Page 149 of The Donor’s Dilemma

She considered it, just a drop, just for the ribs, the scrapes, the ache, and shook her head anyway. “I’ll survive.”

He nodded, accepting it without argument.

She told him about Chloe, about her fear for her sister, about risking everything to free Verity. Theo promised to check with Abe, to make sure both girls were safe, all while he washed her, steam curling around them, the water turning his shirt see through. The conversation came in fragments, neither of them able to concentrate through the exhaustion.

When he lifted her out of the bath and sat her on his lap to dry her, she clung to him, running her thumb along his jaw.

“Silver,” she said, noticing the cut still hadn’t closed. “Drink.”

He laughed. “You want me to feed right now?”

“Please,” she said, wriggling slightly. He only smiled, brushing a finger across her lips before kissing her, slow, deep. There was no urgency behind it. He didn’t push for anything more, entirely content just to hold her.

However, tonight she had faced death. She needed to feel alive. Needed to feel Theo, the man who was going to change her life. Who had changed her life. The man who agreed to her plan to threaten Petra, even though Jesse said that it was insane.

She needed him as she deepened the kiss, and he started growling. She knew that he could smell exactly how much she needed him.

“Angel,” he murmured in warming, but she shook her head, taking his hand and gliding it up her leg. The painkillers were kicking in enough to take the edge off, but when his hand moved higher and her fingers found his hair, the pain became secondary.

She moaned when he touched her, carefully, a slow, unrushed slide through her pooling heat. When she leaned back, lying on the bed, and pulling him on top of her, he let her. Let her undo his belt, let her stroke the bulge she found before stopping her when she tried to free him.

When he shook his head, she whined. His lips left her, trailing kisses down her neck, over her breasts. He kissed her bruised ribs, making her gasp. Then lower and lower, lifting her knees and spreading her legs to leave her bare before him. The first flick of his tongue to her aching core was electric. She whimpered when her back arched, spreading pain and bliss through her body. He sucked gently, swirling his tongue before lapping at her entrance. When he slipped a finger inside her, instantly finding her sweet spot, she gasped, fisting the sheets as his tongue and fingers moved in unison. The feather soft scrape of his fangs over the sensitive skin brought a sob to her lips, the sounds mingling with his steady purr.

Every time they had been together it had felt urgent. A stolen moment amid chaos. It still felt like chaos, but Theo took his time coaxing her orgasm until no sensation existed except the meeting of their skin. She whimpered when her body contorted in bliss and Theo continued, dragging her climax out longer than she thought possible.

When he rose over her, kissing her neck as she panted for breath, mind spinning, she grabbed him. “I love you,” she whispered, and he smirked, knowing that she wasn’t about to let him go.

“I love you too,” he said before slowly pushing into her.

Verity would not have understood how it was possible to make love carefully if she hadn’t experienced it. The way he palmed her ribs as if to protect them. His long, deep strokes, finding the angle that made Verity’s toes curl rather than driving her to bliss with fast, hard thrusts. How he watched her, eyes dark with lust, bowed with need, but still making sure she was okay. They felt each other’s bodies, reminding themselves they were alive, declaring their love until his fingers tightened around her thigh and he came, crying out her name before nestling her in his arms.

He never let go of her ribs, even as they fell asleep in each other’s arms and light peeked around the curtain announcing the morning of a brand-new day.

Chapter Forty-Five

Theo fidgeted in his shirt. It was a strange thing to see. He wore suits day in, day out, yet somehow looked uncomfortable in a simple polo. Verity knew it wasn’t the shirt unsettling him. It was the prospect of dinner with her parents. She was almost grateful for his fidgeting, if only because it distracted her from her own nerves.

The past week had gone by in a blur. She’d spent time with Cora, who in turn spent a fair amount of time with Adam. Enough that they’d organised unofficial donor meetings at the café. The real meetings had started up again too, and at Verity’s insistence, they were now run by humans rather than vampires. A small change, but she hoped it would make a difference. And if it didn’t, donors had somewhere to talk that wasn’t official, wasn’t being watched.

The police were looking into the missing people. She wanted, badly, to push Georgie’s case to the top of the list, but she knew that wouldn’t be fair. So many had vanished in the weeks and months before everything came to light. Every family deserved the truth. Every family deserved closure, whatever shape it came in.

Jesse was gone. Where, she didn’t know. Theo insisted he’d be okay, often disappearing for months, sometimes years, at a time. What had happened between him and Petra sat heavy on Verity and she hoped it wouldn’t be years before she could thank him for his help.

And then there was Abe and Sienna. Verity didn’t know how she felt about the pairing, but Sienna insisted she genuinely liked him. That he was exactly the man Verity had started to believe he was. Both Harris and Sienna were moving to Salvation. Harris wanted a fresh start, away from the Roses. Sienna wanted something simpler than that. Love, or at least a chance at it.

Every day since the agreement with Petra brought a new challenge, but this one, facing her parents with Theo at her side, felt like the one she dreaded most.

Theo raised his hand to knock.

Verity laughed. “Just open it.”

“I can’t just open it. It isn’t my house.”

“It’s my house,” she said, hand already on the handle. “Was my house. We don’t knock.” She pushed it open and called out, “We’re here!”

“Oh, it’s so lovely to see you both!” Her mum swept her into a hug before Verity could warn her about her ribs. She bit back a wince.

A clatter of glasses came from the kitchen, and her dad appeared in the doorway. “Evening,” he said, looking Theo over again as though the inspection in his apartment hadn’t quite settled it for him. He still didn’t look entirely convinced of their union, but he tried to smile.