Stealing Kathryn by Jacquelyn Frank Page A

didn’t trust him, but she wanted to so badly. She had once trusted him with everything and anything. He had been a valiant and powerful spirit of honor and goodness. She had to believe that those parts of Adrian still existed. That they would one day return.
    She moved closer to him, reaching to wrap her arms around him. In an explosive rejection, he pushed her off and away.
    “Keep your pity to yourself!” he roared at her. “I am sick to death of it! I have never asked for your simpering solace, nor have I any need for it!”
    With that, Adrian stormed away from her before he was tempted to strike her again or before he lost all control of his temper. But instead of finding his horse and riding it until his temper cooled, he searched for Kathryn. Damn Aerlyn to hell and back. He was going to spend as much time with her as he could, whether his sister liked it or not. It was true that sometimes when this mental form of touching happened he could feel his real body flashing briskly with pain, but it was getting easier to bear and he was driven to find a way past the pain and into her graceful, trembling little hands.
    He knew exactly where she was. He was aware of every detail of the world they held together with their skills and power. He had to be. Nothing could fail or be flawed, or their butterfly in this jar would see it for what it truly was—mere illusion.
    What surprised him as he stood over her in the living area some time later was that she was asleep. No doubt having a dream within a dream. That was a nuance Aerlyn would be taking care of. He wanted to shake her awake and demand she interact with him, but he stayed himself as he stared at the sleeping softness of her perfect features. Her full lips had parted with the depths of her sleep, her breathing deep and rhythmic. For a moment he thought she might give off a delicate little snore. If she had, he would have marveled at Aerlyn’s attention to the smallest details. As it was, she had a superfine blush on her exposed cheek and a strand of misplaced hair that kept trembling like a bowstring every time she exhaled.
    Watching her now as though she’d cast a paralyzing enchantment on him, Adrian noted the fetal position she was curled up in, her arms crossed under her breasts and her knees folded tight to her chest as if she were freezing cold. There was, in fact, a large window open nearby, and a cool breeze blew in and out, lifting the curtain and carrying with it the sound of gently toned bells. His sister had created wind chimes along all points of the house, a way of covering up mistakes in noise should they forget some detail. Creating a dream from scratch to the point of convincing the dreamer it was absolute reality was like creating an epic film that would run for two days. But they were responsible for every part of it, from set dressing to sound design to special effects, and even continuity. All of it. It was exhausting, and after this he and his sister were going to need a lot of rest and a lot of energy to feed from.
    How they were going to explain the gap in their delivery of dream energy to the Ampliphi was anybody’s guess. He supposed his clever sister would think of something. He could come up with something too, if he gave a damn. But he didn’t. The only thing he gave a damn about right now was himself and his beautiful little Kat.
    Adrian couldn’t help staring at her as she slept. Her long, graceful neck was exposed in such a way that her pulse could be seen. Suddenly his tongue itched to feel the thrum of it against his taste buds. Her hip was pronounced as she lay on her side, the curve of true womanliness that led into a juicy backside making his mouth water.
    Initially he had planned to only keep his treasure, to literally place her on a pedestal and admire her again and again for the perfection he saw in her. He had not thought much past the urge to take her when it had fallen on him, but now he’d had time to contemplate this