Sea Haven 02 - Spirit Bound

for the tractor challenge. I refuse to allow a bee to keep me from proving to you that I can keep from driving the thing into a tree.” He hesitated. Frowned. Made a show of rubbing the bridge of his nose. Glanced at her.
    “What?” Judith asked. “Just tell me.”
    “You’re going to think I’m paranoid.” It was time to push just a little bit.
    “I don’t know why you would think that, unless you tell me you really did think the bee went after you specifically on purpose because you were kissing me.”
    He did think that, but he wasn’t admitting it. “I was in the service, in combat a few times, Judith, and more than that, I have certain gifts. I wouldn’t tell anyone else, but you seem to have abilities as well, we established that the other night . . .”
    “And?” she prompted, just like he knew she would.
    “Someone was watching us out there in that field. I could feel them.” He hesitated again, deliberately appearing to choose his words carefully. “This is going to sound even crazier to you and at the risk of making you think I’m a lunatic, whoever was watching us was armed.”
    Stefan sent her another quick glance and looked away quickly, portraying Thomas Vincent perfectly. A man who had been in combat, with psychic gifts who knew the truth but was afraid of being ridiculed by a woman he was very attracted to.
    He cursed himself for manipulating her. How was he any better than Lev? He was taking advantage of his training to extract information from her, playing on her sense of fairness, on her honesty. A woman like Judith would detest making him feel like a fool, especially when she knew it was the truth. Someone had been watching them, a sniper’s rifle in his hands.
    Judith’s gaze shifted from his. “I’m sorry about that, Thomas.” Her voice was quiet. Guilty.
    “You knew? ”
    She moistened her lips. He decided there was no satisfaction in manipulating Judith. It made him feel every bit as low as he thought his brother was.
    “I suspected it might happen,” she admitted. “I’m really sorry if it made you uncomfortable. This farm is our sanctuary.” She gave a small sigh. “It really isn’t a big secret, we just don’t talk about our lives to outsiders. My sisters and I met when we were all in a special victim’s group counseling.” Her gaze jumped to his and then shifted away. “Each of us is—was—a victim of violence in some way. A couple of my sisters are still at risk. We’re very careful who we let on the farm—and very protective. I’m really sorry, Thomas.”
    “I’m sorry, Judith. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. You didn’t have to tell me that. I appreciate that you did.”
    It was a lie and yet it wasn’t. Damn the entire mess. She was being honest with him, honest to the point of revealing things about her sisters she felt guilty about telling him. He had meant to probe, deliberately pushing her into a corner until she had no choice other than to lie, leaving her guest thinking she believed him paranoid, or confessing the truth. Of course Lev was out there with a rifle, watching someone coming onto the property, but his intentions weren’t to protect the women. They were to protect himself. Damn Lev too.
    Judith drove back to the shed and parked the trail wagon. “Let me take another look at your neck.”
    “It’s a little swollen,” Stefan admitted. “And it stings like hell, but I don’t feel like I can’t breathe. Isn’t that what you’re afraid of?”
    Judith moved in close again, just behind him. Instincts and years of training honed into his very bones had him turning, catching her wrist as she lifted it to examine the sting site. He forced a smile, his thumb sliding over her skin to prevent bruising. She blinked up at him confused.
    “Automatic reflexes are the devil,” he said with a disarming boyish grin.
    “Don’t be a baby, let me see.”
    He half turned, retaining possession of her hand, forcing her to touch his neck with the other one. The position was a little awkward, but she didn’t protest. Her fingers were gentle on his neck. The sensual brush of her touch went straight through his body. His groin tightened, flooding with hot blood in response to the warm breath against the back of his neck as she leaned in closer to inspect the swelling.
    “I think the stinger is still in there, Thomas,” she said, worry in her voice.
    “What does that mean?”
    He couldn’t think straight and maybe the bee had