Page 26 of Tomlin

No. Mate.

He forced back a possessive growl as he turned back to her.

“You want me to leave?”

“No, dammit!” She was sitting up now, flushed and disheveled and far too tempting for his peace of mind. “I want you to stay! I want you to stop running away.”

“I am too… dangerous.”

“Oh for goodness sake.” She slid down from the counter and stalked towards him like an avenging goddess, still naked, her hair like a fiery cloud around her shoulders. “You’re not going to hurt me.”

She jabbed her finger against his chest, then winced.

“How many times have you left me? Why can’t you get it through your thick skull that if you have the strength to do that, you have the strength to control yourself. To not hurt me.”

He wanted so desperately to believe her, but she had no idea of the savagery of his other half.

“I will not chance it,” he said harshly, trying to grab for the doorknob again.

She darted in front of him, placing her warm, soft body between him and the door. Need threatened to overcome him once again as she glared up at him, her eyes sparkling with anger behind her glasses.

“Apparently you don’t think I get a say in this, but I meant what I said. Either you stay and we work through this together or you leave. Forever.”

No!

With a silent snarl, he released the doorknob and pushed her back against the door, pressing his body against her as he fought for control. Perhaps she understood his torment because her face softened a little, and she reached up to gently touch his cheek.

“Talk to me. Please. Why are you so convinced that you are dangerous?”

He managed to take a step back, then another, then paced across the lab and back.

“I have already… marked you.”

He gestured at her breasts, trying to ignore an internal rush of satisfaction at the sight. She sighed, then picked up the shirt he’d ripped away and slipped it over her shoulders, although she didn’t reach for the rest of her clothing.

“Why can’t you believe that I enjoyed it? That I didn’t want you to stop?”

“I’m afraid to believe it,” he admitted. “Because what if you did? And what if I couldn’t stop?”

“Why are you so afraid that’s going to happen?”

“Because my father hurt my mother. Badly.”

The truth emerged from his lips in an anguished whisper. She went utterly still for a moment, then took his hand, leading him over to the place where she slept and sat down, tugging him down next to her. He didn’t resist, clinging to her hand as the warmth of her compassion flowed over him.

“Tell me,” she said softly.

“I don’t believe he meant to hurt her.” The words came more easily now. “He… loved her, but he was in the grip of mating fever and she was untouched. She tried to get away from him and that only made things worse.”

Her thumb stroked a soothing pattern across the back of his hand.

“A neighbor called law enforcement and they eventually managed to subdue him. As soon as they did, she fled as far and as fast as she could.”

“Did she tell you this?” she asked, and he shook his head.

“She never said anything bad about him to me. She simply said that it had been a brief encounter.”

She’d also told him that his father was a crew member on one of the ships that visited the port, but he knew she’d only done that to protect him and he couldn’t blame her for lying once he knew the truth.

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