MaryAnn pushed back her chair and moved around the desk to lean her hip against the edge. “That’s what you want to talk about, isn’t it? You’re worried about Nicolae.”
“You said you have a talent. That you can read women. What do you see in me?” Destiny lifted her chin almost belligerently, her gaze steady on MaryAnn’s.
MaryAnn allowed her breath to escape her lungs in a rush. “Seeing things is not always comfortable. You’re certain you want me to tell you?”
Destiny shrugged with studied casualness. “I could just as easily read your mind, MaryAnn. But I respect you and, unless it is for your own protection or the protection of others, I would never violate the trust between us by reading your mind without permission.”
“I know you are tied in some way that I can’t understand to Nicolae. It is beyond the boundaries of the earth. And I know you were hideously abused and you fear that staying with him will somehow cause his destruction. Nicolae is a strong man. I’ve never encountered anyone with his sheer power.” MaryAnn tilted her head to one side, regarding Destiny carefully. “Why are you so certain you’re not just what Nicolae needs? I think you are. I think you’re exactly what he needs. I know you’re what he wants. Every time he looks at you that longing is in his eyes.”
Destiny waved MaryAnn’s remark aside. They had come full circle. She had already ranted about the way Nicolae looked at her, she didn’t need MaryAnn to point it out to her. She knew he wanted her, that he needed her. She also knew the price might be more than either of them could afford. She swept her hair away from her eyes. “There aren’t just a few small problems, MaryAnn.”
MaryAnn watched as Destiny threw herself carelessly into a chair, her legs stretched out in front of her. “I’m going to speak very plainly with you, Destiny.”
“Please do.” Destiny intended to speak plainly with MaryAnn.
“Women who have been raped or sexually abused as children have problems with intimacy. Those problems don’t just go away. And even when you think you’ve beaten the past, it will suddenly be there, between you. That’s a normal reaction, Destiny, and one to be expected.”
“I do expect it. Well, the chemistry between Nicolae and me is much more explosive than I had counted on. I had no idea it could be so strong. I also realize I don’t want to surrender control in any way. I’m honest enough with myself and with Nicolae to admit that.”
MaryAnn looked pleased. “As long as you understand that, you should be fine. Nicolae seems man enough to give you the space you need when you need it. You should be able to work out that aspect of your relationship.”
“You would think so.” Destiny sighed heavily. “But our attraction to one another is far more than just physical. We need to be together. We need to come together, physically as well as mentally. It’s part of what we are. I can’t explain it other than to say it’s intense and sometimes uncomfortable.”
“You find it uncomfortable?”
Destiny nodded, her small white teeth tugging at her lower lip. “He takes everything in stride. I’m the mess. It’s just so intense. There’s no other word. When I’m with him, I feel so out of control. It’s so frightening to be like that, to want someone so much you don’t care about anything but being with him.”
MaryAnn laughed softly. “Destiny, you don’t know yourself at all. You obviously care a great deal about this man or you wouldn’t be so worried that you’re in some way going to harm him. Do you think loving him or wanting him so intensely is going to hurt him?”
“My blood is tainted.” Destiny blurted it out, leaping to her feet to pace around the room again. Movement enabled her to avoid Mary Ann’s eyes.
There was a small silence. “Would you mind elaborating?”
Destiny gestured rather helplessly with her hands. “The vampire converted me. His blood was tainted and he tainted my blood. Sort of like a disease.”
MaryAnn frowned. “Sit down, Destiny. You’re making me nervous with your pacing. This is important and out of my realm of knowledge. Is the tainted blood dangerous to you?”