'How many entries are there in the journal?'
'Only eight. All of them are dated before the expedition was supposed to leave Serendipity. Each is shorter than the last. The tone of each one is increasingly paranoid and depressed. In the last entry the writer says that he can't go on much longer. He just wants to walk off into the jungle and be absorbed by what he calls the great green matrix.'
'In other words, you're supposed to believe that your father really did commit suicide before the expedition took place.'
'Yes.'
Nick had shut down his formidable psychic power, but the sensation of intimacy did not vanish. It pulsed across Zinnia's nerve endings, insistent and compelling. She uncurled her legs and restlessly shifted position on the blanket.
'Someone went to a great deal of effort to deceive you with that fake journal,' she said.
'And expense,' Nick added. He closed the volume and rewrapped it. 'This kind of craftsmanship doesn't come cheap.'
'How much would an expert forger charge for something that detailed?'
His smile was chilling. 'Probably about as much as I paid for it. Fifty grand.'
Zinnia's heart twisted as she watched the care with which he refolded his father's letter. Once more she tried to beat back the empathy that threatened to swamp her common sense.
'Well, if you needed any further proof that I'm innocent, you've got it,' she said briskly. 'I couldn't possibly afford fifty grand for a fake journal.'
'I don't need any more proof of your innocence.'
'Gee, thanks.' Why didn't the intense feeling of intimacy fade? It was messing up the synergistic balance of her entire nervous system. 'Where does that leave us?'
Nick's eyes were rare exotic gems in the candlelight. 'Here. Together.'
On the other hand, why was she trying to fight this incredible attraction, Zinnia wondered. She had waited a long time for passion.
'Are you going to kiss me again?' she asked, deeply curious.
'I want to make love to you.'
She smiled. 'That's okay, too.'
Chapter 14
The hunger inside him threatened to explode. He fought it, willing his self-control to win the battle. It worried him that the sensation of touching and being touched in some other dimension had not faded when the focus link was severed. The intimacy of the connection was disturbing enough as it was. He did not know what to make of the fact that tonight the feelings continued even after the psychic joining ended.
He had to be careful, Nick thought. He wanted her, but when he had sex with her he could not sacrifice the part of him that governed his self-control.
On the positive side, if there was one thing he was good at, it was control. He could handle this.
He touched the curve of her hair and smiled slowly. 'We're going to be good together.'
'I certainly hope so.' She drew up her knees and wrapped her arms around them. 'I've got certain expectations, you understand.'
'Expectations?'
Her eyes glowed with warmth and a shy amusement that caught him by surprise.
'I told you, I've read every psychic vampire romance novel that Orchid Adams has ever written.'
Nick stared at her. 'Five hells.'
'Not that I want to put any pressure on you, of course.'
Nick felt a very weird sensation rise inside him. It was big, powerful, all-consuming. He did not recognize it until he nearly choked on it.
And then the laughter roared forth. It cascaded out of him like a very strong orgasm.
He could not shut it down. It squeezed him as if he were a sponge, causing him to double over. He howled until he was breathless.
Through it all, he was aware of Zinnia studying him with deep interest.
Eventually he managed to catch his breath. When the unfamiliar laughter finally exhausted itself, he sprawled on his back on the blanket.
'You are so damn unpredictable,' he said.
She hugged her knees. 'Is that a bad thing?'
'I don't know. I used to think so, but now I'm not so sure.' He reached for her and pulled her down across his chest. The skirts of her sunrise-red dress flowed around him.
The last of his laughter was consumed by the flashfire of need that swept through him. Something else evaporated with it. Something important. He worried briefly that it was the sense of control that he had told himself he must maintain at all costs. But for some obscure reason it no longer seemed quite so important.
He cradled her head between his hands and kissed her with the same fierce energy that he had channeled into his psychic talent moments earlier.
She responded with a sweet passion that took his breath. Excitement slammed through the matrix, igniting all of his senses.
There was no time for the slow erotic loveplay that he had fantasized about all day.
'I need to be inside you,' he said against her soft mouth.
'That sounds . . . interesting.' She fumbled with the fastenings of his shirt.
He groaned when he felt her fingers on his bare chest. 'Zinnia.'
'You feel so good.' She dipped her head and brushed her mouth across his bare skin.
He smiled when he saw that her hands were trembling. He buried his face in her hair. 'You smell good.'
She shifted slightly. The soft firm weight of her thigh settled against his erection. He could tell it was an unintentional move. She had no idea of the impact it had on him.
He thought he would lose it all then, but he managed to hold himself together. He opened the front of her dress and found her breasts. Her nipples budded, firm and proud, against his palms. He heard her sharp intake of breath and a soft half-strangled cry. Her fingers suddenly sank deep into his shoulders. Although they were linked, he could have sworn that iceworks lit up the metaphysical plane.
He surged upward and tumbled her gently onto her back.
'Nick.'
His hands shook as he pushed the skirts of her dress up to her waist. He reached between her thighs and discovered that her panties were already damp. He managed to drag the scrap of delicate fabric down her long legs and free of her ankles. She went very still.
He smiled and bent his head to kiss her throat. She sighed and seemed to relax against him.
He was fascinated to discover that her skin felt as soft as it looked in the golden glow of the candles. The dark triangle of curls glittered with moisture. The scent of her body clouded his mind.
He quickly unbuckled his pants and shoved them downward until he could kick them aside.
Zinnia's eyes widened at the sight of his aroused body. 'I didn't realize-'
'Touch me,' he whispered. He caught her hand and moved it to his rigid penis.
'So strong,' she breathed. Hesitantly she encircled him with her fingers. 'Hard and strong.'
He closed his eyes, set his teeth, and held on to the last shreds of his control with sheer willpower. When she moved her palm, tightening her grasp, he shuddered.
'Don't,' he managed. His voice was ragged. 'I won't last another second if you do that again.'
She released him quickly. 'Are you all right?'
He opened his eyes partway and saw that she was genuinely concerned. 'Are you kidding? I'm about to disintegrate into a million pieces. I'd rather do it inside you than on the damn blanket.'
'Oh.'
