The first rasp of his tongue this time brought a cry of pleasure, and Sherry had the inane thought that it was certainly a good thing that Stephanie’s room had soundproofing. But it was the last sensible thought she had as Basil reduced her to nothing more than a trembling ma.s.s of moans, groans, and cries that ended in a shout that could probably be heard twenty floors below. It was followed by darkness.

Sherry opened her eyes slowly, at first confused as to what she was doing sitting in the corner of the bedroom. But then she realized she was splayed there like an abandoned doll and quickly shifted her legs together and sat up, tugging her nightie down to cover her decently.

“I would have done that for you, but I was afraid if I touched you I wouldn’t stop.”

She glanced across the room at that announcement and spotted Basil standing, staring out of the window. He must have turned at some point to see her straightening herself, but right now he had his back to her, his hands clasped behind him.

“Er . . .” she said weakly, and then shook her head when nothing followed.

Apparently, she was not the most brilliant of conversationalists at the moment.

“The turning,” Basil said suddenly, and she glanced to him with confusion.

“What?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” he explained with his back still to her. “I wanted to talk to you about the turning and what Stephanie said about it.”

“Oh,” she breathed, and then tried to recall what the girl had said. Oh yes. “That I didn’t want Leo to turn me.”

“Yes,” he said solemnly, and finally faced her. She couldn’t help noticing, though, that he avoided looking below her neck. The man was still hot for her . . . and she liked that about him.

“Your face,” Sherry gasped, standing up with alarm as she noted the red round circle on his left cheek.

Basil waved away her concern. “Apparently when we pa.s.sed out after . . .” He waved again rather than say what he’d been doing to her, and then continued, “I think I fell back and smacked myself in the face as I did.” He smiled wryly. “At least it is the only conclusion I can come up with . . . and my hand was on my cheek when I woke up.”

“Oh,” Sherry murmured and settled back in the chair again, supposing there were more embarra.s.sing positions he could have found himself in.

“That was very naughty of you, by the way,” he said suddenly, and Sherry glanced to him again.

Managing an innocent expression, she asked, “Whatever are you talking about?”

Basil snorted, apparently not buying it, and accused, “You deliberately distracted me.”

“All I did was cross the room,” she said with a shrug. “It’s not like I pulled my nightgown down and did the b.o.o.bie dance in your face.”

“The b.o.o.bie dance?” he asked with a frown.

“You know, jiggling my b.o.o.bs in your face.”

Basil licked his lips, a faraway look on his face that suggested to her that he was imagining just that, and then his expression cleared and he scowled once more. “You are distracting me again.”

Sherry stared, the sudden urge to hug him briefly overwhelming her.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked warily.

“Like what?” she asked softly.

He hesitated and then admitted, “I’m not sure how to describe it. Either as if you want to eat me up or slap me.”

Sherry burst out laughing at that. Talk about not being able to read expressions. Shaking her head, she smiled and said, “I’d be happy to eat you up. It only seems fair to return the favor.”

Basil groaned. “Sherry we have to talk about this.”

Relenting, she stood and moved to the bed. This time she laid down in it rather than sit, and then she pulled the covers up to her armpits and rested her hands on top. “All right. Talk.”

Basil breathed out a sigh and moved to perch carefully on the bottom corner on the opposite side, about as far away as he could get in the bed. When she simply waited patiently, he finally said, “I think Stephanie is right.”

“That I don’t want to be turned by Leo?” Sherry asked.

“Yes.”

“Okay. I understand that, and you’re right, I wouldn’t want Leo to turn me,” she admitted.

Basil nodded, and then took a deep breath and blurted, “So, perhaps I should turn you to prevent that happening.”

Sherry froze. She was quite sure her heart actually stopped, or at least skipped a beat. She hadn’t been expecting this. She was supposed to be able to just enjoy what was happening between her and Basil and worry about the rest of it later. This wasn’t worrying about it later.

“Sherry?” he queried solemnly.

“I . . .” She paused, licked her lips and then admitted, “I don’t think I’m ready for that yet, Basil. Everything has happened so fast. We need to slow down and think about this.”

“That sounds eerily like the breakup speech you mentioned,” he said dryly.

She grimaced and sat up in bed, not caring that the blankets fell away. “Basil, we only met a couple days ago and you’re asking me to do something that can’t be undone.”

“To prevent you from suffering Stephanie’s fate, which also cannot be undone,” he said quietly.

“Yes, but . . .” Frowning, she peered down at her hands and then bit her lip and asked, “But what if we don’t work out? What if you grow tired of me?”

“Sherry,” he began, and then paused and stood to move around the bed to sit next to her hip and take her hands. “I know that all of this is a lot to take in. That until a couple days ago you did not even know we existed in your world let alone that there was such a thing as life mates, but please believe me when I tell you that this will work out and I will never tire of you.” Squeezing her fingers, he said firmly, “We are life mates. That is a bond that cannot be undone and will not fade with time. It will live and thrive for as long as we do. So long as we are both alive, no one and nothing can come between us. It is as simple as that.”

Sherry stared at their entwined hands for a moment, but finally shook her head. “I need more time.”

Basil sat still as a statue, his mouth tight, and then he said, “You don’t have to agree to be my life mate now. Just agree to let me turn you.”