Free Dark Mate (MATE series) by Natalie Kristen Page A

to shake her head in objection.
    “ Gabriel...you don't
have to escort...”
    “ I will not lose you,
Eva,” he growled and bit down on her neck.
    She screamed as her body
shuddered beneath him. Gabriel's fists tightened possessively,
savagely around her wrists as he took her hard, pushing them both to
a shattering, devastating climax.

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

    Eva took a deep, steadying
breath as Gabriel wrapped his arms around her. She was wearing her
old jeans and one of Gabriel's huge t-shirts. She smiled up at him
as he pulled her closer and began to fade into mist without a word.
    Eva braced against the sudden
dizzying plunge, feeling the ground disappear from under her feet.
The mist wrapped around her securely, and she felt a soft pressure
against her cheek. It felt like a kiss, a sweet, tender caress.
    With a gasp, she opened her
eyes and saw that she was standing in the messy living room of her
apartment. The light from the street lamps flickered through the
blinds. Eva switched on the table lamp and saw stacks of books and
dirty coffee mugs on the table, her shoes and socks lying all over
the floor.
    Her face split in a grin. It
felt so good to be home.
    She turned to see Gabriel
standing behind her. He glanced around her apartment, his eyes wary.
    “ Um, don't mind the
mess. Have a seat, if you can find something to sit on,” she
said, picking up an armful of clothes from the sofa. She found
folding laundry such a chore. She preferred to just grab her clothes
from the pile. In time, the pile would disappear, and the chore would
be done. Ta da!
    “ Do you live alone?”
he asked suddenly.
    “ Yes.” She raised
a brow at him. “I can afford the rent on my own. I don't need
a flat mate.”
    “ Have you ever...invited
a vampire into your home?”
    “ Huh? No.” She
chewed her lip. “I...don't really have any paranormal friends.
I just never...” She shrugged and admitted, “You're my
first.”
    She caught the heat in his
eyes and gulped, “I mean, you're my first paranormal...friend.”
    “ Friend?”
    She stared at him for a
moment, then lowered her eyes. “Maybe not. You...you're not
even my friend, are you?” she mumbled. “There may be a
blood bond between us, but...there's still a lot I don't know about
you, Gabriel King. I am a police officer, and you...you're a wanted
vampire. You are a rogue vampire, misting in and out of the city,
hiding from the PAC Enforcers. This...” She gestured back and
forth between them. “Us...”
    “ What about us?”
he snarled.
    “ This may be...”
She turned away suddenly. “What was I thinking? Well, I
wasn't thinking, that's the trouble,” she muttered angrily.
    “ Eva.”
    With a shake of her head, she
turned to him. “I can't, Gabriel. This is not going to work.
I...I can't be mated to a...a rogue, a criminal. I can't be with
you, Gabriel.”
    “ You can't be with me,”
he repeated, his voice very low and quiet.
    Eva looked into his eyes, but
saw nothing there. No anger, no sadness, no pain. His eyes were
just flat and cold.
    “ No.” Her voice
was clear and strong, even though her heart broke. “Even if
you kidnap me again, force me to stay with you, I won't truly...”
    “ I won't force you, Eva.
I will never force my mate.” His lips curled almost
derisively.
    “ Gabriel...”
    His eyes burned golden as he
growled, “I won't lose you, Eva.”
    With that, he turned and
strode to the door. “You are mine. And you will be with me,”
he said over his shoulder.
    She started, and in a blink,
he was gone.
    He had misted away before her
eyes. Out of her home, out of her life.
    Eva sunk to the floor, staring
at the door. It felt almost as if she could will him back to her if
she stared hard enough. Was she hoping that he would walk through
the door and take her in his arms again?
    She pushed herself up and
released a long sigh. No, she wouldn't think of him. It would never
work. Now that she had returned to her world, to reality, she saw
too