Primal Heat 05 - Darkness Reborn

up, his hands almost shaking from the intensity of it. On her arm was a set of thin silver lines that were an exact match for the handle of his flail. "Mother of God." Rightness rippled through him, and then as he watched, another line formed, traveling up her arm toward her elbow. Sarah was his sheva, and she carried his mark.
    "Trust," he muttered. "You told me your darkest secret, that you fear you caused your daughter's death. Sharing that with me satisfies your half of the trust stage." He didn't need to ask about the other lines. He'd been there when they'd made love. He knew damn well that they'd completed that stage. "Son of a bitch." He jerked his gaze to Sarah's and saw the guilt on her face. "You knew?" How had he not sensed it? How in God's name had he been with her and not sensed it? Ryland and Thano should have known as well. "How did you hide this from me? And why?"
    "Mason," she whispered. "Mason is why I hid it. I used my magic to hide it." Tears burned in her eyes. "I can't go through all that again, Kane. I can't." She touched his chest where the scars were missing. "For all we know, you're Los Muerte, the man who killed his sheva and child. If you are, you'll do it again. To me." Her voice broke and she clutched her chest. "I can't go through that again, Kane. I can't."
    Denial roared through Kane. He gripped her shoulders, his body vibrating from the force of his anger. "As God is my witness, Sarah, there is no chance in hell that I would ever hurt you. I don't know what Mason's deal was, but I'll find out." The stark terror in her eyes broke through some of his anger, and he softened his grip, struggling to find a place of reassurance for Sarah's sake. "I swear on the grave of Dante, my mentor, that never in this God-forsaken existence of mine would I ever fail to protect you..." His words stumbled. "Or any child that we might have."
    Sarah's face turned ashen. "God, no, don't even say that about children, Kane. I can't do that again. I can't!"
    "Okay, okay, okay." He dropped his head, fighting for control. Struggling to let go of the anger and rage that she doubted him. Fighting to reach the place of control that would comfort her.
    She didn't move from his arms, and for a moment, there was no sound in the tunnel except the sound of their breathing, as they each tried to regain their equilibrium. Finally, Kane raised his head and met Sarah's gaze. "I swear to you, Sarah, that I will not become like Mason. I'm not that weak. I'm just not."
    She met his gaze, such betrayal and anguish in her eyes. "Mason wasn't weak either. He loved me, Kane. You don't even love me. What do you have to stop yourself?"
    "Shit, Sarah, I don't need a crutch!" He pulled her against him and opened his mind to hers, drawing her in. Can't you feel it? My need to protect you and keep you safe? It's burning so strongly in me that I'd strike down my own teammates before I'd hurt you. He took her hand and pressed it to his chest, right over the spot where she'd erased his scars, where there was nothing blocking who he really was. Can't you feel it?
    Sarah dug her fingers into his skin, and a small furrow formed between her eyebrows. I can . But I can also feel darkness inside you. Something terrifying.
    Kane ground his jaw, because he knew exactly what she was talking about. It was the darkness that had made him almost strike out at Ryland. It was the violent images coursing through his mind. It was the pain knifing through his body.
    But he knew he couldn't hurt her. He took her hand and pressed it to his lips. But he'd been in her mind, and he knew the level of trauma, and he understood why she would fear him. And in the back of his mind, he couldn't quite get her stories about Los Muerte out of his head. He also couldn't ignore the scars on his own skin or the fact that he'd connected to whatever had been in those woods.
    He belonged here. He could tell he did. Somehow, some way, this was his world...so if there was a chance, any kind of chance, that he was the man she was talking about, that Los Muerte was lurking beneath his scars, then he needed to make sure she was protected. Okay, Sarah, let's make a deal.
    She met his gaze, biting her lower lip as he brushed a kiss over her knuckles. "What deal?"
    I promise that I will never hurt you, and you promise me that if you ever think I'm going to, that you will kill me before I can hurt you. Don't hesitate the way you did with Mason. Just kill me.
    Her gaze snapped to his.