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several nicks then he ran his hands gently down her body, dark eyes sharp with concern as he checked
for further wounds.
All right, who was she kidding, she might have enjoyed that a little bit too. She didn t even need to
climb down off the ledge. Luis got his Djinn buddy to give her a ride. All in all, it was a cushy wrap-
up.
He insisted she get medical treatment, and an EMT suggested stitches. Then Luis scared up a
healing potion from somewhere. She never did find out from where. He would not stop harping at her
until she drank it. Then more enforcement people arrived and there were the inevitable questions, a
whole shitload of them.
She asked for coffee and got it, and she savored the hot caffeine as she answered the questions
patiently. For the most part, Luis wasn t present because he had his own job to do and people to
answer to. But it just so happened that he was present for her full explanation of the bar confrontation,
and his earlier frenzy was nothing compared to the rage that detonated in his body then.
She could feel it pouring off him in deadly waves as he sat beside her, until she couldn t stand it.
She gripped his forearm hard until she drew his attention, and she recognized Junior s death blazing
in Luis s eyes.
She just looked at the whole great, clenched length of that splendid man, and she gave him a small
smile, and she wouldn t let go until he calmed. It took a while, and that was okay. For him, she had
discovered she had all the time in the world, if only he knew it.
Then all at once the tension in his body uncoiled. He blew out a breath, covered her hand with his
and let it go, and somehow it all combined to make her fall into the most impossible, complete and
inappropriate love with him.
The realization was gorgeous, hellish. She drew back and felt more wounded than she had ever felt
in her life. She could tell he sensed something serious was wrong, but it wasn t an acceptable topic
for discussion, so she did the only thing she knew to do. She went deep into herself, into silence.
Claudia. Was. Driving. Luis. Bat shit.
She d dealt with the chaos at the mine entrance with the poise of an accomplished professional,
answered the barrage of questions with dignity and tolerance, and she d reacted to the news from the
mine with compassion. He thought he might be able to gaze at her for the rest of his life and learn
something about intelligent decency in the face of adversity.
The more he watched her, the more he couldn t look away.
He stopped noticing other women. Once, when he paid to gas up the Jeep, it was only when he saw
disappointment droop the pretty cashier s shoulders that he realized, belatedly, that the woman had
been trying to flirt with him.
But something had happened. Something had caused Claudia to stop speaking to him.
Oh, she spoke to him. She wasn t rude, and she didn t subject him to total silence. But something
essential had shifted. A wall had come between them, and he could even pinpoint when the change
had occurred.
She had been looking right at him. He d seen her eyes widen as if she d been struck a blow. Then
her expression smoothed over, and she d started to treat him with the same competent fucking
professionalism as she treated everyone else.
Before, they d shared a connection. It was open, caring and vital, and it mattered to him. He didn t
think it had just vanished. She d buried it for some reason. He d waited for a while because he kept
expecting it to change back, that the connection would return to the surface, but it hadn t. And then
he d grown pissed at her for taking that away from him.
After the mine shut down, the days progressed. Luis had a long talk with his grandmother. He
promised to visit her soon, but for the moment he had work to do. There was always cleanup after a
case, and this one was particularly messy. Jackson returned from Fresno. Claudia stayed in the back
trailer, and Luis took one of Jackson s spare bedrooms. Luis told himself he took Jackson s invitation
because he didn t feel like sharing a motel room with another Peacekeeper, but really, he knew better.
Raoul, the Peacekeeper Djinn, found a nine-hole golf course just west of town. The Djinn loved
any kind of sport, and so did Luis. After work one evening, in an effort to blow off steam, he went
with Raoul to thwack a golf ball around the course a couple of times. The layout of the holes was
basic, and the course wasn t very well maintained, so they soon lost interest and went drinking
instead.
Claudia honored the  don t go anywhere admonition she d been given. She spent a lot of time
quietly reading and avoiding reporters. More often than not, she, Jackson and Luis ate dinner together,
their conversations dominated by the latest discovery from the mine. Since they were all indifferent
cooks, they took turns picking up takeout from the diner.
By the third day, Luis d had it.
There was no drama, no explosion. He just got tired of waiting for things to change, so he went on
the offensive. It felt good to finally follow his instincts, to stop throttling back, and, he had to be
honest, it felt good to be challenged.
He started out small, stalking Claudia in subtle ways over the next few days. When they stood
talking, he got a bit too close, invading her space. At the dinner table, when she passed the salt to him,
he reached a little too far for it, closing his hand over hers. He slid his fingers down the length of her
hand until he could grasp the shaker. Her bland expression didn t change, but her pupils dilated, and
sudden arousal thrummed low, rhythmic notes in her scent.
And there it was again, the connection.
He was clever enough not to show his triumph.
She liked to go running early. On the seventh morning, she emerged from the trailer, dressed in
running clothes with her pale hair pulled back.
He was waiting for her in his Wyr form. She jerked to a halt when she saw him sitting in the yard,
and this time she looked shaken. He didn t wag his tail. He just waited for her to make up her mind.
She came slowly down the steps.  Oh, Precious, she said. For some reason she sounded sad. For
the first time in days she touched him voluntarily, laying a gentle hand on his head. Everything inside
of him concentrated on the sensation of the warm, light weight of her palm resting on him. Deeper and
more profound than pleasure, he felt comfort and recognition. She rubbed one of his ears before her
hand fell away.
When he stood, his shoulders came up to her waist. She turned and started to run. He flowed along
the ground beside her, his powerful body moving effortlessly, and for a while they shared perfect,
seamless movement. The colors of the morning were so pure and new, they were downright righteous,
and the air was biting cold. He could have run forever with her like that, but of course it had to end as
the obligations of the day took over.
Later, when he let himself into Jackson s house, around five, Luis found a note. Jackson had been
called away on a vet emergency. They should eat dinner without him.
Luis thought about that. It was Claudia s turn to get takeout. He went out the back, knocked on the
trailer door and a moment later she opened it. The westering sun caught her full in the face, shining on
her sleek, shoulder-length pale hair and turning her green eyes emerald. She was wearing jeans and a
T-shirt, and it was so goddamn erotic to see how that shirt molded to her tight, lean torso. His gaze
fell down her length.
She was barefoot.
Suddenly he was rock hard with agonized hunger. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]