“I’m sure it must seem that way,” he said carefully, scrutinizing her, visibly restraining himself from coming closer. “But do you believe it?”
“Yes,” she pushed through clenched teeth. Then softly, “I don’t know.”
Was that victory flaring in his eyes? “Give me your trust and hand me the decree, Roks. I don’t want to take it from you.”
Pain lanced her square in the stomach. One moment he made vows to follow her forever, the next he betrayed her. “You would sentence me to death at the hands of my mother, Elias?”
The very suggestion seemed to cause him pain. “Never.”
“Your actions tell me otherwise.” Horror of horrors, tears welled in her eyes, one of them rappelling down her cheek before she could swipe it away hastily with a wrist.
Elias made a choked noise. “No. No crying. Not you.”
“It’s the fumes from the fire.”
Visibly dazed by her display of emotion, Elias seemed to finally recall the house was going up in flames. Suddenly they were outside on the stoop, Elias’s arms encircling her waist. Every nerve ending in her body pushed to the places her softness made contact with his muscle, but she forced herself to shove him away. “Where is Tucker?”
On cue, a car pulled up at the curb, the horn tapping out “Shave and a Haircut…Two Bits.”
Tucker saluted them from the driver’s seat, but Elias never took his eyes off her.
“You have to go and find cover. It’s almost dawn.” He didn’t budge and unwanted urgency clawed the insides of her throat. “Please.”
“You beg me to hide from the sun,” he grated. “But you’re trying to leave me behind knowing I can no longer survive without your blood? Your body?”
Pressure weighed down so heavily on her chest, she couldn’t speak.
Elias eliminated her personal space, reaching up to cup her cheek, and she was powerless to do anything but lean in to his touch. “If it was just my safety in question, I wouldn’t stand in your way. But it’s yours, too, and I don’t fuck around with that.” He seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “People and places might seem safe to you, baby. But they could be the most dangerous of all.”
Frustration twisted beneath her skin like thorns. “Why does everything have to be a riddle, temnota moya?” His eyelids drifted shut, so she couldn’t search for any recognition of the nickname. There would be none anyway. Why did she continue to hope? She didn’t know. She just needed to get out of there now or she would give in to the gravity between them and stay. Give in to the responsibility of being his mate, his source of life, and never leave his side. “If you let me go now,” she whispered, “I’ll forgive you.”
Elias went extremely still. “For what I did in Vegas?”
She closed her eyes. “Yes.”
“No. I don’t accept,” he roared, eyes glittering. “I don’t deserve it.”
Roksana bashed at his chest with her fists. “There is nothing else I can offer you.”
He gripped her elbows, holding her still. “Marry me.”
Inside the house, a beam fell and shook the foundation. “Are you fucking crazy?”
“Not to rush anyone, but we’ve got about eight minutes until sunrise,” Tucker called through the rolled down passenger window. “And not for nothing, but the neighbors are bound to notice the house on fire.”
Elias didn’t even flinch. “Agree to marry me and I’ll give you a head start back to New York.”
“How do you know I’m going to New—” She ripped her arms out of his hold. “Oh, never mind. Go get in the car or you’re going to burn, damn you.”
“Your concern is a good sign. Say yes and I’ll go.”
This was complete insanity. Could she really make this man her husband knowing she would eventually kill him? Then again, wasn’t a piece of paper a mere formality considering she was already his mate? Elias would consider Roksana his either way.
“Six minutes,” Tucker drawled through the window.
“Fine, vampire! I’ll marry you.” Roksana shouted over her shoulder, already storming down the stairs, Elias hot on her heels. “It’s going to be my pleasure making you miserable.” She ripped open the car’s passenger side door, imploring Elias with her eyes to get in. “Do you care nothing for your own life?”
“Suddenly I’ve got a much stronger urge to survive,” Elias rasped, cradling the back of her head in his palm, winding her hair between his fingers and kissing her mouth possessively. There was a car door between their bodies, but she pressed against it anyway, seeking contact and felt him bump hard against it, too, pursuing a physical connection. Mouth open and hungry, his tongue speared into her mouth and licked it possessively, reminding her of the way he’d tasted her between the legs. How he’d looked, kneeling between her thighs. Dominant and prepared to serve, all at once. She whimpered and gave her tongue over, letting him possess it with a groaning stroke, before he pulled away. “Be safe until I can be with you again.”