never be able to go to the Elysian Fields. I’ll change form just like Kristoff and be a powerful radiant rather than a goddess.” Not that she cared, but her opportunity to go be with her own kind would be forever lost. If he shunned her later, she would still remain earthbound.
She watched as Hunter took a shuddering breath and pressed his body flush with hers before he spoke. “Do you really think I’d ever let you go once I claimed you forever?” he growled, having picked up her erratic thoughts. “I’d fight for you, Athena. Christ! I live and breathe for you now.” His chest was rising and falling hard, like he was having difficulty speaking. “I’m not afraid that I’ll want to go back in time and not have you as my mate. I’m worried about the damn future and whether you’ll want to get away from me . I don’t think I’d survive if you left after we bonded. Hell, I’m not sure I’ll survive now if you leave.” His voice was harsh, as though everything he said was difficult to say. “I’m a selfish bastard to want you forever. You deserve a hell of a lot better than me, but nobody will ever want you more than I do.”
Nobody had ever wanted her at all , but Athena knew Hunter made up for all of those lonely times and more. She stroked his jaw, trying to soothe his tortured emotions. He was spiraling out of control, and she needed him grounded to make his decision.
“I want to stay here with you, Hunter. No matter what you think, I couldn’t have picked a better mate for myself. I don’t want to go,” she told him softly. “I just want to make sure you know that this decision is forever. I won’t leave you. I’ve been inside your mind, in your darkest of places. There’s nothing to fear there.”
Hunter pinned her against the fridge, a hand planted on each side of her body. “I’d be fucking terrified if I were you,” Hunter rumbled in a self-deprecating voice. “Be absolutely certain, Princess. Make sure you want a loser like me for life.” He breathed out slowly, as though searching for control.
Athena’s breath hitched as she felt the heat of his exhalation waft across her cheek. She could feel his tension, his anxiety as he waited for her to respond. “I’m sure. I’ve been sure. I just didn’t know how to ask you if you’d let me stay as your permanent radiant ,” she confessed, releasing a soft sigh as she felt his body relax slightly. “Someday you’ll realize what a special man you really are.” Her words were a vow to make him understand what kind of man he really was. It was an undertaking she planned on starting as soon as they were permanently mated. He’d teach her about the twenty-first century, and in return she’d show him how unique he was to her. His self-loathing had to stop. He’d hated himself for too long, and for no reason other than following his nature. His destiny hadn’t been his own to choose. No Sentinel or human could have fought as long and as hard as Hunter.
“And someday you’ll realize what an asshole I am,” he grunted, stroking her hair as his penetrating amber gaze mesmerized her.
“I already know that,” she told him lightly as she ran her lips along the stubble on his jaw. “But I want you anyway.” Hunter’s acerbic personality was part of what and who he was, and how those experiences had molded him. “I guess I find disagreeable men very hot.”
“If that’s true, Princess, you should be incinerated by now,” Hunter grumbled, but he sounded slightly amused. “I’m not asking again if you’re sure you want me. I’m sealing the deal before you can really think about it anymore,” he warned.
She smiled happily up at him. “Then do it.” Thinking about the mating, a thought suddenly occurred to her. “I hate it that you’ll have to be confined.” Hunter had spent enough time being imprisoned and punished for crimes that he couldn’t help but commit. Her heart sunk at the thought of him being helpless and
She watched as Hunter took a shuddering breath and pressed his body flush with hers before he spoke. “Do you really think I’d ever let you go once I claimed you forever?” he growled, having picked up her erratic thoughts. “I’d fight for you, Athena. Christ! I live and breathe for you now.” His chest was rising and falling hard, like he was having difficulty speaking. “I’m not afraid that I’ll want to go back in time and not have you as my mate. I’m worried about the damn future and whether you’ll want to get away from me . I don’t think I’d survive if you left after we bonded. Hell, I’m not sure I’ll survive now if you leave.” His voice was harsh, as though everything he said was difficult to say. “I’m a selfish bastard to want you forever. You deserve a hell of a lot better than me, but nobody will ever want you more than I do.”
Nobody had ever wanted her at all , but Athena knew Hunter made up for all of those lonely times and more. She stroked his jaw, trying to soothe his tortured emotions. He was spiraling out of control, and she needed him grounded to make his decision.
“I want to stay here with you, Hunter. No matter what you think, I couldn’t have picked a better mate for myself. I don’t want to go,” she told him softly. “I just want to make sure you know that this decision is forever. I won’t leave you. I’ve been inside your mind, in your darkest of places. There’s nothing to fear there.”
Hunter pinned her against the fridge, a hand planted on each side of her body. “I’d be fucking terrified if I were you,” Hunter rumbled in a self-deprecating voice. “Be absolutely certain, Princess. Make sure you want a loser like me for life.” He breathed out slowly, as though searching for control.
Athena’s breath hitched as she felt the heat of his exhalation waft across her cheek. She could feel his tension, his anxiety as he waited for her to respond. “I’m sure. I’ve been sure. I just didn’t know how to ask you if you’d let me stay as your permanent radiant ,” she confessed, releasing a soft sigh as she felt his body relax slightly. “Someday you’ll realize what a special man you really are.” Her words were a vow to make him understand what kind of man he really was. It was an undertaking she planned on starting as soon as they were permanently mated. He’d teach her about the twenty-first century, and in return she’d show him how unique he was to her. His self-loathing had to stop. He’d hated himself for too long, and for no reason other than following his nature. His destiny hadn’t been his own to choose. No Sentinel or human could have fought as long and as hard as Hunter.
“And someday you’ll realize what an asshole I am,” he grunted, stroking her hair as his penetrating amber gaze mesmerized her.
“I already know that,” she told him lightly as she ran her lips along the stubble on his jaw. “But I want you anyway.” Hunter’s acerbic personality was part of what and who he was, and how those experiences had molded him. “I guess I find disagreeable men very hot.”
“If that’s true, Princess, you should be incinerated by now,” Hunter grumbled, but he sounded slightly amused. “I’m not asking again if you’re sure you want me. I’m sealing the deal before you can really think about it anymore,” he warned.
She smiled happily up at him. “Then do it.” Thinking about the mating, a thought suddenly occurred to her. “I hate it that you’ll have to be confined.” Hunter had spent enough time being imprisoned and punished for crimes that he couldn’t help but commit. Her heart sunk at the thought of him being helpless and
Similar Books
