The Truth

“Stay.”

Wren stopped without turning around. “Good night.”

“Wren.” Wren stopped at the use of her name. ~Damn this man.~ “I promise. I would never do anything to hurt you.”

“I know. But you have gone too far with this joke.”

“I told you… This is not a joke,” Talon moved quietly, not wanting Wren to bolt. “I promise I will not do anything, just…let me help you.”

He wanted to shake the woman and kiss the hell out of her all at the same time. “You helped me, let me help you.”

“I do not know how anyone can help me. I am more damaged than you can even imagine.”

“Everyone has demons haunting them, me included. Let me help you with the ones I can. Stay with me tonight.”

Wren did not move. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to stay with him.

She looked at the door leading to her escape. Would she be able to sleep tonight without him?

It seemed he was becoming a permanent fixture in her life and bed. Who was she trying to kid?

Lately, she had only slept well when he was beside her, but…she had not consciously, or at least, in her right mind, crawled into bed with him, and now he was asking her to.

“Wren.” He had come up behind her. “Let me help you sleep. I promise, that is all I am asking of you. I know you have been having trouble sleeping. Stay with me if for no other reason than that.”

Talon gently placed his arms around her waist and drew her back against his hard chest, placing his chin gently on her head.

“And…at least leave the ring on for a few days as you take some time to think over what I am asking of you. I only ask that you give it serious consideration. If you still feel this way afterward, then you can take it off. If you decide you do not want to marry me, I will accept your decision. I could not live with any hope you might one day change your mind, so think it through very carefully… Could you do that for me?”

Wren looked down at the strong, warm arms wrapped around her waist. Unlike before, she was not uneasy when he pulled her into his embrace, but she was not ready for any kind of physical relationship, let alone a lifetime commitment.

“I do not like my emotions being played with.”

“I am not playing with your emotions. I thought you knew me well enough now to know I would not do something if I had any doubts about it.”

Wren, tentatively and gently, placed her arms over his and relaxed a bit in his arms, too tired to argue anymore. “We can try this arrangement for tonight only…and we will discuss everything else tomorrow. I am too tired right now to do more than crawl into bed and sleep,” she whispered.

She felt his arms tighten around her for an instant before relaxing. “Thank you.”

Wren sighed. “Do not thank me. I can still walk away from all of this.”

“No.” Talon breathed in her scent. “You will not. You love me too much to refuse.”

Wren blushed. How the hell did he know that?

“Right?” Talon pushed. If he could not have her physically yet, he at least wanted an emotional connection between them.

Wren listened to his one-word question, for the first time hearing a thread of uncertainty in his voice. He was only guessing at her feelings.

“Wren?”

Wren sighed. She was not sure she knew what she wanted or how she felt right now.

“Can we let it go for the night? I am not ready to handle this conversation yet,” she asked.

Talon nodded. They were making progress.

She was still not giving him straight answers, but she was letting him know she needed time rather than ignoring it altogether.

“I am going to go grab some pajamas. You go ahead and get in bed. I will be there in a minute,” Talon said. He knew when to leave well enough alone.

Wren nodded numbly. He released her, and she heard him walking away, waiting until he closed the bathroom door before moving.

She turned and walked up to the bed, looking at it for a moment. ~Am I really going to do this? Will he really keep his word?~

Of course, he would keep his word. If anything, he needed to worry about her.

She almost laughed out loud. She was terrified of physical contact; there was no way she would do anything, even if her body was betraying her mind right now.

Talon leaned against the door, trying to get his body under control. He had promised her, and he would have to keep that promise even if his body ached for her warmth and heat.

He let out a groan. ~What have I done?~

He knew she loved him. So why was she holding back? Was it because of her past, or was he just chasing a dream?

He slowly dressed, giving his body and her time. He knew she was uncomfortable. Last night she had been scared and half asleep, but this time she was fully awake.

He could not afford to scare her. ~No half-awake assaults on her body in the morning, either.~ He scolded his hand.

He quietly opened the door and peered at the bed. She had shut off the lights, except for a small one on the nightstand, and he could just make out her body in the middle of the bed.

He moved forward as silently as he could and gently pulled back the covers, noting she had removed her robe and was wearing a dark silk nightie that hugged her curves to perfection.

His body tightened painfully, and he pushed all thoughts away as he gently climbed in beside her. He felt her body stiffen, and he knew she was still awake.

“Could you move just a bit?” he asked.

She scooted away from him a bit, and he slid all the way in, lying on his back next to her, not touching her, but still feeling the heat from her body.

He forced his body to relax and took deep breaths. He was tired, but it was still a while before he could fall asleep.

Once Wren realized he was not going to touch her at all, she started to relax. She would not be held accountable if he touched her right now.

She was so tired, though, even the fear of what he could do to her was not enough to keep her awake for long.

***

Wren shut off the alarm and sat up. After almost two weeks of rough sleep, it felt like heaven to wake up to the alarm after a full night’s sleep.

“Good morning,” Talon said behind her, and she turned to see him looking up at her.

“Uh, good morning. Did you set the alarm?”

Talon sat up, revealing his smooth chest. Wren’s mouth immediately started drooling.

“I usually get up at this time on the weekends, so feel free to go back to sleep for a while. We will head back to the house when you are ready.”

“No worry. I am awake and need to get up, too.” Wren pushed back the covers and started to rise out of bed.

“Feel free to use the shower first.”

“Uh, I figured I would just head back to my room.” She did not look his way as she spoke.

“Why? Mine is closer.”

“Because my clothes are there.”

“K.”

Wren headed out the door toward her room. After she had showered, they spent some time with the children.

Wren got to see a more gentle side of Talon. Talon, in turn, got a glimpse at just how great Wren was with little kids.

~She will make a great mom someday,~ he thought, as she crawled around on the floor with the little ones.

All too soon, they needed to leave. Emerald was holding a late breakfast for them, and she would not be happy if they did not show up on time.

Wren said goodbye to the children, and they were off. It seemed throughout the night, the walls had been rebuilt.

***

“Good morning.” Wren stopped as Emerald called out to her as she headed to her room to change clothes.

She had put back on the outfit from yesterday since there was nothing else to wear, and she wanted to get it off.

“Have a fun evening?” she asked with a knowing grin.

“Yes.” Wren ducked her head and hurried to her room.

Fifteen minutes later, she was in the combat room, working off her frustration.

Talon had not touched her once last night, and for some reason, she was angry at him for it.

She did not want a physical relationship with that man, right? ~WRONG!~ her mind told her. She was craving a physical relationship with that man.

That was just the bonding, she reasoned. ~WRONG AGAIN!~ her mind screamed, and she let out a sigh as she took down another creature.

She had to face the truth head-on. She was hopelessly in love with Talon, and it had nothing to do with the stupid bond.

Was it really the same for him as well, or was it just the bonding process for him? She did not know, but she did know she was not sure if she could do this again.

Could she put her trust and love into another person and watch it crumble around her? ~Will it crumble with him?~ the voice in her head asked, and she stopped, looking down at the ring on her hand.

“Look out!” Shorty hollered over the system, and Wren looked up to see the sword of the Zentith coming right at her face.

She would not be able to block it in time and braced herself for the pain to come.

When it did not, she peeked up to see Talon quickly dispatch the Zentith and then turn toward her.

“Shut off the program, Shorty,” he called, and pulled Wren into his arms.

“I think we are done for the day. You are too distracted.”

Wren nodded into his chest. “Thank you.”

“No worries. I could tell you were distracted this morning when you headed to your room, and I was not going to let you practice alone in that condition.”

Wren could only nod.

“Now.” He lifted her face to look at him. “Go practice piano or lounge around and read a book. I think we are done here for the day.”

He placed a quick kiss on her lips and ushered her out the door, watching her go with relief. She needed time away from this right now.

“Is she going to be all right?” Shorty asked over the system.

Talon nodded. “She just has a lot on her mind right now.”