The Only One

knocked him over. He grabbed her arms as much to steady himself as to keep her close. She fought him, her long hair whipping around her shoulders.
    He could smell her overheated skin, the fragrances they'd used in the spring, and the womanly scent that was hers alone. "I'm going to live," he said gruffly. "And I'm coming back for you."
    "And what then? Even if you survive, even if you win your precious war, there will be years and years of turmoil afterward, especially for you—you, with your radical ideas about eliminating the monarchy, making a new form of government!" Her mouth twisted. "Your Vash Nadah. It might take years, and sooner or later poison will find its way into your drink, or a bullet will strike you in the back. Sooner or later someone is going to kill you, Romjha B'kah."
    Her eyes filled with tears that she didn't seem able to blink away this time. "If I ever decided on a protector, it wouldn't be someone like you," she whispered. "You're destined to die in a blaze of glory. Your life is going to be as fleeting and brilliant as an oil-soaked rag thrown into the fire. I prefer a slower burn in a man.
    When death leers at you from every shadow, you look for someone dependable to hold the torch that lights your way. You, Romjha B'kah, want to wave it. You remind me too acutely of my own mortality."
    Her chin lifted and she looked strong, but in that moment all she'd denied was revealed to him. He gave immediate thanks to the Great Mother, something he hadn't done in many years.
    Taj loved him. And she feared that love with everything she was. Scrappy Taj Sai. Fear drove her denial now, just as guilt had driven him. She detested being afraid, and to beat it, she'd taken control of her life.
    Taken control of everything. No wonder she was loath to let him in. She couldn't control him. The realization hit him head-on.
    He'd been a fool, battling for her heart from the wrong vantage point, and with the wrong weapons. Armed with his new knowledge, he launched himself into the final battle with his infuriated lover. This time he would claim what was his, once and for all.

Chapter Eleven
    Romjha released her. Taj stumbled backward, made fists of her hands and pressed them to her burning stomach.
    He watched her, his long, powerfully muscled legs set apart in a wide stance, his handsome face utterly determined, his eyes unconquerable. But she could see the real man he kept hidden behind the warrior facade. Her heart fluttered. She k new what lay beneath.
    And she was in love with both men.
    Taj sucked in a breath as the knowledge exploded within her. Blast it all to hell! She was in love with Romjha B'kah.
    She'd fought it for so long, confining her feelings to such benign terms as "admiration" and "respect" and
    "affection."
    Her pulse pounded; her hands shook. Fury sizzled out of every pore. She'd been in a bad mood for most of her adult life. But never had it been like this. Never had there been so much at stake.
    Romjha's eyes were burnished gold, penetrating.
    She scowled. "What in blazes are you looking at?"
    He dipped his chin. "You."
    Her frown deepened as his mouth curved inscrutably. "You use anger to defeat your fear," he said.
    She felt her heart jerk in her chest. Crat. He knew. He k new she was scared. She took a swing at his face.
    He caught her fist.
    Snarling, she yanked her hand back. Her voice was low and deadly. "Get out of my head, Commander."
    She turned away, muttering, "Trust me, it's a place you don't want to be."
    "What makes you so sure?" he asked.
    Her throat tightened. She could barely speak. "Because most times I don't want to be there myself."
    He grabbed her by the biceps, dragged her close. "I don't think you understand. I want you, Taj. Inside and out. Everything." He spun her around and his mouth came down over hers.
    She groaned and gave in to a new and uncontrollable hunger. The exhaustion of the past few days, the tension, the revelations—everything proved too much. The walls she'd erected to protect herself crumbled.
    Romjha's arms closed hard around her, and she came apart. The terror and helplessness she so hated gushed out of the place where she'd long-ago stored it. She pulled her mouth away, buried her face against his chest and wept.
    Distantly, she felt Rornjha crushing her in his arms. She clung to him as the full force of her fear tore at her, trying to drag her back into the dark abyss in which she'd wallowed after her father died. But she wouldn't do it.