'What if he's seizing the opportunity to size up the opposition?'
'Then that'll make two of us, won't it?' He studied her for a moment. 'What is it about this meeting that worries you?'
'I don't know. He doesn't sound anything like Jasper or Cordell. He sounds normal, and he's very obviously not.' She bit her lip for a moment, her gaze sweeping the fog-enshrouded darkness around them. 'I think it's going to be a lot harder to stop him than it was either of them.'
'Which is why—' Anger flared through the link, singeing his senses. 'Don't say it,' she warned, pulling her fingers from his.
'Not unless you want an all-out argument right here on the street.'
He didn't want to argue at all, here or anywhere else. You keep complaining I don't listen to you, and
Her gaze searched his, expression annoyed. 'Maybe you're right. Maybe you should fully explain your reasons.'
He reached out, brushing the moisture from the tip of her nose. 'Not out here. It's too wet.'
'The fog may be damp, but the night isn't really cold.' She shrugged. 'I want you to talk to me, Michael.'
He didn't want to talk. He just wanted to enjoy the night and her company in this brief window of peace they'd been given. But her determined expression suggested this time she would not let it go. He twined his fingers through hers again and kept walking. On a clear night, the bay would have stretched out before them. Tonight, there was little more to be seen than fog muffled lights.
'I have been with the Circle since its beginning,' he said. 'In that time, both the Circle and I have gained a fair number of enemies. There are some alive today who would stop at nothing to destroy either of us.'
'I'd think that would be a natural fallout from the type of work you do,' she said, voice flat. 'You can't run around killing bad guys without the bad guys' friends and relatives getting a little pissed about it.'
He smiled, despite his annoyance. 'True. The point is, these people will do all in their power to destroy me and everything I hold dear. That has never worried me because, until you, I had no one in my life whose destruction would destroy me.'
She stopped, her gaze searching his, eyes glittering liquid gold in the damp night. 'Then you know precisely how I feel when you go off on one of your missions and leave me behind.'
He brushed his fingers against her cheek. 'You're stronger than I am. You would survive my death. But I have spent over three and a half centuries alone, and I could not survive another three if I lost you.'
'And you think I'd want to go on if I lost you?'
'No. But I think you'd survive the loss. I think you would go on. I think in many ways you are far stronger than I ever will be.'
She turned away and continued down the hill. 'You're wrong. So wrong.'
He followed her, watching the sway of her fog-dampened hair across her shoulders. 'I don't want you to become a target. If you join the Circle, become a part of what I do, you will be.'
'Isn't that a risk everyone in the Circle takes?'
'Yes. But because of me, the risk will be doubled for you.'
'What if I said I understood that risk and was willing to take it?'
'I'm not.'
She swung around to face him again. Her anger seared the night, burned through the link. 'So what the hell am I supposed to do with my life for the next three or four centuries? It's not as if I can stay home and watch the kids, is it?'
Shock coursed through him. God, he'd never even thought… He reached out to pull her close, but she slapped his hand away.
'Loving you was my choice. Everything else that has happened between us has been yours. You can't keep making decisions for me, Michael. It'll destroy us.'
He took a deep breath and released it slowly. Pictured her slender body heavy with his child. It stirred an ache fiercer than anything he'd thought possible. And while it could never be, he couldn't help the brief wish for humanity. For the chance.
'Did you want children?' he asked softly.
She swung away, but not before he caught the glimmer of moisture on her eyelashes. 'No. Yes.' She made a helpless gesture with her hand. 'I don't know. It's something I never really thought about until you came along.'
'I'm sorry.'
She crossed her arms and walked on. 'Don't be. You made me a thrall to save me from Jasper.'
'No,' he corrected gently. 'I made you a thrall because I love you and couldn't bear the thought of losing you.'
She glanced at him. Tears still gleamed faintly in her wonderful eyes, but a smile touched her lips. 'First time you've actually admitted that, you know.'
'You knew how I felt. You have always known.'
'Knowing and hearing it said are two entirely different things.'
'Words can lie. Thoughts can't. That's where we share an advantage over most couples.'
'We don't share all thoughts.'
No, they didn't. He'd certainly never sensed her regret over losing her humanity—anger yes. But not regret. Had never suspected she'd ached to have children. Guilt rose, but only briefly. He couldn't really regret his actions when they were responsible for bringing her into his life.
They continued on in silence, walking side by side but not touching. Below them, the masts of a tall ship loomed, and the salty tang of ocean became stronger.
'I have buried far more friends than I care to remember,' he said eventually. 'I have no wish for you to join them.'
'I think we can safely say death is something neither of us wants.' Though her voice still held an edge of annoyance, it was softer than before. 'And neither of us is exactly an easy kill, anyway.'
'But we are not immortal, either.'
'No. But finding death by your side is better than dying slowly inside every time you leave me.' She hesitated. 'Will you at least consider the possibility?'
He didn't want to, but he didn't want to lose her, either. He was beginning to see that their relationship truly was at stake over this. She'd walk away rather than settle for what she considered second-best. It was odd how quickly things had turned around. Only four months ago he'd been the one wanting to walk away—to keep her safe from the very dangers she was now fighting to share.
'I'll consider, if you'll agree to think about Jasper—and Cordell—and remember that there are things out there ten times worse than either of them. Those things could be hunting me even as we speak. You join me on missions, and they'll quickly be hunting you as well.'
Her fear swirled briefly around him. 'You can't keep your home life and your working life separate forever. Sooner or later that's going to happen.'
He touched a hand to her back, guiding her across the road toward the park. 'I'd prefer it happened later rather than sooner.'
'So would I.' Her gaze met his again, full of determination. 'I know the risks and I don't care. I need to be a full partner in your life.'
'I'll think about it.' Which was certainly more than he'd been prepared to do only a day ago.
'For now, that's all I'm asking.' She twined her hand through his and led him through the park. A building that oddly resembled a cruise ship loomed out of the fog. 'Have you caught any scent of the other vampire?'
'No.'
An impish smile touched her lips, and her eyes twinkled. Trouble headed his way. And he very much suspected it was the sort of trouble he was going to enjoy.
'And people? Any one in the nearby vicinity?'
He let his gaze roam the foggy darkness. The red haze of life burned near the wharf, and in some of the shops that lined the street. 'No one close.'
