[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

laughter had shifted to sobs the snotty-nose, unattractive sobs that hysterical women made and
they were coming out of her.
She scratched at her arm where the white patch was, but couldn t get the damn thing off.
 I can t& I can t& 
* * * *
Liam jumped up, frozen in space between the need to run over to Leeza and comfort her,
and the need to remain strong, and help her find her own strength without touching her.
Yet going even another second without touching her seemed the worst possible kind of
torture. Worse than anything done to him in the Spanish Inquisition seven hundred years before.
She dug at the patch on her arm, but it did no good the patch wouldn t come off until the
wound was healed.
 Leeza, stop, he said, across the room in a step, one knee on the bed, as he fought with
himself to grab her and hold her steady, or to hold her and&
Possibly break the rules.
His heart was torn in a thousand pieces, watching her like this. This was worse than just
catching her being hurt this was a thousand times worse, because he had snapped her sanity.
He d seen it before, of course. Human minds were rather stubborn about accepting new
possibilities. Yet never had it ripped him up inside like this did.
She was hurting.
Because of him.
 Leeza, he whispered, his words clogged with what was that? He reached up, stroking
his face.
His eyes were wet. By all that was holy and pure was he crying?
Candice Gilmer 71
Leeza tucked her knees up to herself, rocking back and forth, muttering nonsensical words.
Her face was blank, like she was lost in some kind of dark hollow, her whole body shaking as she
rocked. More than likely, she didn t even know he was there.
 Leeza, he reached out, touching her arm.
And like a flash, he was slammed with every thought going through her mind.
Her mind flipping from an imagined rape, one that might have happened had the dragon been
able to complete his goals, to bursts of fire, Liam charging in, the fight completely from her eyes,
her mind unable to make sense of the images, like she watched a fantasy movie.
He closed his own eyes, pushing the images back as he scooted closer on the bed. His sword
poked at him as he scooted, and he unhooked it, tossing it on the floor. It landed with a clatter, and
Leeza jerked her head toward the noise, squinted at it, then buried her head in her knees again.
Moving completely on instinct, he pulled her into his arms, and she coiled in his embrace.
Shifting his legs so she sat in his lap, he tried to envelope her, hoping the contact would take away
her fear.
 Not real. She shook her head.  Dream. Can t be real& 
He stroked her soft hair, the strands delicate and tangled, and he moved his fingers to not
pull on her hair. Though maybe he should maybe it would snap her out of it.
He didn t know what to do.
In all his seven hundred years, he d never had to handle this part. He d never stayed around
long enough to see what became of a human after his interference in their lives.
He came in, did his job, if necessary removed the memories, and went on. Sometimes he
didn t have to the human denied so much of what happened, it didn t matter.
Or they didn t understand what they saw.
He started whispering to her, anything to soothe her.
Her breathing started to slow down a bit, and she grabbed onto him; he leaned backward,
resting against the couch, and Leeza laid her head on his chest. She clung to his shirt, her knuckles
white with pressure. He half-wondered if she d rip the fabric.
He continued to stroke her head, but blocked her thoughts from him.
However, it wasn t hard with her whole body pressed against him, he felt a powerful need
building in him, overwhelming his ability to think clearly. Every part of her body that touched his
felt too hot, like electricity sparked between every contact point.
Her legs uncoiled, and as they slid down his, the electricity flew through him, up his leg
toward his groin, and the heady sensation made him rock his head back and stare at the ceiling&
Not that he could make out anything.
Her hips shifted, putting pressure on his groin, and his whole body tensed, the male parts of
him straining against his clothes, and he froze.
It was a horrible sensation.
An amazing sensation.
72 Broken Shine
A desperate war raged in his body, one that screamed for release of some kind a removal
of the pressure, like a pressure cooker about to explode.
Something.
She rooted her head into his chest, sniffing at his shirt.  Smoke, she mumbled.
He grimaced. He had a job to do, and it wasn t coddling her. He started stroking her head
again. This time, he did tap into her mind.
With everything he had, he made himself focus. He started removing all the memories she
had of what had happened, of Orlando, even finding the meeting of the dragon in her mind and
pulling it out.
He found the memories of that afternoon in her office. How she had felt when she touched
his back, his chest...
The sensations were too powerful. Now, not only did he have his own urges and desires tied
to the memories, he had hers as well, seeing how the intimacy had affected her&
And she had been as overwhelmed as he was.
He grimaced. He couldn t have this. This wasn t what it was supposed to be. There was but [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]