Copper Beach

anxious concern was a palpable force in the atmosphere. He had probably scared the hell out of her. Bodyguards weren’t supposed to sleep on the job in the first place, and they definitely were not supposed to suffer from nightmares. There were rules about that kind of stuff somewhere.

    He took his feet down off the ottoman and sat forward, scrubbing his face with his hands. He willed himself to full wakefulness.

    “Abby,” he said again.

    “I’m here.”

    She was safe. She was not caught in the endless loop of the damned lab dream.

    Automatically, he raised his para-senses and was relieved to discover that they responded instantly. He did not know how much time had passed, but it was clear that he had recovered from the heavy exhaustion that followed a hard burn. He glanced at his watch. The black crystal numbers glowed. He had slept for nearly three hours.

    “Sorry,” he said. His voice sounded rough, as if he had dragged it out of the fog of the nightmare. “Must have been dreaming.”

    “Yes. You called my name.”

    He tried to think. “It was the recurring dream I told you about tonight. But it was different this time. Sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you.”

    “I was already awake.”

    He got to his feet. “Couldn’t sleep?”

    “No.” She stepped back, out of his way. “Well, actually, I didn’t try. I was a little worried after you fell asleep. You seemed feverish, so I decided to stay up until it looked like you were through the burn and sleeping normally.”

    First he had to deal with her gratitude. Now she was treating him as if he was an invalid. This relationship was going downhill fast.

    “Just the afterburn fever,” he said, trying to sound cool and in control, like a man who could handle his job. “I’m not ill. You’ve been through a burn. You know how it is.”

    “I know how it feels, but I’ve never been close to anyone else who is going through it, so I didn’t know what it looked like. I didn’t realize that it had some of the symptoms of a high fever.”

    “Aura heat.”

    “Yes, but you were giving off a lot of energy,” she said. “I have to tell you it was a little unnerving. I was afraid that flash-bang gizmo might have caused some sort of delayed psychic stress.”

    “I told you, I’m all right.” Great. Now he was snapping at her again. “You don’t have to play nurse.”

    “I was just looking out for you while you slept off the burn.” She was starting to sound annoyed. “I didn’t mean to offend your macho self-image. Do you always wake up in a bad mood like this?”

    “No. But everything seems to be different with you.”

    “Keep in mind that I had a bad day, too, and unlike you, I haven’t had any sleep yet. I am in no mood for sarcasm.”

    He took a few beats to ponder that. “Does it strike you that we seem to be arguing over nothing again?”

    “Yes, it does.” She folded her arms. “Any idea why that is happening?”

    “Sure. I want to have sex with you, but every time I turn around tonight, you’re either thanking me or trying to take care of me. So I provoke an argument because it makes you mad. See, I’d rather have you mad at me than pointing out the fact that I’m a decrepit bodyguard.”

    There was stunned silence for a few seconds. Abby finally got her mouth closed.

    “Good grief,” she said. “That is…very insightful.”

    “For a man, you mean?”

    “For anyone. I’m impressed.”

    She started to giggle. She covered her mouth with her hands and turned toward the window. The giggles turned into muffled laughter.

    “Now you’re laughing at me,” he said, resigned. “You know, you can be hard on a man’s ego.”

    She sobered, dropped her hands and turned back to face him. Her eyes sparkled with the tears generated by her laughter.

    “Good thing yours isn’t too fragile,” she said.

    “Every man has his limits.”

    “So does every woman. You were only half right, you know.”

    “Yeah?”

    She smiled ruefully. “The arguments aren’t all your fault. I may be pushing things a bit, too.”

    “Why?”

    “For the same reason,” she said.

    He went still. “Yeah?”

    “I want to sleep with you, but part of me thinks that is a very bad idea.”

    “Why?”

    “Because something weird seems to happen when you and I make…” She broke off and coughed discreetly. “When you and I have sex.”

    “Define weird.”

    She spread her hands. “I don’t know how to explain it,