“Aren’t you afraid of Marakel’s retribution?”
Javan halted next to the car and opened the door for her. “It’s past time for him to give up the Throne. He’s attacking Houses in an attempt to weaken us, but what he doesn’t know is that a meeting has been called. Marakel won’t be the Sovereign for much longer.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Javan had hoped killing Frank would give him some measure of relief, but all it did was prove that he would go to great lengths for Naomi.
Sure, he killed Frank because the bastard had come to Australia with the sole purpose of trying to harm the House of Drohas, not to mention all the Nephilim he had murdered. But it paled in comparison to Javan’s need to hurt Frank as he had hurt Naomi.
Javan felt Elijah’s eyes on him through the rearview mirror. He ignored his Watchman and tried to find some way of telling Naomi that they were mated.
She hadn’t said much since he left her to shower. It was obvious by the way she fiddled with her nails that something was on her mind. Was she trying to find a way to cut clean of him?
He hoped to hell that wasn’t what was going through her mind, but Javan had already planned for that, should it happen. He would give her space. But he wasn’t going to give up on her. He would do whatever it took to convince her they were meant to be together.
The silence in the car as they drove back to his house was deafening. Many times he wanted to ask what she was thinking. In all his years with Elijah, there was little he kept from his friend, but this was a conversation Javan didn’t want others to overhear.
By the time they reached the house, his gut felt as if it was held within an iron fist. He climbed out of the car and walked around to Naomi’s side. Javan opened the door and helped her out. Her gaze met his briefly before she looked away.
His chest constricted painfully.
It wasn’t until they were inside the house that Naomi asked, “So that’s it? It’s over?”
It was far from over, but he didn’t want to tell her about the war he knew was coming. She had just been introduced to their world. It was better if she slowly learned of the conflict instead of tossing it at her like a bucket of water.
“For now.” Javan saw Elijah’s quick look in his direction. He put his hand on Naomi’s back and gave a little pressure so she would walk with him.
“You’re not telling me everything,” she said.
Javan smiled at her perception. “No, I’m not. Though I’m not keeping it from you because I don’t want you to know. You need to know, but you don’t have to learn everything right now.”
Her feet halted as she turned to face him. “You killed the Sovereign’s man. He’s not just going to let that go.”
“Then he shouldn’t have sent his man here.”
“Don’t make light of the situation,” she admonished. “I’m worried.”
Javan walked ahead of her to the door on the right and entered the library. He returned to the room because he wanted to remind her how great they had been together.
As he expected, she followed him. “Did you hear me?”
“I’m not making light of anything. I know what my actions mean for myself and my family.” Javan motioned for her to sit, which she promptly ignored. “I appreciate your worry.”
Naomi’s blue eyes were fastened on him. Her head tilted slightly to the side. “I don’t want to worry about you. I’ll leave here and never see you again. I’ll never know if you’re all right or not.”
Javan briefly looked at the floor. Her words hurt him far more than he wanted her to know. “I can have Elijah visit.”
For long moments they simply looked at each other. Then Naomi crossed her arms over her chest. Her chin lifted stubbornly, and some of the light went out of her eyes. “I can’t ever repay you for the justice you brought for Becky and all those other women killed.”
“Your thanks is enough.” That wasn’t true. An eternity in his arms was what he wanted to demand as payment. Javan paused. Her words had said one thing while her voice, laced with a hint of anger, said quite another. “We’ve been honest with each other since yesterday in my office. Let’s continue that way.”
“Sounds like a plan,” she stated. “You start.”
Javan hadn’t expected that. Instead of Naomi getting whatever it was off her chest, she had quite succinctly turned it on him. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
He wasn’t sure how to tell her anything. Javan had spent his life around women—human and Nephilim alike—doing his damnedest to keep their greedy paws off him.
But the tables had been turned. Now he wanted Naomi more than anything else, and he had no idea how to tell her.
She raised a brow in question, waiting for him to talk.