Page 44 of Vex
"I thought you were going to kill me," she said, "when you found me outside. I saw your fire coming, and I was sure that was the end."
"I knew it wouldn't harm you." The certainty in his voice was absolute, unshakeable, like he was stating a fundamental law of physics.
"But how?" She pushed herself up from the sofa, driven by nervous energy, then immediately sank back down as her legs proved too unsteady to support her.
"I could hear your thoughts in my mind. There is only one human in the universe that could be true for. And my fire cannot harm my mate."
My mate.
How could he say it so simply?
"So just like that, everything's forgiven? Fate points the finger at me, and you're not pissed anymore that I lied to you?" The words came out sharper than she'd intended, edged with fury. The memory of his cold dismissal in their original suite burned in her chest, the way he'd looked at her like she was something distasteful he needed to scrape off his boot.
How dare he stand there looking at her with warm eyes when just hours ago he'd been ready to ship her off Aetis like trash?
"You were in an impossible situation, and I regretted my reaction almost as soon as you left. If I hadn't been an idiot, you wouldn't have almost died out there." His voice carried the weight of genuine remorse, and for the first time since he'd started pacing, he went completely still. "And that has nothing to do with you being my mate," he added. "I was a lousy partner there."
The admission hung in the air, exposed and honest in a way that caught her completely off guard. She'd expected him to fall back on destiny and fate, to use the mate bond as an excuse for his change of heart. Instead, he was taking responsibility.
But she couldn’t quite let go. "I'm playing the part of your mistress here, but that's not who I am. You said it yourself, your uncle is a godsdamned king. You can't just bring some former thief home and call it good. We can't?—"
Strangely, Vex smiled. "You actually wouldn't be the first."
"What? You have other mates? I don't share." The vehemence in the words surprised her. But she'd had one taste of Vex, and she wasn't about to join some lord's harem just because he spoke prettily.
The thought of him with other women sent a spike of possessive fury through her that was completely irrational and absolutely undeniable. He’s mine, something in her brain insisted, and the intensity of the feeling made her hands clench into fists.
He coughed and shook his head. "I mean that one of my cousins is mated to a former thief. She's human. They actually met when she tried to steal from him."
"You don't know me." The words came out smaller than she'd intended, carrying more vulnerability than she wanted to reveal.
He wouldn’t be deterred. "And leaving you behind on Aetis won't exactly fix that. I'm not asking for vows of devotion on a week's acquaintance."
"It hasn't even been a week," she muttered.
Vex pointedly ignored that. "Come home to Vemion with me. Get to know me, the real me. Let's see what fate saw in the two of us. Give it a chance."
The offer was loaded with possibilities that thrilled and terrified her. Home to Vemion. Home with him.
She wanted to say yes down to the tips of her toes. But Luisa had spent her life protecting herself, and she couldn't just give everything up for one rich man's promises.
Those were always fleeting.
"I have a job," she said. "The IDA hired me for a reason. I can't just take off and be your … your … yours. I'm not the kind of woman to sit around and do nothing, or whatever it is ladies do on your planet."
"They do whatever they want," he said dryly. Then he continued. "There's work for you on Vemion," he said. "I thought we worked well together, before it all went bad. And if you want to take your own jobs, I would never stop you." His voice carried absolute conviction, like the idea of controlling her choices was genuinely abhorrent to him.
"A month." The offer escaped before she could fully think it through, driven by hope and terror.
"What?" He went completely still.
"I'll give you a month. As a test run." She could use a vacation. And a dragon lord was practically kneeling at her feet, begging her to let him … love? … her.
When had anyone ever wanted her that desperately? When had anyone ever looked at her like she was something precious, something worth fighting for? The intensity in his gaze made her feel exposed and cherished.
She wasn't sure she could wrap her head around that.
But she could give him—and herself—a month.
