Ghostwalker 07 - Murder Game

waist, feeling the aftershocks gently rock her while he touched her mind. He'd driven out the demons, slammed the door closed on the voices, and left, in the place of cold and evil, something altogether different. There was a feeling of warmth, of love even. He winced away from the word, but it was out there now, in his mind. Love. What was it and how had such an emotion twisted its way into his heart and mind.

    He pressed kisses from her belly to her breasts. "It isn't about the heart, Tansy, it's all about the soul."

    She brushed the hair from his forehead with gentle fingers. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

    "I know you don't. It's just as well. I'm the tough guy, remember?"

    He pushed up, but Tansy caught his arm. "Are you all right? Tell me if something is wrong." He'd just sent her rocketing to the moon, and now he was already slipping away from her into a remote, distant man she could barely read, and he knew it bothered her.
    He hated separating himself, but he had to get her parents to safety before deciding if they should live or die.

    "Everything is right, baby. I just wasn't ready for the way I feel about you, but I'm getting there." He'd accepted that she was his world. That didn't mean he was comfortable with it yet.

CHAPTER NINE

    Kyland Miller wasn't at all what Tansy had expected. He was definitely a force to be reckoned with, tough and scarred and built like a fighter. His steel gray eyes see ed to m
    look right through her, his dark hair spilled in unruly waves over his forehead, but his smile was kind. She had emerged from a shower, dressed, little makeup, hair still damp, to find Ryland sitting comfortably with Kadan.

    Kadan glanced up, and something in his energy chilled her at first, but then he smiled and got to his feet, and she immediately felt a shift inside of her, a melting. Kadan took her hand and tugged until she was beneath his shoulder, one hand sliding possessive y l
    around the nape of her neck while he performed introductions. Ryland's expression went from speculative to knowing, and she had to fight to keep from blushing.
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    "Ryland is married to Lily Whitney. They just had their first child," Kadan said.

    Tansy struggled to keep her face from showing anything but polite interest. She still found it difficult to believe that a friend of Kadan's could be married to Whitney's daughter.

    She glanced at Kadan, but as always, his expression gave little away.

    You can trust him.

    Kadan's expression might be remote, but his warmth poured into her mind. She managed to keep smiling and nod at the introductions, keeping her gloved hands behind her back.
    She detested wearing the gloves n w
    o that she'd had months in the mountains and her brief time with Kadan without them. It was as if she'd gone from freedom back to prison, although even to her that seemed a melodramatic analogy. She couldn't help it. Her fingers felt tight and confined, itching to get out of the cramped quarters.

    Three men waited in the living room, all coming to their feet when she entered. Ryland Miller might not look like a man who could be trusted; in fact, he looked a man of few words but long on action, yet there was a steadiness in him that appealed to her. She could feel respect and even a certain friendship in Kadan's mind for the man. It would take a strong man to marry Whitney's daughter. Kadan was blocking a good deal of the energy, but he was allowing enough to slip through, and she recognized that Ryland wa s
    a psychic talent as well.

    "This disreputable scoundrel is Raoul 'Gator' Fontenot. He's going to try to steal you away from me with his charm."

    Gator grinned boyishly. "Ma'am, I got me a mean little hellcat at home and she'd have my head if she thought I was flirtin" he drawled in his Cajun accent and winked at her, declaring her safe even though his smile could and probably did melt hearts.

    "Is Gator some kind of nickname?"

    "Yes, ma'am. In the Special Forces we often give each other appropriate handles. Kadan is 'Bishop.'Rye there is 'King,' and Sam, one of our team members, is 'Knight.'" Gator grinned at her, his drawling voice like molasses on a Sunday. "I don' play boring chess, honey, but I wrestle alligators."

    Kadan pinned his friend with a steely-eyed stare. "You keep flirting with her and you'll be wrestling with Flame. That woman