"I don't know, but whenever I reach for him, day or night, he's always been there for me. Always. I can't remember a single time that I couldn't find him. Mother Earth always sang to me, a vibration I could feel, and I would know where he was."
"Did you tell Gabriel and Francesca you could do that? Could you do it with them? With me?"
Skyler paced across the floor, looking once more at her watch a little impatiently. "I never thought to tell anyone, not even Dimitri, the how of it. But no, I never tried to wake anyone else. Francesca and Gabriel get very little time alone together these days, so I never considered waking them. It seemed natural to turn to Dimitri. I knew that he needed me as much as I needed him."
"All this time I thought you were afraid of a relationship with him," Josef said.
Skyler's smile held little humor. "I was never afraid of a relationship with him. How could I be? We have a wonderful relationship. He treats me like I'm the greatest, most desirable woman in the world. He's intelligent, we can talk about anything together for hours. He's kind and gentle. He's everything a woman could want in a partner."
"I'm hearing a ‘but' in there."
"I am not certain I can be the lifemate he truly deserves. I'm great at the emotional relationship and the intellectual relationship, but I have no idea if I can ever be what he needs physically. That's an entirely different matter."
Josef shook his head. "Skyler, don't get all psycho about that. It will happen when it's supposed to. Dimitri will never want another woman. Not ever. He'll give you all the time you need."
"I know. I do. Dimitri would never push me and he never has. It isn't him that's worried. I just get anxious thinking about it. I want to be the best lifemate possible to him, but my mind just can't go to a physical relationship yet."
She glanced again at her watch. "Paul had better get here soon. Are you certain he got away without anyone being suspicious?"
"Yeah, he's on his way. Only a few minutes out. You said Dimitri was alive. If he is, we'll find him."
Skyler let her breath out slowly. "I don't like any of this. I detest the fact that the prince, along with everyone else, has abandoned him."
Josef slung his arm around her and hugged her tight. The smile faded. "We'll find him. We will."
Skyler clung to him for a moment and then nodded, straightening her shoulders and stepping away from him. "I don't like the only explanation I can think of for not being able to connect with him."
"What is it?" Josef asked.