Any Price (6 page)

Lore stiffened. “Explain. I expect details.”

“Sir, I will be happy to provide all the information I have. However, this ride does not afford us the time required. What I can tell you is my lady Kenna is the descendent of the last queen of Kersonov. There is no question of this.”

Kenna glanced at Lore worriedly. “Yuri? Why are you convinced I am some relation to your lost queen?”

“I am sorry to add to your burden. I know this because you affect everyone of your kind. Only a direct descendent of our lost queen could accomplish this.”

“So, the link between Lore and me has something to do with the priestess?” Kenna pressed.

“Your connection with my lord has nothing to do with a priestess. I used the priestess word only to try and explain the importance and unusualness of our kind’s abilities.”

Lore took up the questions. “And your family is connected to Kenna how?”

“Sir, my family has served her ladyship’s family since before recorded time.”

Kenna paled visibly and shrank into the door of the car. “You don’t know me. You’ve never met me before.”

“Please, my lady. I don’t wish to alarm you. You are tired and understandably concerned. This is not bad. Those of us who know you, who you really are, wish only to protect you. We are pleased that you have chosen to return.”

“Are you listening to us somehow?” Kenna wanted to know.

“No. We do not listen. We feel the result of your connection to the king. It is difficult to explain. Like a power plant switching on.”

The limo pulled to a stop beside a large tented pavilion. A red carpet was immediately rolled up to the door and the guards riding in the front jumped out. Yuri excused himself and left the vehicle to direct security.

Alone for a brief moment in the limo, Lore turned to Kenna. “Apparently what happens between us is more involved than just the two of us.”

This development affected him at the core of his possessive drive. Oh hell no, he was not allowing anyone else intimately close to Kenna. His back teeth ached as he snapped a chain on the caveman inside him who was fucking pissed.

Then there was the unresolved issue of her complete refusal to touch him after he’d taken care of her. That was inexplicable to him. Piled on all that was the disturbing knowledge others were aware of the difference in Kenna.

“That’s what he’s saying,” Kenna sighed tiredly.

Looking down at the beautiful, brave, exhausted woman putting as much space between them as she could, there was only one issue he had to deal with right now.

“What is it? Why the anger at the joust?” he questioned forcefully, using his command voice that demanded a response.

A person put a hand on the car door and both of them were aware of it. “You can’t imagine why I’m upset about having my free will manipulated? That I might object to fantasy replacing reality in my mind by someone else? And beyond that, I’d be okay with it causing the other person to experience my pain but also their own in doing it? Think about it. It’ll come to you.”

“No. That wasn’t what happened,” Lore objected as he studied her face. There was nothing to read.

The door to the limo swung open.

“We need a moment,” Lore stated calmly, and pulled the door shut.

Turning to Kenna, he held out his hand. “Our perceptions are opposite on this issue. You know you can show me exactly what you mean and see what I thought occurred.”

Kenna regarded him. “I don’t wish to attend this reception. Just go ahead and lock me in your dungeon or something. Get it over with.”

The words buzzed in his ears, but he found the lack of connection beneath them made them insufficient. What the hell was happening? The empty space between them expanded and had nothing to do with the physical surrounds of the car. The urge to lunge across the ravine opening between them was compelling. If he could get his hands on her, she couldn’t hide from him. He was sure of it.

“Kenna, why are you working so hard at putting distance between us? What has changed?”

“You still have no idea what I’m talking about?” Kenna raised a brow.

“Honey, if I infringed on your free will, it was only to relieve the stress this situation generated. There is nothing wrong with what we shared.”

Kenna’s mouth opened then closed. She blinked several times and finally managed to ask, “You have no idea why I’d feel violated? Afraid because you can control me by injecting whatever reality you want into my head?” She shrank farther into the door on her side as if looking at a monster.

Her words were arrows. They sank into him like nothing he’d experienced. The silence of the connection made them ricochet through his mind.

“No. It was nothing like that.” Lore couldn’t make sense of her interpretation. Its ugly view of events was a shock. “We have a tool to be brutally honest with each other. Let me show you I didn’t have any intention of controlling you. My only concern was relieving some of your stress. When we touch, flesh to flesh, we can read each other. We can work this out.

“It is your choice, Kenna.” He placed his hand, palm down, on the seat between them. “Use our gifts to understand each other. Hurting you was never my intention.”

Kenna dragged in a deep breath. What would be the price of choosing to share with him again? Could she not? Things had just changed dramatically again, if she could call it that. Neither of them had mentioned it, but the other elephant in the car was her heritage. Knowing what he felt about that was a huge issue for her.

Very deliberately Kenna grasped his wrist. The immediate connection hit them with an emotional rush. The exchange demanded complete honesty. It didn’t matter what words they used, the existence of profound reaction could not be denied, reasoned away or discounted.

In that moment of touching, Lore felt the frightening loss of control Kenna experienced when he’d only been trying to take care of her. The depth of her rejection of his actions was bitterly direct. Pain arrowed through him and Lore’s big frame shuddered at the fear she’d felt. Instead of binding them, his actions had made her feel desperately alone, destroying her trust in him.

At the same time, his deep need to provide for her shot through Kenna. He’d been giving her the comfort he could in a situation that was causing her pain. Removing her pain was almost an obsession.

The connection left them no misconceptions to hide behind.

Lore faced her. “I will never intentionally hurt you, baby. I frightened you instead of comforting you. I’m sorry.”

Her head averted, eyes closed, Kenna felt his response. Everything in him reached for her and yet he held himself rigidly in check. He wanted to overwhelm but he chose to wait for her acceptance. It seemed he’d learned something.

“You removed my choice. We didn’t work through the problem. Even with the advantage of a connection that gives us this amazing understanding, if you choose to simply fix things instead of talking to me, I will always be a victim.”

She was arguing with what he hadn’t said. That connection he wanted so badly told her he didn’t feel what he’d done was wrong so much as he felt how he did it was unforgivable. That he had hurt her, even unintentionally, was excruciating to him.

“Stop it,” she commanded softly. “We can’t take this. Both of us are wounded and we experience each other’s pain. You behaved as your nature dictated by taking charge. That’s not going to work with us. It will always destroy me.”

“Kenna, look in me,” Lore growled. “I will never remove your free will in matters that do not involve life and safety. If ever the need arises to do so, you will know I share any pain you bear. Please understand that I cannot surrender the drive to protect. Look at my soul. Our connection shows me a priceless woman I would pursue had we been normal people. I’m guilty of forgetting that possessing you is a privilege, not a right that is naturally mine.”

Kenna struggled with his view. The man was something she’d never encountered before, his reactions completely differed from her scope of normal. He did not behave in a way she recognized. But that was her problem as much as his.

At no time did he look for help. He fully expected to provide what was needed in every situation. In her world, normal people dialed 9-1-1 when they needed help. He brought the help and he was easy with that responsibility. He viewed her discomfort as his responsibility and found a way to relieve it.

Accepting his explanation only fixed one issue for Kenna. It wasn’t even the most dangerous one as far as she was concerned. His other problem was her. Her heritage being common knowledge to some segment of the population was a problem and he would have to do something about it.

“And the thing about people knowing I’m the descendent of their missing queen?” Kenna questioned softly.

Lore looked into her eyes a minute before a rare, gentle smile touched his lips. “That’s what you’re worried about? Did you come here to reclaim a throne?”

“No. I’m here because it was my grandmother’s last request that I attend this festival. I planned to have a look around and hightail it home.”

He didn’t move. “Too bad. The plan has changed,” he informed her solemnly.

Kenna’s hand tightened on his wrist. “You’re not going to ask me about it?”

“It matters, honey. But not as much as the madman with a bomb or the fact that today’s events shadow history. I feel you, Kenna. I know what a threat is and what it isn’t. You never were one. We have bigger problems. I suspect getting things right between you and me is an imperative we don’t yet understand. History is becoming heavy.”

“Heavy,” Kenna echoed as they regarded each other. “Yes, heavy.” She took a deep breath and plowed on to the next issue. “You know my feelings. It’s this easy to hurt each other. The connection makes us unbelievably vulnerable. If we can’t compromise, I suspect we could kill each other.”

“True, the pain we can inflict is unlimited. But remember, there is always an opposite to every force.” He smiled. He wasn’t ever going to look like a teddy bear, but he put as much gentleness into the smile as he could manage. “I would prefer that opposite, baby. Can we agree on that?”

Kenna’s pulse picked up. Well aware he could read her response, she felt defensive. “Smiling at me is not fair. You have to quit that.”

“Fair is a variable concept. Almost never applies,” he responded. “We have to get out there. Can you accept my promise? Can you feel how strongly I want to make this right between us?”

The pain she’d felt didn’t disappear but it did slide into understanding. His regret folded around the sharp edges. Taking responsibility for her part of the misunderstanding gave it a new place between them. Knowledge they’d both paid dearly for.

Lore nodded. All traces of the smile gone. “Ready?”

“I suppose.”

Lore opened the limo door. Surprisingly, the security officer reaching in to hand Kenna out was Thomas.

“Good grief. That was a quick change,” she marveled at Thomas, who she’d last seen kneeling before her on the playing field, fully encased in a suit of armor.

“Yes, my lady,” he agreed with a grin as he released her hand to Lore.

“Remember whom she stands beside, Thomas,” Lore warned quietly. Even though Lore understood the blood oath Thomas had taken, he found it difficult to control a snarl of warning at the pup.

The gathering before them included dignitaries and captains of industry from across the globe. Only part of Lore’s attention focused on the people greeting them and the ensuing conversations. He never released Kenna’s hand, so she was aware of his continual searching into the crowd. He was seeking anything, everything, watchful with his entire being, on guard.

As the Chinese delegation approached, Lore felt a surge of recognition flow from Kenna to him. She disengaged her hand and clasped them together before her face, bowing in the traditional Chinese greeting.

The leader of the delegation was an imposing older gentleman with a deeply lined face. The dignified old man greeted her in like fashion. The exchange was done in Chinese. Lore could feel her understanding even if he didn’t understand the words. She was speaking fluent Mandarin. The translator accompanying them translated to English. Lore smiled.

The Russians approached and she greeted them in Russian. This time she didn’t seem to know anyone in the delegation. Her sliding in and out of the language relaxed and charmed everyone she spoke with. Lore had no trouble recognizing that this obviously was not her first stroll on an international stage.

The experience repeated with the French and Germans before Lore leaned down to her ear. “How many languages do you speak?”

“Six. But not Hungarian,” Kenna replied in disgust.

“Amazing. I guess you’ll pick it up fast?”

“I would be able to understand it in two months if I were to stay and hear it every day. Of course, reading would take longer but only studying one language at a time might make it easier this time,” Kenna mused almost to herself.

Lore looked at her speculatively. “What is your profession?”

“International investment banking. I know, I know. It sounds dry and boring but it’s not really…” More guests stepped up to them and the conversation moved to business.

An hour later it was time to leave and Kenna breathed a sigh of relief. “I don’t care where you take me now as long as it has indoor plumbing and we get there within the next five minutes,” she demanded. This time Thomas and Yuri sat across from them in the car.