Chapter 15

The bath is empty. Even though I know I should not look at her, know that my attention bothers her, I cannot help the way my eyes are immediately drawn to the corner where my mate was naked only minutes before. Now her beautiful body is covered in pale grey fabric that hides her curves from me.

I've never hated fabric more in my life.

I set down the tray on the short table by the fire. Danielle looks from me to the tray, a small smile curving her lips. Such a small thing, her smile, but I cannot seem to get enough of them.

"That looks good," she says. Her voice is soft and a little sad.

"Are you alright?" I tilt my head, studying her. The firelight bathes her in warm light, turning her from beautiful into a work of art, all cheekbones and full lips and sensuous curves.

She shrugs, but her expression is pinched and tense.

Perhaps the blood drinkers and our horrible history upset her more than I knew. That must be why she wouldn't speak to me. Relief and regret war for my attention.

"I understand that hearing about the Butcher King and his people must have upset you. I am sorry if you are worried because of it." I shake my head and cover her hand in mine. The fresh scent of clean water and the citrus zest of the soap curls from her soft skin.

Making an indistinct noise, she bites her lower lip. My attention snags on it. The need to conquer her mouth drives through me. I could tug the full pink curve of it away from her teeth, suck on it myself, and hear her wild moan of pleasure again. The same soft sound she made when the water hid her body from me. She made the same sweet noise last night, and it might be the only sound I ever want to hear again. My cock grows hard at the memory. I fist my hands at my sides, resisting.

"That was unexpected, for sure." She finger-combs her hair, the strands wet and unruly.

I busy myself with preparing a hunk of bread for her, slathering it with fruit preserves I think she'll like. I hand it to her, watching her mouth close over it. Her eyes half-close in pleasure as she chews. Feeding her is not helping the hardness in my pants. I tear off a piece of bread for myself, frustrated.

"It's really interesting, though." Her voice picks up in intensity, and I risk a glance at her. She's drawn her legs under her, completely covered in the robe save for a small vee of skin displaying the hollow dip between her collarbones.

"How so?" Hope kindles fresh, and a jolt of affection surges through me.

"We have legends of vampires where I'm from, but I never thought they were real. Heck, I never thought magic was, either." She frowns, her attention on her fingers. "I wonder if… maybe there's something to the legends we have on Earth. Maybe some of the vampires were there, at one point. But then again, all legends are based in reality, aren't they? Comparative folklore was never my thing, so I could be making all this up as I go."

I'm silent, stuffing food into my mouth so I don't say the wrong thing. I like hearing her speak, I want to know what she's thinking about this place, about all she's learned today.

And I still haven't told her the part sure to sunder her from me.

"I wasn't sure you were telling the truth, you know?" She glances up at me.

I stop chewing, narrowing my eyes at her. She thinks I would willingly lie to her?

Isn't that exactly what I've done?

"About the powers, I mean." She tosses her hair, and a few strands stick to the smooth column of her neck, water dripping slowly down the vee of her robe, probably slicking down the sides of her soft breasts. My mouth goes dry, and I pour myself a glass of water.

"You have to admit," she's saying, "it sounds pretty convenient. Like, we'll have sex, and then I get magic powers?" She laughs, but there is no sign of real amusement on her face. "It sounds like some alternate dimension pick-up line."

"Pick-up?" I ask around another mouthful.

"Yeah, you know, like trying to get me to come with you."

"You were already home with me."

She sighs, covering her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking. A moment later, a laugh burbles out.

"You've got me there." She's looking at me through her fingers, and I put the food down, crossing the distance between us and uncovering her face as I kneel beside her.

"Danielle, tell me what worries you. You are not yourself since we met Castor and Kaus."

Her gaze slides towards the fire, to where her fingers are caught in mine. To anywhere but me. I step away, relinquishing my hold on her hands. I will not hold her here, if that is not what she desires. I need her happiness more than my own satisfaction.

She picks at the hem of the robe, revealing a muscled calf beneath. "I'm not sure I fully believed I wasn't having a psychotic break, or hallucinating, or something. But this is real. Everything you've told me is true," she waves a hand at me, her fingers grazing over my horns.

Guilt eats at me, and I open my mouth to tell her the rest, but she holds up a hand.

"And I need to thank you. For treating me so kindly, for being my friend."

Friend. The word is a dagger in my heart, twisting into the gristle and flesh, bleeding me dry. I am not her friend. I am her mate.

My nostrils flare as I inhale, trying for calm.

Fine. If that's how she feels about me, then I will tell her the rest. It will be easier, if she thinks of me like this. Like a friend.

"It is good that you think of me as a friend, because I must tell you one more thing." The words rush out of me in a turbulent storm, tripping over my tongue. "If we mate, you can no longer use the gates. Your power, your starlight, becomes tied to mine, and mine to yours. But if you think we are just friends, then that will never happen, no matter how much I need you, how much I care for you." I clamp my lips closed before any more escape.

She tilts her head, her damp hair falling over the side of her face. The fire paints her in reds and oranges. Everything about her is so appealingly powerful it physically hurts. I clench my jaw, rubbing at the back of my neck.

"You're angry?" Her tone is mild, if not slightly confused.

"Did you not hear what I said?" It must mean nothing to her, our mating. She must not be as affected as I thought. I slump into a chair, pressing my hands into my face.

"I heard a man, who has been kind and caring to me, say that if we have sex, I can't leave. Ever. Is that right?"

"Yes," I mumble.

"Hmm," is all she says.

Hmm? What does hmm mean? I raise my head, looking up at her. Instead of being angry, however, she seems thoughtful. Circles shadow under her eyes, and I berate myself as I realize how tired she must be.

"I will bathe. You should eat and go to sleep. We will start our journey home tomorrow, and then to one of the sacred caves, so you can try to unlock the gates and return home." The thought of her leaving nauseates me, and I stand quickly, walking over to the tub. I'll be alone, again, just as I have been since my parents died all those years ago. My chest aches, and I fist a hand over my heart, rubbing it slowly.

Instinct tells me to take her, to rip the robe from her slender shoulders and make her come, make her cry out my name. I cannot listen to this urge.

I will not touch her again unless she asks me to. If she ever does, if she ever wants me after she realizes the crucial information I've kept from her. I shake my head as I undress, turning the water back on, lost in thought.