“You can’t possibly want more.” He had made love to her often and thoroughly throughout the last few hours. She wasn’t altogether certain she could move.
He ran a teasing finger down her flat stomach. “I always want more. Insatiable is the word.” He sighed and reluctantly stood and stretched. “I want you to stay here while I go feed. You will be safe.”
One eyebrow lifted. “How do you know that? Don’t all Carpathians know of this place? I should go with you.” She wanted to keep him safe from any harm. If Rand was the vampire, he hated Jacques above all others.
Jacques made certain no expression showed on his face. Shea had the illusion she was still taking care of him. Her protective streak sent unexpected warmth flowing through him. He loved that in her. He wasn’t stupid enough to give away his knowledge that she wouldn’t harm a fly. “If you made the effort to learn how to scan, you would know if any Carpathians were in the vicinity. Because we are here, no others would invade our privacy,” he said gruffly.
“The vampire can cloak himself, or have you forgotten?” she asked suspiciously. “I think it is more likely that you are going out hunting.”
Jacques ruffled her hair gently. “I am going to feed, little red hair. It is not my job to hunt the vampire. Gregori has been chosen for that. I do not envy him the job. As for the vampire bothering you, I can find no trace of him when I scan, and you display no uneasiness. Stay here and wait for me. I already know where I can find food. It will take only minutes.”
Shea glared up at him. “You had better not be deceiving me.”
“It is impossible for lifemates to lie to one another.” He stretched again and bent to kiss her upturned face. “Do not wander off, Shea. And stay in touch with me. I do not want any nasty surprises when I return. In any case, if you stay in touch with me, you will see that I am telling the truth. I go only to feed.”
She stretched out beside the hot springs and dangled her fingers idly in the water. Her body was pleasantly sore. The truth was, she didn’t want to move. “All right, wild man, but it isn’t me who’s constantly finding trouble. And if you run into Rand, just leave.” She turned over, completely oblivious of offering up her body to him. “He may be my biological father, and like any child I may have had my fairy-tale fantasies about the perfect daddy, but I don’t want you to take any chances. I’ve been thinking a lot about this.”
“About what?” he encouraged, wanting her to sort it out for herself.
“The reason I can feel the vampire even though he can cloak himself. The reason I felt the humans when Raven couldn’t.”
“We should have been able to detect them,” Jacques said, inviting her to tell him more. He hunkered down beside her. Shea had an exceptional brain, and, given sufficient time, he knew she would be able to put her emotions aside and contribute much to the solution to their problems.
“Blood. Isn’t that how everything works? All the bonds and mental telepathy? Don’t you track each other through blood exchanges? Isn’t that why the men rarely exchange blood? Rand hasn’t exchanged with any of you, has he?”
Jacques shook his head. “No, he was very careful never to do such a thing. But then, he had a lifemate. He did not need to share; and there was no chance of his turning.”
“But Noelle wasn’t really his lifemate, was she? He always knew it, even if no one else did. Later, perhaps, you all realized he couldn’t be her true lifemate, but he had already established a habit of never exchanging blood. He knew there was always the chance he might turn, so he protected himself.” Shea felt she was redeeming her mother. “Maggie was his lifemate. Mikhail told us Rand had risen only a couple of years ago and kept to himself. That was after the vampire murders had taken place.”