“I cannot remember ever having anything in my life that was mine. Anything or anyone that I wanted for myself. I hunted, yes. I did my duty to my people and the cost was great, but I knew the cost before I ever accepted the job.” That much was true. Every ancient had a choice. Every Carpathian male. They didn’t have to hunt the undead. They didn’t have to keep humanity safe. For Andre, it had been a calling, and he was good at it.
“Andre, you don’t have to tell me this,” she whispered softly.
The sound of her voice, so silky and threaded with concern, moved through his blood like a stream of molten gold. He could almost see musical notes in the air between them when she spoke in that tone.
“I want to tell you. I need you to understand what you are. Who you are. All those years I hunted, I knew there was only one woman and I looked for her—for you. I have found you. I knew the moment I heard your voice and felt your touch. The moment I looked at you. You cannot give a man like me the taste of paradise and then take it away. I do not work like that.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand what that means.”
“It means I want you to at least consider the possibility of getting to know me. Of letting us explore this situation with the idea we can have a future together.”
She bit her bottom lip, instantly drawing his attention to the full, tempting bow of her mouth. She didn’t think she was attractive or sexy and he found her both. Intensely so. Beneath the water, his body stirred. Grew hard. Thick. Full and painful. These were not things he was used to, but he didn’t attempt to block out the sensations. He was grateful for them. Grateful he could feel them. Grateful his woman had been given to him.
“I wouldn’t know what to do,” she admitted.
It wasn’t a firm no. If anything, she wanted to do just as he asked. He liked her personality. He liked the way she was compassionate and intrepid and willing to face her fears. And she was afraid. He could feel it. He had to resist the urge to tone it down for her. That wouldn’t be fair to her, but he knew if her fear grew much more, he would have no choice. He found there were some things a man like him couldn’t take. His woman being uncomfortable was one of them.
“I know what to do, Teagan. Give me a chance, that is all I am asking.” For now. He couldn’t say those words, but they hung in the air between them.
Her teeth bit down harder on her lower lip, and he suppressed a groan. He leaned toward her. “I am making an effort to go slow here, sivamet, but if you keep doing that, I will no doubt kiss you again and then things will heat up. You will be even more frightened. That will not be good.”
“What? What am I doing?”
“Biting your lower lip. Giving me ideas, and I have enough of my own.”
She blinked. Quit biting. Sent him a shy smile. “I like the idea of getting to know you better, Andre. I’m here for a month. I really do need to find a particular stone in order to facilitate healing my grandmother’s insanity. I also need to tell the authorities about Armend and where his body is so his family can have some closure. Hopefully the authorities can find some of the bodies of the women he killed and give their families closure as well. If you’re going to be up here . . .”
“I will be wherever it is you are,” he said firmly.
“Do you know these mountains?”
He nodded.
“Well, clearly I need a guide. We can spend time together while I’m hunting for the right stone.”
He leaned back, automatically adjusting the rock behind him to the contours of his body. For the first time since he’d found his lifemate, he fully relaxed. She’d agreed to stay with him. To get to know him. He planned on making very good use of that time.
“You haven’t told me anything about your family, Andre,” Teagan said.
“My immediate family is long gone,” he said. “But I have extended family. Quite a bit, actually. The three closest, those I would consider brothers, have left for the States. I grew up with them. Triplets. Matais, Lojos and Tomas. I was to join them, but I had one last hunt.”
“I thought you’d quit.”
“I had. It did not work out that way. I ran across the trail of a very dangerous killer. He is still up here somewhere.”
Her breath caught in her throat. He heard the soft gasp. “That’s why you were wounded. You caught up with him. Andre. Were you planning on . . .” She hesitated.
He opened his eyes. He felt her then, in his mind. He couldn’t throw her out after inviting her in, but he could lessen the impact of what she saw.
“You were hoping he took you with him when you killed him,” she said, in a soft voice that left his heart stuttering.
He shrugged. “Hunting and killing men is not an easy task, avio päläfertiilam. I have grown tired. And out of the blue, I find you. My greatest reward. The one thing I never expected to ever find. My savior.”
Her eyes searched his. He let her see it was true, both in his mind and his eyes. She lowered her long lashes, but he knew she was grateful he was alive.
“It is a strange thing to give up on life. To think one welcomes death only to find that had they allowed their life to slip away, their greatest happiness would never have been experienced. I want to have the opportunity to go to the States, find my brothers and tell them this. It is important they know. It is important they realize we cannot give up. Not ever. Our lives can change in an instant at the least expected moment.”