CHAPTER 175 In the Bond (10 Mar)

　　~ NATALIE ~

　　I’d never felt so vulnerable, so exposed, and so ecstatic in my life.

　　With every wash of joy and pleasure there was an equal wave of fear—and yet I just clung to him, pleading with my heart, and sometimes with my words, that he’d stay with me in it.

　　Nothing had ever felt more right than having Mack in my arms, in my body, moving with me, whispering to me, his mouth on mine, his breath hot and fluttering on my skin, his eyes blazing and his heart… his heart.

　　With a sob I flattened a hand against his chest as something within him blazed. The bond, twisting, unfurling, lassoing our hearts and drawing us together. I shook with the intensity of it, and the fear of it, too. Because there was no going back from this. And even though I’d given over, had no plans to resist, I clung to him so fiercely my nails almost punctured his skin because this was it.

　　The bridge of no return.

　　The journey I’d been avoiding for three years.