Liam’s Mate (The Vampire Coalition #4)(4)
Author: J.S. Scott

It doesn’t matter. You’ll never have the opportunity to find out.

Only Sasha and the council knew that she was Liam’s destined mate and she had begged Sasha not to share the truth with Nathan. Nathan would certainly tell Liam and then Liam…would be dead. Somehow, at some point, the league of mage assassins would take him out. Sasha had been hesitant to hold back the truth from Nathan, but Regan’s sister also knew the power of the league of mage assassins. That knowledge had been enough to keep Sasha silent on the subject of Liam and Regan.

Regan wiped the tears from her cheeks in swipes of angry resignation. Why did she torture herself by spending nearly every day in Liam’s company?

Because you can’t stay away! You love him; you feel his loneliness, feel his need for companionship.

It was true. She couldn’t stay away from him and although their time together was both bliss and torture, she ached to be near him.

She was drawn to him, compelled to try to take care of him. Liam had been conditioned almost from birth to sacrifice…and he needed a friend to save him from himself. He gave too much, kept too many secrets, and never gave a second thought to the price he had to pay for keeping those secrets or making those sacrifices.

“Oh, Liam,” she sighed softly as she remembered how he had pursued her friendship in the beginning even though she had tried to brush him off. She had never had a chance against his determination and persistence. Liam Hale could be a total pain in the ass when he wanted to be. A handsome, sexy, caring and sometimes arrogant pain in the ass! But still, a constant pain in the ass when he wanted something. And for some unknown reason, Liam had wanted Regan’s friendship and companionship. Who could ignore those chocolate brown eyes filled with an emptiness that tugged at the heart and that muscular, towering body that was made for sins that Regan hadn’t even contemplated committing before she met Liam? Lately, she had been thinking about sex way too much.

Regan felt an irrational pang of jealousy toward all of the women that Liam had ever had in his bed. Those women might be hundreds of years deceased, but she still disliked every one of them for having a part of Liam that she would never see. What would he look like with his dark hair mussed and his eyes filled with desire?

Absolutely terrifying! And completely irresistible!

Crap…the man was already an unholy temptation and he had zero sexual desire, she could only imagine what those women had felt during the time that they were the object of his desire. No doubt, Liam had satisfied every one of them.

Regan’s womb clenched and her ni**les hardened at the thought. She had never had a man inside of her because the mage didn’t have relations with anyone other than their mate, but she was a healer. It wasn’t as if she didn’t understand the act. But for the first time she craved it with a man…with Liam.

She wrapped her arms around her body and tried not to feel the pain of longing for something that she could never have. She was mage and had been taught from the time that she was an infant not to display her emotions. Naturally quiet, shy and withdrawn, the way of the mage had come easily to her…until she had met Liam. He fired a whole barrage of emotions that she wasn’t used to handling on a daily basis. It felt good to be alive, to laugh, to have someone that she could talk to other than her sister, Sasha. But being with Liam also brought a certain amount of pain and fear that she had to stuff deep inside of herself or end up suffocated by the emotions.

If you’d just mate with the council’s choice, you could go back to being quiet and withdrawn. You could completely hide your emotions again.

Liam would no longer be in danger from the mage. She had to and she would mate to protect Liam from the wrath of the mage, even if it meant never seeing Liam again.

“You’re still here.”

Regan’s head jerked to the other side of the room and her heart raced as the deep baritone flowed over her body, flooding it with relief. “Liam,” she breathed softly as she came to her feet, wanting to throw her arms around him as she met his dark eyes with a concerned expression. “Are you okay?”

He grinned at her reassuringly. “I’m fine, which is more than I can say for the fallen.”

He was hiding something, forcing that smile. She had seen his various expressions for long enough to know when he was holding back the truth. “You had to kill?”

“You should go. Get some sleep,” he yawned broadly, obviously trying to change the subject.

Regan’s eyes shot to the clock. It was still several hours before he would be able to give himself up to day sleep. “Liam Hale, answer my question.”

He sighed as he dropped the veil of pretense. “Yes. I had no choice. We were outnumbered. It was either dust a few fallen or watch my brothers get beheaded. It wasn’t a difficult choice,” he finished calmly.

She took his hand and tugged him toward the stairs. “Come to bed.”

“Sweetheart, I would have killed to get that offer from you a few hundred years ago,” he breathed softly in her wake, as she pulled him up the stairs.

Ignoring his innuendo she demanded quietly, “How many?”

“Three.”

“Oh God, Liam. It’s horrible if you have to dispose of one.” She stopped beside the bed. “Undress.”

Regan could see the signs of pain registering on his face and he didn’t argue. He climbed into bed and pulled the covers up before he evaporated his jeans, t-shirt and every other article of clothing from his body.

Tears flowed freely from her eyes, knowing what was to come. How could she bear to see him suffer…again? And three times worse than she had ever seen it before. Regan took up her usual place on the floor beside his bed for her vigil, closing her eyes briefly to gear herself up for a tense few hours.

“Hey,” Liam’s husky voice sounded from the edge of the bed as his hand reached out to stroke her cheek softly. “Don’t cry for me, Regan. I can take it. I’m used to it.”

She didn’t answer as she opened her eyes and the tears flowed faster. He might be resigned to what was to come, but Regan didn’t think she could ever get used to watching Liam in pain.

“Go home. I want you to. I’ll be fine tomorrow.” His fingers wiped away her tears, but they continued to stream from her troubled blue eyes.

“No.”

“Yes. Go now.”

“Absolutely not”

“Stubborn.” His voice was starting to slur and he pulled his hand back as he curled inward to absorb the pain.