Deadly Attraction
He pulled up short. “I take full responsibility for my actions and their impact on your race. I’ve already told you this.”
“That wasn’t what I was getting at all.”
Letting out a long breath, he said, “You miss your parents. I understand that. But you’re alive, and you have the potential for a richer life than you’ve recently led.”
She resisted the urge to scoff at him. “How do you figure?”
He pinned her with a look. “I have something to say that I want you to seriously consider.”
Her curiosity mounted. “All right.”
He turned away for a few seconds and she noted his bunched shoulders and rigid stance. Whatever he was about to say seemed to eat away at him. She left the sofa and crossed to where he stood.
Placing a hand on his shoulder, she asked, “What is it, Darien?”
“Likely the most difficult thing I’ve had to do since the wars ended.” He faced her, his amber eyes clouded with dark emotions she couldn’t read. “I want you to marry Michael.”
She stared at him, aghast.
He rushed on. “It’s the only thing that makes sense, Jade. He’s your closest companion and the two of you could have a family together.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he said, “If you don’t want to leave the cottage, have him move in here.”
Anger and disbelief replaced her curiosity. “Really? Have him move into my house, which is in per
fect alignment from your bedroom windows?”
He sighed. “You have an overhang along the back portion. I can’t see into your house, Jade.”
“But you can see it.”
With a shake of his head, he said, “That’s completely irrelevant.”
“Is it?”
The flash of frustration in his eyes told her he loathed the idea he’d presented.
She pushed him a bit further. “You’d really be okay with seeing our children playing in the yard or Michael and I strolling hand in hand along the riverbank?”
His teeth ground together.
“No,” she added. “I didn’t think so.”
She moved away, returning to the sofa. He remained quiet as he seethed or bristled or did whatever he did that made him even more intimidating with his brooding look.
Finally, she said, “If that’s what you came here to tell me, I get the message loud and clear. We can’t be together, but don’t try to hand me off to someone you kept me from being with in the first place.”
Her own temper simmered. She crossed her arms and legs, awaiting his response. Endless minutes ticked by, until he eventually joined her on the couch.
“You deserve more than this, Jade. I can give you a lot, but I can’t give you everything.”
“I’m not asking for anything.”
“That’s the problem.”
He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs, his hands dangling between his parted legs. A defeated look, she decided. And one she found disconcerting, particularly coming from him.
She said, “You realize we’re just picking at a scab, right? And there’s nothing healed or pleasant underneath.”
“Maybe that’s why we’ve come back to this.” His gaze shifted from the fire to her. “You have to admit, we’re similar in a lot of ways.”