Page 70 of Mistaken

At least, she hoped it wasn’t. She’d gone to sleep thinking everything in their world was absolutely perfect, and now…

…well, now she wasn’t sure exactly what was going on.

If she’d been intimate with a mortal man, she supposed how both of them might have been worried about an unexpected pregnancy resulting from all that abandoned lovemaking. She and Carson had always been careful, even though he’d grumbled about the condoms she’d made him wear.

But that wasn’t a problem with djinn. From what she’d heard, they were very deliberate and in control of their reproduction, and she guessed it must be much the same with Abdul, or he would have said something to her.

No, something else was going on.

Luckily, she’d washed her hair the day before, so she skipped that step, instead showering quickly so she could get out and put on a dress, since that didn’t take as much time as trying to figure out a top and jeans. Soon enough, she was finished and in the kitchen, where Abdul had already summoned some coffee for himself and a mug of tea for her.

“Thanks,” she said as he handed it over. “Now do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

For a moment he was silent, staring down into his mug of coffee as though it was the most important thing in the world. “Do you miss your friends in Los Alamos?” he asked abruptly, and she stared back at him, startled.

“Where did that come from?”

“Do you?”

It seemed he’d gotten a bug in his ear about something. Was he regretting their intimacy, and was now trying to figure out if she would rather go back where she came from?

Even though it was a gut punch to say the words, she forced them out anyway.

“Are you trying to get rid of me?”

At once, his expression softened, and he set down his coffee so he could reach out and touch her cheek. “No, of course not. You are more important to me than anything in the world. It is only that I wonder if I am being selfish by having you here with me and away from everyone else you know.”

Clearly, it was time to set the record straight. She set her mug down on the island and grasped both his hands in hers. “Abdul, I’m right where I want to be. Maybe we could have handled this differently, but don’t you ever think — not for one second — that you’re being selfish. If anything, I’m the selfish one.”

His brows lifted. “I am not sure that is an accurate assessment of the situation. Why on earth would you believe such a thing?”

“Because — ”Sarah paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. Wasn’t it selfish to be living here in luxury, utterly happy, while everyone in Los Alamos was working their butts off to keep the community going? She’d always done her part to pitch in while she was there, but she’d also never had quite the rah-rah attitude about being part of the last outpost of humanity, or whatever. That said, she knew she’d left people behind who must be worried about her, even if it didn’t seem as though they’d tried very hard to track down where she’d gone. “Because I suppose I screwed up, in a way. I should have done something to let them know I was all right. Then again, maybe it’s not something I need to worry about, since I get the feeling they didn’t even come looking for me.”

His fingers tightened around hers, although he didn’t let go. “I fear that is my fault.”

Sarah blinked at him. “What are you trying to say?”

At least he didn’t look away. No, those amber-ale eyes held hers as he said, “They sent a small search party to look for you. I couldn’t risk having them come anywhere near here, so…I removed them.”

“You didn’t…?” she began, then stopped herself.

Did she even want to hear the answer to that question?

“No, no,” he said hurriedly. “They are not dead. A little banged up, I fear, for I was not very gentle. But nothing they cannot heal from quickly enough.”

She was going to need a minute to process that one. Ignoring the tea Abdul had gotten her, she untangled her fingers from his and went to sit down at the dining room table. He followed, but not too closely, instead choosing to hover a few feet away rather than crowd her personal space.

Probably a good idea. She pressed her lips together, then looked up at him.

“How long ago?”

He didn’t pretend to misunderstand the question. “Three days.”

Three days. Definitely before she and Abdul had shared any kind of intimacies…but definitely after she’d begun to have feelings for him, even if she might not have admitted such a thing to herself during that time. Still, she needed to recognize the uncomfortable fact that if the rescue party from Los Alamos had actually managed to make it to her, there was at least a fifty-fifty chance that she might have told them she wanted to stay where she was.

Which meant she wasn’t going to let herself be too angry with Abdul. After all, he’d told her at the very beginning that this was his home and he didn’t appreciate intruders. He’d only done what he thought he needed to.

“Okay,” she said. “Maybe there might have been a better way for you to handle the situation, but I suppose it could have been worse. I just wish there was a way to let them all know I’m okay so they won’t keep sending people to look for me.”

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