She rose and walked out the door. When she got to the foot of the stairs, Caspar was there, nodding toward the French doors that led out to the back garden. She followed the lit path that led toward the pool at the backol of th of the house. He was there, pacing around the deck, the water following him as he walked, creating a churning whirlpool that matched the stormy look on his face. He only glanced at her once before he turned his eyes back to the water.

“Well, you got what you wanted,” he said.

“I didn’t want you mad at me.”

“Are you surprised?” he bit out.

She sighed and crossed her arms. “I guess not.”

“He’s a teenage boy. You’re going to be guarded by a teenage boy while I’m dealing with the rest of them.”

“Tenzin told me you once took on over a dozen trained soldiers yourself and killed every one.”

“And I almost died!” he stopped, spinning toward her. “I had two swords at my neck.” He took his finger and traced a line. “And they cut halfway through it. I was inches away from death, Natalie. If I was human, I wouldn’t have survived. Plus, I was by a river. I was strong there.” He kept walking and she forced herself to remain where she was. His fangs were down, his black eyes glittered. He was still furious. “I was as strong as I can be on land, and I still almost died.”

“Baojia—”

“But we’re going out to the desert! There is no water around for miles except a few irrigation canals. Nothing. I will not be at my strongest, there are going to be an unknown number of vampires there hopped up on some drug that makes them super-strong and crazed by the scent of human blood.” He stopped a few inches from her face. “And you are putting yourself in the middle of all that out of some insane need to save the world!”

“You need me there for this to work. I’m the only one—”

“Yes!” He grasped the back of her neck and pulled her face to his. “You are the only one. The only one. Why don’t you understand?”

She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled his mouth to hers. Their kiss was hard and angry. Desperate and needy. “I do understand.”

“Then don’t do this.”

“I have to!” she cried, tears in her eyes. “Why can’t you—”

“I love you,” he breathed out, the words caressing her cheeks as he held her. “Can’t you see? I love you, and I can’t see you die.” He captured her lips again, wrapping his arms around her, almost cutting off her breath with the ferocity of his embrace. “I can’t, Natalie.”

“I’m going to die someday,” she said, the tears welling up in her eyes. Her heart soared at his words. Her mind raged at the thought of the danger they both faced. “Everyone dies someday.”

“Unacceptable,” he breathed out, tilting her head to the side. His fangs scraped along her collar. His hand grasped the nape of her neck almost painfully, but she reveled in it. She had never felt more alive. “When we live through this, I’m leaving this place, and you’re coming with me.”

He spun her around, pressing her back against the wall of the house as he kissed her again and again. Natalie could feel the water drawn from the pool lapping at her feet, drawn to him as the energy crackled around him. She could only gasp as he continued the relentless assault on her senses.

“Vampire or not,” he hissed against her skin, “you are my mate. I will not be without you.”

Natalie gasped, “I am your mate.”

“And you will never do anything this dangerous again.”

“Baojia!” He took her breath away. His fingers pressed into the small of her bamald yck, and he shoved his thigh between her legs. He growled low in his throat when her fingers sank into his hair and gripped. She couldn’t get close enough. She felt wild. Feral. A creature of instinct and sense. Her mind was blurred by the hum of his energy, the scent of his skin, and the feel of his fangs as they pierced her neck. Natalie cried out when she felt the pull of his lips. Taking. Claiming. She was his. The waves of pleasure crashed over her as the water reached for him, soaking her legs as he held her against the wall.

“Say it, Natalie.”

“I love you.”

His hoarse groan echoed in the night as the waves came harder, buffeting against the wall, lapping against her skin and causing her to shiver. He reached for her pants, pushing them away as he moved her farther into the shadows. Natalie tugged at his clothes frantically, desperate to touch him. Desperate to feel. To remind herself that, whatever happened later, in that moment, she was alive. He was her reason, and he loved her.

“I love you,” he whispered again as he entered her, holding her gaze as firmly as he held her heart. Her back scraped against the wall, but Natalie only held him closer. “Don’t make me live without you.”

She ignored the tears that slid down her cheeks. “I won’t. I promise.”

His thrusts were hard, still holding an edge of anger. “You can’t promise me that.”

She cried out, biting into his shoulder to suppress the scream as he drove them both. Pleasure coursed through her body, but his fear pierced her heart.

“I promise,” she finally panted as he arched back in release and she came apart in his arms. “I promise you, Baojia.”

He held her close, both of them soaked to the skin, and Natalie clutched him tighter, praying she’d made a promise she could keep.