Page 85 of Burn for Her

He closed his eyes until his vertigo faded.

“Anyway,” he bristled, “I ended up running through the woods, away from the nearest village, fell into a river, and nearly drowned. Decided I really didn’t want to be fish food, crawled out of the current and made my way to a tiny cabin in the middle of nowhere. I banged on the door and Alistair answered.” Dorian’s mouth curved into a smile at the memory. “Marie was pregnant with the twins then.” His eyes popped open. “They took me in, fed and clothed me, raised me even though all the Lycan in their clan and others rejected and tried to kill me.”

“They tried to kill you too?”

“When I say I have enemies, Lena, I’m not saying it to sound badass. I mean it. Lycan mostly hate vampires. Alistair and Marie ended up being abandoned by their clan, though some decided to come back after I left to join the House of Death.”

Lena stood slowly and pulled him up along with her. “I’m so sorry,” she said while cupping his face.

“It’s nothing for you to be sorry for. It is what it is.”

He loved the feel of her hands on him. Loved that her brown eyes had little specks of amber and gold. Loved how her lip quivered a little bit. Another tear fell down her cheek. He wanted to lick it away. Instead, Dorian let it fall for them both.

He never shed a tear in his life. Maybe he wasn’t capable of it. Maybe that, too, had been drained out of him by his cruel sire.

“You fought hard to have a better life,” she said quietly.

Fucking right he had.

“And now you’re willing to let all that go to waste because of me?”

“What?” His heart seized. “No!”

“Yes!” She started crying in earnest. “How could you go through all this and at the grand finale not want victory?”

“It’s not victory if it means tying you to something like me. Doing so makes me no better than my father was. My mother died to get away from him, Lena.” Dorian started shutting down and putting his walls up. “I’d rather die myself than find you’ve committed suicide to escape a life with me.”

She slapped him. Hard. “Fuck you if you think I’d be so weak.”

“It’s not weak if it’s the only way you see an exit.”

She slapped him again. “Fuck you for thinking I’d want an exit!”

“You want to live with enemies at your door, day and night, Lena? Because what’s mine will be yours if I turn you and we mate for life. Every bastard I’ve ever pissed off, the Savag-Ri, hell, even Lycan, will be gunning for you. Is that the future you always envisioned for yourself?”

Damn his soul, because, deep down, he wanted her to say yes. If she did, it meant that no matter how bad it was, she still wanted to be with him. That she wanted his bite, their bond, and would trust him to protect her, no matter what. Forever. Fucking hell, he wanted to hear her say yes so badly, his head spun.

Lena got all in his face as she said, “When that asshole set your house on fire, did I run and hide? No. What did I do, Dorian?”

She hopped in a car and chased the fucker down… after checking on Dorian’s safety.

“I don’t run from a fight. I relish the chance to show my opponent exactly how big a mistake they made by going after me.”

“This isn’t a fight club.”

“And this isn’t only your choice.” She shoved him.

“What if,” he jabbed his finger at his temple angrily, “What if? That’s all I keep asking myself. What if she dies? What if someone takes her? What if a Savag-Ri finds her? What if I’m not there in time to stop them?” He sucked back a ragged breath. “Jesus fucking Christ woman, I can’t even bear the fact that I hadn’t been there in time to stop that vampire from ripping you out of the car last night and holding you at knife point!”

Lena’s head tipped back, and she laughed—all out laughed like this was a joke.

“It’s not funny!” he roared in her face.

She kept laughing, and it was laced with anger. “Is that what you think happened, Dorian? That I was driving around searching for an arsonist and he somehow stopped my car and dragged me out of it?”

What else could have happened if not that? It was a vampire who attacked her. They had abilities no human could measure up to.

“Oh honey,” her sarcastic tone paired nicely with the sway in her hips as she backed up. “I hit him with the car on purpose, then I hopped out and chased after him.”

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