The Way You Bite(73)

“You didn’t even fight to get me back. You let me walk away.”

“You wanted me to let you walk away.” He worked his jaw back and forth. “But here’s some truth for you. I had no intention to let you go. Then or now. You needed space, which I gave. It wasn’t a good-bye.”

She touched his face. “I did need space after…discovering I could shift and going through it wasn’t easy. For that, thank you. I need you to understand I want to be with you. Beyond that is my need to be useful and not feel like some sort of pampered mistress.”

“You’re not a mistress. That implies this is sordid when it’s not. This is real. My life is dangerous. Everyone near me is in danger. I live with the constant threat of assassination or attack, and it just got a whole lot more dangerous. If you stay, I’ll do whatever I feel must be done to keep you safe. I can’t promise there may be an occasional exclusion of information if doing so keeps you out of danger.”

He took her face between his hands. The simple contact caused her heart to melt and hurt. “We can be so good together. Fate, destiny…whatever the hell you want to call it has thrown us together. You’re the one I want with me in my forever, however long that may be. Life is precious and could be yanked away from one of us at any time, especially with the war now open. Tell me what I can do to make it work.”

She touched his beautiful face and traced the angle of his jaw. “This is overwhelming. I don’t know about you but this draw I have to you, to want to be near you, to want to touch you is like nothing I’ve ever felt.”

“Me either.” He kissed her lightly on the lips.

“If you’re right and this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, then we’ll always be drawn together even if we go our separate ways. We’ll always have this between us. I don’t really want to live apart. I’ve fought my entire life for a measure of independence, and now I feel like you’re asking me to give it up to choose you, us.”

“Is it so hard to choose this?” He kissed down her neck while his hand rubbed soft circles over his mark, sending chills throughout her body.

“I’m pretty sure I love you, Lexan, but I’m not sure this can work. You’ll push to control me. I’ll push back. I need to be me. I need to work and be useful. I need to feel like if I want to do something, whether it’s shop in Paris or run a veterinary clinic, I have it as an option. I promise to take all safety measures that are necessary. I need to trust you’re not going to go all caveman on me and throw me in a dungeon to control my actions all in the name of keeping me safe.”

He rubbed his eyebrows. “It goes against everything I feel I need to do. You have to compromise. Let me protect you.”

“Without being a dictator.”

He removed the flash drive Jacob had given her from his pocket and held it out. Was he offering her trust and giving her freedom to use her training?

“Do you want me to review what’s on there and give my opinion, or can I use it and work with the experts to find the cure?”

“What do you want?”

Oh my God. He was trying so hard. “I want to be part of the cure.”

He swallowed hard. “Swear you’ll use all safety precautions and not get exposed.”

“I will.”

He closed her palm around the flash drive. “You won’t get mad when one of my boys is with you all the time?”

The thought of being watched… She could live with it. “Okay.”

His hands wound around her, pulling her into him. His eyes darkened with an almost frightening intensity that was completely focused on her. God, she loved his face with its hard angles and planes…his sensual mouth, straight nose, and the goatee. His lips skimmed hers, but didn’t dive in for a deeper kiss. She moaned disappointment. His lips drifted down her neck, grazing his teeth on her skin. She held his head to her and stroked his hair.

She jerked when his hand pressed over her shoulder where Dominic’s knife hit. Surprisingly, she hadn’t bled much. Either Lexan’s blood or the shifting of forms gave her extra healing capacity.

Lexan pulled away. “What’s wrong?”

“Bit sore. Dominic got me, but it’s already better.”

He pulled up the borrowed shirt and ran his fingers over the area. “You’re right. It’s healing fast. You won’t even have a scar in a few hours. Incredible. Your body is settling into its real form. Soon, you won’t feel weakness like you have been. Most females would complain about the pain, but not you. You have the soul of a true warrior.”

His long lashes lifted and his pale blue eyes locked onto her. He made her feel sexy, beautiful, and so wanted. At the same time, she was desperate for his hands and mouth on her.

“I’m fine.”

“I’m in love with you, too. Every part of you. I think I fell a bit the first moment you entered the exam room and told me you’d send me to Animal Control if I bit someone.” His smoky voice wrapped warmth around her.

Her heart did a funny little twist in her chest.

He leaned in, his lips teasing hers until she opened. His tongue pressed between hers, deepening the kiss. He stopped without warning.

“What? Why stop?” she asked.

“I may have let you walk away when we were in Canada, but I never intended it as an ending.”