“If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t be with you.” She blew out a breath and shook her head. “This wasn’t about you, Torin. I felt the call of the moon and I went with it. I knew what I was doing. I knew the risks. I’m not some stupid heroine in a bad horror movie.”
He pushed one hand through his long hair. “You took the same kind of chance those women invariably do.”
“No, I didn’t,” she argued. “I’m not helpless. I can take care of myself.” She pointed at the man curled up in the grass, sound asleep. “There’s my proof.”
Hating to admit she had a point, Torin was forced to acknowledge, at least privately, that she had managed to protect herself. Then he noticed the gun lying beside the sleeping man. “Did he threaten you?”
“Of course he did, but I handled it,” she said, lifting her chin in a show of defiance.
So she had. A mixture of pride and impatience battled inside him. She was coming into her own, but at the same time, he worried that she would become too confident. Take one chance too many. If she had made a mistake and this man had shot her—She wasn’t immortal yet. She could still die. And if the Awakening were stopped before it was complete, he would die with her. Soulless. Empty. There would be no eternity together. Not now. Not after finally experiencing a true union with her after so many centuries of solitude.
“You should have told me when our minds connected,” he said.
“You would have stopped me,” she answered.
“Probably.”
“You should be proud of me, not angry,” she said and he detected a slight quaver in her voice in spite of the brave front she was presenting. So the encounter with this nameless attacker had shaken her more than she wanted to admit. But even with her fear, she had maintained control of the situation. She had saved herself.
“I am pleased you are well, Shea. And that you were able to dispatch that human.” He waved one hand at the snoring man in dismissal. “But striding into the unknown alone was a foolish choice.”
She bristled, but better she be furious with him than dead.
“I survived.”
“This time.”
“Torin . . .” She went to him and laid both hands on his forearms. Her touch soothed him instantly. “I know we’re in this together. I know you want to protect me. And I can promise I’ll be careful. But that’s all I can promise. If something needs doing, I’m going to do it. Okay?”
No, he thought. It wasn’t okay with him that she put herself in danger. But he would find a way to protect her in spite of herself. Besides, the deed was done and now he needed to know what they could expect from the man once he woke up.
“I can hear you thinking, you know,” she said softly. “You’re not protecting your thoughts.”
“It’s just as well,” he snapped. “You should know what it does to me when you’re in danger.”
She moved toward him and laid one hand on his broad chest. “I get it, Torin. But you have to know what it does to me to do nothing. To sit on the sidelines and let you take over.”
“I’m not taking over. I’m protecting you.”
“I need to know how to protect myself, too,” she reminded him.
“You wouldn’t if you would listen to me,” he grumbled.
Shea actually laughed and he had to smile at the sound of it. She was not going to be caged, he thought. Not by her pursuers. Not by him.
Torin nodded at the man on the ground. “How long will he sleep?”
“I’m not sure. A day. Maybe two.”
A short laugh shot from his throat. He could well imagine the man’s consternation when he woke up. He would be confused and muddled and wondering when and how he had lost control of the situation. Torin knew that feeling himself. Trying to control Shea Jameson was an exercise in futility.
“Will he remember you?” he asked quietly, looking at the man and wishing he were awake so Torin could vent some of the banked anger choking him.
She frowned a bit. “Yes. I put him to sleep, but I didn’t know how to alter his memories.”
Nodding, he made up his mind. “We will eat and then leave. We can’t risk him waking early. When he does rise, he’ll no doubt contact the authorities. And if he realizes who you