Rob nodded. "Okay, I'll see you next week."
"I hope so," Kyros breathed as the boy left. He was about to make a betrayal tonight that would most likely get him killed. But he'd known what he was doing from the beginning.
At least he hoped he had.
Danger lay naked in bed, wrapped in Alexion's arms. She had her head resting on his chest while he played with her hair. Time was slipping away for them. Speeding by so fast that it left her bereft and dizzy.
She wanted to scream for it to stop. She wanted to hold on to Alexion through this night and through the next day and every day that followed after it.
But it wasn't meant to be.
I won't cry. I won't.
It wouldn't be fair to him or to her. But inside she was sobbing uncontrollably. She was torn to pieces. How could she get through this night?
How could she say good-bye to the best thing she'd ever found?
How did people leave their loved ones behind?
But she knew. She'd been forced against her will to leave hers so many times in the past that it made her wonder how she had ever allowed herself to care for someone else.
Then again, not loving a man like Alexion would be an impossibility.
She heard the grandfather clock down the hall striking ten o'clock.
"We have to go," Alexion said, his voice deep and husky.
"I know."
Reluctantly, she pulled away and forced herself to concentrate on anything and everything other than Alexion.
Neither of them spoke as they showered and dressed.
What was there to say? Even worse, she was afraid one of them would say something to set off her tears. It was much easier to keep herself together if she were silent.
She couldn't even tell him that she wouldn't forget him. And that hurt most of all.
"I don't want to forget..." ,
She didn't realize she'd spoken aloud until Alexion gathered her into his arms. "It's better if you do. I couldn't leave you if I knew you were in pain because of me. The only thing that makes this bearable to me is knowing that tomorrow your life will be back to normal."
A tear fled past her control. "I'm sorry," she said, brushing it quickly away. But it was too late. That one tear started an avalanche of sobbing.
Her mind and heart shattered at the thought of the days to come, when she would never even know he existed. She'd no longer know his touch... his scent...
God, how she loved the smell of his skin. The caress of his hand on her face. The feel of his body under and over hers...
How could she live without him?
"Don't leave me," she said, her voice breaking.
Alexion closed his eyes as he felt his own tears swelling. If he could have one wish...
But all the wishes in the world couldn't make him human and they couldn't keep them together.
"I won't leave you, Danger. I will be here for you anytime you need me."
She looked up at him with pain in her eyes that made him ache all the way through his being. "But I won't see you."