trust you, but I do,” I stammered.
“Is that what you dreamed about? Me leaving you?” he asked. “You know that won’t happen.”
“But you’re always so mad . You’re mad all the time. All we do is fight.” My stomach threatened to revolt again as I realized it reminded me of my parents, right before Dorian left—lots of yelling, accusations and tears.
“I’m not mad at you.” Lex stroked my hair, and I sniffled. “I’m mad at him and how he manipulated you. I know you’d never leave me on purpose.”
I pulled away and looked up at him. “But I’d do it by accident?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I’m confused.”
“That kind of pull is hard to fight. He’s got a hold on your soul,” he replied, his voice weary.
“No, you’ve got a hold on my soul. He just eavesdrops on my head… I need you to understand that I didn’t let him do this on purpose. He’s a supervillain, and I’m not. I never had a chance.”
“I know you didn’t—”
“No, you don’t. You’re blaming me for not being as strong as you. Because you would’ve had the guardian smarts to outmaneuver him or the muscle to beat the snot out of him, and I didn’t. I’m not a guardian, Lex. I got played. It’s not my fault.” I grabbed a tissue and tried to clean up the mess my tears had created.
Lex’s breath caught as he stared down at me, and for one startled moment I thought he was going to cry too. Instead, he pulled me close again and rubbed my back, and I relaxed into the comfort of his arms.
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ve been frustrated. I just want to fight him, to punish him for what he did, and to make sure he can never come near you again. I don’t mean to take it out on you.”
“He’ll be out of our hair soon. Oh, thank you, by the way. You held my hair. I think you’re going to be very helpful during morning sickness one day.”
Lex smiled. “I’ll do my best. I can’t wait to have kids with you.” A happy thrill shivered through me at his expression, and I blushed. I couldn’t ask for a better example of why I loved Lex and not Zach. Lex wanted to build a family with me, not an evil empire.
“Well, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. In the meantime you’re welcome to hold me while I try to get back to sleep,” I suggested. I needed him to keep that dream away. I never wanted to think of it again.
We crawled back into bed and Lex held me close. I felt safe in his arms, but the voice of doubt still nagged at me. I’d been one turning point away from giving myself to Zach, and now the bastard knew it, thanks to our shared trip to dreamland. Was it that easy to give in and accept the dark, dangerous temptation of being a necromancer? My father had. He’d abandoned his wife and child to pursue it. I knew my parents hadn’t been soul mates, but they must have loved each other once because a witch and a sorcerer wouldn’t end up together without a serious commitment. And that commitment went up in smoke, washed away in a pool of my mother’s blood.
Sleep eluded me, and I spent the rest of the night listening to Lex’s breathing and feeling his heart beat beneath my palm.
Chapter Eight
The moment we walked into Patience’s office, she handed Lex a piece of paper. He frowned down at it and read it slowly, as though triple-checking every word. Maybe he was. This wasn’t a contract we wanted to screw up. While I waited for my turn to read it, I looked Patience over. Today she looked more like an action heroine and less like a businesswoman. Gone was the business suit, in favor of black leather pants, combat boots and a utility vest. What was it with evil chicks and leather pants? Maybe leather pants are the secret source of their power… She wasn’t wearing a shirt under the vest, which was tight fitting and left little to the imagination. She looked like a cross between a biker, black ops and a stripper. I was having a hard time taking her
“Is that what you dreamed about? Me leaving you?” he asked. “You know that won’t happen.”
“But you’re always so mad . You’re mad all the time. All we do is fight.” My stomach threatened to revolt again as I realized it reminded me of my parents, right before Dorian left—lots of yelling, accusations and tears.
“I’m not mad at you.” Lex stroked my hair, and I sniffled. “I’m mad at him and how he manipulated you. I know you’d never leave me on purpose.”
I pulled away and looked up at him. “But I’d do it by accident?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I’m confused.”
“That kind of pull is hard to fight. He’s got a hold on your soul,” he replied, his voice weary.
“No, you’ve got a hold on my soul. He just eavesdrops on my head… I need you to understand that I didn’t let him do this on purpose. He’s a supervillain, and I’m not. I never had a chance.”
“I know you didn’t—”
“No, you don’t. You’re blaming me for not being as strong as you. Because you would’ve had the guardian smarts to outmaneuver him or the muscle to beat the snot out of him, and I didn’t. I’m not a guardian, Lex. I got played. It’s not my fault.” I grabbed a tissue and tried to clean up the mess my tears had created.
Lex’s breath caught as he stared down at me, and for one startled moment I thought he was going to cry too. Instead, he pulled me close again and rubbed my back, and I relaxed into the comfort of his arms.
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ve been frustrated. I just want to fight him, to punish him for what he did, and to make sure he can never come near you again. I don’t mean to take it out on you.”
“He’ll be out of our hair soon. Oh, thank you, by the way. You held my hair. I think you’re going to be very helpful during morning sickness one day.”
Lex smiled. “I’ll do my best. I can’t wait to have kids with you.” A happy thrill shivered through me at his expression, and I blushed. I couldn’t ask for a better example of why I loved Lex and not Zach. Lex wanted to build a family with me, not an evil empire.
“Well, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. In the meantime you’re welcome to hold me while I try to get back to sleep,” I suggested. I needed him to keep that dream away. I never wanted to think of it again.
We crawled back into bed and Lex held me close. I felt safe in his arms, but the voice of doubt still nagged at me. I’d been one turning point away from giving myself to Zach, and now the bastard knew it, thanks to our shared trip to dreamland. Was it that easy to give in and accept the dark, dangerous temptation of being a necromancer? My father had. He’d abandoned his wife and child to pursue it. I knew my parents hadn’t been soul mates, but they must have loved each other once because a witch and a sorcerer wouldn’t end up together without a serious commitment. And that commitment went up in smoke, washed away in a pool of my mother’s blood.
Sleep eluded me, and I spent the rest of the night listening to Lex’s breathing and feeling his heart beat beneath my palm.
Chapter Eight
The moment we walked into Patience’s office, she handed Lex a piece of paper. He frowned down at it and read it slowly, as though triple-checking every word. Maybe he was. This wasn’t a contract we wanted to screw up. While I waited for my turn to read it, I looked Patience over. Today she looked more like an action heroine and less like a businesswoman. Gone was the business suit, in favor of black leather pants, combat boots and a utility vest. What was it with evil chicks and leather pants? Maybe leather pants are the secret source of their power… She wasn’t wearing a shirt under the vest, which was tight fitting and left little to the imagination. She looked like a cross between a biker, black ops and a stripper. I was having a hard time taking her
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