Deadly Desire (Riley Jenson Guardian 7)

"So, I can't have two soul mates," I retorted, pulling away from his arm, "but it's okay for you to have a soul mate and play around?"

"It's different, sis."

"No, it's not."

"Liander won't be driven to kill because he knows, without a doubt, that he is the only one that means something to me. There's no shared emotion with anyone else. No danger that I will ever want to stay with anyone else." He touched my chin gently and made me look at him. "How can you possibly promise that to Quinn when your wolf soul mate is out there? When we all know just how desperate you are to have children, and that's the one thing that Kye can give you and Quinn can't?"

"I'm never going to have kids, Rhoan-"

"Maybe you can't carry them, but you have viable eggs frozen and there are always surrogates. Kye gives you an option. Quinn doesn't."

"I know, but-"

"No. You have to consider these things now, before you make any decisions you'll regret."

I stared at him for a moment. "You want Kye in the family?"

He snorted. "God no. I just want you to be fully aware of all the implications before you make any lifetime decisions."

"Kye isn't a lifetime decision." He was a problem I might never get around.

"Realistically, he's more lifetime than Quinn right now. He's your soul mate. How can you promise anything to Quinn when Kye is out there?"

"I can't, but-"

"You cant," he cut in. "So you're left with the possibility of two men who won't share, one of whom who has already proven he will go to great lengths to make you his."

I jerked away from his touch again and thrust to my feet, taking several steps away from him before I stopped. I breathed deep, but it still didn't do anything to ease the turmoil within me.

"This might be all a moot point anyway," I said eventually, "because I might not be like you. I might not even want anyone else now that my wolf has found her soul mate."

Hell, Ben had been like that. He might take other lovers now, but certainly not when his soul mate was alive. And with the games fate was playing, it'd be my luck to be more like Ben than my brother-and the result would be the loss of a man I really wanted over one I didn't.

"Then this arguing is pointless. You need to uncover all the facts before you worry about the consequences."

I closed my eyes. It was a moment, a discovery, I really didn't want to make. Because once I knew, I would face the hardest decision of all.

"It's only going to get harder the longer you leave it, sis," Rhoan said softly. "Just do it. Now. Then you'll know, one way or the other."

"Okay, okay." There really was no point in putting it off any longer, and sitting here stewing over it certainly hadn't gotten me any closer to a solution. He was right. It was better to know than to worry over what might or might not be. I turned around and held out my hand. "I need your keys."

He reached into his pocket, then tossed the keys to me. "You don't want company?"

I smiled, though it was a pale shadow of its usual self. "I think this is something I'd better do alone."

"Be careful then, won't you?"

"Quinn's not going to hurt me."

"I meant, be careful driving. I don't think you're in the best frame of mind for concentrating on the roads."

This time, my smile was warmer. "I won't dent your car, bro. I promise."

He snorted. "I'm more worried about you denting yourself."

"I won't do that, either."

"Good. Then get."