Her face paled. “What happened?”
Here we go. I was either going to sink or swim. “I had been marked by a hellhound and was ambushed by lower-demons. Chase was able to save me. It’s how I got this.” I lifted my Gaming goddess t-shirt.
She hissed in shock.
“Well, not the whole thing.” I rushed to explain the black Celtic knots that ran intricately up my side. I traced the design of soulbond. “He made a deal by bringing me back, he linked our souls. I was marked with the crest of his demon.”
“And the others?” she questioned. “Or don’t I want to know? Please tell me you haven’t died more than once.” Her voice quivered with emotion.
I shook my head and flushed to my roots. The other two were more intimate. “No. Chase made sure I was safe.”
She sighed in relief. “I knew there was a darn good reason I liked that boy.”
I smiled sheepishly. “This one I got when he told me he loved me.” Heartbond.
Her eyes widened. “Wow. That’s some powerful love.”
You’re telling me. It was pretty freaking cosmic. “It is,” I agreed, knowing that my love for him shone on my face.
“And what about this one?” she prompted, indicating my newest mark.
Bodybond. How did I tell my mom I was no longer innocent? That I had been with someone in the most exposing and passionate way? It did not matter that I was almost eighteen—practically an adult. She was still my mom. I nibbled on my lip awkwardly. “It appeared after we, umm—”
She filled in the blanks, connecting the dots. “Oh, I see. My baby is not a baby anymore. Glad to see all those sex talks took.”
“Don’t worry. We were totally safe.”
“Wow, that is a lot of important stuff I missed.”
“There’s more.”
“Hold on. I think I need a drink.” She padded into the kitchen to come back a minute later with a tall glass of white wine she only used in emergencies. Mom pretty much never drank. Sitting back down she asked, “You have more tattoos?”
I snickered. “No. But each mark came with a price.”
Her brows shot together. “What kind of price?”
Picking the fuzzies on my shirt, I mumbled, “Chase has a mirror image of the same marks. They link us together.”
“Hmm,” she said with pursed lips and stretched out her legs. “Link you together how?”
In ways I don’t understand. “Our souls, our feelings, and our physical beings.”
She shook her head. “This is so surreal. I don’t know how you handled yourself so calmly these last few months with your life being threatened constantly.”
“It wasn’t easy. That’s for sure, but Chase is sort of special.”
“I can see he’s special, as are you” Her eyes misted. “You’re the keystone.”
I stared at her silently, feeling the need to lie rise up in me, but I had promised myself no more. It was scary to admit, even to myself. “That’s what I’m told. I’m still not used to the idea.”
She leaned forward, the cushions sinking under her weight, and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “I’m not sure I ever will. You are still my little girl. That won’t change—ever. Thank you for saving me.”
A little lump formed in my throat. But before I lost it and turned this into a tear-fest, a familiar tingle came over me. My heart kicked up, and the marks at my hip went wild. He just couldn’t stay away, and it made me grin on the inside. I hoped Mom was ready to see him.
The doorbell chimed.
Looking steadier and with more color in her face, she stood up. “I got it.”
I sort of got the feeling she thought it was going to be Devin.
We both were right.
“Chase.” Then she surprised us both by hugging him. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“Don’t thank me. I would do anything for your daughter,” he said softly.
My heart swelled so much I thought it was going to pop.
Pulling back, she nodded her head. “I know.” She smeared away the few tears that had gathered in her eyes. With a soft smile on her face she said, “So you’re supposed to be dangerous?”
He didn’t miss a beat. “I am.”
“And you love my daughter.”
I rolled my eyes behind her.
There was no hesitation. “Very much so.”
Her smile was soft. “I can’t think of anyone more perfect for her than you.”
Well now that we were a big, happy, shiny family again, Mom glanced at Devin.
“Angel told you?” he asked, stepping from the shadows behind Chase. It was the first I could remember seeing Devin nervous. He stood on my porch, waiting for Mom to say something, anything.