Page 84
Alaska chuckles. “Wasn’t expecting that, were you?”
I tighten the blanket across my shoulders with a shake of my head. “That’s one way to wake up. Where’s Mustache Man?”
“Ah, he’s somewhere out there. He likes hanging with the cattle.”
I yawn, covering my mouth, and a high-pitched sound escapes me from how long it is.
“Tired, Honeybee?”
Alaska wears a little smirk with pride.
“Maybe. Someone kept me up late doing unspeakable things to my body.”
Alaska’s eyes flash, and they seem brighter against the fog. “I have no regrets.”
I sit down next to him, nudging his arm with mine. “Me either.”
He grins, and it’s one of those instances that I have to take in, remember, and embrace how handsome he looks when he is happy. Alaska doesn’t smile enough.
“Yeah?” He’s so hopeful, so sweet; the tiniest amount of innocence returns to his brown eyes when they shift to normal.
“Yeah, Sunshine. There’s no way I could ever regret you.” I link our hands together, wanting to take this to the next step. “I want to complete the bond, Alaska. As soon as we can. Waiting another day to belong to you seems torturous for no reason, and I’ve already told my sister about you and—”
“You talked to your sister about me? When?” He flips the steak on the rack he placed over the fire.
“When I used the radio and practically drooled on myself when you were chopping wood.”
“I knew you were watching me. I might have made it more of a show.”
“Oh, really?” I scoff a small chuckle.
The apples of his cheeks redden. Is my cowboy vampire…blushing?
“Well, yeah. I had to make my mate want me. I had to show off a little, make you see what’s yours. I needed you to see me.”
“Hey.” I angle my body toward him, plucking his hat from his head to put on mine. “I’ve always seen you, and I’ve always needed you. That’s what scared me so much when I first saw you, and I didn’t understand it because I had never felt that way before. It’s impossible not to notice you, Alaska. The need for you was immediate. I knew I’d never be the same, and the thought of leaving—”
“—Please, don’t go.” He turns to me, mirroring my position, and takes both of my hands, squeezing me tight. “I’ll beg. I’ll get on my knees right now, and I’m typically not a begging man, but for you, I’ll beg all day and night. Please, don’t leave me. Please, don’t go,” he rambles, tears filling his eyes.
I have no idea where this is coming from. He’s talking so fast, I can barely make sense of it.
“I can take care of you. I can protect you, feed you, fuck you hard and deep every night, provide for you. I can give you a good life. I have enough property; you can have your own airstrip. I’ll get you your own plane. I’ll do anything, Leo. Please, please, stay with me. Live here. Be with me. Make this our home.”
I silence him with a kiss, gripping his square jaw. There’s a hint of coffee on his tongue, the taste of morning, and I pour what I feel for him into our bond.
“I’m right here, Sunshine. I’m not going anywhere. I need you to hear me when I say that. You don’t have to build me an airstrip; you don’t have to list how good you’d be to me. I know those things already. I’m yours, Alaska. I’ve been yours since you found me.”
There’s one lone tear on his lower lash line that I wipe away, and I notice how it shimmers as it hits the light.
“Sorry. I’ve just been alone for so long, and that’s been self-inflicted. Glenn and Soren showed up here and forced their friendship on me. I had no choice in the matter. I forgot what it was really like to feel something other than absolute despair. I guess you can say I’m desperate to never feel that way again after experiencing you. It’s like you flipped a switch on for me, casting light in a very dark tunnel I lived in.”
“Don’t make me love you even more. I don’t think my heart can handle it.”
He cups my face, his hand nearly taking up the left side of my face. “You love me?”
I nod in quick bursts. “It’s impossible not to.”
“I love you too, Honeybee. I didn’t know loving someone could happen so fast, but it was instant with you.” He presses a light kiss against my forehead.
