Dax wiped one hand across his mouth, less to erase the kiss than to prevent himself from returning to it.
“When this is over, when your body is not burning and Rhen’s blood is not still inside your mouth, ask me again.”
Her eyes remained fixed upon him.
“And then?”
Dax’s expression changed, his usual humor giving way to something more direct.
“Then I will give you a very different answer.”
The promise altered the air between them.
Veya lowered her gaze, but not before he saw the heat remaining there.
“He doesn’t want me,” she said quietly.
Dax’s jaw tightened.
“Rhen’s feelings are irrelevant to this.”
“The tether doesn’t seem to agree.”
“The tether is not desire, and it does not get to decide who you want.”
Her eyes rose again.
“And you believe I want you?”
Dax held her gaze.
“I believe you wanted me before the tether flared.”
Veya’s mouth parted, but no denial emerged.
Dax moved toward the door before restraint became something he possessed only in theory.
“You should rest.”
“I thought vampires didn’t sleep.”
“You should lie in bed and glare at the ceiling until you feel more stable.”
“That sounds miserable.”
“It will build character.”
His hand settled on the door handle.
“Dax?”
He looked back.
Veya remained on the bed with her lips still flushed from the kiss and her green eyes clearer than they had been since the crisis began.
“I will ask again.”
The words moved through him slowly and lodged somewhere dangerous.
