“Eli, this was a lot to throw at you all at once. I’m sorry to have dragged you into my world. It was bound to freak you out a bit.”
Well, actually a whole lot, from the way he was acting. Her heart ached at the possibility that all of this was proving to be too much for him to accept. When she started to get up, he caught her arm and tugged her back down beside him. “It’s not you, Safara. It’s me.”
“What about you?” Not that she really wanted to know, when the expression in his eyes was so bleak it hurt to look at them.
“You’re not the only one who has been living a lie. I’m not Martin’s distant relative. I’m his grandson, and my legal name is Master Sergeant Eli Yates.”
Now he was the one not making much sense. “But you said his grandson died in a helicopter crash. Dad even checked to see that was true. He said everyone was killed on impact.”
Eli shuddered. “We were.”
Then his mouth curved up in a travesty of a smile. “Lucky me. I’m the only one who didn’t stay that way.”
“But if you came back from death, then that means—”
She stopped, unable to say the words out loud. Unfortunately, Eli had no such hesitation and finished the sentence for her. “My best guess, I’m genetically one of those Paladins your family hates so much. Congratulations, you and Vedin were both right even if you were only guessing.”
She started to deny it, but what was the point? Ignoring it wouldn’t change the truth of the situation. “It must have come from Martin’s side of the family. But no one ever said anything about the Paladins or having a Kalith ancestor?”
“Looking back, Martin must have known something. The last time I saw him, he went ballistic when I told him I’d enlisted. He went on a crazy rant about not risking the truth coming out and not staying dead.”
He glanced down at her with a frown. “I probably shouldn’t ask this, but do you know how to put me in contact with a Paladin? Seems like that’s the only way I’ll get answers to my questions.”
Now she was the one shivering. “No, I don’t. My father might have some idea, but I can pretty much guarantee he won’t tell you. It would be too risky for everyone else if you were to draw their attention in this direction.”
Eli straightened up and put his arm around her shoulders again. “I can’t blame him for feeling that way. It’s not only his job, it’s his family he’s protecting. I’ll just have to figure out how to reach out to the Paladins without them being able to trace me back here. If that’s not possible, I’ll move. I never planned to stay here permanently.”
She hated the thought of Eli leaving, even if it would be best for the safety of all concerned. Her father might’ve eventually come to accept her getting involved with a human man rather than one of the Kalith males who lived in this world. But he’d never accept a Paladin, the enemy of their people and the kind of man who had killed her mother.
The room went blurry. “We are so screwed.”
Eli brushed away the tears trickling down her cheeks with his fingers. “Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.”
“So what are we going to do?
“This.”
He kissed her hard, as if driven by the knowledge their time was running out. She hated that he wasn’t wrong about that. With that in mind, she kissed him back. After all, they still had tonight.
13
He had no business kissing Safara right now, or maybe ever, but at the moment Eli didn’t give a damn about right and wrong. He’d just told her his worst secret, and while there were others he hadn’t yet revealed, at least she hadn’t run screaming out the door.
He wrapped Safara in his arms on his lap, holding her close without crushing her. If she wanted to break free of the embrace, she could so without much of a struggle. He owed her that much. He’d let her go if she suddenly decided she didn’t want his Paladin hands on her sweet body. For the moment, he’d enjoy playing tongue tag with her even if having her sitting right on his erection was driving him crazy.
She suddenly broke off the kiss, her breathing ragged as she stared up at him with those pretty gray eyes. “Are you all right with this? Even if it can only be for tonight?”
Was she crazy? Even with most of his blood supply pooled below his waist, he was smart enough not to ask that question. “There are two worlds out there, but they can take care of themselves for the next few hours. Right now their problems don’t involve us.”
As soon as he spoke, she shifted her position so she was straddling his thighs. “That’s good thinking. There’s just us and our own little world.”
She punctuated her words with a series of kisses along his jawline. As her fingertips followed the same path, he realized he hadn’t bothered to shave. Too late now, but at least he could apologize.
“Sorry if my whiskers are too rough.”
“I like it. Feels good against my skin.” To prove her point, she rubbed her cheek against his. Laughing softly, she added, “It tickles.”
He hoped she felt that way when he got around to kissing some of her more sensitive bits and pieces. For now, he slipped one hand under the hem of the sweatshirt he’d loaned her. Tracing the curve of her spine up to her shoulders and then back down, he noted she wasn’t wearing a bra. That discovery inspired him to do a little more exploring. At the first touch of his hand against the fullness of her breast, Safara leaned into his palm, murmuring her approval as she rocked against the rock-solid proof of how much he was enjoying it himself.
