~ TWENTY-FOUR ~

Jessie took tobias’ hand in hers, tears in her eyes. “It has been hours. Shouldn’t he be getting better. He’s so cold.” And still. Totally. Even his mind had become silent. “Why is he so cold, Wes?”

Wes placed his hand on her shoulder. “It’s not the poison. Not really. He’s in control. He’s healing himself.”

“How can you be sure?” She glanced over her shoulder. “I can’t reach him. Not at all. Can you?”

“He has done this many times. To many times to count. He’s an extremely powerful healer.” Wes looked at her and tilted his head to the side. “You can’t merge with him at all?”

“No.” She shook her head. “It’s as if he’s blocking me.”

Wes took a deep breath and sighed. “To be entirely honest, I’m not surprised. You can kick his ass and give him hell for it later.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“He’s not allowing you to merge with him because he’s not strong enough to prevent you from experiencing his pain.”

“Why would he do that?”

“He’s protecting you.”

“He nearly died to protect me.”

“He would do it again in a heartbeat.”

No. He wouldn’t. She wouldn’t allow him to do it again. She wasn’t going to stick around and let him risk his life to protect her again.

“It’s his nature.”

She simply did not belong in the midst of immortals. No mortal belonged in the presence of an immortal.

“Are you sure he’s breathing?”

“He’s not able to breathe normally right now. But he’s breathing. It’s really slow and shallow.”

“I hate being unable to do anything for him.”

“You give him more than you’ll ever know. He loves you, Jessie. I know it’s hard for you to understand the depths of his feelings for you. You haven’t had much time with him. He waited for eight thousand years to meet you. You give his life meaning. He didn’t have any other option than to come to you when you needed him. His body is fighting the poison. It takes a great deal of energy.”

“Are you sure he’ll be okay?” She needed to leave and never look back. “Absolutely positive?”

“I am certain he’ll be fine. I’ve seen him get through worse injuries many times. I know he doesn’t look well at all right now. It looks worse than it is. His body will heal quickly. He just needs to rest for a bit.”

“He needs to recharge.”

“That’s a good way of putting it.”

“What about Amber?” she asked.

“She’ll be fine.”

“She was poisoned, right?”

“Yes. Her wound wasn’t as deep. And the poison wasn’t even a fraction of the strength of the poison on the spear. Her healing abilities are almost as strong as his.”

“That’s good.” She faked a yawn, covering her mouth. “I’m sorry. I guess my batteries are also a little drained.”

He nodded. “Get some rest. I’ll stop by with Amber in the morning. She’ll be chomping at the bit to see both of you.”

“Sounds good to me. And Wes, thank you for looking out for me.”

“I apologize for scaring you. I didn’t know any other way to keep you safe. Guss had sent so many immortals after you. I feared one would get past me and get to you. I knew you had incredible psychic abilities for being human. I hoped you would learn to protect yourself by using them to the fullest. And you surpassed my hopes for you.”

“Thank you.” She nodded. “And don’t apologize. I was mad as hell at you. I even told Tobias that I never wanted to see you again. But I understand now. It’s fine.”

“I feel pretty damn lucky to be alive since you told Tobias that you didn’t want to ever see me again,” he laughed.

She smiled. “He offered to kill you”

“I’m glad it all worked out. You’ll be happy with Tobias. He has waited a long time for you. I know he’ll go out of his way to make sure you’re happy and safe.”

Again, hoping to get him moving, she faked a yawn. “I’m sorry. I can barely keep my eyes open.”

“Go to sleep. And don’t worry. He’ll wake up in the morning as good as new.”

Right before her eyes, he dissolved into a mist as he turned to walk away. She didn’t have much time. Willow Springs was thirty miles away. Somehow, she needed to pull a miracle from her ass to make it to her car by morning. She rested her head on Tobias’ chest, listening to his unnaturally slow heartbeat. Lifting her head, she studied him for a few moments. “I don’t belong in your world. If I stay we will both end up dead.” Then, remembering she didn’t have much time, she pressed her lips to his one last time. “I will always cherish our time together. I love you, Tobias.”

Walking away from him, hurt like hell. But she didn’t have a choice. She didn’t belong with him. He would always be vulnerable with her. She would always be a weakness to him. On a good day, she couldn’t survive in his world. She tossed her backpack over her shoulder and walked out of the bedroom. Each step seemed harder than the last as she walked down the stairs.

Don’t leave me, Jessie. His voice was a barely audible whisper in her mind. He was weak. She didn’t respond. She couldn’t. He was attempting to use a compulsion on her to prevent her from leaving. He would definitely succeed if she opened her mind to communicate with him. I know you can hear me. Don’t leave me alone.

She kept moving, fighting his compulsion, forcing her legs to move, slowly making her way toward the door. It would take a great deal of effort, but she would make it out of the house and out of his reach.

She would always remember him. She would always consider her time with him to be the best thing that ever happened to her. Not just because he slayed the bad guy and saved her. It was a big part of it. But mostly, more than anything else, he showed her love. Even if he lied to her about being her mate, he made her feel loved and cherished. And all sorts of other wonderful emotions and sensations. She laughed. Many wonderful, mind-blowing physical sensations.

Heavy footsteps on the floor above, stopped her in her tracks. He couldn’t be walking. He couldn’t be standing. Not with a gaping hole in his chest. What the hell was he thinking? Would he kill himself to follow her? He was insane. He knew damn well she wasn’t his mate. The danger was over. She was free to go, to live her life. He was free to continue on with his life. Why was he still pretending?

Hearing a loud thud, she turned and ran back up the stairs. In the center of the hallway, he was struggling to get to his feet, blood gushing from his chest. She dropped to her knees in front of him, pressing her palms against the wound in a useless attempt to stop the bleeding. “What do you think you’re doing?”

He lifted his head. “Why do you want to leave me?”

She gasped, her heart racing. “Tobias.”

His eyes, including the whites, were black. Solid black. No star-rays. Just black. “I know I look like hell right now. Don’t be afraid of me.”

“Damn it, Tobias. I could never be afraid of you. I’m freaking out and afraid for you. You’re losing way too much blood.”

“Why do you want to leave me?”

“That’s the last thing you need to worry about right now. Tell me how to help you before you bleed to death.”

“I won’t bleed to death. It looks worse than it is.”

“I am really tired of people telling me this looks worse than it is. You have a huge hole in your chest and poison in your body.”

“I’m healing.”

“You know that you weigh a ton, right?”

“Actually, much more than a ton. But not in this form.”

 “You aren’t funny. You know what I meant. I’ll never be able to drag your ass back to bed. You should’ve stayed in it.”

“Tell me why you want to leave me.”

“I’m not going anywhere right now. Can you help me get you to the bed?”

“You’re very small. Tiny actually.” He smiled that naughty, sexy smiled that always caused her heart to race. “I would probably squish you if I tried.”

“You’re teasing me? Now? While you’re dying on the floor with a big hole in your chest, you’re giving me a hard time.”

“I thought I was complimenting you by letting you know you’re light as a feather. Saying that sort of thing is supposed ensure I get lucky at some point in the near future.”

“Get lucky? I hope you’re not talking about sex. You definitely don’t need to be thinking about it right now.”

“It’s not just sex.”

“I know. But it should be the last thing on your mind right now. Your heart was beating so slow. You were barely breathing.” A tear fell down her cheek. “You should’ve stayed in bed.”

“I am sorry, sweetheart.” He brushed the tear away. “I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s natural for my body to almost entirely shut down while it’s healing.”

“Natural for you. Not for me.” Deciding to get some pillows and blankets from the room to make him as comfortable as possible on the floor, she stood up.

He got to his feet in an instant and used his larger body to cage hers against the wall. He was so close she had to tip her head back to look up at him. “Why do you want to leave me?” His breathing was labored from the effort it took to remain on his feet.

“You know I can’t handle your world. I am not strong enough. You blocked me, Tobias. You closed yourself off to me.”

“I just wanted to prevent you from feeling my pain.”

“You expect me to share mine with you.”

“That’s different.”

“Because we’re different. We will have plenty of time to talk things out after your body has healed. I wasn’t leaving.”

“You said goodbye to me. You planned to leave me.”

“That was before you decided to chase after me and crash in the hallway. I just wanted to bring some pillows and blankets out here to you.” She slowly got under his shoulder, wrapped her arm around his waist, and gave him a nudge to get him to turn around with her. “Now that you’re upright, do you want to try to make it to your bed?”

“As long as you promise to get out of the way if I start to go down.”

“Don’t worry. Although I am very fond of having your body on top of mine, I have no desire to use my body to cushion yours if you fall.”

“That’s a relief.” He stopped and pushed her away to lean his weight against the wall. “I’m fine. I just need a minute.”

 “You’re not fine. I hate this. I feel terrible, Tobias.” Refusing to allow him to rely on the wall rather than her for support, she got back under his shoulder and wrapped her arm around him. “You’ve done so much for me. You’re in so much pain and it’s my fault. I wish I could do more to help you right now.”

***

“You’ve already done more for me than I could ever do for you.”

She laughed. “Not even close.”

“I can’t even begin to think of a reason for you to choose to be with me, to love me. The pain isn’t bad. It’s certainly not the worst I’ve experienced.” Tobias looked down at her. “Why do you think any of this is your fault?”

“That’s a no brainer. You rushed to save me because I’m breakable.”

“I would never waste a second thinking twice to protect you.” He laughed. “And you realize Guss was my enemy.” He started to walk again. “He went after you because I provoked him.” Eventually, with her help, he managed to make it to the bed without falling or squishing her. He stretched out on the bed and held his hand out to her. “Come here.”

She snuggled up to him, her head beneath his chin.

“Tell me why you want to leave?”

“I don’t want to leave you. I can’t survive in your world, but you will always come to my defense. I don’t want to hurt you. I can’t be the reason you’re killed. I am your only weakness.”

“You are my life.”

“Did you know you were jumping in front of a spear that could kill you?”

“If I say no will that make you smile.”

“No. Damn it. You used your body to shield mine.”

“I can’t’ think of a better use for it. Unless we’re naked.” He lifted the blanket. “We should have a rule about getting naked whenever we get in bed together.”

“How can you even think about sex right now?”

“I’ll be honest. It’s super-duper easy.”

“Your heart was beating so slow. You were barely breathing.” He saw tears in her eyes. “You were so cold. I knew I would have nothing without you. No reason without you. I’m in love with you, Tobias. We have no real future and you made me fall in love with you. I hate you.”

“Why do you doubt our future?”

“I want you to stop lying to me. I know the truth, Tobias. I know we’re not meant to be together. At the bar you…”

“I told you that I wouldn’t have a reason to prevent you from leaving once the threat to you was over.”

“That’s right.”

“I lied.”

“Why?”

“I can’t stand the thought of you feeling trapped by me. Yes. I could force you to stay by my side. I could take you far away and lock you up. It would be a very easy thing to do. But that’s not what I want, what I need. Being stronger than you isn’t an excuse to dominate and control you.”

“It’s kind of scary to think of all the things your capable of doing.”

“I have no need or desire to use force to prove that I am stronger and more powerful than you. I am. It’s a fact. Would you care to hear another fact?”

“I’m listening.”

“You own me. All that I have, all that I am, belongs to you.” He paused. “I need to explain what I did to you in the trap.”

“You healed me.”

“Not really.”

“Every bone in my body felt crushed. I’m fine now. You healed me.”

“Not like you think. Your injuries were far too critical. I knew I couldn’t get you to safety in time to heal you before your body gave out.”

“More critical than my carotid artery being nicked? You fixed that in a few minutes.”

“Do you feel any different?”

“Why? What did you do to me, Tobias?”

 “I shared my immortality with you.”

“How’s that possible?”

“I took you last mortal breath and replaced it with my eternal breath.”

“I thought you were helping me die quicker.”

“You weren’t afraid?”

“Of you?”

“You thought I was killing you.”

“I thought you were putting me out of my misery.”

“I wanted to wait. I wanted to give you time to get used to me before I tried to give my eternal breath to you. I wanted to take our relationship slow. I wanted you to learn to love me. I wanted to give you time to learn to trust me.” He took her hand and brought it to his chest. “But you were dying. I had to do it. My immortality has belonged to you from the day I was born.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re my eternal mate. My immortality belonged to you all along.”

“If that’s true, why are you just now telling me about it?”

 “I couldn’t tell you. To receive my immortality, you needed to accept it blindly without fear. If you had feared me, the ritual would’ve killed you. I had hope to give you more time to allow our bond to strengthen. “

“That’s what you were talking to Wes about?”

“Yes. I couldn’t warn you. You had to be able to fully trust me.”

“And if I didn’t?”

“I would’ve followed you.”

“I love you, Tobias.”

“And I love you, Jessie.” He held her close, simply allowing himself to savor the heat of her body against his. They were both exhausted. Eventually, after he made her promise to stick around, they fell asleep in each other’s arms.