"Feeling better?” he asked mildly.
She nodded, strangely discomfited by his concern.
"This is what happens when you are separated from your mate,” he told her.
"You don't appear to have suffered,” she pointed out, raising a hand to brush a strawberry lock off her shoulder.
"I knew what to expect, and there are preventative measures that can be used when separation is necessary. It's only a short-term fix,” he warned.
His rich voice enveloped her and, with the pain gone, her muscles tensed pleasurably in reaction. She forced her attention to his words. “So there's no cure?"
He rose from the floor beside her and huffed an offended breath. “We sealed our mating. You did not contract some disease."
Great. She was not in the mood to appease male vanity. “I'm a self-reliant person. The idea of being so completely dependent on someone else is repellant. It's nothing personal."
"You find me repellant,” he snapped. “Why would I take that personally?"
"I don't find you repellant,” she said slowly, as though talking to a child. “Losing my freedom is repellant. Having my choices curtailed upsets me."
His face smoothed out, and he stroked her cheek with the back of his fingertips. “I want you to be happy. I can't be happy if you aren't content."
Caitlyn began to pace the small living room. “I can't be content letting someone take care of me. I need my own life, my own purpose. My existence is more than just being a baby factory. I don't even know if I want children."
That was a bald-faced lie. She wanted children. It was all she'd thought about since learning her child would have no fear of Tigre retribution, but she had a point to drive home.
"I'm not sure how to explain this. It's something we grow up knowing. For a Tigre to be so unaware of things that are second nature to us.... “Damien shoved an agitated hand through his blue-black hair, dislodging the thong that held it in a queue at the nape of his neck. “Most Tigre women understand their mate's need to protect and cherish her. They are aware of their importance to our species and the threat of discovery that looms over our heads."
Caitlyn chafed her hands up and down her arms. She had spent so much of her life afraid of Tigre that she hadn't paid much attention to the human threat. “I'm just as much human as Tigre,” she reasoned.
"Do you really think that matters? There are groups of humans that have hunted us through time. They would love to get you into their hands and underneath their microscopes."
She couldn't control the fear that crept across her face.
Damien stopped her in mid pace with a crushing embrace. “I won't let anyone harm you."
She heard the conviction in his voice and her fear receded. “It doesn't change the fact that I want to control my destiny."
Caitlyn almost winced again. Could that have sounded any more melodramatic?
From the shaking in Damien's chest, he found her statement amusing, but the humor didn't reach his voice when he replied, “I think I can understand that."
The unexpected words had hope blooming in her chest. “You can?"
Damien pulled back to look her in the eye. “I wouldn't want to surrender my life and dreams just to produce the next generation of Tigre. I would, but I wouldn't want to."
"What are you saying?” she asked, expectation ringing in her voice.
One hand reached out with long, tapered fingers and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I'm saying that I won't stand in the way of your dreams. If you want to be a social worker, I'll stand beside you."
She heard the promise in his words encompassed more than just the words he said. A weight lifted from her shoulders, and she felt positively euphoric. “You will?"
"It won't be easy,” he warned. “We'll both have to make adjustments."
Caitlyn considered his words. That was true in any relationship, and she'd died a thousand deaths the few days they'd been apart. The thought of him walking away from her now ... she couldn't even consider it. “If you're serious...."
"I'm serious,” he reassured her.
"Please don't joke about this,” she whispered.
"I'm not,” he sounded insulted, but she had to be sure.
"If you can adjust, I'm sure I can,” Caitlyn promised.
A radiant smile lit her mate's face a moment before his mouth swooped down to capture hers in a passionate kiss that carried the promise of a joyous future.
The End
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