"nope. i'm keeping it all."

his eyes closed again and he let out a long breath. "good. you're safe."

just like that, he was back asleep again, leaving lexi reeling. he hadn't asked if he was going to be okay. his sole concern had been for her.

that kind of selflessness was not like any version of evil she'd ever encountered. in fact, even good, decent people would have at least inquired about their condition. but not zach.

maybe helen was right and lexi had been wrong all these years. or maybe his concern was some kind of act meant to confuse her.

lexi didn't know what to think anymore. she was tired of being afraid. tired of being confused and alone. one way or another, she was going to get to the bottom of all of this or die trying.

with a deep breath for courage, she lay down next to zach and pressed her body alongside his. she hiked up the front of her shirt so her bare tummy touched his side, and draped her arm across his chest.

a weightless warmth sank into her skin, giving her a sense of utter contentment. whatever it was about him that made her insides sing was still working, and she was glad for the momentary diversion from reality.

her stomach was full, no one was chasing her and she had a gorgeous man in her arms. as far as she was concerned, that was as close to heaven on earth as it got.

zach woke up to a need so intense he could hardly breathe. his skin felt too tight, and brittle, like it would rip apart if he dared to fill his lungs. his body was on fire, his blood pounding hot and hard through his limbs. his dick throbbed, aching to feel the slide of lexi's body as he filled her. only she could ease him, but she never did.

he'd been dreaming of her again. hot, fevered dreams that left him shaking and sweating, on the verge of paradise, but never reaching it. he couldn't touch her in his dreams. she taunted him, swinging her hips and blowing him a kiss as she ran away. he couldn't catch her even though he knew she was running into danger.

he called her name, but no sound came from his lungs, only hot, desperate breaths of air that left his chest bellowing under the need for more oxygen.

zach rubbed his eyes, trying to rid himself of the heavy sleepiness that plagued him. his elbow brushed against something soft draped over him.

lexi.

she nestled beside him. he didn't need to open his eyes to know that. he could smell the sweet, fresh scent of her body and feel the soft cushion of her baby-fine hair on his chest. her skin was cool against his, drawing away some of the heat scalding his insides.

his arms were weak, but he forced them to curl around her and hold her close. he couldn't let her leave him. not ever.

she yawned and pushed herself away from his body, robbing him of the cooling comfort of her skin. he tried to stop her, but he wasn't strong enough. the poison had left him helpless and hurting.

lexi pressed her wrist against his forehead. "you're still hot. let me get you some aspirin."

"won't help."

"it can't hurt."

"please, just come back down here," he told her through clenched teeth.

"then at least let me get a cold cloth. it can't be healthy for you to be so hot."

she started to move off the bed, but zach grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "no. stay."

she frowned at him, then said, "i'll only be a second." he couldn't let her go, not even for that long. he needed to feel her skin on his. all of it. her touch was the only thing that could cool his blood.

zach used a surge of strength to pull her onto the bed, then pinned her under him. the effort left him panting in exhaustion, but at least he had her where he wanted her, where he needed her.

"let me up, zach." her tone was hard and cold.

he didn't listen. instead, he shoved her shirt up over her breasts and pressed his bare chest against her body. her bra irritated him, but he wasn't sure she'd let him take it off, too. in fact, the way she was wriggling under him, he wasn't sure she was going to stay put for long.

"you feel so good," he told her. "your skin is so cool and soft."

he pressed his cheek to hers and couldn't resist the urge to slide his hands down her sides. he felt the subtle contours of her ribs, the narrow span of her waist, and finally, the gentle swell of her hips where they were bared by her low- rise jeans. everywhere he touched, hot ribbons of power fled his body, sinking into hers. it felt so good, his head spun, and he started to shake.

lexi went still beneath him and her voice was filled with apprehension. "what are you doing?"

"just need to touch you," he whispered.

he buried his nose against her neck and filled his lungs with her scent. sweet. clean. his.

he had to taste her. just a little.

the tip of zach's tongue slid out, barely grazing her skin, but it was enough to go to his head. she tasted of salvation and woman and something else he couldn't name. something powerful and elusive that belonged only to her.

lexi shivered beneath him and her hands snaked around his waist and clutched at his back. "what the hell is happening?" she asked him in a soft, almost fearful tone.

was he hurting her?

zach pushed his head up so he could look at her face and make sure. he didn't think he'd survive moving away from her, and his arms were shaking like crazy, but if he was hurting her, he'd find a way to leave her alone.

he saw no sign of pain on her face. her eyes were closed and her lips were parted. her head was angled to the side, giving him better access to her neck. a deep flush painted her skin a rosy pink and he could see her pulse racing in her throat.

"what do you feel?" he asked.

"you're so warm. it's . . . sliding inside me and i can't make it stop."

"you're not supposed to try," he told her.

"but it feels too good. it's got to be some kind of trick."

"no trick. just let go." he was hard and aching, his erection pressing painfully against the confines of his clothing. he wanted them both naked, stripped of all the barriers that separated them so he could take her properly and give her the kind of pleasure that would bind her to him forever. but he wasn't strong enough yet to keep her from running, and if he tried to strip her, his skittish lexi would definitely bolt.

every moment he spent touching her made him stronger, even as it drove him closer to losing control. if he could stay awake just a few minutes more, he'd have everything he wanted.

a wave of heat mingled with his power rose up inside of him and washed out over them both. lexi sucked in a shuddering breath, pressing her breasts against his chest. the breath came out as a low moan of pleasure and zach nearly came just hearing it.

"you're so good," he told her. "so soft." he stroked the side of her face, but his hands were clumsy and he feared he'd poke her in the eye. instead, he settled for splaying his fingers through her baby-fine hair.

"i shouldn't let you do this," she said. "it's not right." her voice wavered with uncertainty.

"i need you, lexi." the words were all mangled. he was getting so sleepy, he could hardly support enough of his weight to keep from crushing her, so he rolled over so they were on their sides, facing each other, his arm clamped around her.

she licked her lips. "you need a doctor."

"i need your touch."

"bare skin on bare skin," she whispered. "that's what ronan said."

"to bleed off the heat," he realized.

"it's not working fast enough."

"it'll work," said zach, even as he felt himself fading fast. he'd been poisoned before, and it took a while to recover. that was all. he refused to die and leave lexi alone and unprotected.

he could hardly keep his eyes open anymore, even though he loved the sight of her so close to him. he could see a scattering of freckles over her cheeks and the way the skin between her eyebrows puckered whenever he said something she didn't want to hear.

"are you sure?" she asked, finally looking into his eyes.

she was so beautiful he thought his heart would beat its way out of his chest. he'd never tire of looking at her, not if he was lucky enough to have her by his side for millennia.

"yeah."

"how can you be sure?"

"because i'm not dying until i get to kiss you."

lexi watched zach's eyes shut as he lost the battle against sleep. she thought it would help her relax to no longer have him looking at her like she was his salvation, but it didn't. her body was tense, humming with some kind of weird energy she'd never felt before-like she was mainlining a red bull or something.

she smoothed his hair back from his face, enjoying the silky feel of it sliding through her fingers. he was such a handsome man, in a rough, dark way-nothing like pretty boy ronan. stubble shadowed his wide jaw, which was clenched in pain, even in his sleep. her pale fingers glowed against his brown skin as she traced her fingertips over his cheek and across his lips.

zach moaned, low in his throat, and the arm he had wrapped around her tightened. she probably should have pulled her shirt down, but the feel of his body on hers was too good to resist. everywhere his skin touched hers, she felt his heat and power soaking into her. it was almost intoxicating.

maybe he was drugging her, making her pliant to his plans. if so, she wasn't even sure she cared anymore. she'd never felt more alive. more needed.

it was a potent thing to be needed. she'd been alone for seven years now, roaming the countryside, with only herself to think about. before that, it had been just her and mom, and lexi had been the needy one.

but the tables had turned and she was now important to someone else. vital. she wasn't just rattling around the countryside, letting the years roll by while she kept hidden and alone.

in fact, lots of people needed her. not only zach, but all the defenders were counting on her.

to kill.

lexi's stomach gave a hard heave of nausea and she scrambled off the bed toward the bathroom. she made it to the toilet, but nothing came up. she just knelt there, on the cold tile, trying not to think about what she'd agreed to do.

it had seemed like such a good idea. a righteous quest to slay the dragon.

but now that dragon lay sleeping in a room only a few feet away, letting out low grunts of pain because she'd left him. he wasn't a terrible beast like she'd thought. he was a man-or at least close enough to one that she could no longer see quite so many differences.

confusion and indecision had never been problems for her before. she needed to ground herself, to remember what was important and what she trusted. what was real.

mom's journal. lexi needed to reread it, regroup and resolve herself to the path she'd chosen-all while staying close enough to zach to ease his fever, just in case he was what he seemed.

with any luck at all, she'd find some clue in those pages as to why zach didn't seem like the monster she'd once believed he was. and if not . . .

if not, then lexi was going to have to suck it up and grow a thicker skin. she couldn't let the sentinels keep killing people and ruining their livelihoods, no matter how good one of them made her feel.