Page 49 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species
Amelia tilted her head. She had expected him to ask to be in her bed, but he wanted access to her thoughts. And she… was willing to give it to him. The need to confide in someone about all the strange things happening to her body was close to desperate.
But for her to trust Mikhail, she needed reassurance that the unresolved wounds of his past wouldn’t come between them. He had to trust her, too, otherwise she’d once again turn into a bait for his demons.
“All right then…” Amelia said slowly. “Why did Valeria betray you?”
His expression sharpened. “Why do you ask?”
“Tell me – who did she betray you to and why? Who killed your family? Trust me the way you want me to trust you.”
He recoiled somewhat, his shoulders tightening. “Valeria’s been dead for two hundred years. So is my family. There’s no point in discussing them.”
Amelia’s lips curved into a bitter smile. “Why should I let you in when you keep me at arm’s length?”
“It’s just…” He exhaled. “Those are very personal matters.”
Personal matters. Right. Mikhail expected her to bare her soul, while he intended to stay hidden behind his fortress.
This was not meant to be a two-way relationship. She was just another subordinate he wanted to control. That’s why he was persuading her to stay in the Hospital, why he’d given her a seat on the Council, and why he hovered around her. To keep tabs on her thoughts and feelings and make sure they didn’t stray from the path he deemed correct.
He would never see her as anything more than a pawn – to be moved around the Council table, in the immortal world, or anywhere else he chose.
“I want to get down… off the table.”
A shadow crossed his golden irises, and he pulled back. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
It was as if someone poured a bucket of ice over her. All of her earlier misgivings – misgivings she’d been ready to ignore – flashed in her mind like a bright neon sign. She placed her hands on the table, straightening her back.
“I promised Viktor I’d join him in the autopsy room,” Mikhail said. “He’s discovered something…Do you want to come?”
She stared at him, speechless. Had he really just asked if she wanted to go to the autopsy room with him? And she was still sitting on the conference table, ready to let him do whatever he wanted with her. All he had to do was answer a question about his past. And he had pulled away.
Her cheeks burned for different reasons now. “Such behaviour is unacceptable if we’re going to work together.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” He nodded, offering his hand to help her down.
Amelia eyed his outstretched hand. Was this what their future would look like? She would put up walls, he would tear them down with a smile. And then he’d take a step towards her, only to retreat by two, starting the cycle all over again.
“I’d love to come with you,” she replied, her voice surprisingly steady.
***
The lift ride was torture for Mikhail. He yearned to finish what he’d started with Amelia, but could no longer waver between his desires and the right choice.
He had already made his decision. Her membership in the Council officially ended whatever might have been between them. It marked her as the Oracle – and the Oracle couldn’t belong to a man like him.
He was ready to give up Amelia for the sake of the immortal world – he kept telling himself that hewas.His creatures needed her more than he did.
But then he thought back to the loneliness and how he’d ached in her absence. No matter how much he willed his emotions and urges in check, still they slipped out of his control. And then Amelia… She had hesitated about joining the Council. Her presence at the table was a claim – of her title, of her new rolein his world. If she didn’t want it – if she didn’t plan to be the Oracle for the entire immortal world – Mikhail could simply take her for himself.
He had been on the verge of doing just that.
Until she had stared back at him with the eyes of the Oracle. And it had dawned on him that, sooner or later, she would want to claim her place in this world. Even as a human, Amelia had been determined. She would never settle for living as just another immortal. And hadn’t he already taken enough from her?
Now, he glanced at Amelia, who hadn’t stopped pressing her lips tight since they had left the conference room. He had hurt heragain.
He was tempted to drop to his knees and apologise, and then to finish what they had begun…
Damn it.
