Beloved LifeMate: Song of the Sídhí #1 by Jodie B. Cooper Read Free Book Online Page A

everything I say makes you angry.”
    His face froze into a mask with no emotion slipping through. I dropped my hand from his face and my shoulders drooped even farther. “Ask my family, I’m always causing trouble. No doubt by now, you’re wishing you had never laid eyes on me. Maybe you should just send me back.”
    “Are you refusing me?” he asked in a very formal voice, his eyes darkened.
    I realized he was totally serious, my eyes widened in horror. Maybe that's what he wanted after all. My rejecting him would keep his honor intact. More than intact; he would be praised as hero worthy since his lifeMate rejected him, not the other way around.
    The sun suddenly streamed through the glass doors, hitting the side of my face. I knew, without looking at him, he would be horrified. I was vampire. In the sun, my eyes turned a solid bloody red. I looked at him anyway and painfully whispered aloud, “Is that what you want, for me to reject our bond?”
    “It doesn’t matter what I want. It’s the woman’s choice,” he said solemnly. His arms trembled as he held me and his eyes filled with tears, slowly falling down his face.
    “Women’s choice? That’s crap,” I said vehemently, gently wiping the tears from his face. “Do you or do you not want me?”
     

Chapter: Woman’s Choice
     
    “Woman’s choice is the law. She decides when and where the lifeBond is opened or even if it is opened,” he explained, rubbing his cheek into my caress. He frowned and pulled back.
    He covered me in the soft blanket, carefully tucking it around me.
    “You’re shivering,” he said worriedly. “I shouldn’t have brought you this close to the windows. I thought you’d enjoy the sun.” He sighed, shaking his head before I could speak. “Yes, I know vampires aren't thrilled with the sun. Plain and simple, I wanted to hold you.”
    I pulled my arm from under the luxuriously soft blanket and reached for his hand.
    He willingly wrapped his large hand around mine.
    “In my world, the decision to bond is made to together. Just like all the decisions in a bonded couple’s life are made together.” I nodded my head and winced as my swollen jaw hit the edge of the hard collar, before I could continue he reached for the silver collar and snapped it off.
    “Thank you,” I said. I couldn’t reach his cheek, so I softly kissed his hand in thanks.
    “You’re welcome,” he sighed and smiled at me; his eyes gleamed with unspoken emotion. “I didn’t want to put it on you, but after you ported away the first time, I was worried you would try it again or maybe call your sister.” A shudder raced through his body. “I can still feel the terror of coming back with the healer and realizing you were gone. Then I was terrified I might not find you in time.”
    “Sorry, I thought the monst… Mirk was going to eat me,” I apologized.
    “Hush, my beloved, it is I who must apologize. I nearly killed you.” He kissed my forehead and I saw the pain in his eyes. “After we came through the gateway and I found-out your sister was Chi’Kehra, I knew she would come for you. I didn’t want to kill you, but I felt I had no choice. I had no idea how powerful your sister was. My first thought was she could kill everyone in the entire valley. I threw you against the stone wall hard enough to stop you from calling her. Then you ported. I swear I reacted on instinct. I turned and struck before I had time to think.” He shuddered and groaned. “Then the synth song roared through my blood.”
    He gritted his teeth and continued in a choked voice, “Once the synth sang, my love for you was instant and overwhelming and…”
    “Enough,” I said firmly, cutting him off. “It’s in the past and that’s where we will leave it.”
    He looked stunned at my words. I was tired of guessing what my lifeMate was feeling. I wanted him and he acted like he cared for me; I wanted us mentally bonded.
    “Would you come back to the sofa?” I felt my