“Then why don’t I feel anything from you? Why don’t I change for you?”
Dominic’s brow creased with faint lines—a subtle expression Sammy might have missed if he hadn’t been watching so closely. His grip relaxed, almost a caress now, and his fingertips traced the pulsing vein in Sammy’s throat.
“Why would I want you to change?” His voice vibrated with sincerity, and he sounded almost offended by the mere suggestion.
With nowhere to hide, no ability to mask himself, Sammy could only absorb his mate’s intense gaze, and he had never felt soseen. Was this how it felt to be perceived? To be viewed for who he was, not who others wanted him to be?
He’d always thought he wanted that, but now, faced with the reality, it scared the hell out of him.
Being watched required little effort on his part. People saw what they wanted and made up the rest. To be seen, though, came with expectations…and the possibility of being found lacking.
“I don’t know why you can’t sense whatever it is you’re looking for,” Dominic continued as if he hadn’t just emotionally wrecked him. He traced the curve of Sammy’s jaw with his thumb and shook his head. “But maybe it’s because there’s nothing to find.”
It had been exactly what he wanted to hear, what he wanted to believe, but desires tended to be messy. Dominic’s explanation sounded too easy, too clean.
“But surely there’s something you want,” he pressed.
There had to be something deeper, something Dominic wasn’t saying. There always was.
“I want you.”
Sammy let out a shaky sigh, his nerves stretched taut. “Yeah, but—”
He hesitated, the doubt refusing to let go. He was torn between the comfort Dominic offered and the nagging warning that something was missing, something he might not be able to give.
“It’s not really that complicated,colibrí.” Dominic let out a quiet chuckle, lips curving with fondness, but his eyes remained fixed on Sammy. “I don’t look for the good or the bad in people. I look at what they show me.”
The sincerity felt raw, his need for honesty almost palpable.
Sammy heard it, but he didn’t understand it.
Frustration gnawed at him. He gritted his teeth, wrestling with emotions he barely recognized. The world, for him, had always been a puzzle of shifting intentions. In contrast, Dominic’s openness was unfamiliar, frightening, and he struggled to make sense of it.
“You don’t have any preferences at all?” he pressed, searching for hidden motives or cracks in Dominic’s resolve, something concrete he could grab on to.
His mate reached for him again, his palm settling warmly on the back of Sammy’s neck. He pulled him close, giving him nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
“I prefer what’s real. All I want is for you to be exactly who you are.” His tone remained steady, but a flash of emotion flickered across his face, gone too fast to be named.
Then their mouths collided, hot and searching, Dominic’s touch burning away any lingering doubts. His tongue plunged between Sammy’s lips, tracing the contours of his mouth and branding him from the inside out.
Sammy leaned in with a soft whimper, overwhelmed but aching for more. His fingers tangled in the front of Dominic’s shirt, knotting the fabric as he clung to him.
His mate’s tongue stroked over his, sliding, tangling. He coaxed and enticed, never forcing, never taking more than offered, as he kept Sammy teetering on the edge.
Questions lingered. The shadow of uncertainty still shrouded his thoughts. For now, though, this was enough.
For now, for Dominic, he was good enough.
Chapter fourteen
The countdown had officially begun.
Dominic’s chest tightened and his jaw clenched as he paced the library, every step echoing the urgency pounding in his veins. Goddess, he was actually hoping the bastard who had bought Sammy all those years ago had taken possession of him right away.
It was a sick wish, but in this twisted game, it bought them time, and they would need every second of it.
Even with his magic and an elite team behind him, it had taken them months of sifting through empty leads and dead ends before tracking down the vampire coven in Savannah. The week spent searching for Sammy’s mother was nothing by comparison, but it still ate at him.