Andra stepped between the men, praying that Iain kept that lethal blade off her skin. “It’s not going to happen, big boy,” she told Paul. She forced him to look down at her, distracting him from the need to hurt Iain.
He stared at Iain, breathing hard, his color high. He still wasn’t listening.
Andra pressed her hands to Paul’s chest, digging her fingers in just enough to get him to listen. “I’m tired. Take me back to your place.”
That got his attention. He blinked a couple of times and gave her a tight nod.
“Stay away from my woman,” warned Paul.
“As long as she’s yours, I will,” said Iain.
Andra ignored the possessive comment in favor of averting disaster. She’d talk to Paul later about the fact that she was her own woman, but now, she needed to get him out of here. “Please, Paul,” she said, letting her fatigue come through in her tone. “I need to lie down.”
She tugged on him and finally he started to leave. Andra peeked over her shoulder as they exited the room and those watchful black eyes were locked right onto her. There was no warmth inside that man. None at all. If she hadn’t seen his blood for herself, she would have sworn he had ice flowing inside his veins.
Chapter 22
Paul needed to stake his claim—make sure Andra knew that he wasn’t letting her go to another man. Not while he drew breath.
It wasn’t going to end with her the way it had with Kate.
Paul led Andra by the hand, pulling her down the hall faster than was comfortable for her. He forced himself to slow down and take her fatigue into account. It wasn’t her fault that Iain was compatible with her.
He could feel fine tremors of worry and weariness cascading down her arm. The Theronai inside him demanded that he take action and force her to relax, but the man understood there was little he could do to make that happen, short of making Nika whole again.
“What was that all about?” she asked him. “Why did that guy leave a mark on my hand?”
“So he could find you later.”
“Why would he need to find me?”
The last thing he wanted to do was tell her the truth, but he owed her at least that much. “Once our time together is up, you’ll be free to bond with another man if you want. Iain wants to make sure that he’s able to find you when that happens.”
“What if I don’t want to be attached to anyone for a while?”
“I’d like to be able to tell you that it’s your choice, but times are desperate. Iain will do anything in his power to convince you to be with him.” He paused, debating whether or not to tell her the rest. In the end, he couldn’t hold back. “So will I.”
“We still have some time before I have to think about that. Right now, I’ve got enough to deal with.”
“First, you need to get some rest. You’re exhausted, and that ceremony couldn’t have been easy on you.”
“Can we go outside and get some fresh air first? I just want to feel normal again for a few minutes.”
“Sure. Whatever you want.”
Andra nodded and followed behind him through his suite and out the sliding glass door. It was already hot, and the air was warm and heavy with humidity. The grounds were well tended, and flowers bloomed nearby, making the air smell sweet. There were no unnatural noises—no traffic, no flight patterns above to ruin the solitude of their home.
Paul pulled in a deep breath and tried to convey a sense of peace to Andra through their link.
She clutched at his hand and wrapped her free hand around his wrist, as if worried he’d try to pull away. He could feel the soft press of her br**sts above his elbow, feel the rapid beat of her heart, subtle but strong against his skin.
“It’s nice out here,” she said. “Private.”
He’d never enjoyed it so much as he did now, with her. “You’ll always be welcome at Dabyr. No matter what happens.”
“I think Nika will like it here when she wakes up.”
Not if, but when. At least Andra hadn’t lost her sense of hope. That was good.
“I’m sure she will.”
She leaned against his shoulder and Paul wanted to shout with joy. Not only was she touching him, but she was looking to him for comfort. Needing him, if only a little.
He couldn’t let her down, so he looped his arm around her and hugged her close. He stroked her arm and let out a deep, satisfied breath, letting her feel his sense of satisfaction and utter rightness. If he never got anything more from her, this gift of trust she offered would always be with him to ease him in his final days.
“There’s a kind of peace about this place, isn’t there?” she asked.
“There is. The Gerai make it a beautiful home for us. And it’s safe here. Nothing can harm you here with so many Sentinels around.”
She looked up at him. Her eyes were bloodshot. It was a sure sign she’d been using his power, straining herself. He hadn’t felt the tug of energy leave his body, so she must not have been using very much. Then again, their conduit was still too new, so she could get only a trickle out of him.
Maybe the trust she was showing him now by letting him see her weak would help that change. He could hope.
“When Nika is better, you’ll let her stay here, won’t you?” she asked.
“Of course. We want both of you to stay.”
She looked away then, but didn’t pull away. She stayed pressed up against his body, letting him hold her. “I’ll come visit, but I can’t live here.”
“Why not?”
“I need to work. I can’t let any more children end up like my sisters.”
“So, we’ll work together. We got Sammy back, didn’t we?”
He felt something rising up inside her—something that scared her and had done so for so long she didn’t even notice it anymore. He tried to figure it out, but she blocked him, shutting him out. Paul didn’t even think she realized what she was doing. It was like she was so used to hiding this facet of herself that she didn’t even need to try.
“Are you poking around up there again?” she asked. Her fingers slid up his chest and toyed with the collar of his shirt.
“Maybe a little.”
“See anything interesting?”
“Always. Everything about you intrigues me.”
He felt her soften against him a little, lean a little harder against him, trusting him to hold her steady. Paul closed his eyes and reveled in her trust, as small as it was.
“Who is Torr?” she asked. “The man Grace was talking about?”
“He’s a Theronai. One of our strongest, most capable fighters.”
“What’s wrong with him?”
Paul’s chest tightened with grief. “He was injured the night we found Grace and her brother and rescued them from the Synestryn.”
Andra patted his arm, soothing him. “What happened?”
“He was poisoned by a Synestryn we’ve never seen before. None of the Sanguinar know how to cure him, and he’s been paralyzed from the neck down ever since.”
“Poor man,” breathed Andra. “I wish there was something we could do to help.”
“Me, too.”
“Why didn’t Grace want you to go see him?” she asked.
Paul’s arms tightened around Andra. She was more precious than she realized in so many ways. “I’ve found you. Seeing that is only going to make things harder for him.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s trapped. He can’t go out and look for a woman like you for himself. Unless the Sanguinar find a way to heal him, he’s going to be stuck here, dependent on the care of others until he dies. He’s a proud man. That must be a kind of living hell.”
“Maybe the Sanguinar will figure out how to help him like they will with Nika.”
“Maybe.” Hope was a powerful thing, but it was in damn short supply right now.
She turned in his embrace until she was facing him. “You don’t think they can help him, do you?”
Paul sighed. “They’ve been trying for weeks now with no success. Even with all the blood donations they’ve been getting, they just aren’t powerful enough to fix everything.”
“Once they fix Nika, I’ll give Tynan my blood for him.”
She was so generous, so strong, so beautiful. He couldn’t help but love her.
Paul wasn’t sure she could handle any heartfelt confessions right now, so he kept his feelings to himself. If she bothered to look, she’d see how he felt about her.
He cupped her cheek, reveling in the smoothness of her skin. “That would be good. Thank you.”
“It’s the least I can do.”
Paul watched her mouth move and wished like hell he was kissing her.
“Your job is dangerous,” she said. Her fingers slid up into his hair and she tugged his head down close to hers. “If anything . . . bad ever happened to you, I’d want someone to call me so I could come back and help you, too.”
She was already talking about leaving as if it were a foregone conclusion. She wasn’t even thinking about staying.
Make her stay. . . . Tie her to you.
It was Joseph’s order and exactly what Paul wanted. He wanted her tied to him so tightly she wouldn’t be able to tell where she stopped and he started.
But what about what she wanted?
Make her want it.
He could do it. He just wasn’t sure he should. His people needed her, but it wasn’t his right to force her to do anything. Was it?
Paul closed his eyes to block out the sight of her. She was too tempting to his senses. Even with his eyes closed he could still smell her skin, warmed by the night air. His own body heated in response and he felt a fine sweat bead up along his brow.
He’d never do anything to hurt her. Not even for his brothers. But what was the harm in using his abilities to convince her she wanted to stay? Nika would be here, so she could be close to her sister. She’d be safer here than she would back in Omaha. He had plenty of money at his disposal, so he could give her material things, too. Not that those seemed to be important to her, but she might enjoy them. She’d be surrounded by friends, always cared for. Always loved.
“Paul? You okay?”
She sounded worried, but Paul couldn’t bring himself to speak. This decision was too important and he was hovering on the edge.
Her fingers settled against his jaw. He hadn’t shaved today and he was probably poking her skin with his beard. She didn’t seem to mind.
He wondered if she’d mind his beard rasping against her br**sts and belly as he kissed her. Maybe the inside of her thighs.
She shivered in his arms and let out a little moan of need.
He realized then that she’d slid into his thoughts, trying to figure out what was wrong when he didn’t answer her. She’d seen the images that danced in his head— images of her laid out nak*d before him, flushed and rosy from his mouth.
Paul stood as still as a Sentinel stone. If he so much as flinched, she might run the other way. He wanted her too much, and in a way she could hardly begin to understand, based on her human upbringing.