"I was wondering what kind of girl could have botched up a rescue attempt so badly. Now that I know it was you all along, everything makes sense."
"Go away."
Rome runs his nose down the side of my face, smiling at the way I shiver. "After all thes...
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I DECIDE TO DO SOME RESEARCH ON THE MATING BOND.
Turns out that the whole situation is more complicated than I thought. The information is never-ending. There are books, blogs, and scientific newspapers all dedicated to the nature of the mating bond. I read across all genres, from online anecdotes of people of people who've just mated to in depth neurology of what happens in the brains of people through the different stages.
Some of the information contradicts each other. One super blogger wrote that a mate is the most important part of a super's life. But an author of a famous memoir says it's possible to live a fulfilling life without mating at all. Some people state supers only mate once in their lifetime; but on the other hand, there have been multiple reports of people finding their mates twice, or even thrice.
It's easy to get lost in the information. But I'm interested in the five stages. Especially the fourth - consummation, intimate physical connection. Reading through the facts on it make me blush, so I only do it in private.
They say that after mates have sex for the first time, a door opens. Nobody knows exactly what it does, since it differs for each pairing. There are interviews of mates who say they can feel each other's emotions, read their partner's thoughts and track down their location. One pair of mates aver that they can even heal each other's injuries.
It's fascinating. And terrifying. I'm reading one of the interviews when I hear a movement behind me.
"Darling," Rome slides his hand, warm and smooth, under my shirt and along the area of my lower stomach. I nearly jump out of my skin. I thought he was asleep! "Turn that off. The light is making it hard to sleep."
"Sorry," I whisper and slide my phone under my pillow. I thought I was being inconspicuous. "Go back to sleep."
"Mm," He's silent for a few more seconds. I close my eyes and try to calm my racing heart, hoping he doesn't realize what I was doing. His teasing afterwards will be unstoppable. Of course, my prayers go unanswered. "What were you doing on your phone?"
"Nothing," My words come out as a rush. Realizing that my response will just make him more interested, I decide to elaborate. "Just doing research."
Another few seconds of silence. And then, a sleepy mumble. "Research?"
"Oh," I breathe softly. Go back to sleep. "You know."
Rome flexes his fingers lazily. His nails scratch my skin and all sorts of little butterflies flutter in response to his touch. "Let me see."
I clutch onto my phone just as it starts to budge out of my hand. We play a tug-of-war between my super strength and his telekinetic powers. But since I'm weaker in my human form, Rome manages to pry the phone out of my fingers. It flies out from underneath my pillow. I catch it in midair, grabbing it just before it reaches Rome's fingers.
