Mari's Mistake (Icehome, #10)

by Ruby Dixon

In moments like this, I love him so much and I hate him because he’s in so much pain and he still won’t die. I don’t want him to die, but sometimes he hurts so much—and I do, too, thanks to resonance—that I wish it would just happen so he could move on.

"Do you like my words?" T'chai's voice is a soft caress. "Do you like the things I say to you?"

"I still want what we have," T'chai tells me. "Even if it is broken. Even if it stays broken forever. Because half a mating with my lovely, determined Mari is better than a lifetime alone."

"I'd like to try. I just don't want you to be disappointed if it sucks." "Of course I will be disappointed." He rubs my knee with the glove in an affectionate sort of way. "But I will not blame you, if that is what you are asking."