Canyons of Night

“Don’t worry, I’m in control.”

“Yes, but you’re playing with psi-fire.” Charlotte’s voice was edged with wariness now. “Got a hunch my insurance won’t cover that sort of damage.”

“It’s incredible.” He could hardly concentrate enough to respond. A man could get drunk on power like this. Maybe he was already drunk.

“Slade, pay attention.” Charlotte’s voice sharpened. “I think it’s time to shut down.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re going to crash soon. It’s one thing to push yourself to the limit. The worst that can happen is that you exhaust your senses for a while. But this is about controlling your talent.”

Control. That was the critical thing, he thought. Above all he had to stay in control.

Reluctantly, he lowered his talent. The thunderstorm of energy dissipated quickly. He shut down his psychic senses altogether and sank back into his normal senses. But the intoxicating mix of soaring exhilaration, relief, and euphoria was still sweeping through him. He was in the grip of the biggest post-burn buzz he had ever experienced in his life. He was also more physically aroused than he had been since last night. He would crash soon but not yet.

He looked at Charlotte.

“Down, Big Boy,” she said firmly.

“What?” He could not take his eyes off her. It was all he could do not to sweep her up in his arms and race down the short hall to the bedroom. No, forget the bedroom; he wanted to take her right here on the floor or up against the wall.

“There’s no reason to pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about,” she said. “Just so you know, your eyes are still hot. I’m not naive. I get panic attacks if I run flat-out for a while but most folks, most men, get a different reaction.”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve heard the jokes. I know about the paraphysiology involved. The bio-cocktail created by a heavy burn results in a big surge of testosterone and adrenaline and other related hormones related to physical arousal. Forget it. We’re trying to conduct a scientific experiment here.”

A tide of urgent need swelled through him.

“I said, forget it,” she added for good measure.

“Okay,” he said.

“Stop looking at me like that.”

“Okay,” he said again. But he could not look away.

“Let’s talk about what just happened,” Charlotte said.

She spoke in a calm, matter-of-fact way that was no doubt meant to de-escalate the prowling tension in the atmosphere but it had no impact on his arousal. Control, he reminded himself.

“What just happened,” he made himself say, “was that I found out that I’m not going psiblind. What just happened is that I have a whole new level of talent.”

“I understand. But what can you do with it that you couldn’t do before?”

“I have no idea in hell what I have become,” he said quietly.

“Don’t talk as if you’ve developed a new talent. You’re just stronger now.”

“Maybe. Whatever it is, I know that I can handle it. That’s what I learned tonight.”

“I see.” She drummed her fingers on the arm of the chair. Her brows crinkled together above the frames of her glasses. “I suppose it may take a while to understand intuitively how to focus all that energy in a useful way.”

“I’ll figure it out some other time.” The deep hunger was eating him alive. He got to his feet and went to the window.

“Are you okay?” Charlotte asked quietly.

“Sure. I just need to work off this edge,” he said. “I’m going to take a run.”

“All right but please be careful. It won’t be long before you need to sleep. Be sure you make it home to your own bed before you go down. People might get the wrong impression of the town’s new police chief if you’re found sleeping on the side of the road.”

He ignored her attempt at humor. He was not in a humorous mood. “I’ve got time.”

He had to get out of here, he thought. He pivoted and went to the door, careful not to look at her. He got the door open.

“Slade,” Charlotte said softly.

That was all she said but it was enough. He turned and looked at her. She was on her feet. He saw that she had replaced the pendant around her neck. The mirror no longer glowed. The yearning inside him became a howl of need. He gripped the doorknob so tightly it was a wonder that he did not crush the knob.

“I have to go,” he said.

“No. I want you to stay here with me tonight.”

“You’re sure?”

She smiled and walked toward him through the shadows. When she was directly in front of him she put her arms around his neck.

“I’m sure,” she said.

The door closed with a solid and very final-sounding chunk. Slade stopped trying to suppress the all-consuming fire inside him. He locked his hands around Charlotte and lifted her into the air. She clung to his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his waist.

“Oh, my,” she whispered.

He did not try to speak because he knew that he was incapable of being coherent. He kissed her instead, letting her feel all of the lightning-hot passion that was flooding his veins.

And then he carried her down the hall to the bedroom.

Chapter 23

SHE OPENED HER EYES A LONG TIME LATER, VAGUELY aware that it was still dark outside and that some faint sound had awakened her. Her pulse beat a little faster.

It took a few seconds for her to orient herself. The unfamiliar weight beside her was Slade. He had fallen asleep almost immediately after the fast, hot sex. It could take a strong talent a few hours to recover from a heavy burn, she thought. If there was something wrong, she would have to deal with it.

The sound came again, a faint, muffled chortle. Rex.

Reluctantly she shoved aside the covers and got out of bed. Slade stirred but he did not awaken. She pulled on a robe and went down the cold hall. When she reached the living room she paused to twitch the curtain aside and peer out the window.

Rex was sitting on the porch staring intently at the door as if trying to will it open. She dropped the curtain and unlocked the door.

Rex sauntered across the threshold, chortling a greeting. He still had the clutch purse but it did not look as full as it had earlier.

“You gave away the paperclips, didn’t you?” she asked softly. “Trying to impress some new friends in the Preserve?”

Rex chattered happily and headed for the kitchen.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she said.

She followed him into the kitchen and flipped on the light. Rex was sitting on the floor, his gaze fixed on another door, the one that opened the refrigerator.

“What? You expect me to feed you again? You just came back from a hunting expedition, didn’t you?”

Rex did not take his attention off the refrigerator door. She gave up and opened it. Together they both