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“Yes!” I shook him without actually shaking him. “If you’ll let it.”
“Verra well.” Leaning down, Callen brushed the tip of his nose against mine. “Are you listening?”
“Mostly,” I croaked. He contoured his posture to mine and gripped my hips. Soon I felt him in every pore, every cell.
“With this mark, we will start fresh. I will be your husband, and you will be my wife. You will give yourself to me, and me alone, Elle.” He stated the words with firm conviction. “I will give myself only to you. I will give you the world.”
My ribs tightened around my lungs. A myriad of responses jumbled up in my throat, caught in a web of an emotion I couldn’t name.
“Knowing this, do you still wish to take my mark?” He kissed my nape, the barest press of his lips, sending a spear of heat to my core.
I stood there, trying to breathe, suspended in time. The intensity of his ministrations and words created a hazy shield around me. Only this moment existed.
Trapped in a dreamy trance,I opened my fists and smoothed his shirt, running my hands over his pecs. “What is a mark, exactly? Help me understand.”
“A mark is something a warrior gives only to his firebrand.” He swept my hair over one shoulder, then pressed ever closer. Goose bumps spread across my limbs. When he brushed his lips over my nape a second time, those goose bumps caught fire, and my knees weakened. “Once done, it can never be undone.”
I panted harder. “How do you give this mark?”
“I’ll cut each of our hands to mingle our blood, then recite an ancient vow. You’ll feel the sting of the blade, but I’ll make sure you don’t care. My life-force will…brand you cells, for lack of a better word.”
Anticipation warred with trepidation. How exactly would he make sure I didn’t care?
“Sentinels around the world will know you belong to me,” he continued, “and any attempt to harm you is a declaration of war.”
That didn’t sound too bad. But the intimacy of it all. Would mingling our blood affect me physically only? Or would I feel him in my mind, will, and emotions? Would I take a piece of him with me when I returned to my body?
“This makes you hesitate,” he said, plumping my bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. “Why?”
Truth spilled out. “One day, you’ll remember you hate me.” I slid my hands up to toy with the ends of his hair. “You’ll regret doing this.”
“Lass, I’ve dreamed of you my entire life. I’ll regret nothing.” He deliberately dipped his head, giving me time to protest. I didn’t. With a tenderness matched by none, he lightly kissed my lips before tracing his tongue between the seam. “Say yes, and I’ll make you glad you did.”
The softness. The heat. My brain short-circuited. My limbs trembled, both an acceptance and a rejection racing to escape. In a photo finish, I rasped, “Yes.”
A slow smile spread, but it wasn’t born of humor. No, oh, no. He resembled the wolf he carried inside himself. Crafty and maybe a wee bit playful.
Anticipation won. “Do it,” I commanded, the words frayed at the edges.
Moving just as slowly, he lowered his head, as if he meant to kiss me again. But he didn’t. With our gazes locked and his lips hovering a mere inch away, he unsheathed a dagger tucked in a sheathe at his waist.
I fought for air as he cut his palm, then cut mine. Yes, I felt the sting, but exactly as promised, I didn’t care. Because, as he joined our hands, mingling the wells of crimson, he finally lowered his head the rest of the way and pressed his lips to mine.
This time, I opened for him, and he thrust his tongue against mine. A bolt of energy slammed into me, and I gasped. Tingles erupted. Heat followed, such heat. He kissed me as if he’d never tasted anyone so sweet. As if his life began and ended with mine.
I melted into him. “Don’t stop,” I commanded when he lifted his head. “It’s so…you’re so…” The heat increased, bringing a flood of dizzying ecstasy. “So good.”
“Thig crìoch air an t-saoghal, ach mairidh gaol is síocháin.” He breathed the words into my ear as the intoxication overcame me.
“What does that mean?” Was I slurring my words?
Lifting his head, he smiled the sweetest smile down at me. “The world will end, but our love and peace will endure.”
“How lovely,” I said, and yes, I slurred. Still the heat increased, liquifying me. Then darkness swallowed me whole, and I floated away in the abyss.
Chapter
Twenty-One
