“Because of their mortality?” The conversation seemed to intrigue him. He sat forward in his chair and pinned her with a look.
“But I’m mortal too,” she commented. “And I accept death as part of life.”
“Perhaps too much,” he simply said.
Jade continued to sip her wine. It eased the remainder of the pain she felt along her back, which she was careful to keep from making contact with her chair.
When she didn’t speak, Darien said, “Maybe one of the reasons you’ve allowed the connection to form between Sheena, Morgan and myself is because you know you won’t outlive us.”
She gaped, speechless.
“You could have settled for Michael, even if he didn’t fully own your heart,” Darien said. “You could have married him and had children. But you told me you want more than amiable companionship.”
Finally, she found her voice. “Yes. I want all the passion I feel with you.”
“And you want someone who’s at least as strong as you. Because let’s face it, Jade, as we established before, you are not ordinary. You can’t spend your life with someone who is.”
“That doesn’t diminish how I feel about people like Lisette and Michael.”
“No. But you keep them at arm’s length. For a reason.”
“They wouldn’t understand me if they knew everything about me. In fact, if Michael had any idea the things I’m capable of…” She rolled her eyes. “It’d send him over the edge. He’d think for sure I’d been practicing witchcraft with Lisette on the sly.”
“And when it comes to her, you’re all too aware of her age. And her increasingly limited life span.”
“The village will be a much bleaker place without her, that’s for sure.” She brushed away the tears that crested the rims of her eyes and slid down her flushed cheeks. After polishing off her glass of wine, she asked, “Why are we even talking about this? It’s very depressing. I’m starving and our dinner is getting cold.”
“And you really can’t afford to lose any more weight. There’s not much to you these days.”
She hadn’t worn anything other than the nightgowns and robes Sheena had brought her, since the satin was cool and soft against her back. The bleeding had stopped and she didn’t need the lightweight bandages any longer, just the aloe twice a day. She suspected her regular clothes would hang on her at this point.
Jade sliced her pieces of ham as Darien refreshed her wineglass. When she sampled the stuffing, she nodded enthusiastically. “Mm, chunks of apple. Nice touch. I wouldn’t have thought to add them.” She was a basic cook, never crafting anything too fancy.
The meal was the best she’d had since the last one her mother had made. Jade was so thrilled with the food and so ravenous that she devoured everything without uttering another word.
In the back of her mind, she realized she was avoiding a key point she’d someday have to address. A compelling notion Darien had brought to light. But she wasn’t ready for the mental debate. She’d had a horrific few weeks following the fire wraith’s assault. No doubt one of the reasons she’d been so interested in algebra lessons from Sheena was because the complex equations occupied her thoughts and kept her mind off other impossible-to-solve problems.
Following dinner, they cleaned the dishes and finished the bottle of wine. Darien sprawled partially on the sofa—since he was much too big for it—and she lay on top of him. His hands rested on her hips because he was clearly wary of touching her back.
She said, “I’m almost fully heale
d.” She didn’t want him fearing he’d hurt her.
“Did you glean anything new from this experience?”
“Yes, definitely. I have a terrible time concentrating on one specific wound to repair.” Thinking of this, she added, “I should practice separating sensations. Like when you touched the cut at the back of my head. I felt that and was able to focus on it.”
He groaned. “I’m not liking the sound of this.”
With a smile, she assured him, “I would practice with pinpricks, not burns and lacerations.”
“Hmm.” He clearly wasn’t on board with her.
“Anyway, I’ve had enough of the pain.” She kissed him and added, “How about we pick up where we left off with that last dream?”
One side of his mouth lifted. “Enjoyed it, did you?”
“Very much so. The waterfall was beautiful.”