Page 59 of Warrior's Captive
Vivian held up a hand. “The marks are sentient? Or is that another thing your Inkmasters can’t disclose?”
Silence. Then Agata said, “There are entire forums dedicated to nothing but discussion over the exact nature of the Ink.”
“Except I don’t have access to the datasphere. Did Tai’ri think I would be angry when I found out what he did?” Especially since it appeared they were married—no matter what Agata and Abeyya said, that was the bottom line—and without her consent. “Never mind. I’ll deal with Tai’ri.”
Abeyya winced. Agata smiled a little. “Be gentle. I don’t believe he intended to do what he did. He simply acted in the moment.”
“I understand.” Vivian throttled her rare temper. She would discuss it with Tai’ri, but it wouldn’t be appropriate to vent her anger to his mother and sister, who had been nothing but kind and certainly weren’t at fault, for anything.
How much of her anger, and what she was angry over, she would take some time to work through before he came home for the evening. This whole time she thought they’d been working toward an understanding of perhaps forming a more long term relationship—and the whole time he’d known they were married, the point moot. He’d let her make a fool of herself.
“When I speak to him, I’ll keep his intentions in mind,” she added.
21
He might haveto stay away from Vivian for a few days.
Something had shifted after their last kiss. Until now, he’d been able to control his hunger, keep the fire banked. But he’dsensedher internal submission, even if she didn’t fully realize herself that she was in love with him.
He was trained to see these things, monitor the tells. And with the aid of the fledging bond—not yet fully formed or consummated, but still present—he could filter out the truth of her feelings.
The entire day his temper had snapped, until Evvek had finally kicked him out of his own office. Tai’ri didn’t blame the analyst. A male in the new throes of a bond was often difficult.
He entered the house, pausing just inside the entrance as his attention zeroed in on the living area. She was awake.
Damn.
Tai’ri took several moments to recite a chant for peace and Silence, desperately banking the raging tides that roared back to life as soon as he realized his female was waiting for him in the dark, alone, restlessness and yearning spicing her blood.
He wasn’tAdekhantrained for nothing. He would sit down, have a pleasant evening conversation, and retire to bed without ravishing her. Without giving in to the increasing demand that he sate himself, make her come so hard there was no doubt in her mind what hisintentionswere.
Tai’ri snorted, moving forward. She actually thought he was going to let her leave him.
Sillyyadoana.
* * *
Vivian ordered the lights dimmed and waited for him in the living area. Normally she would be asleep this time of night, but they had things to discuss.
Access to the datasphere—though, to be fair, if she had pushed it he likely would have caved. She had to admit to cocooning herself in her own little bubble in this house, only willing to dip her toe into the greater world outside. She hadn’t been ready to fully face her new reality, especially after the series of attacks. She was . . . readier now. Which meant forcing herself to pin down this relationship.
His attempts to keep the full nature of the marks away from her.
The consequences of impulsive actions. Mostly hers.
True anger was impossible, knowing he’d acted to save her and the baby’s lives.
He entered the home like a ghost, footsteps silent. It was only her increasing awareness of his presence that alerted Vivian. She sat up straighter, shifting to relieve some of the pressure on her ribs—it turned out that breathing was neither simple, nor optional, while pregnant—and trained her gaze on the hallway leading from the entrance.
Tai’ri’s shadow stopped. She hadn’t bothered to raise the lights, and her human eyes made out his outline. Dressed all in black, a dense shadow softened only by light from the twin moons streaming through the balcony windows.
“You’re still up,” he said finally, moving into the room.
“I couldn’t sleep.” That was a neutral enough conversation starter. “It’s hard to get comfortable.”
Something is his posture softened, perhaps the stiffness in his broad shoulders. He moved towards the kitchen. “Bey says these last few days are the most difficult. She says some of her mothers offer bribes to help them go into labor early.”
Vivian smiled ruefully. “I might have offered a bribe too, if it had occurred to me.”
