Ancelin pressed her forehead against his collarbone."I'm sorry about that episode.For a moment I was...elsewhere.Back there.With them."She shivered."I'm okay now.Not crazy, I promise."
"I never thought you were."His fingers brushed her arm."Someday, you'll tell me what shadows follow you."
He found a flashlight in the darkness and pressed it into her hands before searching for a candle.
"Is this your first tornado?"she asked.
"Yes, but I've prepared for one.This planet has unpredictable weather patterns."
“You’re prepared for everything.”Ancelin smiled.
"No, not really.I wasn’t expecting you at all.But I’m glad you’re here with me."His voice was full of sincerity.
"I can’t really hear much from down here.How will we know when the storm ends?"
"I can hear it.I’ll know when it’s over.Let’s lie down and rest.There’s nothing we can do right now, just wait and see what’s left when it's all over."
"My house might not be standing after this.What will I do?"Ancelin mused more to herself than to Krevan.
"You’ll stay with me.You won’t need that house.I couldn’t let you be there alone and unprotected.I’d have to keep an eye on you constantly.I’ll take care of you now.I want to be with you often, to be close to you," Krevan confessed."I told you that you needed a protector.That's me now."Krevan lay back on the cot beside her, and she nestled closer.Strangely, she appreciated his assertiveness and open honesty.
"Krevan, it feels a little early for us to be together like that.I don’t want to take advantage of you."
Krevan burst into a joyful laugh.This sudden laughter from the usually serious alien seemed unusual.His laughter was so infectious that Ancelin began to giggle too."Why are you laughing like that?"Ancelin pulled a funny face at Krevan, who looked at her with his now-familiar, otherworldly eyes.
"You’re beautiful, even when you make funny faces."His eyes flickered between the candlelight and their natural gleam."I haven’t laughed like this in years.You make me happy.I feel good with you."He lifted her up and placed her on top of him."How could you possibly take advantage of me?"His tone was incredulous.He looked up into her eyes."Do you want a blanket?"
"The blanket can wait."Ancelin nestled against him, her body softening."You're like a furnace anyway."She traced a finger along his collarbone."Every night for the past year, I've jolted awake at 3 AM, sheets damp with sweat.The doctors offered pills—little blue ones for sleep, white ones for the daytime terrors.I just wanted to outrun it all."Her voice caught."Two nights before it happened, at my graduation party, Mom squeezed my shoulders and said, 'Baby, your real life is just starting.'Forty-eight hours later, my whole family was gone."She pressed her cheek against his chest, timing her breath with his."Sometimes she still visits me, right before dawn breaks."Her eyelids grew heavy as his warmth enveloped her."I don't want you thinking I'm clinging to you because I'm broken.But I’m grateful I found you."
"It seems we've both been to our segments of Hell."Tenderly, he stroked her back with his hand.Ancelin shivered under his touch."Ancelin, it would be hard for you to take advantage of me."Krevan's crooked smile faded as he gazed into the darkness beyond the flashlight’s reach."I can help you escape from your nightmares and your hell."His voice dropped to a whisper."But I'll also have to tell you how I escaped mine."
Chapter 3
The tornado screamed overhead like a wounded beast.Ancelin jerked awake, disoriented, before realizing she was wrapped in Krevan's arms, her nightmares temporarily silenced by his presence.Each time the wind howled, his muscles tensed around her protectively.When her breathing deepened, he carefully extracted himself and tucked the blanket around her shoulders.She curled into it like a child, eyes fluttering open to watch him through the candlelight.
"You fled one nightmare only to find yourself in another," he murmured, candlelight dancing in his eyes.
The house creaked against the storm's assault.Krevan stood and made his way to the staircase, pausing with his hand on the railing.When he looked back at Ancelin curled on the cot, his features softened.Before he could stop himself, he was beside her again."The house can be rebuilt," he said, kneeling beside her.His voice dropped lower."After what happened between us, you're mine now.For a Triaxen, this means something sacred."His fingers hovered above her cheek without touching."We have mated.I know your human mind doesn't yet comprehend."
Ancelin's face flushed hot in the darkness.
"I've never experienced such a connection," he continued, "and I won't let anything threaten it—or you—ever again."Krevan settled into the small chair beside her cot, his gaze never leaving her.
Ancelin drifted into sleep, and when she stirred again, she found him with his eyes closed, his breathing deep and even."Krevan," she whispered, her fingertips grazing his knee.His eyes snapped open—molten silver in the dim light—and a primal hiss escaped through bared fangs.Ancelin scrambled backward, pressing herself against the wall, clutching the blanket to her chest like armor.
"Ancelin..."His voice softened as awareness returned.He moved to the cot and extended his hand."Forgive me.I very seldom sleep so deeply.When you touched me..."He shook his head."I'll learn your presence.I won't react that way again."He brushed a strand of hair from her face."My fangs aren't meant to hurt you."
Something in his gentleness drew her forward.She inched toward him until his arms enveloped her.The comfort she'd been searching for these past months had found her in this shelter; with this alien male whose intimidating exterior concealed such tenderness for her.
"You're safe now," he murmured against her hair."Do you trust me?"
She met his gaze."Yes."The word came easily, surprising her."I don't understand how I feel this way so quickly, but I do trust you.More than anyone in...I’ve felt alone for so long.”
She lifted her face to his.Their lips met, and against his powerful frame, she trembled.
"I enjoy kissing you.Ancelin, let's make love again, right here, right now.Let me be part of you like before.I want to relive that moment.It was the most incredible experience I've ever had.We were interrupted by the storm and couldn't finish our time together.You've awakened something in me, freeing me from my own limitations."
"Krevan, can we wait a bit?Just hold me and kiss me for now.I want to be with you again, too, but the storm has me on edge.I really need a warm bath to calm down.Maybe when the storm passes, we can take a bath together.I noticed the large tub in the bathroom.We could have some fun there," Ancelin suggested, gently touching his firm, muscular arms.
