“You won’t think that when you findoutwhat—”
“Jewel!” Dalton’s voice rose above her growing protests. “I know.Iknow.”
She gasped as if he’d punched her in the stomach and tried to pull away, but Dalton wasn’t about to lethergo.
“You know what, exactly?” she asked, sounding very much like she didn’t actually want theanswer.
“I know that you left with Volcan to sacrifice yourself for your friends. I know you tried to protect me by pushing me away. I know that you were forced to change Anna into a witch because his magic demanded it even though it sickened you to do so. I know you think you’re evil because part of you craves the knowledge and power. I know you’ve lost your mother, and you haven’t had time to grieve for her. I know you’ve been tortured and in some ways brainwashed. I know you’ve killed eight women because of the dark magic Volcan forced into you.” As he spoke, he put his hand gently around her jaw and held her head still, forcing her to look into his eyes. “I know, and I love youstill.”
She started to shake her head as tears filledhereyes.
“I know it all, and I am still here. And it will take Volcan and one hell of an army to remove me from your side. I know, Jewel, and I still see the beautiful person you are.” Her body was trembling as she fought to keep her composure. He hated to be the cause of her tears, but he needed her to understand with totally clarity what he was telling her. “You are my true mate, Jewel Stone. You hold the other half of my soul, and I hold yours. We are at our best when we are together. We are at our strongest when we are working together. I go where you go. Do yougetme?”
Shenodded.
“I want to hear it, Little Dove.Tellme.”
“Yes, I understand,” she coughed outbetweensobs.
“You understand what?” His grip tightened on her, and he pulled her closertohim.
“You go—” She paused and bit her lip. She started to shakeherhead.
“DAMMIT JEWEL,SAYIT.”
“You go where I go.” Shebreathedout.
“Say it again,” hedemanded.
“You go whereIgo.”
“Again.”
“You go whereIgo.”
Dalton leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, and he felt his own tears mingle with hers. His voice shook as he spoke, but his words were clear. “I. Go. Where.You.Go.”
She stared up into his eyes and he saw it, the moment she really grasped it. “Tohell?”
“I go whereyougo.”
“Across the world on a quest for anevilfae?”
“I go whereyougo.”
“To a cemetery to bury mymother?”
“I go whereyougo.”
“To the same store a thousand times to see if the shoes I want have come in? To the movies to see the same movie we’ve seen five other times since it came out because I love it so much?” Her hands were gripping his shoulders, and her words were coming out faster and faster as she continued to come to terms with what he was telling her. The tears still ran down her cheeks, her face was flushed, and her eyes sported dark circles, yet still she was beautiful. “To the bathroom to hold my hair back while I throw up because I drank too much for the first time in my life and I just wanted to see what it was like and you insisted that I do it with you where I was safe? To visit the other healers because I miss them like crazy once they have gone to live with their own mates?” She paused and placed both hands on either side of his face. This time she spoke slowly but with just us much passion as she stared up at him. “To the end of our story, to look back with me on the life we hadtogether?”
Dalton’s gut clenched as emotions overwhelmed him. “To all of those places, Little Dove, because I go whereyougo.”
She closed her eyes and relaxed in his arms. She let him hold her up, relying completely on his strength and trusting he wouldn’t let her fall. She may not have realized it, but Dalton saw the significance in her physicalsurrender.
“When we wake up, I might need you to tell me again,” she whispered against hischest.
“I will tell you as often as you need,” he said, pressing a kiss to her hair and breathing in her preciousscent.
