Shield's Lady

would arrive at,” Sariana said with a shaky smile.
    “I have to tell you something, Sariana. I think that whatever happened between us that first time we linked was unusual, to say the least. It may well have been unique. You remember the way you felt? You picked up on the pain of my wound, my fever, and then there was the sensations of the link itself plus your own, uh, feminine reactions.”
    “You don’t have to remind me,” Sariana told him. “I remember it all quite well. You said there might be some ‘initial discomfort.’ I believe that was the euphemism you used.”
    In the firelight Gryph’s cheekbones seemed to darken to a dull red, but his eyes met hers steadily. “That’s all I had ever been told to expect. But I talked to Delek about it and he said—”
    Sariana was abruptly outraged. “You talked to Delek? Another man? About us? About what happened that first time? Gryph, how could you? Have you no respect for my feelings? My modesty? By the Lightstorm, what right did you have to discuss something that personal with someone I don’t even know? I will die of embarrassment if I ever meet him. Of all the stupid, egotistical, unfeeling things to do.”
    He groaned and massaged his temples with both hands. “Please, Sariana, I could do without the cutting edge of your tongue tonight.”
    “You deserve it!”
    “Maybe, but do me a favor and save it for later, all right? There are more important things to discuss at the moment.”
    “Ha!” But she said nothing more. She had the uncomfortable feeling he was right.
    Gryph eyed her warily and then went on with his story. “As I was saying before you jumped all over me, I talked to Delek about our initial linking. He said it didn’t sound normal to him. He said that I had been told the truth. There is supposed to be a faint burning sensation from the lock when the man tunes the woman to it. There is also generally a feeling of disorientation as the man and the woman catch traces of each other’s feelings and emotions. There is a lot of powerful sexual energy being exchanged in such circumstances, and the sensation of picking up on your partner’s passion can seem very strange until you get accustomed to it. Then it becomes very, uh, exciting. I’ve told you before, Shields and their mates have a strong bond between them. That bond starts with the sexual relationship. It’s unique.”
    “You’ve already explained it doesn’t necessarily lead to love,” Sariana said stiffly.
“A Shield’s first duty to his clan is to create a son. Love has nothing to do with that.”
    “It’s always nice to feel needed,” Sariana muttered.
    Gryph held up a hand in protest. “You have chewed on me enough tonight. No more. Not now.”
    Sariana sighed. He was right. “Go on.”
    “I was just trying to explain to you that right from the start there was something different about our relationship. When you and I are in bed together we do much more than just pick up on each other’s emotions. We practically pour our passion into each other along with whatever else we might be feeling at the time. And we seem to resonate with each other in a way that makes the original sensation stronger. We’re like mirrors that both absorb, concentrate and reflect back sensation. When you felt my wound in your shoulder, the pain of it was more intense than the ache I was actually feeling. My fever made you feel hotter than I felt at the time. You transferred that heat back to me and I felt hotter. You see what I mean? Since that first time together we’ve both instinctively started figuring out how to control the reaction. We can tune out everything but the passion and the excitement, which is fortunate because otherwise we’d probably drive each other insane. But the interesting part is that we seem to have a bond so strong that it requires such internal control in the first place. We’re communicating with each other on some very strange levels, Sariana.”
    “What else did this friend of yours say?” Sariana asked suspiciously.
    “About us? Not much. I didn’t tell him the link we have in bed seems to have already extended itself to other occasions. Normally the ability to sense when one’s Shieldmate is in distress or exuberantly happy is an evolving process that takes years of living together to mature into anything that might be labeled telepathic. Even then it would be hard to distinguish it from the normal empathy that seems to develop between a man