Andre took her hand. “There is a smooth rock you can sit on over here. Do not go too far into the middle because the pool becomes deeper.”
He settled her onto the rock and then sat close to her. Close enough she could see him breathe, far enough away that she couldn’t easily reach out and touch all that muscle in his bare chest.
“If you are unafraid of change, and I disagree that you are, what is it, sivamet, about me that frightens you?”
She closed her eyes against the velvet mesmerizing tone that just sank into her body and made her boneless. And spineless. And captivated. The hot water lapped at her breasts. She had very small breasts, but they were sensitive, and the water, coupled with his voice, wreaked havoc on her senses. Her nipples were hard and her breasts ached for his touch. The water actually felt like tongues licking over the slight curves.
Why did Andre have to be so gentle and sweet? Armend would have eaten him alive. Armend’s friends would probably kill him when he tried to defend her. She would have to be fast. She knew martial arts and she could defend him. Andre. The gentle bear of a man.
Teagan knew he was watching her closely because she felt his eyes on her. He had that kind of intensity. He remained silent, expecting an answer to his questions. She’d already made a huge fool of herself already, what did it matter if she continued?
“I’m way over my head with you,” she blurted out. “You’re this gorgeous stranger, sexy and sweet, and I don’t have a clue why I’m so drawn to you, but I am. If we were talking about a little fling, I might consider it, although honestly, I don’t know if I would. I’m private. Really private. I don’t want some mindless night with a man, no matter how good it is. And that tells me I’m in real trouble with you.”
“Why?”
Could he really be that clueless? She risked a glance at him. Yeah. He was watching her all right, with darker blue eyes, the midnight color that told her he wasn’t happy with what she was telling him. He was totally focused on her, making her feel as if she was the only woman in his world. Not just there in the cave, but in the entire world.
She let her breath out slowly. “Andre, you get to me. Inside, I mean. That means when we walk away from each another it’s going to hurt like hell. For me at least. I don’t think it’s a good idea to chance it.”
“Why would we walk away if we both want the same thing?”
She waved her hand at the cave. “Do you have any idea how bizarre this truly is? We’re in a cave in the mountains. I’m on a visa. You live here. We’ve known each another for a few hours.”
He nodded his head slowly. Thoughtfully. She let out her breath again, reminding herself to breathe once in a while. At least he was listening.
“I have been in your mind. It is not a few hours for me, Teagan. When I healed you, I connected us together. You can touch my mind, see inside of me any time that you wish. Once you do that, it will not be a few hours for you either. You will see me, the person that I am, just as I see you.”
She hadn’t expected his answer. He’d been in her head a couple of times reading her thoughts, so maybe he did know more about her than she was comfortable with anyone knowing—especially a gorgeous man who looked kind of godlike.
“I can’t read your thoughts, Andre. I’m a healer, but I’m not psychic. I don’t have that kind of gift—or curse, depending upon how you see it.”
“You can, Teagan. You feel the connection between us. It is too strong for you not to.”
She shrugged and shifted a little. The water swirled around behind her, lapping at her back. She slid a little on the rock until the water covered her to her neck. The heat felt good, easing the tension out of her shoulders and neck. The backpack was heavy after miles of hiking and a bit of a strain on her small frame. She packed as light as possible, but when packing for a month in the mountains, and maybe a day or two in a town to wind down, the weight began to add up.
“I’ve never read anyone’s mind in my life. If I could, Andre, do you think I would have put myself in Armend’s hands? Clearly he’s a psychopath. He’s a killer. A serial rapist and a killer. If he was telling the truth about his friends, he isn’t alone in that kind of behavior. If I could read minds, I would have known when we were at the university. I tutored him. I was with him five days a week, sometimes a few hours a day. He never once acted anything but friendly toward me. He never crossed a single line with me. In fact, not one of the women he dated looked a thing like me.”
Andre studied Teagan’s face closely. She was upset now. He couldn’t blame her. She knew Jashari had killed several women, and he didn’t want her taking on that responsibility, but she was. He could see it on her face.
“You can read my thoughts because we are connected, Teagan. At this time, you will not be able to read others.”
Her gaze jumped to his face. He could get used to the way she looked at him. He hoped she would always look at him like that—until the end of their days and well into their next life together.
“How? How do I do that?”
“Be still. Let your mind be still. You have not wanted to look into my mind. You fear what we can become together, not me. You fear what you will feel for me, not me. You already know I would never harm you nor would I leave you brokenhearted. It is impossible.”
“What does csitri mean?” Teagan asked again, wanting to hear his explanation a second time. She loved the way the word sounded in his language.
“Little one.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “But more. Little slip of a girl, little slip of a thing. Little one. It is a term of affection. Simply that. An exact translation is difficult.”
She made a little round O with her lips for just a brief moment. He’d seen her do it a couple of other times and once he looked at her mouth, it was difficult to pull his gaze away. She was finally relaxing, the hot water easing the tension from her. He couldn’t allow her to sleep, not until dawn, not until she was so tired that when he pushed sleep on her, she wouldn’t realize the difference.
“Quite a bit earlier you used the word susu; what does that mean?”
He was silent for a moment, turning over in his mind what he would say to her. He couldn’t lie. She was his lifemate, and lifemates didn’t lie to each another. He shrugged, tried to be casual when the meaning was anything but. “It means, ‘I am home.’”
Teagan frowned, trying to comprehend what for now was impossible for her to understand and it would only frighten her if he tried to explain.