“Remember when I said that immortal humans don’t gain any extra powers?” he asked.
She released his hands and reached for her wineglass. “It was two minutes ago, Raine. Yes, I remember.”
“Sarcasm isn’t necessary,” he drawled. “Unlike most immortals, when a female human mates a Maxwell, both parties get stronger. Freakishly more powerful, especially the immortal. But the female gains strength and abilities that most don’t, and that has to be kept a secret from others in order to keep her safe.”
She thought about it. “So the danger is in being exposed? So what? You already have that.”
“I’m aware,” he said. “That’s not all.”
Of course not. Why would that be all? “Just tell me,” she sighed.
“Unlike most matings, the chromosomal exchange in this situation, inmysituation, creates a relationship based on need. While most immortals don’t require the exchange of blood, Maxwells depend on it. If you mated me, we’d have to exchange blood forever. If you wanted to leave me, you couldn’t. And part of that, Mariana, is a power you’d give me over you. You’d need me with a desperation you can’t even imagine.”
She swallowed. Had he meant that to sound sexual? It sounded very sexual. “Sounds like the Maxwell mates have had love and a whole lot of trust in the past.”
He shook his head. “Two of my brothers are mated, and it isn’t happy or good. Their mates can’t stand them, and yet they have to meet up and exchange blood. I think they can work it out, but it’s not my business. It can get ugly, Mariana. Very.”
She ground a palm into her eye to ward off the headache. “Let me get this straight. My options are to go on the run from the Kurjans because they know I exist. If they find me, they’ll probably force me to mate, which sounds horrible.” She took a big gulp of her wine, finishing it. “Or I mate you, get a whole slew of new abilities, have to meet up with you every once in a while so we can, what? Bite each other?”
He nodded.
Gross. She looked at the empty wine glass. “In doing so, you’ll have a hold on me I might not break free of, if I wanted to. There’s a chance I wouldn’t want to break free. What’s the danger to you, Raine?”
“You could kill me,” he said simply.
She sucked in a breath. “Excuse me?”
“If you refused your blood, I’d die. While I might control your body, you’d control my very life.”
“I’d never do that,” she protested. “Hypothetically to all of this, though.”
His smile was tender. “I know. However, if you were captured and kept from me, I’d die. Mating me puts an even bigger bounty on your head than would running from the Kurjans, because we have enemies you can’t imagine.”
Something in his tone alerted her. “You’ve seen it happen.”
“Yes. More than once. It ended up being torture for both mates, and both eventually died. A horrible death. Our enemies are worse than the Kurjans, and the second I mate you, they’re your enemies as well. Your life would be confined to being next to me no matter what, and while you think that’s easy, you’re far more independent than you realize.”
She already knew that. So she’d be giving up this life for one of danger…but it was her choice. “It isn’t fair for you to make that choice for me.”
He shook his head. “I can keep you safe from the Kurjans and get you a new identity. I can’t risk a prolonged and tortuous death for you.”
She needed more wine. “Would you risk it for you?”
One of his dark eyebrows rose. “In a heartbeat.”
“Then it’s my decision, right?” What in the hell was she saying? This was crazy. The entire world had turned upside down in one day. How was it even possible?
“No. It’s mine.”
There he went again. She leaned toward him. “Do you have fangs?”
“Yes.” He let them drop, and they were sharply deadly.
Wow. She watched as he retracted them. “That’s incredible. If we mated, would I get fangs?”
He shook his head. “No.”
She sat back, her mind reeling. “Wait a minute. Is Tabi an immortal?” The woman had never seemed quite human, actually.
