James Sinclair had always had a trying time with the women in his life. One would think, by now, hundreds of years later, he might have actually gotten the hang of it. The fact that he was standing inside a cheap, rented apartment at the beginning of another twenty years of his life with another upset woman… definitely suggested otherwise.<br/><br/><br/>But at least she sounded like she was going to listen. She wasn’t just going to follow her friend out the door and leave him in the dust. Not that he didn’t deserve it. Dragged back to a time when he still thought he was a good man, one who prayed to God every day, who had not plunged headfirst into there heresies of magic, the original Jameson St. Claire reached out and took her hands in his. “Sit with me,” he said quietly, then, stepping back, sat himself down and hoped that she would follow.<br/><br/><br/>“When I first met you in your shop, I had intended to get what I needed and then disappear forever,” he admitted, his green eyed stare watching her own vibrant one. “That’s the truth. I didn’t know who you were, exactly, except you were the descendant of someone from my past that went even madder than I ever had. So I came to you, selfishly, thinking that it would mean nothing. Then I…”<br/><br/><br/>He trailed off, brows raising, a sly sort of grin creasing his face while something else overtook his eyes. “Well, you aren’t Adella. You may look like her, you might resonate like her, but you are not her. And I wanted you.. Selfishly.. I..” The hard lines of his face softened. James lifted his hand and touched the side of his face and looked, for a moment, like he was going to lean in and kiss her. Only he stayed where he was, continuing, his voice hardening. “You are not worthless. I didn’t have sex with you to secure a means to an end. I had sex with you because I.. have feelings for you.” I love you. The actual words went unspoken, but the raw emotion was there on his face, blatant and open, until he glanced away and dragged a shuddering breath of air into his lungs.<br/><br/><br/>“So I wanted to rid myself of my own affliction, I wanted to spare my daughter of the same thing, and I wanted you as well. Which isn’t fair to you to be dragged into something like this. That the Syndicate is involved is just an added bonus. What I’m trying to say, Lane, is that it’s not too late for you to walk away from this mess, because it isn’t your responsibility to be involved. You have no obligations; this early on, so long as the Syndicate has control of the situation. Everything that comes along with it - making sure they don’t get to keep Mia, getting rid of Anastasia, fighting my own demons - that’s on me. So I want you, but I don’t want you as collateral damage to my own faults…” His eyes darted again, turning back to her face, and he sat in silence to see what she might have to say.