He shot a hard look at her. “And what?”
“What else is wrong? You have looked like crap ever since our argument at dinner.”
“The denied bond of a fated mate also weakens magical beings. ’Tis like a festering wound that eats us alive from the inside out.”
Alarmed, she moved closer, then almost cried out when he dodged her. “I did not deny our bondper se.”
“Ye said ye were leaving as soon as ye found the way to do so.” He turned and started walking away from the barrier in the direction of Sevenrest Hall. “If that is not a denial of our bond, I dinna ken what it is.”
She fell in step beside him. They were going to talk this out, whether he liked it or not. “You made me angry because you implied I had no worth.”
“I never said that,” he said, barking the words as he plodded along, scowling straight ahead.
“You as much as did when you told me people would die if you left your world, then asked if they would die when I left mine, knowing full well that they wouldn’t. I have worth.” She thumped her chest. “I am the only me in creation, and I have worth.”
He caught her by the shoulders and held her there. “I never meant ye had no worth. I would never say such a thing to ye. Not ever. Ye have worth, woman. More worth to me than ye could ever imagine. Can ye not understand how much I need ye to stay? Do ye feel nothing for me at all?” Chest heaving as if he was still out of breath, he gently shook her and moved closer. “I have not had a moment’s peace since discovering ye were the other half of my soul and having ye fight it. I dinna understand how ye canna feel the same. How can ye deny the bond between us?”
She wanted to sob, to throw herself into his arms and tell him she felt the same. It was just that she was afraid of so many things. This situation was not as simple as choosing to risk her heart in a relationship. This bond, thismating,could cost her everything she had ever known. She hit him in the chest, failing to shove him away. “I feel it, damn you, but it scares the living daylights out of me. This relationship, thisbond,comes at a high price that I’m afraid to pay.”
He stared at her for a long moment, barely shaking his head. “Aye, the cost is dear, I grant ye that. But the reward…the contentment…the bliss. Do ye never grow weary of that lonely darkness eating away at yer core?”
“Every. Damn. Day.” She touched her scars. “You think I don’t know lonely? Think I don’t know darkness? I could write a fifty-pound book on the subject.” She hit her chest, then the center of his chest, not quite as hard this time. “Right there hurts all the time. Aches like someone poured acid into my core, and I’m slowly smoldering until nothing is left but ash.” Again, she thumped herself, then him. “I can’t imagine a day without you, but I also can’t imagine a day with you. A year. A lifetime in this strange place. I can’t fathom never seeing my home or my friends ever again.”
“Then what do we do, lass?” he asked in a sad, rasping whisper. “What the feckin’ hell do we do?”
She yanked free of his hold and started walking. “I don’t know.”
He caught her by the arm, whirled her about, and crushed his mouth to hers, kissing her with an explosive intensity that shook her to her core. Melting into him, she struggled to remain standing. This kiss…she couldn’t form a thought as he increased the pressure of his lips on hers. It was…so…his desperation crashed into her, his longing, his hopelessness. It was the hopelessness that finished her. She couldn’t bear it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him harder, opening her mouth to his and welcoming him inside. Fingers tangled in his hair, she held on tight to keep from dropping into a boneless pile ofoh my goodnessat his feet. This kiss…damn, this kiss was…indescribably perfect.
“I need ye,” he rasped against her mouth. “Stay with me, I beg ye.”
How could she stay? But holy crap, how in the world could she ever leave? This connection that throbbed between them with a beating heart all its own. How could she toss that aside and never look back?
It was simple. She couldn’t.
“I…”
He nibbled across her mouth, then gently sucked on her bottom lip, making it impossible to form a coherent sentence. “Say it, I beg ye,” he said, his whisper rumbling louder.
She clutched him tighter. “I need you too.”
He lifted his head and stared down at her, cradling her face between his hands. “Repeat after me, my love.”
She nodded.
“Heart of my heart.”
“Heart of my heart.”
“Soul of my soul.”
“Soul of my soul.” She pulled in a deep, shuddering breath and swallowed hard against the stirring in the center of her chest where she kept all her emotions neatly boxed away.
“We reunite,” he said, “to never let go.”
She swallowed hard again. “We reunite. To never let go.”
“Blood of my blood,” he said, raising his voice as the storm raged louder. “Bone of my bone.”
