Sea Haven 02 - Spirit Bound

to relinquish their hold. She was going to be difficult, make it as hard for him as possible to be with her.
    He wanted all of her. He was risking everything for her. His life. His peace of mind. That tiny piece of humanity he’d hidden from his trainers. There was nothing more than a slice, but it was there, real and the only part of Stefan Prakenskii left. He was handing that over to her keeping. He was going to put his real emotions on the line for her and he would not accept less from her. She was going to give him her soul in exchange for his. And damn it all, for once in his life, he was going to be that fucking white knight whether she thought she wanted it or not.
    She stood there looking so tragic and so meltingly beautiful, it was impossible to resist her. He pulled her into his arms with the hummingbirds darting around the brightly colored trumpets and his mouth against her ear so that when he whispered, his lips brushed that perfect little tempting shell.
    “Don’t cry or I’ll have no choice but to be your hero and save you from yourself.” His teeth bit down gently on her earlobe, tugging.
    He hoped the hummingbirds weren’t part of Lev’s security system because he was going to kiss her again and hope she saved them both from things getting too far out of hand. He could only imagine what his brother’s sense of humor might be, sending those little sharp beaks into his skin. He walked Judith backward, pushing her deeper into the cover of the large trumpet trees, his mouth descending on hers as he did so.
    He felt the shift under his feet, the heightening of his senses until each one was acute as her spirit flowed free. Power flared around them, bursting through him, adding to the heat rushing through his body. Electrical sparks sizzled over his skin. He felt the boost in his own psychic talents and knew they were fast fusing spirits together. His left palm burned in the center and he broke the kiss and caught her left hand, lifting her palm.
    Judith looked bemused and a little afraid. “What are you doing?”
    “I don’t know,” he said honestly and pushed air between them, his left palm to hers.
    She cried out and yanked her hand away, holding it close to her, her expression shocked.
    “Let me see.”
    His fingers settled very gently around her wrist, shackling her to him, already taking possession of her hand. He gave a relentless tug when she resisted, knowing he had gone so far off the Thomas Vincent script he was going to have do some fast shoring up soon. Stefan was in complete command at all times while Thomas would be careful not to push Judith too hard.
    He turned her hand over and saw the brand there in the middle of her palm, two circles interwoven together. The circles appeared raw at first, as if they were a fresh brand, but beneath the brush of his thumb, the mark faded. He pushed healing air at her. He had seen that mark only one time before, when he was a child, on his mother’s hand when his father had looked up across the room and smiled mysteriously at her.
    “What happened? It was just air.” She looked up at him, her gaze steady on his. “Wasn’t it?”
    “What are you so afraid of, Judith?” he asked again, a soft demand this time.
    She took back her palm, rubbing it up and down her denim-clad thigh, a small frown on her face. When he reached to rub at the little line between her eyes she pulled back. “I told you from the start that I wasn’t a good woman, Thomas. I was very truthful with you. I don’t want to hurt you.”
    “So your fear is that you’ll somehow hurt me?”
    She swallowed and shifted her gaze from his. “Yes.”
    Her voice had dropped so low it was merely a thread of sound. He felt sadness beating at him until he ached inside and knew it was her—not him—generating the emotion.
    He ignored her silent rejection of him and stepped close, invading her space, his hands framing her face. “I’m a grownup, Judith. I don’t need your protection, nor do I want it. I take care of my own. Let’s just see where this takes us and know I’ve been properly warned.”
    Her dark eyes searched his. “There are forces that just . . .” She trailed off, took a breath and tried again. “You could be physically hurt, Thomas, not just emotionally, as if that wouldn’t be bad enough. I can’t let that happen.”
    He leaned into her and kissed her sultry mouth. She was worried about him. Worried. That knowledge sent a spiral of happiness blossoming