“I don't.”
“If we're mates, you will.”
“And if we're not?”
“Then we will have this time together to cherish for the rest of our lives.”
“You will not be cherishing it if you're mated to another man.”
“One love does not negate another.”
“But you would leave me if you found your mate.”
“I would. And you would leave me knowing what it is to love. You would have that foundation to use with—” Falken went abruptly silent.
“What is it?”
“I don't like thinking about you with someone else.”
My eyes widened. “That's why you got upset about Arril.”
His jaw clenched, and he nodded. “It's not jealousy, exactly.”
“It's possessiveness.” I grimaced. “I will not be owned. Not inanyway.”
Falken made a frustrated sound and spun away from me. “Love makes possession different.” He turned back to face me. “It's not like owning a slave. If we fall in love, I will own your heart.”
I stiffened and backed away, fear jolting me out of romance.
He followed and grasped my hand. “But you would own mine too, Sevarin. That's how love works. It's an unspoken contract between two people. There are no terms needed because you both know that betraying your love would destroy you. I wouldn't control you, but I would own your heart, and I would expect you to respect that by being true to me, as I would be true to you.”
“And I would own your heart?” I frowned again, processing this new facet of possession. Could it be good? Not slavery, but a bond that can't be broken. “Mutually assured destruction.”
Falken chuckled. “In a way, yes. Other people call it heartbreak. Of course, if we mated, it would be accurate. You leaving would destroy me.”
I frowned deeper.
“These are things we don't need to worry about now.” He pulled me into his arms. “We can talk about it later.”
“But you said the things I'm feeling are leading toward love.” I pushed out of his embrace. “If that's true, I need to be prepared for it.”
“Love is not something you can prepare for, Sevarin. You just leap and hope that the person you love will catch you.”
I grimaced. “I don't think I like that analogy.”
Chuckling again, he pulled me back into his arms. “Think of this as one of your experiments, Master Alchemist. Can you prepare for every contingency?”
“No, but I can prepare for the most likely outcome.”
“Very well. Then prepare yourself to feel something so beautiful that nothing else can come close to it.” He nuzzled our lips together.
I leaned back. “What if we fall in love, and I'm not your mate?”
“I might never find my mate.” He shrugged. “Let's not worry about that now.”
“So, you would expect me to stay with you even if I wasn't your mate?”
“If we love each other, yes.”
