Early Imprint [Book 3] ✔️

34 • Truth Revealed

QUIL'S POV

I woke to the sound of sleet beating against the roof of my house. I was more relaxed and content than I had been in a long time. It suddenly dawned on me why as memories from my night with Claire rushed through my head.

As I became aware of my senses, I could feel Claire's bottom pressing against my groin area. I had my arm wrapped around her with my forehead pressed against the back of her head.

A part of me wanted to repeat the pleasure we'd experienced together last night, but I stopped myself from fulfilling that longing. I knew Claire would be too sore today. And I didn't want to hurt her again.

I was still angry at my loss of control when we first joined together. I had acted like a teenage boy having sex for the first time. If it hadn't been for the fact that it was Claire in my arms, I probably would have managed to control myself.

But after waiting so long for her, I had been unable to stop myself. We were already connected emotionally and mentally. To finally reach the last barrier and connect physically had been too much for me. And instead of Claire being afraid by my frantic display of need, she had kissed me and told me she loved me. She loved me!

And now I knew I wouldn't be able to live the rest of my life without hearing her tell me again that she loved me. Those words were as necessary to me as air. As long as I had that, I could survive anything, including another 17 years of abstinence. Though I really, really, hoped that didn't happen.

Because aside from my lapse of control, the night had been perfect. Claire's responses to my touch had been everything I could have ever hoped for. Instead of shying away and being terrified, she had taken control of the situation several times during our intimacy.

My stomach growled loudly and I chuckled quietly. Now that one appetite had been finally appeased, I needed to feed my stomach. I buried my face in Claire's hair one more time, breathing in her sweet floral scent, before carefully extracting myself from the bed.

Claire turned over and immediately reached for my pillow in her sleep, pressing her face into it. I bent down and lightly kissed her spine between her shoulder blades. I pulled the blankets up that Claire had kicked off during the night when my body heat became too much for her and covered her with them.

I'd tried to move away from her several times during the night so that she wouldn't get too hot. But every time I went to give her some space, her grip on my arm would tighten. Even while she slept, she'd refused to let go of me.

I looked down at her still form and pushed back a lock of hair off of her face.

"Do you have any idea how much I love you?" I whispered, just taking in the sight of her as she continued to sleep, completely oblivious to the world around her.

My stomach grumbled again. I went over to my dresser and pulled on fresh boxers before making my way out of the bedroom to head towards the kitchen. I went over to the fridge and pulled out some fresh vegetables and some eggs. An omelette sounded really good right now. I began cutting up the vegetables, lost in thought.

How was I going to tell her about the whole shape-shifter thing? I didn't want to scare her off after everything she had already been through, but she needed to know the truth. Aside from the fact that she put herself in danger yesterday because she hadn't known that a vampire was in the area, Claire had also witnessed too much. She had been face to face with that bloodsucker. She had also seen the pack in action as we destroyed him.

More importantly though...with her words of love last night, I had known beyond a shadow of a doubt that I needed to fess up about imprinting. Hearing her say "I love you" had given me an inner peace I hadn't even realized I was missing. It was what I had been waiting for all these years. What I needed to hear before I unloaded "the truth" on her. By admitting her love for me, Claire's choice had been made. She had chosen me body and soul...and now I felt free to tell her everything.