Darkness Bred by Stella Cameron Page A

I’ve been.”
    Getting up the courage to release her, he held his arms out, inviting her to let him hold her.
    She hesitated, and came to him, rested her face on his shoulder.
    “Are we okay?” He heard his own voice shake.
    Elin nodded. “We will be. We have to be. Do you think I could let you go?”
    “I hope not.” The lump in his throat tightened. “I know you can’t, any more than I can. Let me look at you, then we have to get out of here.”
    She pulled away a little, not smiling, but with love in her eyes.
    “I’ve got you,” he told her. “That’s amazing. I never expected someone as wonderful as you to happen to me.”
    Elin looked at his mouth, traced his lips with a forefinger. “I feel too much to put into words.” She put on her helmet. “Where are we going?” she asked and sounded as shaken as Sean figured she had to be.
    He decided not to give her any choices. “Langley for something to eat. I don’t want to run into anyone we know if I can help it.” And since Saul’s announcements had just rocked the world for all the people he cared about, he had to come up with a plan.
    “That was a shock in there,” Elin said. She glanced repeatedly at Saul’s house. “Did you realize what happened when I touched the Q on Rose’s neck?”
    “Best not say that aloud,” Sean told her, looking in all directions. Since Saul was probably right about this beast walking among them, it was incredibly important that he not know his cover was in the process of being blown.
    She looked at him from beneath thick, shadowy eyelashes. “Right. Just think how bored you’d be if you didn’t have to correct me constantly.”
    Women were so difficult to understand. “What happened when you touched the mark?” he said, deciding not to rise to the bait of her last remark.
    “For a long time I couldn’t take my hand away. It felt like the mark and my fingers were magnets—really strong magnets. I couldn’t let go and I felt awful, like I would faint. I heard wailing.”
    He was stumped. “Yes, I noticed you were reacting but I don’t know why. How do you feel now?”
    “Scared. But okay.”
    “Mm,” Sean said. “You’re a tough cookie. I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep up with you.”
    The sharp look she gave him suggested she didn’t realize he was joking. With his right hand beneath her jaw, he stroked her cheek with his thumb. “You aren’t a wimp, kiddo, and I like that. In fact, I might as well admit I’d rather be with you than anyone else.”
    She smiled at him.
    The guinea pig that popped out of her jacket and ran around her neck until she could glance between them with her darting black eyes did seem to be smiling.
    “Pokey!” Elin said.
    “Nosey little pig. Put her wherever you keep her and let’s go.”
    Promptly, the critter darted into Elin’s jacket again.
    Sean kissed her, long and lingeringly, before she moved her head slightly and whacked the bridge of his nose with her helmet.
    “Ow.”
    “I’m sorry.” She giggled. “That was awful. Completely spoiled the moment.”
    Smiling ruefully, Sean said, “Elin, we communicated in there.” He indicated Saul’s house. “Mindspeak. Do you know what that means?”
    She shook her head, no. “Not really. It never happened to me before. Not like that. When I shift, I can carry and convey messages to certain sensitives, but I’ve never had conversations. Sally always tells me stuff aloud when I’m Skillywidden. I don’t think about it. That’s how it goes.”
    “But you can hear me like this?” He probed her mind again.
    The expression in her violet eyes was almost funny. “Yes, but I’d rather talk to you if we can.”
    He hauled her off her feet and swung her around. “So would I, cat woman.”
    She rained blows on his shoulders, frowning furiously. “Put me down, dog man.”
    He grimaced and continued to hold her feet off the ground. “I get your point. I always thought cat woman sounded cool, is all. Dog