Jacques actually felt the curious melting in the region of his heart, the surge of heat that rushed through his bloodstream.
Little one, why do you persist in fighting me? His voice, whispering so softly in her mind, was filled with tenderness. Do you know what will happen to you without me?
Her entire being responded to the velvet caress of his voice, the rising tide of love. If he had continued to argue and chastise, she would have had a chance, but the moment he spoke in that tender, caressing way, she was lost. At once she felt overwhelming despair. She could never be free of him, never.
Is that such a terrible fate, love? His voice turned her heart over. To be with me? This time there was a single thread of hurt. Am I truly such a monster then?
I don’t know how to be with you. 1 feel trapped, like I can’t move or think. Shea pressed her fingers to her temple, her back to the tree. I don’t want to need you. I don’t want to be with any of them.
He was moving steadily toward her, not fast, not slow. The rain drove down on his broad shoulders, glistened off his back. The coolness only added to the gathering heat in his body. She seemed small and defenseless. With each step into the night, with the soil beneath his feet, and the ancient’s blood flowing in his veins, his strength grew.
I need you just to breathe, Shea, he admitted starkly. I am sorry that terrifies you. I wish that I had more control, but I cannot be alone like that, not ever again. I try to keep my presence in you but a shadow. Perhaps with time I can let go a bit. Being with me terrifies you, but being without you terrifies me. A note of amusement crept in. We are so compatible.
Shea knew he was coming toward her; she could tell by the way her heart pounded in anticipation, the way her body came alive. She buried her face in the crook of her arm, hanging on grimly to the branch above her. You don’t know me, Jacques.
I am in you. I know you. You are afraid of me, of what I can do. You are afraid of my instability, my power. You fear what I am and what you have become. Yet you are strong and determined that no harm shall come to me. You know your brain is excited at the possibilities of the existence of our race. His laughter was soft and inviting. I am your lifemate, bound to treasure you, cherish and protect you. Always see to your happiness. And you have the same abilities as I.
Your first thought was to force me back to you, she accused him.
Shea, my love, you never think to scan, never check for danger. And you cannot exist without me. It is my duty and my right to protect you.
What happens to me if you die? What happens to you if I die? She knew the answer; she had watched her mother’s empty life. This is obsession. She said the words aloud so that the wind could carry them through the mountains. “I won’t be like her.” She lifted her face to the driving rain so that the drops ran down her face like tears. It was too late. She couldn’t survive without Jacques. Wasn’t she just like her mother after all?
He came out of the night so beautifully male that he took her breath away. His black eyes moved over her possessively, curiously predatory.
Shea shook her head. “I’m not strong enough, Jacques.” The wind whipped at her, nearly drove her sideways.
“Choose life for us, Shea, for our children. I will not be easy to live with, but I swear to you, no one could love you more. I will do anything to make you happy.”
“Don’t you see? You can’t make another person happy. I’m the only one who can do that for myself. And I can’t do this.”
“You are just afraid. We both have some problems, Shea. You fear the intimacy and I lack of it. It is simply a matter of meeting somewhere in the middle.”