Page 98 of Kiss of Light

“You’re asking me thatnow?” She laughed down at him. “Have youmetme?”

“It was foolish,” he grumbled. “If I hadn’t had some small vestige of control, it could have ended badly.”

“But you did. And it didn’t. In fact, I’d say it ended rather spectacularly.” She sank down into his lap and looped her hands behind his neck. “Why didn’t you want to feed from me, Lemar?”

He pushed a damp tendril of her hair behind one ear.

“It’s complicated. I didn’t want…” he gestured between them, “…thisto happen.”

“This?” She wriggled in his lap, teasing him. “You didn’t wantthisto happen? Why the fuck not?Thisis pretty fucking awesome.”

“Because it makes it harder to let you go.”

He stared into her eyes and she stopped moving, mesmerized by his expression. The rain was forgotten again as he slowly leaned towards her. When his mouth closed on hers, it was with a sweetness she’d never felt from him before. A kiss of such simmering intensity and longing, it stripped her heart bare.

When he released her, it was like a part of her had been left behind.

She leaned her head against his and swore softly under her breath. He frowned in concern.

“Are you all right?”

“No. I’m not all right. I’m not all right at all.”

“Why not?”

“Because of the way I feel about you.”

He stared into her eyes, dark with turmoil, raindrops glistening on her lashes.

“This place is turning into a mud-bath,” he said at last. “Let’s move to drier ground.”

He stood, clasping her close to his chest as he blurred towards the Spider and leapt on board. As soon as he released her, she busied herself finding a towel and squeezing the rain out of her hair.

Neither spoke. Lemar rummaged through the bag Pasha had packed and drew out a pair of black trousers. He pulled them on and dragged a cloth over his face and torso, drying off as best he could.

When he finally looked at Tala, she was perched on the end of the bed wrapped in the towel.

“We should get going,” he said. “Do you want to give the commands?”

She uttered the words to close the hatch and get the Spider on its way again. Lemar sat next to her as they swayed and rocked closer to their destination.

He waited patiently for her to speak. She drew her knees up and wrapped her arms round them.

“I can’t be your mate. It’s impossible. Fate’s screwed up.”

“Why? Because you can’t fall in love?”

“No. Yes. Look, it’s more complicated than that.” She stopped.

“Tala?”

Taking a breath, she forced herself to tell him the truth. Why she couldn’t be his mate. Why they couldn’t be together.

“I can’t have children.”

He looked at her, bewildered.

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

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