aHunter4Trust (12 page)

“And I’m not the woman you desire.” Tamsin
forced her voice to remain calm.

It was clear that Darrogh didn’t want her.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so upset. What was it about men? At least he was
telling her before they became involved. That was more honest than Winchester
had ever been.

“You are the only woman who is right for
me.” Darrogh’s voice sounded tortured.

“What’s the problem then?”

“I do not know if I can trust how I feel.”
Darrogh clenched his hands into fists. “This planet has had a strange effect on
us. Others of my unit have found their pair bond and mated, so there is truth
in the legends. I still believe that a Hunter should not let anything interfere
with his ability to fight.”

As rejections went, this one was unique.

She was a magnet for men unable to commit.
It had to be a personality flaw that they sensed. Darrogh’s reason for
rejecting her was unbelievable. He was taller and more muscular than most men,
and had rugged good looks. She was drawn to his aura of suppressed power. The
only drawback was that he was constantly on alert and always in control.

He was like no other man she had ever met.

It was just her luck that he thought he was
from another planet and didn’t want her. There was no doubt that Darrogh
believed what he was saying. How could she possibly accept such a wild story?
It sounded as if he’d lost touch with reality. Was it even safe to be alone
with him?

“I would never harm you.”

Tamsin’s eyes widened. “You keep
anticipating what I’m thinking.”

“It is part of the bonding.” Darrogh
dropped his head in his hands. “I do not think there is any way to stop it.”

“Deciphering my facial expressions is what
you call bonding?” Tamsin’s snapped out the words. She was tired of his parlor
tricks. “I’m not that easy to read.”

“I hear your thoughts and sense your
emotions.” Darrogh looked up. “The others explained the pair bonding, but I
never thought it would be like this.”

“How do you hear my thoughts?” Tamsin’s
tone was hesitant.

“Your doubts and questions are in my head.”
Darrogh’s voice was low. “It is like the mind connect between Hunters, and it
has the power to reach inside of me and twist. Your voice is all I want to
hear.”

“This is what your pair bonding is about?
Telecommunication?”

Darrogh shook his head. “That is only part
of it. The bonding is a complete joining of body and mind.”

“I don’t want anybody crawling around in my
head.” A shiver went through Tamsin. What irrational rants had Darrogh been
listening to? It was an invasion of her privacy.

“Your thoughts are never indiscreet.”
Darrogh smiled. “You have the power to block the pair bonding if you wish.”

“I wish.” Tamsin sat back and crossed her
arms. “It’s not right for people to hear someone’s thoughts.”

“It is not a bad thing.” Darrogh’s tone was
thoughtful. “I knew you were in danger when you left with Saxby. I could hear
your cry for help and feel your desperation. I was out of my mind with the need
to find you before that monster put his hands on you.”

“You reached me in time.” Tamsin pushed
back her memories of that evening.

“I was too late. He had already hit you.”
Darrogh’s hands clenched into fists. “It took all of my years of training to
refrain from killing him right away. I had to make certain that you were being
held against your will.”

“How could you even think that I wanted
that?”

Darrogh shrugged. “I have seen much on this
planet. For some people, that would have been pleasure.”

Tamsin looked out the window. “You’re
right.”

“At the time, I could not trust that I had
read your thoughts correctly. My response to seeing you hurt, may have caused
harm. I reacted in haste and was careless.” Darrogh shook his head. “That is
why I think it would be better if I put some distance between us. I want to
protect you, yet how can I, if I hesitate or overreact.”

Tamsin turned back to Darrogh. “You say
you’re an alien who has feelings for me and that interferes with your work. Who
protects me when you’ve left?”

“One of the others will take charge.”

“And what happens if they decide that they
are bonding with me and they want to leave?” Tamsin could have cried at how
ridiculous the situation was. “No member of your team will want to guard me.”

“You do not understand the nature of the
pair bond.” Darrogh leaned toward her. “We only bond once. There is no
attraction to other women.”

Tamsin frowned. “So none of the other men
in your team will connect with me?”

“No.” Darrogh grimaced. “I am not even
certain about you bonding with me.”

“I get that you don’t want to be near me.
You don’t have to keep repeating it.”

Darrogh took her hand.

A shock of electricity raced through her
fingers.

“You are wrong. All I desire is to be with
you. It consumes me and is a fire that burns within me. My every thought is
filled with you, whether it is about your safety, plans to protect you, or just
to be near you.”

“That sounds a lot like love.”

Darrogh’s gaze was intense. “I do not sense
that you feel the same way.”

“How do you know?”

“You would be able to hear my thoughts
too.” Darrogh let her hand go. “That is why I am uncertain about what is
happening to me.”

“Are you telling me that the mind reading
goes both ways?”

“Of course.” Darrogh sounded surprised.
“How else can it be a joining unless both partners are able to link to each
other?”

“How is that possible?” Tamsin’s voice held
a tremor.

“A pair bond is the true connection between
two people who are meant to be together. There is no other person that they
will ever bond with in this way.”

“So they are in perfect synch?”

“Yes.” Darrogh sighed. “Now do you
understand why I doubt what is happening to me? It should not be one-sided.”

Tamsin clenched her hands together. “It’s
not.”

Darrogh’s eyes narrowed. “What are you
saying?”

“When I was Saxby’s prisoner and couldn’t
move, I saw you clearly in my head.” Tamsin hesitated for a second. “You told
me you’d be there soon.”

“Why did you not tell me?”

“I was drugged and my memory was foggy.”
Tamsin’s fingers fluttered against the cheek that Saxby had hit. “I thought it
was a hallucination.”

“Was there anything else?”

“A couple of times I felt a sense of calm
overcome me. Is that the kind of thing you’re talking about?”

Darrogh nodded.

“So what does this mean?” Tamsin’s voice
rose. “Are we fated to be joined? In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t want to
let another man into my life. How can I trust that you won’t leave me like
Winchester did?”

“Winchester has no honor,” Darrogh scoffed.
“Once a Hunter has bonded, there is no one else for him. It is a physical pain
to be separated.”

Darrogh believed what he was telling her,
but did she? She might sense when he was near, yet that didn’t mean she was
reading his thoughts. She was attracted to him, and her body hummed with sparks
when he touched her. Dare she trust that?

“What do we do now?” Her voice was a low
whisper.

“I have always considered the bonding a
curse because it lessens a warrior’s focus. Now, I am not so certain.” Darrogh’s
tone was reflective. “I am focused on ensuring your protection. It has made me
more effective as your bodyguard. My concern is what will happen once you do
not need my services.”

“You said the connection lasts a lifetime.”

“A woman can refuse the mating. I would be
bound to obey.” Darrogh winced. “The pain of not being with you would be
unbearable.”

“Do you always do what a woman asks?”

“Yes.” Darrogh’s tone was solemn. “Women
are obeyed. It is a man’s duty to serve her.”

Tamsin opened her mouth and then shut it.

Darrogh was serious.

Finally, she asked, “Is this something that
Hunters have been bred to do?”

“All men on Cygnus obey women. They are the
ones that rule and make the decisions.”

“I asked numerous times in the past week to
be left alone, and you didn’t do it.”

“Women on earth are not used to ruling. A
Hunter obeys unless it is a matter of safety. I deemed that you still needed
protection. That is why I refused your requests.”

“So you don’t think I can rule?”

Darrogh grinned. “You are a very competent
women. I believe we know more about security than you.”

“Well I can’t argue with that.” Tamsin
shook her head. “I almost got myself killed yesterday.”

“It will not happen again.” Darrogh stood.
“There is more at stake here than we first thought. We have proof that the
Albireons are responsible for the threats on your life.”

“Who exactly are the Albireons?” Tamsin
asked. “I know they’re in control of the corporation that is trying to take my
father’s bank. You seem to have a past history with them. Have others been
threatened by them?”

“They are the scourge of the universe.”
Darrogh’s tone was disdainful. “They take over planets, strip them of their
resources and genes, and then, they destroy them. They have been on Earth for
several years and have infiltrated your governments to the highest levels.”

Tamsin frowned. “Are you saying they’re
aliens also?”

“Yes.” Darrogh crossed his arms. “I have
fought them in numerous battles. They have no honor and deceive with every
promise. They are no match for a Hunter. Since we discovered their presence on
this planet, we have looked for a means to eradicate them.”

“Why threaten my father?”

“They need economic control and his bank is
part of the plan. We were unaware of how deep their influence on this planet
was.” Darrogh’s jaw clenched. “They have more power than we thought. It will be
difficult to defeat them.”

Tamsin wasn’t sure what she thought about
this latest development. She had just accepted that Darrogh was probably
telling the truth about being from another planet. Now he was asking her to
believe that there was an alien conspiracy to overtake Earth. This morning, her
biggest concern was trying to forget that she’d almost been raped and killed.
Now, the world was at risk of being destroyed.

“It is a lot to accept.”

Tamsin smiled. “Reading my thoughts again?”

Darrogh nodded. “I have been in numerous
battles with Albireons. I have seen many of my brothers killed because of the
treachery of this race. I do not wish to see any more deaths.”

“Is my father at risk from them?”

“Once they have his bank, they will have no
further use for him.”

Tamsin’s heart skipped a beat.

Her father was all she had.

“How can we protect him?” Tamsin didn’t
care what it took, she wanted her father alive. If these Albireons were truly
behind the threats, then she wanted them killed.

“He is safe as long as he controls
Creighton’s.” Darrogh’s gaze burned with intensity. “You are the one in danger.
Your father’s greatest weakness is his love for you, and they are using that
against him. If you are safe, he will have no need to give them the bank.”

“So keeping me alive is the best way to
thwart them?”

Darrogh nodded. “Your safety is my only
concern.”

The enormity of what she’d just learned was
suffocating. She wanted her world to stop spinning and the stress to lessen.
Darrogh was looking at her with a hooded expression, but she could feel his
uncertainty. He had risked exposure by telling her the truth about himself and
she was thankful. It was a relief to know that she hadn’t been hallucinating.

The bond he spoke of sounded serious.

She needed playfulness and joy in her life
too.

Tamsin went to Darrogh. He stood rigid and
unmoving. Now that he’d told her about his beliefs, she knew that where she was
concerned at least, he was not indifferent. She rubbed her hand up his arm,
enjoying the sparks of fire that burned between them.

“You’re the only man I want guarding me.”
She reached up and stroked down his cheek. “You will just have to overcome your
aversion to having me near.”

“That is not what I said.” Darrogh’s voice
was hoarse.

Tamsin batted her eyes. “You threatened to
leave.”

“I do not trust these feelings.”

“I don’t trust men, but I’ve made an
exception in your case.” Tamsin walked over to her dressing table.

“Why are you deliberately misleading me?”
Darrogh’s voice was filled with confusion.