pushing it down.
    Considering he’d had 911 years to fall in love with the idea of her, he understood the hesitation.
    He nuzzled his way through her hair until their cheeks met. Her energy jumped through their connection, soothing him. Empowering him. “Shhh, love. Everything’s going to be fine.”
    More tears poured from her eyes, but she didn’t break the connection. He slowly turned her, keeping her face tucked to his chest. With slow, sweeping movements, he