Before she realized what she was doing, she’d snuggled into the comfy leather seat and buckled herself in.
Joseph climbed in, his weight rocking the cab. His long arm reached behind her seat for a couple bottles of water. He handed one to her. “Drink.”
She took it. “I’m not all that thirsty.”
“Ronan took your blood. Drink the damn water.”
She did as he asked, just to get him to leave her alone.
He cracked open the bottle and downed half of it in a single shot.
“Thirsty?” she asked.
“I feel like I’ve eaten a desert, cacti and all.”
He started the engine and took off so fast that gravel spewed out from his tires.
“You lost a lot of blood. Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?”
“I’m fine. Or I will be, once we get you somewhere safe.”
Safe wasn’t on the menu, at least not yet. “We still haven’t found any sign of Eric.”
“I told you we’d keep searching and I meant it, but we have to stop for a while.”
“Every minute we wait is one too long. If you’re not up to the search, then take me back to my car and I’ll go on without you.”
His hands fisted on the steering wheel. “Not happening, Lyka. You’re not much better off than I am, not after the way you kept my ass alive so Ronan could find us.”
“I’m fine,” she lied. She was tired and shaky, but none of that mattered. She had to keep searching.
“You’re exhausted. I can see you shaking from here. You tried to channel way too much power through what is still a tiny thread of a connection between us.” Some of his fury spilled over in his tone.
“Don’t get snippy with me. I had no choice.”
“I understand that, and I’m grateful as hell that you took the risk. But damn it, Lyka, you could have killed yourself.”
“That’s why you’re mad? Because I took a risk?”
“No, I’m mad because you tricked me into letting you out of Dabyr, where you were safe. Now I’m stuck watching you suffer, letting you risk your life, when we could have been back home, where you could have taken your time learning how to wield my power.”
“I’m sorry it was inconvenient for you that my people were attacked.”
His jaw bulged under the strain of his anger. “You know that’s not what I mean. There are a lot of people out scouring the countryside, looking for Eric and the kids. You didn’t need to come out here and risk your life trying to learn on the fly.”
“Yes, I did,” she said. “And if you don’t understand that, then you’re not the man I thought you were.”
“I’m the kind of man who wants his woman to stay safe—at least until she knows where her skills lie.”
“I’m not your woman.”
“Like hell you’re not. You tied yourself to me. Unbreakable bonds. The only way either of us is getting out is through death, and I plan to keep you alive for as long as I draw breath.”
“Don’t remind me.” She still hadn’t come to terms with the permanence of their relationship. There hadn’t been time.
“You’re my wife now, Lyka. My mate. If you think I’m going to just ignore the fact that you almost died back there, then I’m not the man you think I am.”
His throwing her words back at her pissed her off, but he had a point. She really didn’t know him—didn’t know what he was capable of doing. If she pushed him too far, he might get pissed enough to tie her up in some Gerai house, where she would be of no use.
She pulled in a long breath, then another. She had to stay calm here, think rationally.
He finished off the second half of the water, so she handed him the rest of hers as a sort of peace offering. “I think you’re the kind of man who will respect the spirit of his vow as well as the letter. I think you’re the kind of man who is torn up inside by the idea of those children suffering. I think you’re the kind of man who would willingly risk his life to save someone else. That’s the kind of man I hope I’ve bound myself to.”
Some of his anger fell away. She could see it in the way his shoulders fell on a heavy sigh. “I can’t lose you. You understand that, don’t you? Even if I die out here, you have to live. You could be compatible with one of