Four days ago, I would have thought his expression neutral. Now what I was seeing was the barest of changes.  That I was really starting to know Carlos warmed my middle.

I set the fork back down.

“What part are you upset about?”

“The part where I took you outside.”

“Really?  Because I liked all of it.  A lot.  Until I got hit in the face.  That guy pissed me off.”

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.  I took the opportunity to lean forward and kiss his neck.

“Isabelle.”  The warning in his voice made me grin.

“Carlos,” I said, using the same tone.  “Does this mean you’ll chase me again?”

“No.”

“Not even around the couch?”

His lips twitched, and I grinned.

“Did you almost smile?”

“Almost.  Eat your breakfast.”

I took a quick bite, chewed, and swallowed.

“You’re thinking about it, aren’t you.  Chasing me around the couch.”

“I love you, Isabelle.”

My heart stopped then restarted with a different, faster beat.

“I saw you fighting in Ethan’s bar and wanted to kill the man who was trying to hurt you.  When I saw Ethan touch you in the field, I wanted to kill him, too.  Then, I started seeing you for what you are.  A fighter.  I’m not okay with that,” he said, touching my bruised face, “and I’m always going to want to protect you.  But fighting is part of who you are, and I’ll need to learn to deal with it.”

I swallowed hard as he continued to watch me.

“Wow.  Uh, that was a lot.”  As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I wanted to cringe.  I was screwing this up.  He’d just told me he loved me, and I couldn’t say it back because I always hurt the people I loved.

I set my plate aside and pushed back the blankets to get to my knees.  He watched me closely.

Swallowing hard, I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him.  Just a hug.  He hugged me in return, smoothing a hand down my back.

“You feel like home,” I whispered, hoping he’d understand.

I turned my head, laying it on his shoulder.  We held each other for a long while before I pulled back.  As he let me go, he reached up and ran a gentle finger along my cheek.

“How is it feeling today?”

“Better than it should be.  Thank you for taking care of me last night.”

“Last night and every night.”

His words made me warm.  How could he make me feel everything like he did?  Happy being with him, more loved than I ever had in my life, and sad on his behalf because I wasn’t ready to bite him.  I held his gaze.  Why wasn’t I ready?  It was too soon.  Too soon since meeting him and too soon since Ethan died.  Yet, so much had happened.  It didn’t feel too soon.  It felt like months.  Still, I couldn’t bring myself to bite him.

I looked down at my hands.

“I know what you want,” I said quietly.  “That level of commitment seems...”  I exhaled heavily and met his gaze.  “I still feel like I don’t know you.  I need a hint of what you’re feeling sometimes.  I feel so blind with you.  Everyone else I can read.  Not you.”

“I see what everyone else’s emotions do to you.  I don’t want what I feel to hurt you.”

“So, you’re going to hold yourself back forever?  When you’re mad, I want to know it.  When you’re happy, I want to laugh with you.”

“Once you Claim me, I won’t be able to keep it locked up.”

“What?”

“When you bite me, you’ll feel what I feel.”

I frowned.

“So, the floodgates would always be open?”  I remembered the few times I had felt what he’d felt.  Emotions so intense they’d taken me over.  How would I deal with that?  I couldn’t.  Letting a bit out here and there would be fine, but if I had access to everything...

“You’d end up like my parents,” I said, thinking aloud.

“I don’t think so.  Grey and I discussed this at length.  According to Bethi, you siphon the emotions you feel around you.  What you and I would have...it’s different.  We will feel each other in our minds.”

Slowly, I shook my head.

“It’s not a risk I’m willing to chance.”

“I understand.  But what if I told you we could try it, and if you didn’t like it, you could break the Claim?”

“Really?  How?”

He shrugged.

“There are several different ways.  The point is that we could try.”

I thought back on Bethi’s conversation.  She’d said mating was the only permanent bond.

He watched me as I thought it over.  We’d already kissed, and he’d been fine each time.  I could bite Carlos and know what he was feeling.  If the connection made me twitchy or took over, I could say I wanted out.  There didn’t seem to be a downside, nothing to lose.  A thread of excitement filled me.

“So do I need to light candles for you or something?  Or just pounce?”

His pupils dilated and a shudder ran through him.

“Pounce.”  The word was already rough with his slipping control.

It amazed me that I did that to him.  With a grin, I knocked him back onto the bed.

His shaking grew more pronounced as I set my hands on his shoulders and buried my face in his neck.  I inhaled deeply, smelling Carlos.  The urge to nibble at his skin gripped me.

A small, happy noise escaped me as his hands settled on my waist.  He pulled me over him, so I straddled his stomach.  It made it easier to run my lips over his skin, trailing kisses.  His hands moved from my waist to my back, pressing me closer, until we were chest to chest.  My pulse pounded with the need to bite him.  I opened my mouth and scraped my teeth along his skin.  He groaned.

I grinned at his response then gave him what he wanted, a nip on the neck.  It wasn’t as satisfying as I’d thought it would be.

He shook as I pulled back.

“Well?” I said, looking at him.

His arms tightened around my waist.

“More.”  The word came out a broken growl.

He wanted me to bite him more?  I looked at the red mark I’d left on his skin.  It was already barely visible, even though I’d bitten him pretty hard.

“Whatever floats your boat,” I said, bending down to nibble his skin again.  I trailed little nips down to his collarbone.  Without a doubt, I was enjoying what I was doing and so was he.  His shaking grew worse with each pinch of my teeth.

“Isabelle.”  The drawn out syllables of my name sounded pained.  “Break the damn skin.”

I pulled back in surprise.

“You want me to what?”

His arms wrapped around me, and he slowly drew me back to his neck.

“Bite me.  Bite me like you’re mad at me.  Bite me like it’s the only way you’ll get free.  Because it is.  I’m not letting go until it’s done.”

I tried pulling back again, and he didn’t budge.  Instead, I turned my head so I could see him.

“You really want me to hurt you?”

“It won’t hurt.  I promise.”

I continued to stare at him, doubting his words, even as the urge to bite him like he’d asked rode me hard.

“Please.”

The begging won me.  I turned my head and bit hard enough to draw blood.

His yell shocked me.

“You said it wouldn’t hurt!”  I jerked back from him, wiping my mouth while looking at him with concern.

He exhaled heavily and closed his eyes.

I felt relieved and relaxed and very turned on.  I wasn’t that turned on a minute ago.  I wanted to kiss him but held myself back, waiting.  What was I waiting for?  My heart swelled with love for him.  He was perfect.  Everything I wanted.  And so beautiful.  Whoa, what?  Carlos was handsome.  Hot.  Rugged.  Intense.  Nowhere in there did I think him beautiful.  It was way too girly a term for him.

“What the hell is going on?” I said, staring at him.

Emotions continued to tease me, but not in the way I was used to.  They weren’t filling me.  They were just in me.

“How do you feel?”

“I wouldn’t know.  You’re in my head.”

“I mean, is what I’m feeling causing any problems?”

“Yes, you’re so horny I can’t think straight.”