Forbidden Craving(63)

Control, she reminded herself.

Brenna raced out of the room before she did something stupid. Like cry.



SHIVAWN DIDN'T FOLLOW her but remained in the room. For a long while he and Joachim didn't speak.

"I want her," Joachim admitted softly.

Shivawn's hands tightened into fists. He'd known that, but hearing the words... "I want her, too, and she's my woman. Who do you think will get her?"

"I'll challenge you for her," Joachim grated.

"Challenge not accepted. She looked at me with desire, and I find I crave that look again."

"That desire was for me, boy. Me. Anything you saw was merely a reflection of that."

Shivawn frowned. Yes, she had looked at Joachim with desire. More desire than a woman had ever projected at him, and the realization didn't settle well.

Frustrated, he tossed his arms in the air. "So where does that leave us?"

"Give her to me, and it leaves you alive and well."

"No."

Joachim stroked his chin with two fingers. "I'll not give up. I'll pursue her."

"Is that a threat?"

"Merely a warning. I want her, and I will do anything to win her."

Anger pricked, Shivawn nearly drew his sword. He felt protective of Brenna, wanted her to be happy, and couldn't stand to think of such a delicate creature bonded to this power-hungry warrior. "If you scare her, I'll kill you. Do you understand me? Unlike Valerian, I'll show you no mercy."

A dark cloud descended over Joachim's face. "I would never scare her."

"Ha! You scared her with your forcefulness. That's why she ran."

"Don't try to pretend you know her or her reasons, and don't pretend you know what she needs. You scared her just as badly or she would have given herself to you by now."

"Perhaps she will. Tonight," Shivawn taunted.

Fury exploded in Joachim's eyes. "No. She'll never give herself to you. That, I also know, because you'll never understand her the way I do."

His teeth clenched. "You? How do you think to understand her?"

"That you have to ask proves my point for me."



JOACHIM CLOSED HIS EYES, bringing Brenna's innocent face to the forefront of his mind. Someone had hurt her during sex-someone who would feel the end of his sword one day soon. If he had to travel to the surface, he would.




 

 

He would stake his life on the fact that Brenna had once been a woman of passion and vitality. There was a spark in her eyes she just couldn't hide. Deep inside, no matter how strong her fears, she had to crave that type of life again.

The more time he'd spent with her, the more he'd looked at her, the more he'd scented her, the more he'd wanted her. Today he'd begun to suspect...

She was his mate.

No, impossible. He would have known right away. At a glance. A sniff. Yes? She couldn't be his.

Unlike other nymphs, he'd never wanted to find his one and only. Relying on a specific person for his strength? Abhorrent! But...he hadn't realized he would like the idea of the woman being reliant on him, as well. Or that she would be his partner. She would always support him. Would choose him above all others. She would love him even when everyone else hated him.

Suddenly he understood the appeal.

He could win her from Shivawn; he knew he could. She'd looked at Joachim with the first tendrils of passion, and he knew she wouldn't be happy with anyone else. He just needed time to prove it to her.

When she'd looked at Shivawn, there'd been no passion. Desire, yes, but it hadn't been sexual. It had been...grateful, like a child with her mother.

She felt safe with the other male-safer than she felt with Joachim.

He wouldn't be able to claim her until he'd reversed the situation. And he would. Whatever proved necessary, he would do.

More than he wanted his own satisfaction, he wanted hers.

Perhaps she was his mate. But how could he have missed her importance to him, even for a second? Her fear of him?

Yes. Of course. Had he known what she was to him, he would have pounced immediately. She wouldn't have been ready for him, and he would have frightened her beyond repair. His instincts to protect her had hidden the truth from him.

Strength lies in compassion. Again her words played through his mind. Compassion...something she clearly valued.

Because she herself hadn't received any?

Once he was healed, there would be no stopping his pursuit of her.

"I will have her, Shivawn," he said. "It's me she will always crave in her bed."

A muscle ticked in Shivawn's jaw. "You're wrong. She wants safety. To her, I am calm and you are the storm." 

"A man can change."

"Not easily."

No. Not easily.



POSEIDON HUMMED WITH RELISH. Waves whirled and crashed against him, their cerulean beauty lethal to mere mortals. He tasted salt in his mouth, smelled it in his nose-the scent mixed with terror.