Chapter 29
Proposer
BASTIEN
Ahush fell over the room, save for beating hearts and nervous breaths that grated against my patience.
So what if they were afraid? They should be. I’d kill them all where they stood for daring to look at my mate’s bare chest. None of them mattered to me the way she mattered.
Claire was the curling ivy inside my heart. The gravity that held me to the ground. The moon on my darkest night. As much as I wanted to deny her hold on me, it was real.
I was beholden to her.
And right now, the woman who captivated all my attention was exposed for every wagging tongue in the room to see—including my whelp of a nephew.
Heir to my lands and titles, and yet still a reckless boy.
How foolish was I to even consider stepping aside?
This wasn’t the kind of behavior expected of the next Duke of Roselyn.
Parting the sea of people standing between me and her, I removed my jacket, then settled it over her shoulders. Claire glared up at me, and I glared down at her. Furious that she could make me feel this way.
“Your Grace, the point of Dépouiller isn’t to put clothes on,” she seethed. “It’s to take them off.”
I caught the scent of whiskey on her breath and the hazy look in her eyes. She was drunk with her consorts, even though I forbade it. “I know how the game works,” I replied, trying to keep my head.
I didn’t want to play nice in front of all these people.
I wanted to rage. At her. At them. At myself.
Without breaking eye contact with Claire, I told her guests that the party was over.
The room emptied quicker than if I’d announced the chateau was on fire.
Men and women tripped over themselves to get dressed and get out as quickly as possible.
A flutter of robes and arms rushing out the door.
All except my nephew, who sidled up beside me, clearly intoxicated.
“Don’t be upset. We were just having a bit of fun, Uncle,” Tyson said, clapping a hand around my shoulder. “The journey here was painfully boring. You understand, I’m sure.”
My fury was a living, breathing thing. Had Tyson been anyone else besides mon sang, my blood, he’d already be dead.
My fangs lengthened, and the shadows under my eyes darkened.
“If you don’t want your mother to receive your severed head in a box, boy,” I said around a snarl.
“I suggest you shut your mouth and get out. You’ve caused enough trouble for one night. ”
The color drained from his face, but he said nothing else. Just as quickly as the others, he vacated Claire’s room, closing the door behind him. I had a mind to shove him in a coach and send him back home. But it wasn’t him I wanted to think about. It was her.
Once again, I found myself alone with Claire.
And despite my anger, something inside me relaxed, knowing that it was just the two of us.
I drew in a deep breath through my nose, trying to calm my temper.
When I turned my attention back to her once again, I found her angrily collecting playing cards.
“Have you been harmed?” I asked. “Did he coerce you to do anything you didn’t want to do?”
If he had, even the goddess wouldn’t be able to save him.
She expelled a loud breath, marched over to where I stood, and, without warning, threw the cards in my face. They fluttered to the ground like tree leaves. I didn’t react, except to pick one of the cards from my collar and toss it on the ground.
“You are such a spoil sport!” she screamed, poking me hard in the chest. “And confusing! I mean, what is actually wrong with you?”
That was an excellent question. One that I had been asking myself ever since I met her, despite knowing the answer. I folded my arms across my chest. “You’re drunk.”
“And you’re an ass!” she countered, poking me in the chest again.
This time, I grabbed her wrist, if only to steady her. She was teetering like we were on the deck of a ship. “I’m an ass? I’m the one trying to keep you safe. You’re the one disregarding your own welfare.”
She laughed and rolled her eyes. “We were just playing a game!”
“And drinking. Which I specifically prohibited with your consorts,” I reminded her.
At this, her sarcastic laughter ceased, and she poked me again with her free hand. “You can shove all your rules up your entitled ass!”
I captured her other wrist and drew Claire closer to me until her body was flush against mine, and her heat burned into me. “Those rules are for your safety.”
“That’s bullshit. None of them would hurt me. Especially when you’re always looming at the door.”
Both of us were breathing heavily, and the tension between us seemed to double when her gaze shifted down to where my bloodstone was glowing through my shirt.
Pulsing in time to her heart. She’d been chosen for me, and I for her.
I didn’t know why, but it had happened all the same.
We were fated. When Claire glanced back up at me, her lips were parted, and her eyes were wide.
For the first time, I wondered if she’d guessed my secret.
If she knew that I was tied to her and she to me.
I’d never felt the bond between us as strongly as I did right now, and it was getting harder and harder to control my instincts.
Because the truth was… I didn’t just need her.
I wanted her. All of her. Her sharp mind and her vulnerability and her bravery.
Somewhere along the way, I didn’t just need to protect her—I’d come to enjoy her company.
Even now. Even angry. And, against all odds, I’d started questioning if I could give everything up just to be with her.
Which was why it hurt so bad when I saw her pressed against Alec. Her lips nearly touching his. I’d been stabbed many times before, but this was a pain I’d never forget. Releasing her wrists, holding all that hurt and anger and fury inside, I asked, “How did you expect that game to end?”
“In a fun way,” she replied.
“What would’ve been fun?” I asked. Each question fueled my jealousy. “Did you want him to fuck you?”
Say no. Tell me the thought disgusts you.
But she didn’t. Instead, she laughed again and refused to meet my eye. “So what if I did?”
How? How could she even consider another man when she was mated to me? If she felt an ounce of what I felt, the idea of getting close to anyone would be impossible.
I told myself to leave it alone. To walk away and let her do whatever she wanted. If she didn’t care, then why try? But I couldn’t make myself leave. “You spent thirty minutes in his company, and, in that time, decided Alec was the first person you wanted to take to bed?”
She set her hands on her hips, and as she did, the folds of my jacket that was draped around her shoulders parted, exposing the curve of her breasts. My jaw ached with the effort of restraint. “Why are you concerned with who I take to bed, Your Grace?”
The thought of another man between her legs, taking his pleasure with her, had me ready to put my fists through the stone wall. I couldn’t stand it. “Your first time should be with someone who knows more about you than your name.”
Claire took a step closer, her eyes narrowed. One finger accusatorially pointed at my chest like she might poke me again. “And why does that concern you?”
I couldn’t tell her the truth. I couldn’t. No matter how badly I wanted to. No matter how much easier it would be to explain my actions.
I’d done what no vampire was allowed to do—what no vampire should be able to do—drink from their mate. Claire wasn’t just the heartbeat inside my bloodstone. She ran inside my veins. She was everything. Everywhere. Consuming me from the inside out.
When she realized I wasn’t going to answer, she came a step closer until her nail sank into my muscle. “I’ll tell you why,” she said, unflinching. Her eyes glassy with unshed tears. “This is payback. You hate me for making you choose me as your sanguine partner. You’re punishing me.”
If only I could hate her. If only I could forget about our bond. But I wasn’t about to summon a god or break the Blood Treaty on the chance it would work, so I was cursed with my wanting. Slowly, I lifted a hand to her face and traced my thumb along her cheekbone. “I do not hate you.”
I hate myself for hurting you.
I hoped this declaration would soften her. Hoped she’d see the torment on my face at being torn apart on the inside. But it didn’t.
“If you don’t hate me, then why are you being like this? Making up rules for me? Pushing me away only to act like this. I don’t understand.”
I withdrew my hand from her face and clenched it into a fist. Frustrated.
Annoyed. Why was I trying to be vulnerable with her?
It was foolish. But I’d done many foolish things since meeting Claire, including letting the next words out of my mouth.
“If you want to continue this conversation, allow me to remove the alcohol from your veins.”
Her pretty lips fell open. Anger melting into shock. “You can do that?”
I nodded, desperate to get close to her in the only way I could. To do something for her.
“Won’t it make you drunk?”
A half-smile rounded my lips. “Not as drunk as you.”
She considered me for a moment, swaying slightly, then said, “Fine.”
“You should lay down,” I said, gesturing to the settee beside the fire. “Maybe on the—”
“I know what to do,” she replied, full of drunken confidence. “This isn’t my first time.” I watched her with a bemused expression on my face as she staggered toward a settee, nearly rolling an ankle when she tripped on the gauzy hem of her petticoat and stumbled forward.“Stupid skirt!”
I thought to help her, but knew she’d just rebuff me. Besides, I was enjoying watching her too much.