His arms were like steel, holding her safe, his body moving aggressively in hers, yet he was so heartbreakingly tender, his mouth warm and loving on her skin. “Stop crying, angel. You have to stop now,” he whispered against her rain-soaked hair. “We can get through anything as long we are together. I cannot ever be without you. You are the air I breathe. You are in my soul, my heart. Look into my mind, into my memories, see my life, empty and endless without you. You could never contemplate such a thing if you knew the way I needed you. I cannot be alone again.”
“I didn’t know what I was doing,” she denied.
He believed her. Her mind had been so chaotic, so filled with sorrow that she was running blindly, without real thought. Not once had she been thinking about destroying what she had become. Her thoughts had been centered solely on the tragedy. He found he could take a real breath, forcing air into his lungs, allowing his heart to beat once more. “You will never do such a thing again.” His hips were moving in a rhythm to match the ferocity of the storm.
Jaxon found her tears slowing as fire spread through her body, spread through his. Flames leaped higher and higher, reaching toward the heavens, reaching into the clouds above them so the jagged bolts of lightning danced with them, through them. She heard her cries blend with his as they exploded together, clinging to each other like two frightened children as their hearts and lungs worked frantically to keep pace with their soaring bodies.
Jaxon lay against him, huddling as close to him as possible for comfort, unable to control the storm of tears any more than she had been able to control the firestorm of need sweeping through both of them. She felt his body tremble, shudder, and his arms clasped her more tightly than ever. She felt his tears in his mind, the agony of fear, the mounting terror as he realized what she had nearly done.
Then it was Jaxon providing comfort to Lucian, framing his head in her hands, covering his face with kisses. “I didn’t mean to do such a foolish thing, Lucian. It wasn’t because of you or what I am. I wasn’t thinking properly. It had nothing to do with us. I just couldn’t bear bringing so much death to so many families.”
“Jaxon, Jaxon,” he said softly, his pain tearing at her. “What am I going to do with you? And how many times must I remind you that you are not the one responsible for these deaths? You do things so impetuously, without thought. You think to throw away such a beautiful, important life, even though you would not have died had you gone over the cliff.”
She blinked up at him. “What do you mean?”
“Had I not caught you or merged with you to float you down or stopped you in some other way than I did, had you really gone over and your body hit bottom, you would have suffered terribly with broken bones and internal injuries, but your body would not permit your death any more than mine would. Our people often sustain mortal injuries, but the earth heals us quickly.”
She pressed her face against his chest, unwilling to talk about it anymore. It was too difficult to assimilate the information he was giving her with her mind in such chaos. Only then did she realize that her skin was beginning to tingle in spite of the fierce storm blanketing the area and dulling the effects of the rising sun. And the burning in her eyes was increasing with each passing second. She put a hand over her eyes as he allowed her feet to touch the ground. It felt as if a thousand needles were brushing at her eyes with murderous tips. She bit down hard on her lower lip and burrowed her face closer against his chest. “Lucian, about that speed thing you like to do? Now would be a perfect time.”
Lucian could also feel the effects of the sun on his skin despite the dark clouds veiling the sun. Scooping Jaxon into his arms, he moved with his preternatural speed so that space swirled around them and the rain lashed at the empty air left in their wake. Lucian entered the house from the second-story balcony and kept his hold on Jaxon until he had glided through the house to the lower chamber, where the sun’s rays could not possibly reach them. Only then did he allow the storm to begin to subside.