Cassie’s heart constricted in her chest and she felt something deep inside her burst forward and she knew what it was—her soul.

“I feel like I want to crawl inside of you, Trik, like I can’t get close enough,” she confessed.

Trik stroked her face, unable to keep from touching her. “I know the feeling,” he murmured.

“Will it always be like this, so intense?”

Trik's eyes continued to roam over her face as his fingers ran through her hair. He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips and whispered against them. “Hmmm, some of that might be the liquor.” Cassie slapped his arm and he chuckled but then sobered and added. “From what I understand it grows deeper and stronger.”

Cassie groaned. “I can’t imagine feeling any stronger than I do now.”

Trik smiled. “I can.”

Cassie saw a wicked gleam in his silver eyes. “Do I want to know?”

He chuckled. “Well I imagine it’s something that we are going to have to talk about at some point.”

Cassie’s brow furrowed, “What are you talking about?”

He leaned forward until his lips were against her ear. He let out a slow breath and the warmth caressed her skin. She trembled and Trik pulled her closer to him.

“A bed is not made only for sleeping, Cassandra,” he whispered and then she felt his tongue dart out and flick across her ear.

She was dazed for a moment and the meaning behind his words hit her. She couldn’t breathe as she considered what he was saying.

Trik pulled back so that he could look at her face. He had to admit he was enjoying the fact that he had shocked her, probably a little more than he should be enjoying it.

“Breathe Cassie,” he told her gently. “We don’t have to go there until you are ready and sober.”

“I um, well that is that, you see it’s like,” she stumbled over her words, as she tried not to be embarrassed by the topic.

“I never intended to go there until I was married,” she finally told him with only a moderate amount of blushing.

The smile that spread across his lips was dazzling and made her momentarily lose her train of thought.

“So you’ve never lain with another male?”

“If by lain you are speaking in the Biblical sense, then no, I have not.”

Trik watched her carefully. Relief he hadn’t realized he would feel at the information bloomed in his chest.

“Just to be clear,” he began again. “You’ve never…”.

Cassie groaned. “Good grief Trik, do I need to spell it out?”

He nodded.

“I’ve never had sex. Are you happy now?”

“Unbelievably so,” he told her as he nuzzled her neck.

She pushed at his shoulder. “What about you?” She asked as his eyes met hers. She saw them darken and was surprised to see shame in them. Her heart fell, though she didn’t know why she had been expecting a different answer. The guy was possibly so old that he had a dinosaur for a pet.

She looked away and tried not to be hurt.

“I’m sorry, baby.” Trik gently took her chin and turned her face back towards him. “I never even considered that I would ever have a Chosen.”

“It’s fine, really. I don’t know why I expected any other answer.”

“They meant nothing,” Trik told her desperately imploring her to understand. He didn’t want to hurt her but he could see that he had.

Cassie wondered as she looked up at him, the worry in his eyes, if maybe she was rushing into something that she would later regret. Maybe she should date more before she committed to something so permanent. Maybe she needed to have other experiences with other guys. Trik’s fingers brushed her skin and when his face darkened , she knew he had seen what she had been thinking.

“I will give you any experience you are curious about.” His words were harsh but his hands continued to be gentle. His voice softened as he continued. “Besides, I assure you that any experience with another would never hold a candle to what I can give you.”

Cassie blushed again knowing what he was talking about—pleasure.

“Awe my sweet lótë , you are correct. I will one day, when we are, what did you say? Married? Yes, when we are married I will give you such pleasure that you will never want to leave our bed.”

Cassie gasped as she slapped his shoulder. “You can’t say things like that.”

“Why, I speak only truth,” he told her matter of fact like. He rolled over quickly, pulling her with him so that she was on top of him. “So when do we get married? Soon I hope.”

Cassie laughed. “Hold on there, tiger. I haven’t even graduated from high school.”

“What does that have to do with us getting married?” He asked genuinely confused.

“Well, most girls don’t get married in high school unless they get knocked up, and to get knocked up you have to do the deed, which we are not.”

“Knocked up?” Trik trailed his fingertips across her back causing her to arch into them. “What does that mean?”

Cassie had closed her eyes as she enjoyed the sensation of his touch.

“Cassie.”

“Hmm,” she answered as she continued to relish his fingers. Her eyes flew open when his hands pulled the back of her shirt up and began to trail his fingers over her again, only this time they were against her flesh.

“What does knocked up mean?” He asked again. Trik grinned as he watched his Chosen respond to his touch; a response that only he could pull from her.