Chapter 4
Lisa took a deep breath, staring at Verrian. There were no doubts in her mind, especially not after realising she loved him.
She knew she had no hope of resisting coupling with him after the Mesmer Ritual had begun.
She no longer wanted to.
She just needed to make sure she got this right.
Sliding down on the bed next to him, she rested her hand on his heart, listening for his heartbeat. For a moment, she panicked, thinking she couldn’t find it. But it was there. Weak, but there.
Feeling a little weird, she put her hand on her own chest, listening to her own heartbeat, firm and strong. Perhaps a little faster than usual.
She took a few slow breaths, trying to slow it down to a normal speed. Karla had said she needed to sync Verrian’s heartbeat with hers. She didn’t think it was going to help him if hers was hammering at a million miles an hour.
Everything was going to be all right. She could do this.
Lisa repeated the comforting words over and over in her mind, until she almost believed them. Her heart settled back into its normal rhythm. That was better.
She focused on Verrian’s heartbeat again. Was it a little stronger now? It was still different to hers. Far slower and weaker.
How did she get them to be the same when they were so different? Her heart beat twice for every one of his, only out of sync, so almost never at the same time. Lisa listened, waiting for it, until there was a beat the same.
That made her feel a little better. Not knowing what else to do, she waited again for another one, then another. Slowly, more beats seemed to sync up, until suddenly Verrian’s heartbeat shifted to match hers exactly.
A warm glow filled Lisa. Their heartbeats thumped through the palms of her hands, matching perfectly, as though they were one.
The connection sent shivers through her. She’d done that.
This Mesmer ritual was heady, even without the magical connection she knew would come. But she couldn’t think about that now. There was more to be done.
What was next? That’s right, breathing.
Verrian’s breath was shallow and quick. Feeling a little like an old pro, Lisa slowed her breathing, taking nice, even breaths. She could barely hear Verrian’s breathing over her own, she had to strain her ears. Gradually, his breathing deepened and slowed, until it sounded almost normal.
If she could ignore the blood on his chest and the fact that he was unconscious, she might almost believe he was normal.
Now she had to ease him into a normal sleep. Lisa lay down beside Verrian, careful not to bump him, and curled her body around his as gently as she could.
Karla had said she needed to actually go to sleep herself, to ease his brainwaves into the right pattern, but Lisa was so keyed up, she didn’t think there was any way she’d be able to sleep.
Especially not when she kept thinking that when he woke, she’d have to sleep with him again.
She tried not to think about it. Every time she did, it sent her heartbeat crazy, and Verrian’s followed. He was linked to her now, inescapably.
Oh, she knew that she didn’t have to be the one to sleep with him. Even if Karla hadn’t explained to her, she should have been able to figure it out. After all, she’d slept with Verrian last time, and she hadn’t been the one to put him into the Mesmer. Did the connection come now, or later, after sex?
No, she needed to not think about this. She needed to think of something calming, relaxing, sleepy.
Nothing came to mind.
It certainly wouldn’t help to think about the fact that after this, she’d be bonded to Verrian. Forever.
She hoped he didn’t mind. Surely he’d prefer that to being dead.
He might prefer that she’d let Olivia sleep with him though.
Her heart sank. She should ask him, when he woke. Before she touched him. That would be the right thing to do.
How was she ever going to sleep when her mind wouldn’t stop this?
Lisa heaved a sigh.
She wasn’t good at this. When Karla had explained it, it had seemed simple enough. Lisa had even thought that a nap sounded nice. After all, she had been running around like crazy, escaping from dragons all day.
And it was getting late. The light she could see behind the blinds was darker now. It was heading towards evening.
So why couldn’t she sleep?
Lisa gave a short laugh. As if the answer wasn’t obvious. Verrian incited a lot of things, but none of them were sleep. Especially not when so much was on the line.
Maybe if she tried something like sleep? She’d never meditated or anything like that before, but she knew how it worked. She just concentrated on her breathing, and tried not to think of anything else. Maybe that would be better?
She forced all the other thoughts from her mind, and breathed in, then out, then in, then out.
Before she knew it, she’d drifted off.