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When she woke and tried to pull away, thinking she needed to get moving, needed to find her son, Adrien would grunt his disapproval and hold her close, keeping her next to him. She relented each time, relaxing against the heat of his body. The rise and fall of his chest soothed her and she slept some more.
Dawn came and went.
She remained cocooned in bed with him as each hour passed. More than once she felt a pressing need to get up, to start a new list, to make a new plan to find the weapon and to find Josh, but over and over, he pulled her against him until finally she fell into the deep void of sleep, the warmth of his skin soothing her against the cold rain that still hit the windows.
Later, much later, the faint stormy light of day disappeared, giving way to dark gray evening and finally the black of another rainy Paris night. This time when she awoke, her eyes remained open and she no longer felt the draw of lethargy.
She felt rested, an unusual state. Almost calm. Almost normal.
This time, when she pulled away, Adrien shifted to look at her. She sat back on her knees, aware of her nakedness yet somehow very comfortable with him. Still, she knew men, and the sight of her bare br**sts would invite a different kind of interaction, so she pulled the sheet up to her neck, tucking it around her.
She touched the chain at her neck. The soft vibrations comforted her now. He stared at her, his expression almost solemn, no smile, just something close to determination.
She leaned down and kissed him. “Thank you,” she said, “for so much compassion, for holding me, for letting me cry, for helping me to sleep. Though I buried my husband and daughter two years ago, my son’s body was never found. I’ve struggled since, with all of it, hating your kind.”
“I know.”
She nodded several times then glanced in the direction of the window. “I tried to wake up earlier. Several times.”
“That was my fault. I needed sleep and I wanted you beside me, for the comfort of it.”
She shook her head. “It wasn’t entirely your fault. I needed the rest as well, so I acquiesced each time.”
Then he smiled, another faint curving up of his lips. “Several times? I remember pulling you back once.”
At that she smiled. “Half a dozen, at least.”
“I was damn tired, then, because I don’t remember any of those. Just the one.”
“You’ve been through hell,” she said. She could feel the pinch between her brows as memories returned, of being in the Himalayan cave and seeing him hanging in chains. Her jaw grew tight.
He leaned forward, shifting on his elbow. She thought maybe he meant to kiss her in return. Instead, he said in a strong voice, “There’s a way to change the experience of travel for you, and Alfonse alluded to it. There’s a double-chain I could take on that would make my power greater, but I’m unwilling to go that far.” He seemed so solemn as he continued, “I know traveling is hard on you and puts us both at greater risk, but I need you to understand that accepting a more powerful chain will do something to me that I’ve rejected for as long as I can remember. Unlike this chain, which could be removed, the double-chain can’t. I just need you to understand that it isn’t as simple as the single-chains we both wear.” He lifted his blood-chain.
She met his gaze and felt his distress, even his hostility. “What exactly would accepting the double-chain mean for you that you’ve rejected so long?”
He shifted his gaze away from her, scowling and silent. After a moment, and still not looking at her, he said, “I’d be taking the first step to achieving Ancestral status.”
“And that would increase your power?”
“More than you can imagine. The gift is rare, but my brothers and I all have that capacity. It’s just that our father was a monster and none of us wants to be like him.”
“Then you can’t do it.”
He still leaned up on his elbow, his fingers playing over her arm, his thick, dark hair rumpled from sleep. She marveled at the tender feelings this closeness aroused in her—like she wanted to smooth away the furrow between his brows.
“Several of the Council of Ancestrals have been begging for me to step up for the last two centuries, to embrace my power.”
“You seem to despise the Council.”
He blinked a couple of times before adding, “I can’t believe how easy it is to talk to you.” He still rubbed her arm, and it felt good.
“I know,” she said.
He smiled suddenly, a real, full curving of his lips. “My God, I’m almost happy. It must be you.”
She laughed. Oh, my God, she laughed. When was the last time that had happened?
Her heart blossomed, a sensation that swelled and swelled.
At a moment like this, she could almost forget what he was.
And yet looking at him, his beauty, the strength of him, his tenderness with her, a spattering of gooseflesh rippled down her back and sides. She started to pull away, but he reached up, caught her lips with his, and kissed her, so of course she stayed put.
When he drew back, he added, “Don’t get ahead of this, Lily. Try not to think too far into the future. You’ll go crazy and I need you close right now. What we’re doing right now, this is good.”
Maybe he’d read the expressions on her face or maybe he’d sensed her feelings through the shared chains, but whatever it was, his words calmed her down. “Right,” she whispered. And he was right. This had to be a one-step-at-a-time process.
“I was serious before. You can’t become an Ancestral just to make traveling easier on me. It would be so wrong. Once we’re done, and we get these chains off, then you can pick up your life again.”
She drew a deep breath, trying with all her heart to actually believe the words she’d just spoken.
* * *
While Lily showered, Adrien sat outside the bathroom door, his phone in hand. He’d ordered food from his favorite restaurant and now his stomach rumbled.
He’d spoken with the owner, a fine Parisian, a human actually, who had complained that Adrien had forsaken him. He was reminded that he’d had a life once upon a time, before his world had gone all to hell. He was also reminded that there were some humans he did value.
Now he had Lily.
And freedom.
Sort of.
He couldn’t believe he was out of that prison. Despite the chains and his bondage to Lily, at least he wasn’t hanging from wrought-iron chains so fat they could have dragged elephants.
He set his phone on the floor and rubbed his wrists.
