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The implication and demand in his voice startled her. Surely he wasn't being possessive? When he'd first said, "You belong to me . . . for now," she'd loved the words in a very hard-to-explain way, such that she wouldn't dare to repeat them, for fear the independent Mina would ridicule her. Besides which, she'd known she'd simply woven those words into the elaborate fantasy of being part of him. The words had no enduring meaning. Much like what had brought them together in the cave.
Despite that bleak thought, the look in his eyes suggested he had meant his words of ownership quite literally. Though he had human eyes now, a white sclera around the dark brown iris, it made him no less overwhelming in his stillness when he watched her like he did now. She wet her lips. "The original legend. Ariel rescued the prince from the sea. It's one of our odd family traditions, my lord. We always keep a change of men's clothing in the house, for when the man of our dreams washes ashore. It's a stupid thing, but none of us has ever broken it."
Of course, every man who had spawned Arianne's next generation had been rescued in some fashion from the sea. As she had the thought, she blanched, and barely managed to keep herself from laying a palm over her flat stomach. He'd said he didn't . . . Of course not. He wasn't a human. He was an angel. Anna's tragedy had yet to happen. And yet, she couldn't imagine wanting another man after being with Jonah.
He nodded, apparently satisfied. "And the little beast you call a friend? Will she come here?"
That snapped her back to the present. Despite her attempt to remain calm, tears choked her throat. "I don't know, my lord. I was hoping she would come at least to the water's edge, so I'd know she was all right, but then she never comes to the surface. And I didn't . . . I couldn't leave you." Briefly she relayed how she and Mina had parted.
"I've been sitting here for two hours, watching you, wondering if she's alive or dead, if they've hurt her, and I've no way of helping her. Don't you see how much courage it took for her to come to you? She told me you lead the Dark Legion, and she is Dark Spawn. No one will help her, because I'm the only one . . ." She shook her head, turned away as he dropped his grip. "She's the only person I think of as a friend."
"You are so certain of her loyalty?"
"Yes. First off, it doesn't make any sense for her to betray you this way, my lord. She could have chosen not to warn us down in the caves. Even here, you've been out for two hours. Plenty of time for them to come for us if that was her intent."
"She was indifferent to my well-being, Anna. The mystery is what her feelings are for you." As she glanced back at him, surprised at his intuition, he inclined his head. "It was the only thing I sensed from her that saved her life when she came into the cave. Why does she feel such a strong compulsion to protect you?"
"You don't give her enough credit, my lord. Mina fights the darkness within her. She has had to fight it so hard and . . . It's difficult to explain, but she's the type of person who won't give up what she's worked so hard to earn."
"She refuses to give in to the evil because that's what it wants her to do?"
Anna allowed herself a slight smile. "She has a formidable contrary nature, my lord."
"I won't argue that. But there's more there. Why does she protect you? And why are you making me ask everything twice to get a straight answer? It's irritating."
Jonah arched a brow as Anna shot him a look, but she relented. "It's an ancient history between our two families. Even if she were wholly evil, which she isn't, she can't betray me." She looked toward the cottage. "We should get inside before night falls."
His piercing gaze told her he knew she was being evasive. It made her want to swim away, but of course she was on human legs now. For so long, she'd wanted someone to talk to, but she hadn't imagined having to talk about these types of things.
"Or perhaps we should go ahead and start our journey," she said casually. "Get farther away from the shoreline."
"Journey? A journey has a destination. Where are you supposed to take me?"
When Anna would have drawn away, that long arm outmatched her. He circled her wrist, drew her back to him. His grip this time had a different strategy, though no less capable of keeping her in place. Moving his thumb over her pulse made her gaze drag upward to linger on his mouth. His eyes were still so dark the pupil and iris were almost indistinguishable. She should have felt threatened by their intensity, but what responded inside her couldn't be called fear. Not exactly.
"If you don't tell me, little one, I'm going to prove to you how unpleasant defying an angel can be." When his voice dropped to a silky murmur, her eyes widened as he drew her against his chest with one implacable arm, tipping her chin with the other hand. "Where are we going?"
She jumped when his hand lowered, covered one buttock. His gaze glittered, and she had the astonishing and unlikely thought it was amusement. "You're tempting me to warm this part of you, little mermaid. Speak."
Mina had told her to play the wanton, but when the full force of his dominant sexuality was upon her, it was all she could do to keep her head above water. Especially when drowning in him was so much more appealing.
But was he doing it deliberately? Manipulating her with seduction? Using her, as he had for the Joining Magic? Maybe. He wasn't being deceitful about it, though. He wasn't concealing his intent, his desire for information. This was a serious form of teasing, in a way too damn mesmerizing for her peace of mind.
Who was she to argue with his methods? This was certainly preferable to being shouted at. Which she expected was about to happen again. Briefly, she explained about the shaman, bracing herself for the storm clouds that gathered in his expression.
"A human? A human can drive out the poison?"
"Actually, my lord . . ." She made herself continue to look at him, though the frequent burning in her cheeks was turning them a permanent scarlet, she was sure. "The first tonic she gave you will drive out the poison if it is reinforced daily by . . . some type of energy raising. The shaman . . . His purpose is to heal your spirit."
"My spirit doesn't need any healing. Even if it did, no human would be involved." He eyed her with a sneer in his expression. And distrust was back as well.
No, she decided. He wouldn't use seduction as a tool. He had too much temperament to rely on charm. "You are very highly ranked, are you not, my lord?" She struggled for patience. "Yet you show no interest, no urgency to return to your kind. I'm sure there are those who care for you, and yet you also have no interest in letting them know you are alive. You don't want the Dark Ones to cause me harm, but you have no concern for your own value. Even with my meager skills, I feel the darkness inside you, a desolation. He can help heal it. Mina says so."
"And if I refuse to go? What if I have no interest in this plan your witch has concocted?" His eyes narrowed. "She may not serve the Dark Ones, but it doesn't mean she's not serving her own dark purposes. A prescription of daily Joining Magic," he mimicked. "That certainly motivates a young, attractive sexual innocent to keep me on the witch's quest, doesn't it? You've had a taste and you want more. She knows it. And she knows how distracting that would be."
Shock flooded Anna. Pulling her hand away before he could sto
p her, she stepped back. "That was just mean," she said in a tight voice. The hurt gathered in her throat, a painful lump. "Angels aren't supposed to be mean. I don't care who or what you are. I'm not some kind of . . . I . . . It was, to me, what we did . . . You make it sound dirty. I wasn't . . ." She shook her head, balled her hands into fists. "Here's an alternative plan, my lord. Sit here and brood until the Dark Ones come and make a meal of you."
Spinning on her heel, she prepared to stalk up to the cottage--and cry there.
"Anna."
When he grabbed at her arm, she rounded on him. Maybe she'd intended it, maybe not, but somehow her hand connected to the side of his face with a resounding thwack that left the imprint of her hand. The shock that crossed his face was matched only by the horror on hers.
Holy Goddess. She'd just struck an angel. An angel.
But he'd deserved it. He'd said . . .
"Anna. Stop." She was trying to pull away, and he was gathering her back to him, quelling her struggles without great effort. Why couldn't Mina have transformed him into a spindly, gawky teenager?
"I won't say I'm sorry."
"No, you won't. I will. I'm sorry. I apologize."
She stopped, startled, as his hand cupped her face, lifted her chin so she had to look at those dark eyes. Overwhelming her. "You are a sexual innocent, Anna."
"Oh, you--"
"No." This time he hauled her firmly back to him. When he sighed, the expansion of his broad chest nearly pushed her back a pace. "Be still for two seconds, or I will spank you. Listen to me. You're telling me we're going to seek the counsel of a mere human who thinks he knows what the world is, enough to work magic in it. And this is the plan of a half-breed Dark One who turned me into a human. I am furious, off balance, incredulous. And yes, more than a little confused in my own mind. Because here's the problem."
Taking her hand, he put it down between them, so Anna felt the rigid state of him. Her gaze flew back up to his face, her lips parting.
With relief, Jonah saw some of the hurt die out of her expression, replaced by wary curiosity about where he was going with this. Her heart was beginning to quicken, and he knew the pulse between her legs would synchronize, beating urgently for what he could give to her. He wanted to feel that rhythm of life against his cock, but first he owed her this.
