Binding Ties (15 page)

“I can't think about the rest of my life right now. I only tied myself to him so I could find my brother. If having access to his power doesn't help with that, then I've ruined my life for no reason at all.”

Joseph's voice was rough, but he sounded alert and fully awake. He'd heard everything, and the hurt flowing through his voice was unmistakable. “Glad to know how you really feel, Lyka.”

L
yka felt like a complete and total ass. She hadn't meant to hurt Joseph's feelings. Hell, the man was so big and strong, she wasn't even sure she had the power to inflict any kind of damage at all.

But she had. She could hear it in his voice and wished she could take back those hasty words. “I didn't mean for it to come out like that.”

“I'm sure you didn't.” He pushed to his feet with a grimace. “We should go. Too much blood here.”

“I agree,” said Ronan. “I'll lead the way out.”

In the distance, she heard the hungry howl of Synestryn demons. “Those sound like sgath.”

Joseph nodded. “Lyka, you stay between me and Ronan. I'll bring up the rear.”

She almost told him that she could protect herself, but the truth was, she was tired. Her legs were shaky and her whole body felt like it had been pulled through a drinking straw. She was stretched thin. Worried. Afraid.

“It will be okay,” Joseph assured her. Even with her bitchy comment, his concern was for her feelings, rather than the ones of his she'd stomped on.

“I really am sorry about what I said. You're not the one who ruined my life.”

“But you do think it's ruined.”

“It's only a matter of time before everyone knows I'm a freak. Part Slayer, part Theronai. When my people find out that I'm tied to a Theronai and that he might be able to take a peek inside my head, no one will ever trust me again.”

Ronan winced. “You just put an entire race of people under the category of
no one
. I suggest you quit while you're ahead, Lyka.”

He was right. She was so knotted up inside, so conflicted over where she belonged in the world, she kept shoving her foot into her mouth. “Where the hell is a nice, violent demon fight when you need one?” she muttered under her breath.

“How about we keep moving and stay alive instead?” said Joseph. “I don't know about you, but I've had about all the excitement I can stand for right now. I'm a few pints low.”

She felt weaker than usual, too, which made her shut up and start paying attention to her surroundings. Demons were closing in on them. She could hear their howls growing closer every few minutes. If they were going to make it back to their vehicles in time to avoid a fight, they needed to pick up the pace.

Her legs felt heavier with each step. She didn't lift her foot up high enough and tripped over a low branch. If not for Joseph's quick reflexes in grabbing her arm, she would have fallen flat on her face and probably shed more blood.

His fingers tingled around her arm. Heat and tiny sparks of energy soaked into her skin, warming the right half of her body.

Suddenly, she remembered those scenes from his head—the two of them entwined, fucking each other's brains out.

She shivered at the memory and cleared her throat to ease the lump that had formed there. Part of her wanted what he'd shown her—that connection, that pleasure. She felt so alone most of the time, but when she thought about being with Joseph in such an intimate way, much of her loneliness faded.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She could smell her arousal sliding through the air and wondered if anyone else could, too. Her Slayer senses were stronger than most, giving her hope that her secret was safe. “Just clumsy.”

“She exerted herself saving your life,” said Ronan. “She needs rest as much as you do. I suggest you both go straight to the nearest Gerai house and recuperate.”

“There's no time,” she said. “We have to keep moving.”

“We will,” said Joseph. “Trust me.”

She wanted to, but it just wasn't in her.

He must have sensed the meaning in her silence, because he said, “You will learn to trust me, kitten. Even if it takes you the rest of your life.”

“If we don't get out of here soon, that's not going to be very long. The sgath are getting closer.”

“Excellent point,” said Ronan. “Let's not get into another fight we're ill equipped to handle. I have other plans for the remainder of the night.”

They quickened their pace and finally reached the road where the cars were parked. Ronan hurried to his van and took off with a hasty good-bye, leaving Lyka alone with Joseph.

He started stripping out of his bloody clothes so the
scent wouldn't set the demons on their trail. Even with the smears of dried blood on his skin, he had the power to mesmerize her. Watching him move captured her complete attention. He wasn't doing anything special, but there was so much graceful strength in him, she felt like she was spying on a predator.

He hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his boxer briefs and paused with his back to her. As he turned around to speak to her, the muscles along his spine and shoulders danced under his skin. His expression was flat, but his eyes sparked with anger. “You're wearing my blood. Do you have a change of clothes?”

He was so damn appealing. She didn't know what it was about him that pulled her in so completely. She'd seen a lot of half-naked, well-built men before—hell, she'd grown up around an entire pack of them—but Joseph was different. He was calm. In control. He wasn't constantly working to prove something to himself or anyone else.

Every time she looked at him, she felt like another little, missing piece of herself came home.

“Lyka?” he said. “Did you hear me? You can't go around with blood on your clothes.”

She gave him a mute nod and stumbled toward her borrowed car. The scent of soap caught her attention, making her turn around.

Joseph was completely naked, with his fantastic ass facing her way. He had some kind wet wipe in his hand and was scrubbing away the traces of blood left on his skin. There was no self-consciousness in the act. He was all pragmatic efficiency and carefully banked anger.

“Are you done?” he asked over his shoulder. “The sgath are getting closer.”

Her attention on him had been so absolute that she hadn't been keeping track of their growing howls.

She shook her head to get it back where it belonged and made quick work of putting on clean clothes. The bloody ones she tossed into the trees for the demons to find.

By the time she turned back around, Joseph was right behind her. “My truck is better stocked for contingencies. We'll take it.”

“And leave the car here?”

“It's just a car. And I want you by my side, where you belong.”

She wasn't sure what to say to that, or what to do with the little thrill of excitement his words pulled from her. “I don't belong anywhere anymore.”

“You're wrong. The second you took the luceria off my neck, you made your choice. Now you have to live with it.” He shot her a hard look, and some of his banked anger flared to life. “Get in.”

Arguing with him now while a pack of demons was closing in seemed the height of stupidity, so she did as he asked and got in his truck.

The cab smelled like him, surrounding her with a sense of warmth and comfort that took her off guard. Before she realized what she was doing, she'd snuggled into the comfy leather seat and buckled herself in.

Joseph climbed in, his weight rocking the cab. His long arm reached behind her seat for a couple bottles of water. He handed one to her. “Drink.”

She took it. “I'm not all that thirsty.”

“Ronan took your blood. Drink the damn water.”

She did as he asked, just to get him to leave her alone.

He cracked open the bottle and downed half of it in a single shot.

“Thirsty?” she asked.

“I feel like I've eaten a desert, cacti and all.”

He started the engine and took off so fast that gravel spewed out from his tires.

“You lost a lot of blood. Are you sure you don't want me to drive?”

“I'm fine. Or I will be, once we get you somewhere safe.”

Safe wasn't on the menu, at least not yet. “We still haven't found any sign of Eric.”

“I told you we'd keep searching and I meant it, but we have to stop for a while.”

“Every minute we wait is one too long. If you're not up to the search, then take me back to my car and I'll go on without you.”

His hands fisted on the steering wheel. “Not happening, Lyka. You're not much better off than I am, not after the way you kept my ass alive so Ronan could find us.”

“I'm fine,” she lied. She was tired and shaky, but none of that mattered. She had to keep searching.

“You're exhausted. I can see you shaking from here. You tried to channel way too much power through what is still a tiny thread of a connection between us.” Some of his fury spilled over in his tone.

“Don't get snippy with me. I had no choice.”

“I understand that, and I'm grateful as hell that you took the risk. But damn it, Lyka, you could have killed yourself.”

“That's why you're mad? Because I took a risk?”

“No, I'm mad because you tricked me into letting you out of Dabyr, where you were safe. Now I'm stuck watching you suffer, letting you risk your life, when we could have been back home, where you could have taken your time learning how to wield my power.”

“I'm sorry it was inconvenient for you that my people were attacked.”

His jaw bulged under the strain of his anger. “You
know that's not what I mean. There are a lot of people out scouring the countryside, looking for Eric and the kids. You didn't need to come out here and risk your life trying to learn on the fly.”

“Yes, I did,” she said. “And if you don't understand that, then you're not the man I thought you were.”

“I'm the kind of man who wants his woman to stay safe—at least until she knows where her skills lie.”

“I'm not your woman.”

“Like hell you're not. You tied yourself to me. Unbreakable bonds. The only way either of us is getting out is through death, and I plan to keep you alive for as long as I draw breath.”

“Don't remind me.” She still hadn't come to terms with the permanence of their relationship. There hadn't been time.

“You're my wife now, Lyka. My mate. If you think I'm going to just ignore the fact that you almost died back there, then I'm not the man you think I am.”

His throwing her words back at her pissed her off, but he had a point. She really didn't know him—didn't know what he was capable of doing. If she pushed him too far, he might get pissed enough to tie her up in some Gerai house, where she would be of no use.

She pulled in a long breath, then another. She had to stay calm here, think rationally.

He finished off the second half of the water, so she handed him the rest of hers as a sort of peace offering. “I think you're the kind of man who will respect the spirit of his vow as well as the letter. I think you're the kind of man who is torn up inside by the idea of those children suffering. I think you're the kind of man who would willingly risk his life to save someone else.
That's
the kind of man I hope I've bound myself to.”

Some of his anger fell away. She could see it in the way his shoulders fell on a heavy sigh. “I can't lose you. You understand that, don't you? Even if I die out here, you have to live. You could be compatible with one of the other men—able to wield their power, save another man's life.”

“I'm no more important than any one of those kids. Please don't punish me by grounding me to some Gerai house. I need to keep searching.”

He flicked a glance her way, and she was sure she saw some kind of sadness in his eyes. “There are a lot of things you don't know yet. I'm happy to teach you all that I can, but you're going to have to find some trust. I told you we'd keep moving, and I meant it.”

“Trust isn't the kind of thing that comes easily. You have to earn it.”

“And I will. If we both live long enough. All I'm asking you for is a chance. You've got to be careful. You can't put your life on the line like you did back there. If I get hurt again, just let me go.”

The idea was far more abhorrent than it would have been a few days ago. She'd grown to like Joseph since she'd come to live at Dabyr, but now that she was bound to him, she felt connected. Part of him.

She really didn't want anything bad to happen to him.

Maybe he felt the same way about her. Maybe his anger now stemmed more from the fact that he cared about her than it did from his vow to protect her life with his.

Curiosity reared its head and put the smack-down on caution. Before she could stop herself, she felt around for the link that bound them together.

It came to her easier than it had before, pulsing with heat and power. She wasn't sure how it worked, but she could feel him—his essence—in the vibration of that
energy. If she'd had ten connections to other people, she was certain that she would have known exactly which one was his.

Being careful so he wouldn't figure out what she was doing, she prodded their link, searching for answers. Like some kind of schoolgirl, she wanted to know how he felt about her. It wasn't like she could ask her best friend to ask his. She had to go in search of the information herself.

She approached the conduit that connected them the same way she would have a rabid animal. She really didn't want to touch it, but she had no choice. It was the only way to find out what she needed to know.

Instincts guided her. She didn't know what she was doing, but as soon as she thought about touching his mind, she was doing so.

The luceria heated around her throat, warning her to be cautious. She could sense some thin barrier bulging between them. She could almost see through it, like frosted glass. On the other side was the information she wanted. Needed. All she had to do was find a way to break it.

The instant she thought about doing so, it exploded, letting a flood of emotions wash over her. She wasn't ready for the onslaught. It hit her hard, knocking the breath from her body.