She realized she’d said the wrong thing as he stiffened against her. “I would never harm you Aria,” he grated.
She was not surprised to discover that they were alone in the hall; Ashby had been smart to use Braith’s distraction as a chance to escape... so had the others. “I know that.” She ran her fingers over the firm planes of his face as she pulled the glasses away and dropped them into the sand. “I know you would never hurt me,” she assured him. “But Ashby, what was that? What were you thinking? You were going to kill him.”
He opened his mouth; she thought perhaps to protest her statement. Instead he closed it again and tenderly rested his fingers over the fresh marks he’d left on her neck. “I would have, yes,” he admitted.
She was not taken aback by the admission. “Why?”
He shook his head; his eyebrows drew together as a brief look of confusion crossed his face. “I don’t know.” She knew it killed him to admit that, but there was no denying it. “I saw you, on that roof, bleeding. I thought you were going to die. I left you with him, to protect you, and…” His voice broke off. Aria stroked him, looking to calm him as his distraught eyes met hers. There was so much anguish and confusion in his gaze that it robbed her breath. “I just lost it.”
He hated acknowledging any weakness, and that’s just what she was, a weakness that he couldn’t keep completely protected no matter how much he tried. And no matter how strong or how fast or how capable she was, she was also a mortal. She had a lifespan clock that she suddenly heard ticking very loudly within her chest.
“There’s so much risk for you here. I shouldn’t have left you, but I trusted Ashby to take care of you…”
“It wasn’t his fault Braith, he did protect me.”
“You were on the roof Arianna.”
She forced a smile, hoping to ease him in some way. “It’s not that different than a tree, little more of a pitch, little less bark but still wood.”
He wasn’t amused. “You could have broken your neck.”
She quirked an eyebrow at him. “Hardly,” she snorted.
“That wood is over a hundred years old…”
“I know where to put my feet,” she interrupted sharply not at all phased by the irritated look he shot her. “You have to stop treating me like I’m incapable. I may not be as strong as you, I may not be immortal, but I am far more capable than most of taking care of myself. I just beat a vampire in hand to hand combat. No one does that Braith, no one. And you shouldn’t talk; you left me in the dark about your suspicions for you out there! You put yourself at risk also!”
His jaw worked as his teeth ground. She was braced for a fight. She was not braced for the brush of his lips against hers, or the surge of heat that pooled in her belly, causing a small sigh to escape. “I need Ashby, Jack, and Gideon, and yes I trust Gideon enough to trust him with you, to help protect you. When they fail…”
“Ashby didn’t fail. We were ambushed Braith, there was no way for anyone to know that they would sneak up behind us like that. He saved me.”
“I’d say you saved him,” he retorted.
Aria smiled as she poked him in his rigid stomach. “Who knew that I, of all people, would have a habit of saving vampires?”
She was finally able to coax a smile from him, one that melted her heart and caused her own grin to expand. It was so rare that he smiled. It lit his flawed eyes and eased the hard angles of his face. If the smile were big enough, every once in a while a dimple would appear. She was the only one that ever got to see him like this, relaxed, almost vulnerable, and oh so wonderfully, almost trouble-free.
“Certainly not me.”
“I didn’t think so.”
She was saddened when his smile faded and his face became tense again. One day, she vowed, one day he’ll smile more often. She’d make sure of it. And he’d laugh, at least once a day, preferably more. “Is it always going to be like this Braith? Ashby said you were volatile, I told him no, but he was right wasn’t he?”
“I think he is.”
She peered up at him, hoping he would say more but he remained silent. “Because of me?”
“No.” He frowned, shaking his head. “Well, yes, but it’s not like you think Arianna.” He grasped hold of her hands, pressing them flat to his chest. “Here, my heart may not beat but it’s there, I’m aware of it now because of you. I can’t stand the thought of losing you, it just…” He broke off as his gaze drifted to the window at the end of the hall. “I would die for you and not think twice about it. I won’t, I can’t, risk losing you. I need you to stay with me.”
She was awed by his words. “Of course I will.”
“Alive Arianna, I need you alive and there are so many things against you staying that way.”
“If I became a vampire…”
He stiffened so suddenly that she stopped speaking mid-sentence. “No.”
“But…”
“I said no. It’s too much of a risk, I won’t take it.”
He went to turn away from her, but she grasped hold of his arm. “Braith, I’ll die no matter what.”
He flinched as pain flickered through his eyes. “Most humans do not survive the change.”
“But some do,” she pushed.
He ran a hand through his thick hair in aggravation. “Yes, of course, some do.”
“What makes them different?”