Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 215(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 215(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
That adorable, sexy as hell, little accountant was his soulmate. One who was now afraid of him.
“This is a blessing, Bain,” Xavier said softly. “Cherish him. Revel in the time you’ll have together and make every moment count. As I said, your bond will grow stronger the more you’re together, but I will also perform the spell to tie your souls. He won’t grow old.”
“But he could still die.”
“That is knowledge every living creature lives with. All love is a risk. But Bain?”
“Yes?”
“It’s worth it.”
Chapter Eleven
Bain
Bain called Alaric and told him he wouldn’t be going back to Clive’s until the morning, then he went home because he needed a good rest. But he couldn’t sleep, his mind reeling from what Xavier had told him. He’d never given thought to having a relationship. His kind, the basilisks, did form attachments but only long enough to raise a child to puberty. He’d never wanted to risk that sort of short-term relationship, and falling for a human had been out of the question because of his longevity.
Knowing that Clive was his soulmate changed everything. Absolutely everything. He could allow himself to actually care for a change. It would mean no more sleeping around, but that didn’t bother him at all. Because he’d have one special person who was just his and his alone.
He sure as hell was going to have to work on living neater, though. He hadn’t bothered to clean his apartment, just too tired to deal with it. But still, sleep would not come.
Around two in the morning, he gave up and drove back to Clive’s. When he knocked on the door, a surprised Alaric answered. The elf didn’t look like he’d been sleeping, his eyes completely alert. Bain couldn’t help but smirk over the weird headband he wore over his shoulder-length black curls. “Did Xavier tell you to wear that here?” He pointed.
Alaric nodded. “Wouldn’t tell me why either, but he also warned me to keep my contacts in. Something about Clive I should know?”
If Xavier hadn’t told Alaric why, then it wasn’t his time to know about the special humans. Bain shook his head. “No. I think he’s being weird.”
“Not anything new there.” Alaric stepped aside to let him in. “I thought you weren’t coming until tomorrow.”
“Couldn’t sleep so I decided to go ahead and come back. What’s going on with your family?” Alaric had a huge family because elves did mate for life, and with their long lifespans, had as many children as they wanted. Alaric had twelve sisters and six brothers. Bain couldn’t imagine dealing with that size of a family.
“One of my brothers got himself into a mess, so we all got together to work on how to get him out of it.” He shrugged. “Bast isn’t known for his brains.”
Having met that particular brother, Bain agreed but he didn’t voice that aloud. Alaric might get annoyed with the many shenanigans his family got into, but he also loved them all fiercely. “Clive seem okay to you today?”
“Couldn’t tell you. He only came out long enough to meet me before he disappeared into his office. He’s still in there.”
“He is? That’s not like him.” Knowing Clive had spent so much time being afraid of him ripped into his soul. He needed Alaric to leave so he could go to him, but Clive surprised them both when he stormed into the living room.
“I heard you come in.” He squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. “We need to talk, Bain.”
Alaric looked back and forth between them, eyebrows high on his forehead, before he shook his head. “I probably don’t want to know what this is about. I’ll head out. Let me know if you need me to relieve you again.”
“I will, thanks.”
Bain waited until he left, then approached his amazing human, awe still filling him over what Clive was going to be to him. “You’re right,” Bain said. “It’s time.”
“Yes, it’s most definitely time, but first, I’m making tea. It’s too late for me to mess with that new coffee pot you ordered. I’ll make you some plain black so you won’t have to pretend to like it like you did with the strawberry blend I made you.”
He wasn’t sure how he’d given that away, but he would definitely prefer the black tea. But Clive’s snippy tone was amusing as hell. It somehow eased the ache he’d had in his chest since that morning. He watched the accountant fill the infuser, waiting for him to start with the questions. He probably had quite a few of them. The longer Bain watched Clive bustle around the kitchen, the more amused he grew at Clive’s anger. It was obvious in his tense shoulders and the way he was slamming things around.
Bain wasn’t sure what overcame him then. He just couldn’t help himself. When Clive stopped moving and just stared at him, Bain walked to him and stared down into his pretty eyes, watching them flare wide with complete awareness. The anger slowly drained from Clive’s expression, and he closed his eyes.