She saw him hesitate, then saw him abandon the cottage window abruptly and come striding toward her. She walked to meet him, and he pulled her into the shelter of a carport.
"Can't I take a walk without being followed?" he said venomously.
Kaitlyn gave herself a moment before answering. She was trying to smooth her hair, which the wind had turned into a mane of elf-locks and fine tangles. And she needed to catch her breath.
At last she looked at him. A streetlight outside illuminated half his face, leaving the other half in shadow. Kaitlyn could see enough. His skin looked tight, as if it had been stretched over his bones. There were black circles under his eyes. And there was something about his expression… the way he stared at her, eyes narrowed, lips drawn back a little as he breathed quickly.
Gabriel was on the breaking point. And, no, he hadn't gotten into that cottage yet.
"Is that what you were doing?" she said. "Taking a walk?"
"Yes." His lips drew back a little farther. His eyes had turned defiant—he was going to brazen this out. "I need to get away from the rest of you once in a while. There's only so much of Kessler's mind I can stand."
"So you just wanted some privacy." She took a step toward him. "And you decided now was the time for a little stroll."
With startling suddenness he flashed his most dazzling smile. "Exactly."
Kait took another step. The smile disappeared as suddenly as it had come, leaving his mouth grim. "In the middle of the night. In the freezing cold."
He looked dangerous now. Dark and dangerous as a wolf on the hunt. "That's right, Kait. Now be a good girl and go back to the van."
Kaitlyn moved again, close enough that she could feel his warmth—and he could feel hers. She could feel the instant tension in his body, could see his eyes darken. She could hear his breath become uneven.
"I've never been a good girl. Ask anybody back home—they said I have an attitude problem. So you were just hanging around that cottage by accident."
He took the sudden change in subject without blinking, but when he spoke it was through clenched teeth. "What else would I be doing?"
"I thought"—Kaitlyn tilted her head back to look up at him—"that you might need something."
"I don't need anything from anyone!"
She'd accomplished something astonishing just then—she'd made Gabriel give way before her. He'd retreated, stepping back until the concrete wall behind him stopped him.
Kait didn't give him a chance to regroup. She knew the risk of what she was doing. Gabriel was on the verge of snapping—and he was capable of violence. But she wouldn't let herself think about the danger; she could only think about the shining torment in Gabriel's eyes.
She moved to him again, this time so close that they were touching. Carefully, deliberately, she put her hands on his chest. She could feel the running-stag clamor of his heart.
Then she looked up at him, her face inches from his.
"I think you're lying," she whispered.
Chapter 9
Something in Gabriel's eyes fractured. It was like watching gray agate shatter into pieces.
He caught Kaitlyn by the shoulder. His other hand clamped in her hair, twisting her head to the side.
Black terror washed over Kait, but she didn't move. Her fingers tightened on the sleeves of Gabriel's borrowed shirt.
Then she felt his lips on the back of her neck.
The first sensation was a piercing, as if a single sharp tooth had penetrated at the upper part of her spine, just below her neck.
Vampires, Kait thought dazedly. She knew Gabriel was just opening a transfer point, but it felt as if he had punctured her skin. She could easily see how the legends about vampires had started.
The next instant the sharp pain had gone, replaced by a tugging, as if something inside her was being plucked up by the roots. She felt her own momentary resistance—like the Earth clinging to a handful of weeds being pulled. And then a giving, a yielding. As if the weeds had come free in the pulling hand.
Energy fountained out of the open wound in a narrow stream. Kaitlyn felt a flare of heat—and pleasure.
All right. It's going to be all right, she thought, scarcely knowing whether she was speaking to herself or Gabriel. The experience itself was frightening—it was like working with high-voltage electricity. But she refused to be afraid on other grounds.
I trust you, Gabriel, she thought.
She could feel the energy pouring into him, and once again she felt his gratitude, his appreciation. His relief as his need was met.
I trust you.
The energy was still flowing steadily, and Kait had a sense of cleansing. Her entire body felt light and airy, as if her feet weren't touching the ground. She relaxed in Gabriel's arms, letting him support her.
Thank you.
The thought wasn't Kaitlyn's, and no one else was in range—so it had to be Gabriel. But it didn't sound like Gabriel. There was no anger, no mockery. It was the free and joyous communication of a happy child.
Then, all at once, the current streaming between them was broken. Gabriel released her and lifted his head.
Dizzy, Kaitlyn clung to him for a moment, hearing her own breath slowing.
"No more," Gabriel said. He was breathless, too, but calm. The starving emptiness inside him filled—at least partly.
Then he said, "Kait…"
Kaitlyn made herself let go of him. She stepped back, keeping her eyes down.
"Are—are you sure it's enough? You'll be okay now?" She spoke because sharing thoughts was too intimate.
It had occurred to her—finally—that she was courting another kind of danger here. Being this close to Gabriel, giving to him, and feeling his joy and gratification—it had bound them together in a way even the web could not match. It had brought down Gabriel's walls… again.
And that was unfair, because on her part it was just caring. It's not like what I feel for Rob, she told herself. It isn't—love…
She could sense Gabriel looking at her. Then she felt an indefinable change in him, a mental straightening of shoulders.
"We need to get back," he said. His voice was short and he ignored her question.
Kait looked up. "Gabriel—"
"Before we're missed." Gabriel turned away and started out into the night.
But he waited for her after a few steps, and he stayed close as they made their way across the beach. Kaitlyn said nothing as they walked. She couldn't think of anything that wouldn't make matters worse.