“Keeping my patience while being questioned,” he retorted instantly. Then he exhaled. “I will protect you, provide for you, and learn to express emotions with you. Even if it kills me. If I live after the raid, that is.” His gaze softened. “I like you, Grace. Your insights and depth intrigue me, your beauty draws me, and your spirit challenges me.”

She sat back, stunned. That was a lot from the Highlander. She’d had no idea he considered her anything but a responsibility. “I like you, too.”

“That’s fortunate,” he said dryly. “Especially since there will be no taking of the virus after mating. That’s nonnegotiable.”

He’d been pretty adamant about it before. “What do you think happens if one mate takes the virus? I mean, to the other mate?” she asked.

He looked toward the fire and then back. “That’s the risk, right? That’s why it can never happen, and I assume a law will be put on Realm books soon enough. There’s no other option.”

Immortal laws seemed a little too rigid. She cleared her throat, needing to lay out all the cards. “You might have a second chance with Jacqueline.” Another shifter, who no doubt was a wildcat, literally, in bed. “You need to think about whether mating me is really what you want.”

The fire crackled, the light dancing off the hard planes of his face. “I said goodbye to Jacki a century ago, and I meant it.”

“But how to you feel about that?” she pressed.

He looked as if he wanted to roll his eyes but prevented himself somehow. “I don’t feel anything. It was a long time ago, and it’s over. When it’s over, it’s over.”

“You can just cut people out like that?” Boy, were they different people.

He nodded. “Yes. I’m all or nothing, according to Benny. It’s not a bad way to live.”

If they actually survived this, she hoped he never cut her out completely. That would hurt, more than she’d realized until right this second. How she wished she could’ve known him when he was young. What was he like way back then? “Do you believe in love?’

“No. Do you?”

“Yes.” She was right and he was wrong. Did she want to prove it to him? She was so busy pushing him to have feelings that she hadn’t really examined her own. How did she feel about this immortal badass? He was hot, sexy, strong, stubborn, and protective. Her body felt alive when he was near, and she felt stronger in his presence. Even when they were arguing. Oh, he was emotionally stunted, probably from being a soldier his entire life, but he had depths. She could see them. Could she plumb them?

“Grace?” he asked. “Are you still with me?”

She nodded. “I’m just thinking through the matter.” He was talking her into taking a risk.