I clenched my thighs together at the pulse of arousal those words sent shooting straight to my clit.
Alek began to follow as Caleb pulled me along with him, my protective shadow looming nearby. But Caleb turned on him.
“Not you, Mr. Nordson. Back to bed with you. I’ll see to our naughty Miss Fallon.”
Alek’s eyes were stormy, and I could tell he wanted to come to my defense, but I reached out, grasping his fingers. “It’s all right. I’m used to his snarly ways. He’s all bark, trust me. I’ll be fine.”
“He has fangs. Don’t let the collar fool you.”
“That collar doesn’t fool anyone but him.”
Caleb’s eyes flared at that, but he didn’t respond as we continued to walk. Alek pulled gently on my hand, bringing us to a stop, because for all his grouchy demeanor, Caleb wasn’t going to hurt me. Not unless I asked him to.
“Let me know when you’re safely returned to your room, Kærasta.”
I went up on my tiptoes to kiss him. “I will, elskan mín.”
A long-suffering sigh left the vampire next to me, and I felt Alek’s lips quirk into a smile beneath mine.
“You might be in a position of power over me on these grounds, Priest. But don’t forget who I am. If you mistreat her, you will answer to me.”
Caleb glared at Alek as he turned and strode toward Blackthorne Hall, but I could have sworn I saw a flicker of respect in his dark gaze. His fingers tightened on my wrist as he snapped his focus to me, his eyes locking on mine.
“Shall we, then?”
“What, like this is a date? Your courtship skills need work, Father.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve courted a lass. And believe me, if I’d been courting you, we’d already be wed, and you’d not be leaving our bed for another.”
My heart did backflips at the thought. “You sure seem to think highly of yourself for a virgin who’s been celibate for the last eighteen hundred years.”
He smirked and leaned in. “I’m not that old. And you don’t seem to have any complaints about my virginity if your moans are anything to go by.”
The way his lips brushed the shell of my ear as he whispered made things tighten in my belly.
“I’d never have given my vows to God if he’d have let me find you back then,a stor.I’d have married you and made you mine, filled you with my children, made a life with you. But that’s not where we are now, is it? So this is the life I’ll lead. One full of want and guilt and sin.”
My heart was beating erratically.This is it. This is your moment.
“Caleb, it doesn’thaveto be that way. You could give in. There’s no shame in what you feel for me. You don’t have to deny yourself what you want. What we both want.”
He glanced around the open space as we reached the door of his office. Then, tearing it open, he shoved me inside and closed the heavy wood quickly. “You don’t know what I want, Sunday.”
Be bold, Fallon.
I stepped up to him until the tips of my breasts brushed against the solid wall of his chest. “Yes, I do. It’s the same thing I want.”
He gripped my chin and forced me to stare into his eyes. The hunger I saw there made me squirm in anticipation of what came next.
He was the last piece of the puzzle. I needed him to see it as clearly as I did. I couldn’t back down.
“And what do you want, Miss Fallon?”
“You. Inside me. Where you belong. Don’t you know that you’re mine?”
A flash of panic raced through me because I’d finally said it. There was no going back now.
“I can’t be yours.”