Page 34 of Dark Destiny: The Turning Of The Loom

"Was the doctor right?" he asked.

"About what?"

"Prescribing a date in a bar as a cure for stress."

She thought about it, her cheek against his neck, breathing him in. "He was right about the bar."

When they reached her house, she slid off his back, took his hand, and put a finger to her lips.

"Shhh."

She opened the door very quietly, pulled him in behind her, closed it without a sound, and led him down the hall to her room.

12

ANNANI

Annani looked at Khiann across the table. "I still find it hard to believe you are here. I never even dared to imagine this could be my reality. Sharing breakfast with you. It is a miracle."

He smiled that crooked half-smile, achingly familiar, and her throat constricted, making it hard to swallow. She lifted her teacup and took small sips until the storm of emotions settled.

"And I cannot believe you waited for me for so long," he said.

She had told him she had vowed never to love another and had stayed true to that vow. He had not asked any questions, not because he lacked them, but because he feared her answers.

Should she spare them both the torment and tell him about the fathers of her children?

The problem was that they had not been the only men she had enjoyed over the millennia. Five thousand years was a very long time, and there had been too many to count. She had never loved any of them and had rarely enjoyed a man more than once because she had not wanted to form attachments.

How could she tell him all that?

"You are very quiet," Khiann said. "What are you thinking about?"

She set down her teacup and leaned back. "I can imagine all the questions you have but are afraid to ask, and I do not know whether I should start at the beginning and tell you everything."

"I thought you started at the beginning and stopped there because you believed I was not ready to hear the rest."

She let out a breath and reached for his hand across the table. "You have so much to learn, and I do not want to overwhelm you."

He tilted his head. "Are you sure that is the reason?"

Was he sensing what she wanted to hide from him? That she was ashamed, even though there was no logical reason for it?

She had thought he was dead.

She had needed to salvage something from the cataclysm, and she could not have done it alone. She had to create more of her kind.

"What other reason could it be?" she asked, gauging.

He pulled his hand from her grasp. "You are afraid my mind cannot absorb too much information at once because I kept forgetting what you told me. But I am much better now. When I rest, it is no longer as if I am pulled into the abyss that drains whatever little I managed to understand. I wake up and remember everything that happened before I fell asleep." He closed his eyes briefly. "Although, to be honest, each time I wake up, I have a moment of panic that I have again forgotten the important things you told me."

"Oh, Khiann." She patted his hand but did not take hold of it again. He still seemed uncomfortable with physical affection, much to her chagrin. "You are doing so much better, but you need to be patient."

He leaned back, pulling his hand from under hers and settling it in his lap. "Everyone keeps telling me that, but I am tired of hearing it. I should be the one who decides how much I can take. If I feel overwhelmed, I will tell you."

He would not, because he was stubborn and proud, even if he did not remember that about himself. But he was right that she should not decide for him.

"You are right. But if you are ready for answers, you need to show it by asking me questions."