her to feel that way about being tied to him, but he didn’t dare voice his desire and look like some kind of a loser. She’d made it clear that being with a Theronai had been her last choice. She would have much rather been with a Slayer—a man she saw as her own kind.
Rather than say something stupid, he settled with, “Thank you.”
She frowned at him. “You don’t believe me?”
“It’s not that. I’m just thinking ahead a little to how you’re going to feel once you’re grounded again.”
“Why would I be grounded?”
“Because I have to go home soon and do my job. Nicholas can only hold down the fort for so long before he’s going to want to get back out there and fight.”
“Are you forgetting your promise to me—that I can leave Dabyr whenever I want?”
“No. I just thought things would be different now that we’re bound. Theronai couples almost always stick together.”
She squirmed out from under him. “And you assumed that I would stay there with you.”
“Well, yeah.”
Lyka shook her head, making her wild, golden hair dance about her shoulders. “I keep telling you, I’m a Slayer at heart. I can’t live cooped up like that for the next ten years.”
In all the chaos of searching for Eric and the kids, Joseph hadn’t really stopped to think about what their life would look like after they found them. He knew she needed to feel free and that she wanted to fight, but until now those pieces hadn’t coalesced in his brain to form a solid conclusion: his mate was going to be miserable living his life with him.
“I understand,” he said. And he did. He was going to have to choose between his duty to his people and his duty to his mate. He couldn’t break his vows to any of them, which left him only one option. “I can’t break the bond you and I have, but when this job is done and Eric and the kids are safe, you’re free to go. I won’t hold you at Dabyr against your will.”
“What will you do?”
“What I always do,” he said. “My duty.”
Chapter 35
Ronan tried several times to compel Justice to do his bidding. Each time, she did exactly as she pleased.
He was a powerful creature, centuries old and with ancient and mysterious abilities. She was supposed to at least pretend to fight the magic he was working on her.
“Will you stop!” she snapped at him as she drove over the backcountry roads like they were her own personal racetrack. “You’re pissing me off with all that buzzing in my head.”
Ronan hadn’t dared let her out of his sight. He’d insisted that if she wanted the demon delivered to Joseph, she was going to have to be the one to do it. And the only way she could was if he guided her to the meeting point.
Surprisingly enough, she’d relented, agreeing to drive while he navigated.
“Who are you?” he asked. “Where did you come from?”
She shot him a surly glance and readjusted her grip on the steering wheel. “Are we there yet?”
“Almost. You didn’t answer my questions.”
“No. I didn’t.”
“Will you?”
“No. I won’t.”
“Why not?”
“Listen, vampire,” she began.
“Sanguinar. Not vampire.”
“You stalk the night, drink blood, are all pale and far too pretty for your own good. If the shoe fits . . .”
“Too pretty?”
“Sorry. Did I step on your pretty little vampire toes? Should I have called you handsome?”
He would have enjoyed that. Instead, he was unsure of what she thought of him, and that made him flounder in insecurity. Did she like the way he looked? He certainly loved looking at her.
“Take a left at the next intersection,” he said.
“You didn’t answer my question.” She shot his words back at him with a mischievous glow lighting her silvery green eyes.
“You answer one of mine, I’ll answer one of yours.”
A wide grin spread across her luscious mouth. “I love games. But I get to go first.”
“As you please.”
“How are you able to find me?”
“I drank your blood. It’s a part of me now. So are you. I’ll be able to find you wherever you go for as long as you live.”
She shivered, and he had no idea if it was the good kind or the bad kind. “Does that upset you?”
“Yes,” she said. “Next question.”
“But it’s my turn.”
“You just asked yours. You wanted to know if I was upset. I told you. Thus, my turn.”
Clearly, he was going to have to be more careful in his dealings with this