Stone of Ascension by Lynda Aicher Page B

He slammed to the hard marble floor in a resounding thud of flesh and bodies. His eyes screamed of pain that matched the denial that left his lips. His need to reach her seemed as desperate as her own.
    Her vision darkened as her world slowly narrowed to the man struggling before her. He was wild, primitive and desperate in his attempt to reach her. Why? The question itself didn’t require an answer. Not if she listened to the energy that pounded within her.
    A fist cracked against the tender flesh of Damian’s cheek, his head rocketing sideways from the force of the blow. The pain echoed across Amber’s cheek. Hard. Instant. Brutal.
    She gasped at the sudden bolt of pain. A physical touch when none had occurred. It was yet another in a never-ending series of stranger-than-life events.
    Without thought or conscious effort, Amber called on all the pent-up power that now pounded through her. Her only thought was to get to Damian. She had to help him and stop his pain.
    With a strength that exceeded anything of her own, Amber kicked back while pulling on her arms. Her foot connected with flesh, the corresponding grunt a sign that her aim was true, and her arms were suddenly free.
    “ Damian ,” she called as she sprang forward, one hand clasping instinctively around the stone beneath her shirt, the other outstretched. The white bird was reaching for him.
    He rolled, lunged and extended his hand. His firm, hard grasp closed around her hand just as her feet were kicked from beneath her. The energy was instantaneous. It shot up her arm, raced across her chest and connected with her own center of energy. It ignited with a burning flame of power that sucked the breath from her even before she crashed to the cold, marble floor.
    Damian’s grip was solid. Warm. Everything.
    She looked up and his eyes locked with hers. A clear, piercing blue that screamed of promise. His lips curled up, an out-of-place grin dancing across his features.
    Confusion pummeled her right before the world turned black and she was consumed by a thousand pinpricks dancing across her flesh. She knew that feeling. This time she welcomed it.
    And she accepted the fact that her life was now in Damian’s hands.

Chapter Ten
    The sensation of plunging down the steepest hill of a rollercoaster turned Amber’s stomach each time they solidified then quickly faded back out in a flash of light. At some point in the riotous journey, Damian had gathered her tight to his chest, and she clung to him with a desperate grip.
    Finally, the motion stopped along with the pinpricks on her skin. She held on and took deep, calming breaths, forcefully willing her stomach to settle.
    “Are you okay?” His hold on her loosened, the deep timbre of his voice loaded with honest concern.
    “What just happened?”
    He exhaled and his breath ruffled against her temple. “Somehow, you did the impossible.”
    She blinked, pulled back and looked into his eyes to see if he was serious. “What? I didn’t do anything. You’re the one who zapped us out of there.” His arms tightened around her, just a hint of resistance as she attempted to put space between them. She couldn’t think with him this close, his body touching hers so intimately, the energy burning within her. “But then, it was your own selfishness that put us there in the first place.”
    The defensive, verbal barrier hit its mark. He looked away, but not before she saw the guilt flash in his eyes. His face tightened as he dropped his arms and stepped back. The instantaneous loss of his energy hit her deep, almost as if she’d lost a valuable piece of herself.
    How? Why? Logically, she should despise this man after what just happened.
    Unable, or more honestly, unwilling, to process the conflicting thoughts, Amber changed her focus to their surroundings. They were standing in the middle of a rustic, yet cozy living room. A large leather couch was flanked by two matching chairs and situated in front of a large brick