Lucian could feel her answering pain. That is the problem, honey. You have way too much compassion in you. You are not responsible for his feelings.
He’s my partner, and I owe him my loyalty. Our little charade will hurt him. I’m telling him it isn’t really true, she said defiantly.
“Jaxx?” Barry prompted, his eyes steady on her face.
“You know how difficult my life has been, Barry,” she began reluctantly, not sure just what to say.
Lucian’s wide shoulders filled the doorway. He was dressed impeccably in a tailored suit, his long hair, as shiny black as a raven’s wing, pulled back and secured with a leather thong at the nape of his neck. He took her breath away. His very presence filled the room. He moved easily, fluidly, power clinging to him as he flowed across the floor to bend down and brush the top of her head with a kiss. The touch of his lips made her feel slightly faint. Then her heart found the slow, calming rhythm of his.
“Good evening, angel. I see you are allowed to visit with your partner. Barry, I am Lucian Daratrazanoff, Jaxon’s fiance. Please allow me to thank you for saving her life.”
Barry turned his steady gray eyes back to Jaxon’s face accusingly
Lucian sat on the edge of the bed, his large body crowding protectively close to hers. “Jaxon wanted to tell you about me; she agonized over it all the time. But she was afraid that somehow Tyler Drake would find out about me or that you were her confidant and he would harm you.” He curved an arm around Jaxon’s shoulders. “It is a difficult life she leads, and those of us who love her know she tries to protect us even when we would prefer she didn’t. I know you understand why she kept silent.”
Barry couldn’t help listening to the cadence of the man’s incredible voice. He looked away from Jaxon to Lucian, and it was like falling into a deep, bottomless sea of tranquility. Of course he understood. Jaxon always protected those around her. How could she have done anything else? And he liked Lucian; he could see that Lucian was good for Jaxon, would be able to take care of her. They would end up being great friends.
Don’t you dare plant something in his head! Outraged, Jaxon tried to get around Lucian to shake Barry out of his trance. He was staring with what appeared to be rapture into Lucian’s eyes.
Lucian did not take his gaze from Barry’s. He merely restrained Jaxon with one hand. Is this man important in your life? he silently asked her.
You know he is. Don’t you mess with his head!
If he is important to you, then it is imperative that he accept me. Hear me well, Jaxon. I cannot allow any other to know that my species exists. Do you understand what I am saying? I am willing for this man to come under my protection because of your affection for him. That is no small thing. But he must accept our relationship.
I don’t accept our relationship. We don’t have a relationship. For God’s sake, I’m talking to you with my thoughts, not out loud like a normal human. I hear and see far better than I should, and you and I both know I should be dead. I wasn’t, was I? You did some weird thing to me to bring me back, and now I’m a zombie or something. She ended on a note of near hysteria.
Lucian laughed softly and leaned to brush the corner of her mouth with his. “You are so beautiful, honey.”
He didn’t have to have that mouth. It had to be a sin to have a mouth like his. And his voice should be banned, too. “I am not, but I appreciate that you would say so.” No one had ever described her as beautiful.
“There was no one to do so. Now you have me.” He looked once more at Jaxon’s partner.
Barry found himself smiling at the man. “I wish she had told me sooner, but of course I understand. Drake’s a threat we haven’t been able to keep out of her life. I hope you realize you will have to be on guard at all times. If you come down to the station, I’ll show you everything we have on him. It’s important you recognize him. There’s a good chance he’ll try to kill you.”