Page 74 of The Seeker
She did, and Rhys closed the door behind her.
The hotel was clean but not luxurious. He took a seat on the foot of the bed, allowing Meera to sit in the single available chair by the small table.
“I would appreciate a straight answer,” he said. “Am I yourreshon?”
She was silent.
“Understand,” he continued, “I do not take anything for granted. I don’t believe that entitles me to your affection or that it means our mating is inevitable. But each of us only has a singlereshonin our lives, and I think I have a right to know if—”
“Yes.” She said it simply with a deliberately blank expression on her face.
Rhys couldn’t breathe for a moment.
Yes.
Reshon.
There you are.
Once his heart started again, he nodded. “Thank you for telling me.”
“I didn’t want to tell you in that field,” she said quietly. “Not right after we’d killed three men.”
“That makes complete sense.”
“I didn’t want to tell you at all,” she said. “Not until I knew what I wanted to do with the knowledge.”
“It isnotall about you,” he said through gritted teeth.
“I disagree.” She folded her hands on her lap. “It’s not my job to guard your interests. It’s my job to guard my own.” Her expression was solemn. “You’ve already said you want me. I assumed that you would consider it an opportunity.”
“An opportunity?”
“Yes, for leverage.”
“Leverage for what?”
“To secure me as a mate.”
“To secure…” Rhys forced himself to remain calm. “A mate isn’t something yousecure, Meera.”
She was silent.
“You really haven’t spent much time around normal people, have you?”
“Define normal.”
“Fair point.” Rhys took a deep breath. “Do your parents love you?”
“Yes.” Her expression softened. “I’ve always known that.”
“And you love them?”
“Obviously.”
“You’re a woman with power and influence. Do they use your love to gain advantages? Tosecureanything?”
“No. They’re my parents.”
