“No. But you’re mine. You were born to be mine. Siena, I’m asking you, baby, don’t take that away from me.”

Siena closed her eyes, trying to block out the sight of his face. It had been a mistake to look at him, look into his silver eyes, darkened now with a kind of fear she never thought she’d ever be capable of putting on someone’s face, let alone a man as strong as Elijah. There was raw pain there. She’d done that.

“I’m a lot stronger than you think I am,” she said.

He was silent a moment, studying her face. She felt him take a breath, and then he nodded. “All right, baby, how about we do this. I’ll lay it out a step at a time. Not all at once.”

She liked that idea. A lot. “Give me time to process and don’t push at me.”

His thumb came up to rub across her lips. “I can do that. But you promise me that you won’t run. We talk things out. You don’t understand something or you’re afraid, you talk it over with me. I’m not losing you because you get scared, Siena.”

She nodded her assent. He’d asked for time, and she’d pushed him, scared for her child, but she could do one step at a time. She could do that.

“I need your word. Say it to me. You give me your word and I’ll know you’ll keep it. No matter how scared you get or whatever fucked-up thing is whispered in your ear, I know you’ll come to me first if you promise me. I swear to you, mi amorcito, no matter how bad it is, I’ll tell you the truth.”

She searched his eyes for a long time. She was in there. Inside of him. Wrapped deep. She could see that on his face—he let her see it. She was slowly becoming more and more aware of the gifts her leopard gave her—and one was the ability to hear the truth. She heard it in his voice.

“I promise I’ll talk to you first and get the answers I need, always.” She could give him that. She wanted to give him that, because she wanted, more than anything, to have it work out between them. He was the man she’d waited for. She knew it in her heart. But it wasn’t just her she had to think about.

He reluctantly released her, and she curled up in the chair, propping her head up with one hand, studying him as he leaned down to pick up the frying pan.

“You might consider, Elijah, before the baby’s born, that you should get that temper under control.”