A sigh escaped, and her lashes veiled her eyes. “You can be extremely irritating, Gregori. I’m trying hard to carry this off, and I could use a little help. To be honest, I’m scared to death. Actually, I don’t want to think about it right now.” She bit her lip, then winced when her mouth stung. She made a subtle movement of retreat, hoping he would move his hand. She was so aware of his touch, his heat. The awareness encompassed both the ache in her body that his touch induced and the terrible fear her mind had no hope of overcoming.

Gregori didn’t move a muscle, remaining as still as a statue carved from granite. “You pulled me out of the darkness, from the gates of hell. By all rights, by every law our people have, you should have destroyed me for what I did to you.” His voice was low and edged with sorrow. “In all honesty, I had no idea such self-sacrifice, and such a rescue, was possible.”

Savannah never wanted to repeat the experience as long as she lived. But somehow, as much as she was frightened, as much as her body hurt, she knew that Gregori was far more tormented than she. “I don’t suppose you’re so grateful that you would consider living apart from me for a while?” she asked hopefully, closing her eyes for a moment to block out the memory of the fight for his soul. She couldn’t face the memory and the very real, very intimidating person at the same time.

For one moment something flickered in the depths of his eyes, rippled in his mind, her mind, then was gone. Pain. Had she hurt him? Savannah wasn’t certain she wanted to know.

“The ritual was completed, ma petite.It is too late. Neither of us would survive a separation.” His fingers tangled in her hair, crushing silky strands as if he couldn’t get enough of the feel of her.

Savannah remembered hearing that lifemates could not live apart. But that meant she had to find a way to resolve her inner conflicts and fear of their relationship right away. Was that even possible? “So, what does that mean?” she challenged. “I’ve heard my father and you both say that. I’ve heard it all my life. What does it mean?”

“You will need the touch of my mind, my body, the exchange of our blood, and I will need yours. It will happen often, and the need is so powerful, one of us cannot long exist without the other.” He kept his voice neutral, low, a soothing cadence.

If it was possible for her to grow more pale, she did. Her heart jumped wildly, her eyes widening in fear. Never!She could never, ever, under any circumstances, go through that again. Sex was a nightmare, the exchange of blood painfully overrated. She turned her face away from him in an attempt to spare him her fear. Her mind was working furiously, trying to find a solution. She had brought this on herself. If only... But if she had done anything differently, Gregori might be dead—or, worse, a full-fledged vampire, and somehow, even with the threat of a repeat performance, Savannah couldn’t bear the thought of that.

She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, felt the swollen, cracked evidence of his assault. “But there’s no chance of you turning vampire now, right?”

Gregori’s heart hitched at the little catch in her voice. “There is no possible chance of my giving up my soul to darkness, Savannah, unless I should lose you. I will not lie to you, ma petite.Our life will be difficult at first. I had no idea of the depth of emotion you are capable of creating in me. It will take some time to adjust. If you are asking whether I will hurt you physically again, the answer is no.”

“You’re certain?” This time there was a distinct quaver in her voice, and her hand trembled when she lifted it to brush back her hair.

The movement caused her to wince, and Gregori felt that wince, that trembling, through his entire body like the blade of a knife. “You are in me, Savannah, a light to guide me through the darkest of times.” He wanted to enfold her into the safety of his arms, shelter her for all eternity against his heart. But was he speaking the truth? He felt in his soul that he was, but he had long ago tampered with nature. Would the safeguards against his violence hold?

“I need time.” She hated the pleading note in her voice. But her life had changed overnight. And Peter. God help her, she would never forgive herself for Peter’s death.

“Roberto was not alone.” It was easy to read her thoughts.

Savannah gingerly tested her ability to move. Every muscle seemed to shriek in protest. “What do you mean?”

His hand moved over her shoulder, his touch possessive. A jolt of fear hit her hard. She was naked beneath the sheet. Instantly she felt vulnerable, her blue-violet gaze jumping to his pale one as if she expected him to grow horns.

Gregori sighed softly and eased his weight onto the bed. “I will not hurt you, mon petit amour.I cannot with the ritual completed.”

“Then why did you say our life will be difficult?” Her fingers were clutching the sheet until her knuckles turned white.

His hand settled gently over hers, tracing a fingertip over each tense knuckle. Every brush of his fingers sent an unexpected jolt of electricity through her. “I cannot lose you after waiting centuries for you. I know I am a hard man, and you will not find me easy to live with. We will both need to make certain adjustments.”

“Yeah, like you can lose the macho attitude,” she muttered under her breath. Steeling herself, she said aloud, “I want to sit up, Gregori.” She felt at a distinct disadvantage, flat on her back and naked beneath the sheet. “If we’re going to discuss our future, I’d like to participate.”

For a long moment his silver eyes moved over her pale, bruised face, studying her intently, clearly debating whether to allow it. A storm began to gather in her eyes, and reluctantly he shifted back to give her room.

“Easy, bébé,” he said softly, slipping an arm around her, his breath warm on her neck. The feel of his hair-roughened, iron-hard arm wrapped around her bare skin sent a shiver down her spine and set warmth curling in the pit of her stomach. She detested that warmth, the way her body tuned itself to his, the way her mind struggled to ignore her firm resolution and sought to touch his. It was the ritual. She might tell herself that, but it didn’t stop the self-loathing. How could her body want his brutal touch? Was she some kind of masochist?

The trembling started deep inside, progressing through her muscles until her very teeth chattered. Savannah clutched the sheet to her and sat rigidly against the support of his arm. “I think this would go a lot better if you sat over there.” She pointed to a chair across the room.

Gregori’s hands framed her face, thumbs stroking the delicate line of her jaw. “Look at me, Savannah.” His voice was black velvet but an order nevertheless.

Her gaze jumped to his, but hastily she averted her eyes, lashes sweeping down protectively. Beneath the pad of his thumb her pulse raced. “Are you going to fight me at every turn? This is a small thing I ask of you, to look at me, your mate.”

“Is it? It is said you can command anyone with one look.”

His laughter was soft, playing over her skin like the touch of fingers. “I can do that with my voice alone, chérie.Savannah, I have a need for you to look at me.”

Reluctantly she locked her gaze to his. Why had she thought his eyes cold? They were pools of molten mercury, warming her, calming her so that the trembling eased and some of her fear dissipated enough to begin to relax her muscles.

“I will never hurt you again. The way I took you was not by choice, and I will carry the shame and guilt of my lack of control for all time.” His hands found her hair and brought the crushed silk to his lips. “I know you fear me, Savannah, and I have given you good reason, but I offer my mind freely so that you can see I speak the truth.” He was risking everything. His past was murky, at times even black. At her tender age she was incapable of understanding such a history, the bleakness of his existence that had led to this moment. But she would know every fact, every merciless act. She would also know just how far he had gone to ensure that he would have her as his lifemate. It was the only way he knew to reassure her that he meant what he said. If he opened his mind completely, she would know he spoke the truth. She could never love him, but he didn’t expect love from her.