Sandu didn’t forget details, and the things that mattered to her were in that bag. She wasn’t going to leave them behind. He knew that. That was another trait she loved in Sandu. If something was important to her, he remembered. She hadn’t wanted to list anything good on the pro side when she mistrusted him, but he did take care of the smallest detail when it came to her.
Right now, as he carried her into the little cottage, she did her best to be wholly alert. Since the two blood exchanges with Sandu, her senses were much more acute than before. She felt the subtle shift of power as he crossed the threshold.
“What is that?”
“Safeguards,” Sandu answered. “Every Carpathian weaves them into his homes. If you enter of your own free will, it gives him just that little more edge over you if you’re Carpathian. If you’re human, it isn’t just an edge. He has much more power over you. The safeguards can be woven with all sorts of commands.”
She gripped his shoulder hard as he set her feet on the floor. “Sandu, we didn’t have to come here. I don’t want you to be under Andre’s influence.”
He laughed softly, his eyes alight with humor. “I came here to consult with him because I have no memories of my past, ewal emninumam, and I stayed quiet, giving him the opportunity to speak what came to him. I respect him, just as I do Lucian. That does not mean he is older, has more battle experience or I feel I couldn’t defend us in a fight. Andre would never attack us without provocation. He would have to feel as if his lifemate was threatened and we were the ones trying to kill her.”
The way he was smiling softened the hard lines of his face. She dared to reach up and trace his mouth with the pad of her finger. “I guess I don’t understand Carpathians.”
“We use any method we can to protect our lifemate. You are my everything, Adalasia, my entire world, as Teagan is to Andre. I would do anything to protect you. Weaving safeguards into homes is just one way to help ensure we keep out intruders while we sleep the paralyzing sleep of our kind.”
Adalasia made herself look around the cottage. It was small but very homey. Warm colors with lighting coming in from above during the day. Because it was night, sconces on the walls were lit with subtly scented candles. Lavender and bergamot—Adalasia identified two of the fragrances, knowing Teagan had thoughtfully put them into the candles to help her with the transition into their world, if she chose to make it.
Her heart stuttered. She knew it was necessary to continue their journey. She’d known once it was explained to her, but the idea was daunting. Terrifying, actually. They had both given up their secrets, although she still had one she had to confess. A big one. She couldn’t just blurt it out in front of everyone. It was for Sandu alone, and telling him was a huge leap of faith.
“Before we go into the paralyzing sleep and more exchanging of blood and all of that, Sandu”—she made every effort to keep nerves out of her voice and mind—“I have something important to tell you. I swear it’s the last thing standing between us. No one can know but you. Only you.” She pressed her lips together and looked up at him, knowing he could hear the pounding of her heart.
His gaze held hers. Those eyes of his, so black. Like two dark holes in the universe, hauling in everything around them. She felt that tremendous pull, like a gravitational vacuum. Then she felt him in her mind, moving gently, searching as if to make certain she was all right, that she could tell him without being afraid.
He took her hand and bypassed the living room, heading unerringly for the bedroom. She knew he hadn’t been there before, yet he knew exactly where it was. She frowned up at him. “Do you have some kind of map in your head where every bed is within a hundred-mile radius of you?”
He laughed. “Sivamet, I can wave my hand as I did in the cave and create a bed. I do not need a map. Nor do I need a bed.” His voice dropped an octave, taking on an even sexier tone than usual. His eyes looked velvet black, a sensual note that seemed to stroke over her skin when his gaze drifted over her body, turning her inside out with need. “To prove that to you, you have only to look into my mind and discover I have worked diligently these last centuries to learn how to please my lifemate.”
Her brows drew together in a deep frown. She did not want to hear about his sexual exploits.
He laughed again and rubbed the pads of his fingers gently over her eyebrows, proving he was in her mind. “I did not need to have sex with women, nor did my body want to have sex with them. I took in the information. It was very enlightening. Over the centuries, many techniques changed. I am certain all have merit. I wish to try them all and see which you enjoy most.”