“So what would that do to a child?”
“You’ve seen Daniel. Daniel’s probably a good part of the reason you agreed to come here in the first place,” Sam guessed.
“But not because I considered having a child. I wanted to make certain his mother wasn’t like his grandfather. If she’d been experimenting on him and all of you knew it … ” She left the sentence hanging.
He studied her face, the absolute serenity there. “You and your brothers came prepared to wipe us out and take the boy.”
“If need be. He is never going to live the childhood I did.”
“At least there, we’re all on the same page. Daniel is well loved and looked after. Every man and woman in this compound and the one next to ours would protect him with their life.”
She nodded in agreement. “And Lily is a very good mother. She is a great scientist, but she respects life.”
Sam leaned back, his hand curling around the back of his chair until his knuckles were nearly white. “Do you want children, Azami?”
She paled a little. He felt like he might have just delivered a punch to her gut. All the air seemed to rush from her lungs and she looked vulnerable, so much so that he had to fight the desire to kick the chair aside and pull her into his arms. He wasn’t nearly as civilized as she was.
“I never thought it was a possibility, Sam,” she answered, her voice very low. She sipped at her tea, taking her time. “I never thought I would find a man I could respect and love, let alone that he would find me attractive. There was never a question about children. And then I met you … and Daniel.” She ducked her head. “He’s so amazing, isn’t he? I rocked him back to sleep the other night.”
Her voice had gone all soft and dreamy. He could picture her with their child nestled in her arms. She’d make a fierce, protective mother.
“Do you believe your heart could stand up to carrying a baby, because I’d do it for you, honey, but I’m just not built right.” He meant it too. If she wanted a child, he’d move heaven and earth for her to have her wish.
“I have no idea. I would think so. It stands up to me teleporting, so I can’t see that it would give out just because I’m carrying a baby, but what with both of us having a strain of cat DNA and both able to teleport, we could be in real trouble.”
“Jack Norton has twins, Azami, beautiful babies, and he’s got the same strain of cat DNA. Whitney seemed very fond of large cats.”
“I tried to find out if Lily was working on the effects on our children,” Azami admitted, “but she’s very careful with that research if she is.”
“Anything to do with Daniel, or any of the babies, she would be extra careful of.” She kept that research locked up and out of a computer Whitney might find a way to hack, but there was no reason to disclose that to Azami. Not yet. She was either with them—one of them—or she was walking away.
Her head came up and she looked him in the eyes. “I’m the least human of all with my strange heart and weird DNA strands, but if you really want me and you believe that you can love me, and you’re willing to take a chance with me, I want to be with you, Sam.”
“Willing to take a chance with you? Love you? Want you? Are you out of your mind, woman?” Sam stood up fast, kicking the chair away from him so he had a clear path to her.
CHAPTER 14
Azami found herself laughing as she fended him off. “You’re so impetuous, Sammy. Let me wash my tea things and put them away before you carry me off.”
“Carry you off?” he echoed. “I thought the kitchen table looked good right about now.”
When he kept coming, she put up her hand to stop him. “Really, it’s a matter of respect to honor my father and his father. It’s important to me.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his foot to signal great impatience as she began to methodically wash the tea utensils and bowls. She didn’t look at him, but kept her back to him, concentrating on the task at hand. He realized she really did pour herself into whatever task she was doing at the time. He waited in silence, secretly enjoying the flowing grace of her hands as she worked.
When she closed the wooden box and turned to him, leaning her back against the table, she smiled up at him. “Do you really want me so much?”
He reached past her to take the box from harm’s way and place it gently on the counter. “You have no idea, woman, but I’m about to show you.” He didn’t even care if he sounded as if he was threatening her. He needed some control here, and not in the way she was controlled.
He didn’t like the idea of her thinking of leaving him. He knew he could tie her to him if she just gave him a chance. He couldn’t be this sure and not be right.
“I don’t know the first thing about this,” she confided.
Sam stepped close to her, towering over her. “I do, Azami. Be sure this time because I won’t be able to take stopping in the middle of everything again. If you want me to use protection, we’ll do that. I have no worries about having a child with you, unless you’re afraid of your heart giving out. With or without children, I want to spend my life with you. So you tell me what you want.”
She looked up at him from under all those long, feathery lashes, sending his heart rate accelerating. “I held Daniel in my arms and rocked him to sleep and cried the entire time,” she admitted softly. “I want to try, but I’m afraid.”
He drew her into the shelter of his arms. “We’ll talk to Lily about this, Azami. She knows what it’s like to be afraid for her child. And Jack and Briony can help set your mind at ease as well.”