the sounds and smells told jaxon she was in a hospital. she opened her eyes warily. she was lying in a bed, but she could still feel her gun in her hand. a nurse was hovering nearby.

the woman smiled at jaxon. "you're awake. good. the doctor is planning to release you this evening. he was worried about your going home alone, but your fianc§?assured him you would be well taken care of."

jaxon's heart sank. she was hoping she had merely dreamed about vampires and dark, sexy, "carpathian" strangers, but she was more than certain she had had no fianc§?prior to being shot. she stayed very still. she had no idea what to say, how to respond. she didn't know even know how she had come to be in a hospital. the nurse was bustling around, opening the curtains, and allowing jaxon to see that the sun was already down.

jaxon realized she no longer felt safe. she was in an environment where she had little or no control. if tyler wanted to get to her, it would be easy. he could disguise himself as an orderly and waltz right into her room. and she was alone again. for a few precious moments of her life she had really shared with someone - lucian--however bizarre that event had been. now she was alone and once more responsible for the safety of those around her.

you do not listen very well, jaxon.

there was that soft, soothing voice. either that, or i have completely misread your intelligence and need to explain things much more clearly and carefully to you.

she heard a tinge of masculine amusement.

jaxon looked around her quickly. no one else was in the room with her but the nurse. the nurse appeared not to have noticed any disembodied voice. now you've got me hearing voices. i'm going to the nearest mental institution and insisting on immediate help.

she chose her thoughts carefully, willing him to hear her response.

he laughed. she could hear his genuine amusement, that velvet-soft and beautiful, perfectly pitched voice that seemed to caress her whether he was touching her or not. it was so very familiar now, a part of her she never wanted to lose.

but you have to go away.

she was taking a firm stand on this. either she was completely crazy and he was a figment of her imagination because she needed someone so desperately, or he was very real - and more trouble than she could handle.

i doubt if you would make up someone as domineering as i. you would want some fop to order about so you could continue believing you have to protect everyone. that isn't funny, lucian. you have no idea what tyler drake is like. some of the best people in this country have tried to catch him and failed. you're so arrogant, you're going to get yourself killed. i hate that trait in men. it isn't bravery, it's sheer stupidity. i know drake is dangerous, and i'm always prepared, because i don't imagine myself so much more skilled than he is.

there was an edge to her voice. she was becoming irritated with lucian's arrogance.

his voice never changed, remaining as gentle and soothing as ever. it is not arrogance, jaxon, when one knows one's own abilities. i have confidence because i know who i am, what i am. i am a hunter. it is what i do. he's a killer. it's what he does. you are becoming distressed. i will be with you soon to take you home with me. we will have plenty of time to discuss this. in the meantime do whatever the doctor says to get you released.

jaxon became aware that the nurse was staring at her. she blinked rapidly to focus her attention on what the woman was saying. "i'm sorry, i was off in my own little world. what were you saying?" she forced a small smile.

"i think anyone with a fianc§?like yours would

be off in her own little world. is he really a billionaire? what would that be like? i can't conceive of a billion dollars. he met last night with the hospital board and is giving a huge donation in thanks for taking such good care of you. he had this room guarded day and night." her voice turned dreamy. "he said you were his world and he couldn't breathe without you. imagine a man saying that right out loud to a roomful of other men. i'd give anything to have my husband feel that way about me."

"he probably does," jaxon murmured, afraid of saying anything else. she was not engaged to lucian. "did he call himself my fianc§?"

what else could i do, honey? refer to you as my lifemate? they understand that being your fianc§?gives me certain rights to direct your life while you are ill. they would never understand that as my lifemate you are the other half of my soul. do not panic yet. i am merely ensuring your safety. i don't understand what being a lifemate means. i could explain it to you... he offered solemnly.

no! i don't think i want to hear another word about it! not one word, lucian.

she knew darn well that he wasn't in the least bit serious, and his annoying habit of laughing at her was going to get him into major trouble. he had the idea that because she was so small, she was not a force to reckoned with. she intended to change that impression soon if he kept it up. a billionaire? isn't that just a bit dramatic? what if someone asks you to prove it? i thought the idea was to keep a low profile. she was deliberately impudent, trying to hide the fact that she was happy he was so very real.

hiding out in the open is always the best way. and living for centuries gives one the ability to amass a fortune. it is relatively easy. the more money one has, the more one has the ability to hide his true identity. people expect a certain amount of eccentricity in those with money. thus, it is merely another tool i use. you cannot be a billionaire on top of everything else. you're making me completely crazy. you know that, don't you?

"jaxx!" barry radcliff was in her doorway, his large frame leaning against the jamb, a huge grin of relief spreading across his face. "thank god. they kept telling me you were getting better, but for some reason or other, i could never actually lay eyes on you. they've been feeding me all kinds of crap about some fianc§? i keep telling them you don't have one, but no one listens to me, not even the captain. he claims he met the guy, some foreign billionaire, and that the rumors are true. i thought maybe that bullet in the head put me in another world."

the nurse left to give them privacy.

"at least you have an excuse." jaxon was so relieved to see someone normal, she felt like crying again. "and why didn't you keep your butt out of that warehouse, like i told you? do you have a hero complex, too, barry?"

he walked slowly, carefully, across the room as if his legs were shaky and managed an awkward, one-armed hug.

i forgot to mention i am a very jealous man, honey. do not go too far with being happy to see this male.

the texture of lucian's voice in her head was the same, yet not. it was softer than ever, velvet over iron. a subtle warning.

get over it. he 's my partner.

deliberately jaxon hugged barry back when normally she never would have done so.

you hide your own feelings from yourself. you regard this one with great affection. if that's so, it was pretty dumb of you to clue me in on my true feelings, now, wasn't it?

she asked sweetly, allowing barry to retain possession of her hand as he sat at the end of her bed. "do you remember what happened, barry? because i don't remember anything but getting shot." she was curious. she didn't have a clue how either of them had gotten out of the warehouse when they were both seriously wounded.

confusion clouded barry's gray eyes. "you know, i have nightmares about it. i don't know either. in my nightmare a huge wolf kills all the bad guys like some avenging angel, then turns into a man, drags my butt out of there, and then carries you off. don't tell the boss, though - he's already got some psychiatrist hanging around my door," barry rubbed a hand over his face. "i can't remember the man, only the wolf, the eyes. the way it looked at me. but i'd swear a man appeared out of nowhere to rescue us."

it was you. you saved us. i should have known.

she had known. deep down inside was a memory - lucian's or her own, she wasn't certain - but she had touched upon it and rejected it. there was blood and death and something so erotic and altogether wrong - some kind of bizarre healing ritual perhaps? - that jaxon never wanted to touch on it again.

i was not about to allow you to escape me even through death, jaxon. i enjoy your sense of humor so much.

there was that gentleness that turned her heart over, that told her he knew she was frightened and alone and utterly confused.

jaxon had the feeling that he was much closer this time, his presence stronger in her mind, not a mere shadow. involuntarily she glanced nervously at the door. "don't worry, barry, i think both of us need to stay as far from a psychiatrist as possible. they'd probably commit me. i'm having a few nightmares of my own."

barry shifted toward her, leaning close. he lowered his voice. "since we're alone here, i might as well tell you this isn't the first weird experience i've had. do you remember that serial killer who was terrorizing the city a few months back? of course you do. i was first on the scene after the third murder. i was off duty and in the area. i swear i saw a wolf there. he turned his head and looked at me, and i saw intelligence in his eyes. real intelligence. it was eerie. he looked at me as if he was measuring my worth or something, deciding whether or not to kill me. just like in the warehouse. but then it wasn't a wolf anymore; it was a man, and for the life of me, i can't remember what he looked like. not even his build. you know me, jaxx. i remember the smallest detail, yet twice now i've seen a wolf where there couldn't have been one, and i can't describe a man i saw, not the one at a murder scene and not the one who saved our lives."

"what are you saying, barry?" jaxon's heart was beginning to pound in alarm again. had it been lucian? what was lucian? could he have projected the image of a wolf?

barry shrugged. "i don't know what i'm saying. i only know i saw the damn thing. it was real. and it looked like the one in the warehouse. it was massive, well-fed. not some stray dog, like the captain suggested. it had peculiar eyes. very black, different than an animal's. they burned with menace, and i mean burned. and they held an almost... human intelligence." he shoved a hand through his hair. "i checked to see if a wolf could have escaped from a zoo or wildlife preserve, but no go, and no one else saw the thing. there couldn't have been a wolf, but... i don't know where i'm going with this, but you're the only person i would admit this to."

i was there hunting the vampire, jaxon. stop trying to scare yourself.

"i didn't see a wolf, barry, but i've had some strange nightmares myself. maybe we're both crazy." she managed a faint smile. the sound of her heart pounding was so loud she thought she might go mad.

"maybe it goes with the territory, jaxx. by the way, are the rumors i'm hearing about you true, or another nightmare? i'm your partner. wouldn't i know something like whether you had a fianc§? especially if he was some hotshot billionaire?"

jaxx heard the hurt in his voice, could feel his pain cut through her like a knife.

lucian could feel her answering pain.

that is the problem, honey. you have way too much compassion in you. you are not responsible for his feelings . he's my partner, and i owe him my loyalty. our little charade will hurt him. i'm telling him it isn't really true, she said defiantly.

"jaxx?" barry prompted, his eyes steady on her face.

"you know how difficult my life has been, barry," she began reluctantly, not sure just what to say.

lucian's wide shoulders filled the doorway. he was dressed impeccably in a tailored suit, his long hair, as shiny black as a raven's wing, pulled back and secured with a leather thong at the nape of his neck. he took her breath away. his very presence filled the room. he moved easily, fluidly, power clinging to him as he flowed across the floor to bend down and brush the top of her head with a kiss. the touch of his lips made her feel slightly faint. then her heart found the slow, calming rhythm of his.

"good evening, angel. i see you are allowed to visit with your partner. barry, i am lucian daratrazanoff, jaxon's fianc§? please allow me to thank you for saving her life."

barry turned his steady gray eyes back to jaxon's face accusingly lucian sat on the edge of the bed, his large body crowding protectively close to hers. "jaxon wanted to tell you about me; she agonized over it all the time. but she was afraid that somehow tyler drake would find out about me or that you were her confidant and he would harm you." he curved an arm around jaxon's shoulders. "it is a difficult life she leads, and those of us who love her know she tries to protect us even when we would prefer she didn't. i know you understand why she kept silent."

barry couldn't help listening to the cadence of the man's incredible voice. he looked away from jaxon to lucian, and it was like falling into a deep, bottomless sea of tranquility. of course he understood. jaxon always protected those around her. how could she have done anything else? and he liked lucian; he could see that lucian was good for jaxon, would be able to take care of her. they would end up being great friends.

don't you dare plant something in his head!

outraged, jaxon tried to get around lucian to shake barry out of his trance. he was staring with what appeared to be rapture into lucian's eyes.

lucian did not take his gaze from barry's. he merely restrained jaxon with one hand.

is this man important in your life?

he silently asked her.

you know he is. don't you mess with his head! if he is important to you, then it is imperative that he accept me. hear me well, jaxon. i cannot allow any other to know that my species exists. do you understand what i am saying? i am willing for this man to come under my protection because of your affection for him. that is no small thing. but he must accept our relationship. i don't accept our relationship. we don't have a relationship. for god's sake, i'm talking to you with my thoughts, not out loud like a normal human. i hear and see far better than i should, and you and i both know i should be dead. i wasn't, was i? you did some weird thing to me to bring me back, and now i'm a zombie or something. she ended on a note of near hysteria.

lucian laughed softly and leaned to brush the corner of her mouth with his. "you are so beautiful, honey."

he didn't have to have that mouth. it had to be a sin to have a mouth like his. and his voice should be banned, too. "i am not, but i appreciate that you would say so." no one had ever described her as beautiful.

"there was no one to do so. now you have me." he looked once more at jaxon's partner.

barry found himself smiling at the man. "i wish she had told me sooner, but of course i understand. drake's a threat we haven't been able to keep out of her life. i hope you realize you will have to be on guard at all times. if you come down to the station, i'll show you everything we have on him. it's important you recognize him. there's a good chance he'll try to kill you."

jaxon pulled her hand from barry's and shifted away from lucian, withdrawing into herself. "i think both of you should leave. this is too public a place. there's a good chance he's watching us right now."

lucian again cradled jaxon's small body, protectively sweeping her close beneath his shoulder as if he hadn't noticed that she was trying to keep away from him.

you worry altogether too much about tyler drake, honey. he is not invincible. neither are you.

her wide dark eyes moved over his face almost lovingly, although she didn't know it. she decided she liked having someone to argue with. to worry about. to tease and laugh with.

i knew i would grow on you.

there was his laughter again, velvet soft, seductive.

i'm just lonely.

she tilted her chin at him defiantly.

a troglodyte would have done just as well, so don't start puffing up your chest

. he had a darn nice chest, truth be told.

his laughter set her pulse rate soaring, and the warmth of his breath on the back of her neck sent shivers of longing throughout her body. she turned to her partner, determined to ignore lucian and his effect on her. "when do you get out of here, barry? they're letting me out today."

"you nearly died. what are they thinking?" the shock was clear on barry's face. "are the doctors idiots?"

"i have connections," lucian intervened softly, smoothly, once again his voice and eyes holding barry spellbound. "i'm taking her to my home. the security there is very tight. no one gets in without my knowing about it. and i'll see to medical care for her. we won't have to worry so much about her. here, let me give you my private number and address. you can reach us anytime in the evenings. i work almost exclusively in the evening and night, as i deal with so many different countries and time zones. just make certain you leave your name, and either jaxon or i will get back to you as soon as possible. when are you to be released?"

"they said maybe three days. then i'm off work, on disability, for another three months at least. then a desk job for a while. what about you, partner? you coming back soon?"

lucian's fingers tangled in hers. deliberately he brought her knuckles to the warmth of his lips. "i would rather she not answer that or even think about it at this time. you know how stubborn she is."

"there's no question that i'll be going back to work. it's what i do to make a living," she said indignantly.

barry threw back his head and began to laugh. "you happen to be engaged to one of the wealthiest men on the face of the earth. i don't think making a living is going to be much of a problem for you."

she glared at him. "for your information, lucian isn't nearly as rich as everyone keeps saying. and in any case, i like to work. we're not married yet, and anything could go wrong. maybe it will never even happen. did you think about that? and what if we did get married and it didn't work out? do you have any idea how many marriages fail?"

"that is so like you, jaxx. she already has her marriage failing," barry pointed out, "and hasn't even tied the knot yet. little miss pessimist."

"i'm a realist, barry," she answered quietly.

lucian's arms tightened around her, almost as if he was protecting her from barry's teasing. he could feel the hurt in her mind. she was laughing, but her mind was filled with sorrow. barry had no idea, though he was her partner and had been for some time. lucian was certain none of those who thought they really knew her could read her at all. there had been no real laughter in her life; she tried to find moments to enjoy where she could, but always she was aware of the threat to those she became too friendly with. it never left her mind, that terrible burden. the idea of sharing her life with someone was nothing more than a beautiful fantasy to her. an impossible dream.

lucian's fingers found the nape of her neck and began a slow, soothing massage. he was asking quite a bit of jaxon to accept the things she had seen, the things he had told her. she hadn't closed her mind to the possibility of another humanlike species. she also hadn't closed her mind completely to the possibility that she might be going crazy or that he might be an enemy.

"i'm glad your wounds weren't as bad as i thought they might be, barry," jaxon said softly, meaning it. "you told me in the warehouse to quit being such a wimp," barry contradicted.

"i was only trying to get you moving, to get you out of there," she pointed out.

"oh, sure," her partner said, winking at lucian over her head. "of course, the docs thought they were going to have to take my arm off," barry informed her. "the first x-rays showed such shattered bones, the doctors said the inside of my arm was just mush and they couldn't possibly save it. but i was lucky. i woke up a few hours later, before they were taking me to the operating room, and they said some mix-up must have occurred. my shoulder was broken, but otherwise the bullet just passed through without doing much damage. no one could explain it, but i didn't mind. i figured it was a miracle, and i was willing to accept it."

jaxon went still inside. she knew what had happened. lucian had happened. he had healed barry because barry mattered to her. she knew it instinctively; she knew it without asking. and she didn't want to know, because it meant lucian really could do the things he said he could. deliberately, she didn't look at him. how much had barry actually seen that night in the warehouse? was there anything in his memories that might in some way harm lucian? or, worse, would lucian decide there was something that could condemn him? she rubbed at her suddenly pounding temples.

"barry," lucian said softly, "jaxon is becoming tired, and i still have to get her home tonight. i know the two of you want to catch up, but it is too early for her to wear herself out." he added a subtle mental "push" to his voice, creating a gentle command but one impossible to disobey.

barry nodded immediately, leaning over to brush a kiss on top of her head. jaxon actually felt the sudden stillness in lucian. he was like a great jungle cat coiled and ready to strike, yet as motionless as a mountain. she found herself holding her breath for no reason at all.

lucian was smiling with what appeared to be genuine warmth, shaking barry's hand and walking with him to the door. then, when barry was gone, he turned to look at her. "you do not trust me."

"you sound as if that amuses you." jaxon was tired of pretending. "i don't know you, lucian, not at all. the truth is, i haven't spent a whole lot of time with other people. i've made it a habit to be alone. i'm not sure i'm comfortable being around a stranger who knows so much about me, when i know nothing about him."

"you are quite capable of reading my mind, angel. merge your thoughts with mine. you will find out anything you might want to know."

she shook her head, determined not to get caught by the magic of his voice. "i want to go home to my own apartment and think about everything for a while."

the telephone chimed before he could respond. jaxon was oddly grateful. she was uncertain if she wanted him to agree with her or protest. the thought of being separated from him brought a great heaviness to her heart. she picked up the phone, expecting her captain's voice.

"jaxx, sweetheart? this is daddy."

tyler. his voice made her instantly sick inside. it brought back every detail of her life with this man. the terrible responsibility of her childhood, shielding her mother and brother, only to fail in the end. the guilt over the andrews family losing their lives simply for giving her a home. and over carol taylor, whose only sin was that she liked to share a cup of coffee in the morning with jaxon. drake had called jaxon one long-ago morning, telling her carol was weak and useless, like rebecca, playing on jaxon's sense of compassion, the woman was nothing but a leech, a burden. jaxon had known she would find carol dead that morning, but she had dropped the phone and run to her apartment anyway.

now she remained silent, her stomach churning, her hand automatically finding her gun while her eyes began to move restlessly, searching the windows. could drake see into the room? did he have an angle? drake was an expert marksman. without thought she slid out of bed and placed herself between the window and lucian. lucian, without a word, simply swept her behind him, pinning her there with one strong arm.

"this man is trying to destroy our family, jaxx," drake's voice barked into the phone. "you can't allow him to do it. tell him to go away. you don't know what men are like or what they want. you can't trust him." the voice was steely with authority.

lucian took the phone out of her hand - an easy enough task, although she tried to hang on to it. "come and get me, drake." as always, his tone was soft, almost gentle. "i have no intention of giving her up. you have no hold over her anymore. jaxon is under my protection, and your reign of terror is over. turn yourself in. it is what you wish to do. you've wanted to do it for a long while."

lucian heard drake replace the phone in its cradle, cutting off their conversation.

lucian turned to regard jaxon with his black, steady gaze. there was no remorse, no fear, nothing at all but the burning blackness of his eyes and the hard, slightly cruel edge to his mouth. jaxon felt pale and fragile. he looked solid, calm, an anchor, invincible. very gently he reached out and touched her face. "jaxon?"

"why did you do that? why did you challenge him that way?" her voice was barely a whisper "you don't understand. i can't protect you from him. he will wait. a month, a year - it means nothing to him. even if i never see you again, he'll come after you now. you don't know what you've done."

jaxon was trembling visibly. she looked so lost, so forlorn, so young and vulnerable, lucian felt his own heart twist with pain. he reached down, gathered her unresisting body into his arms, and sheltered her close to his heart. lucian simply held her until the warmth of his body seeped into hers. until her frantic heartbeat matched the calm, steady rhythm of his. until the terrible churning in her stomach subsided.

how did he do it? jaxon lay against his large, heavily muscled frame and allowed herself to rely on him for just a few more minutes. he made her feel as if everything would be all right as long as she was close to him. lucian seemed to have the ability to project his complete confidence in himself to her.

finally jaxon pushed away from him, and he set her on her feet. "you've been setting yourself up as a target from the very first, haven't you? you claim you're my fianc§?and you've got all this money, so it makes you newsworthy. it's plastered all over the newspapers, isn't it? the handsome billionaire with the cop. i bet it's been quite a story. you knew drake would read it and come after you."

he shrugged, completely unconcerned, those black eyes steady on her face. the movement of his broad shoulders was fluid and masculine, a ripple of casual strength that admitted she spoke the truth. "i have not had a way to track him until i knew more about him. with your memories, i had a place to start. now he will make it much easier. if he does not turn himself in, he will be mad enough to make mistakes. he will show himself. he will not have his usual patience. he has lost control of you. always, from the time you were a mere baby, tyler drake believed himself in control of your life. this has never happened to him before."

"he won't turn himself in," jaxon said with complete conviction.

"probably not," he agreed complacently. "drake is unbalanced, and i was not able to connect with him."

"why me? what was there about me that he fixated on?" her enormous dark eyes moved over lucian's face. "why did you find me? why did that... that thing come to your house when he so obviously wanted no part of you?" with sudden insight she backed a step away from him. "it was me, wasn't it? i drew him there somehow."

his smile held little humor, more an appreciation of her ability to reason things out. "you are far more adept than you realize, honey. merging my mind with yours gave you more information than i had planned."

"just tell me." she was almost holding her breath for his answer, but, just as she always knew when there was danger, she knew the truth.

lucian sighed. "i know what you are thinking, jaxon, but it is more complex than that. you are unique among your kind, a true psychic. our species can convert only a true psychic from the human race; all others become deranged if conversion is tried. it is necessary for our males to find their lifemates. i have explained that to you. vampires - those carpathians who have chosen to lose their souls and cannot be redeemed - still seek to try. still seek a lifemate, though it is too late for them. your presence would draw them."

she closed her eyes. "the serial killer. that was a vampire?"

he nodded. "i found his kill just as your partner arrived. i was not certain who the killer was at the time. vampires often use evil men in a variety of ways. like carpathians, the vampire cannot stand the light of day. humans can accomplish certain tasks that vampires cannot, so they use them as puppets."

"they can force people to kill others? is that what you mean?"

he nodded slowly, watching her carefully. she looked as if she might bolt at any moment. "among other things, yes, they can program one of their puppets to kill." if it was possible for her to become any paler, she managed it.

jaxon shook her head. "this is insanity. you know that, don't you? i can't believe i'm buying -->>

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