“On this, yes.”
That was it! All her years of proper behavior vanished as a haze of red shrouded her eyes. Her fingernails bit into her palm until they pierced her flesh as she rose to stand before him.
“Everyone in my life has always believed they knew what was best for me, and they’ve all been wrong.” The calm tone of her voice amazed her, considering she wanted to claw his eyes out. “And you’re wrong too.”
Fury radiated from her like a beacon from a lighthouse. Killean hadn’t expected her to be capable of exhibiting so much of it, but his little hunter was full of surprises.
“When it comes to keeping you safe, I will do whatever is necessary,” he said.
“All while you remain somewhere unsafe?”
“I’ll minimize my risk of death.”
“You’ll minimize your risk of death,” she murmured in disbelief. “You are such a… a… moron!”
Killean couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “We really have to teach you to swear.”
That was it!The red shading her eyes became so sharp she could barely see him as the blood rushing through her veins thundered in her temples.
“I will not be locked away again!” The calm tone of her voice vanished, and she sounded like the shrew who needed taming, but she didn’t care. “I am not a dolly! I am not the perfect, little obedient woman I was born and raised to be! I won’t be that woman for the hunters, and I certainly won’t be it for you!”
“I’m not asking you to be.”
There was that reasonable tone again. She didn’t think he had any idea how maddening it was, or he’d be guarding the privates she was contemplating kicking into his throat.
“No, you’re asking me to be caged again, and it won’t happen,” she said.
“Being caged is better than being dead.”
“Is it?”
Killean started to tell her of course it was, but the words died on his tongue. Was it?
“You wouldn’t be caged with Ronan and the others,” he said instead.
“I’m not going back without you, and even with you, I won’t be what I once was. I’m in this fight now, a part of it, and I’m going to stay that way.”
“You don’t know how to fight!” he snapped as his composure started to unravel. The most important thing to him was keeping her safe, and she was making it more difficult than it had to be.
“And that will be remedied as will my lack of driving skills. It’smylife to live, and you have no say over it.”
“I am your mate; Iwillkeep you safe,” he grated through his teeth.
“You are mypartner,and you will share in my life, not control it. Also, there will be no more feeding on other women in front of me, and you can’t hurt people like you did with that woman! I don’t like it, and I won’t tolerate it.”
Killean blinked at her. “You’re laying down rules formeto follow?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t know how to respond. What happened to the meek little hunter he first encountered on the beach? He hadn’t liked that woman, far preferred the feistier one she’d become, but this was absurd.
“Then you will also followmyrules,” he said.
“If I agree with a rule you set forth, I will follow it, but I willnotblindly follow anything anymore.”
“Then I will continue to feed on women.”
“Not in front of me! There’s no reason for it.”
