Bound by Forever (True Immortality 3)

He could blame his lack of control on the coming full moon, but the truth was, Kiyo hadn’t been able to think past anything but the desire to be inside her. To look into her eyes as he felt her come around him.

Her confession was a splash of cold reality. A reminder of who she was and who he was and …

He bowed his head, the sting of self-reproach burning worse than he remembered.

How could he speak to her like that? How he could take his own sexual frustration out on her and—

Kiyo threw back his head and howled.

His self-condemnation pierced the night sky.

He couldn’t race after her because he was about to change, but he’d make his way as close to the city as he could so that come morning, no matter if there was still one more night of the full moon ahead of him, Kiyo would be in the city. He was more aware of Niamh’s scent than he’d ever been of one single person.

And he’d find her.

If she wanted to kill him when he finally did catch up with her … well, he couldn’t say he would blame her.24Niamh hadn’t wanted to remain at the hotel.

She felt trapped in the room that smelled of Kiyo.

Perhaps it was her hurt, rejection, her fury, or all three, but Niamh had never traveled as far and as often as she had last night. She’d traveled with the hotel in mind, popping into the middle of the forest, taking a moment to gather her energy, going again, and popping up in the middle of a small mountain village. Thankfully no one witnessed her suddenly materializing out of thin air.

Niamh continued like this until she landed in a heap in the middle of the hotel room. She was covered in sweat and felt like she’d been weighed down by a hundred leather-covered iron cuffs.

She’d passed out, waking up in the middle of the night to drag her arse into a shower and then to bed.

Come morning, she hadn’t wanted to be alone in the room. Not that she thought Kiyo would be on his way back to find her. He had another night of the full moon ahead of him and hurting Niamh’s feelings probably wasn’t a priority for him.

Not feeling hungry, she forewent breakfast and strolled twenty minutes or so into Chiyoda to see the Imperial Palace. She wandered into the gardens first where she got distracted. Discovering Kokyo Gaien National Garden was much like any of the other national gardens she’d visited in Tokyo so far: like stepping into another world within the city. Not even the buildings towering over in the distance could take away the sense of peace to be found there. The trees were no longer completely barren but beginning to grow leaves, and the grass was losing that frosted dullness. But more special than any of that, two cherry blossom trees had begun to bloom early.

Niamh neared them, gazing upon the sun sparkling through branches of the pale-pink flowers. They existed in a row of cherry blossoms on either side of a wide path that cut through a section of the garden. She could only imagine how spectacular it would look once all the trees had bloomed.

Finding an empty seat on a bench, Niamh tried to relax, taking in the peek of a view of the Imperial Palace in the distance.

But no matter how beautiful her surroundings were, or how much she watched locals relaxing and tourists taking photos, Niamh couldn’t rid herself of the awful knot in her gut.

“I can’t believe you’re still a virgin.”

Niamh winced, hearing Kiyo’s scornful voice in her head. She couldn’t get it out of her mind. He might as well have called her a pathetic loser. And his distaste for the idea of sleeping with someone of such little experience was obvious.

She was a fool.

Because she’d thought he wanted to make love to her … to her. To Niamh.

She hadn’t realized he just wanted to scratch a fecking itch.

Tears burned in her eyes and she pushed them back, her lips twitching into a sardonic smirk. She was one of the most powerful beings on the planet and she’d been reduced to the mentality of a broken-hearted teenager by an emotionally constipated arsehole.

You’re Niamh Farren, she heard Ronan’s biting tone in her mind. You can kick his arse until the end of time. You are a fecking goddess, Nee. And don’t you forget it. He’s lucky you allowed him to touch you.

Determination thrummed through her and she found herself throwing her shoulders back. That inner voice was right. Who was Kiyo to treat her like this? And who was she to take it?

Well, she wouldn’t.

She had a mission in life, and she wasn’t going to be distracted by that wolf any longer.