"I'm not moving in with you, Mikhail." The idea was scary. She was a very private person, needing large amounts of time alone. He was the most overwhelming being she had ever encountered. How would she ever be able to sort things out with him so near all the time? His eyebrows shot up. "No? You accepted our ways. We went through the required ritual. In my eyes, the eyes of my people, you are my lifemate, my woman. My wife. Is it the way of the American women to live apart from their husbands?" There was that infuriating trace of mocking male amusement in his voice, the note that always made her want to throw something at him. She had an idea he was laughing at her secretly, amused by her caution. "We aren't married," she said decisively. It was difficult to ignore the way her heart leapt with joy at his words. Tendrils of fog drifted into the forest, winding around thick tree trunks, spreading out to hover a few feet from the ground. The effect was eerie, but beautiful. "In the eyes of my people, in the eyes of God, we are." There was an implacable resolve, a my-word-is-law, in his voice that set her teeth on edge. "What about in my eyes, Mikhail?"