He touched her cheek, running his fingers down to the warm mouth he couldn't seem to taste enough. A tremor ran through her and her lips parted, as if she couldn't breathe enough air. This close to her, he felt exactly the same way.
It had never been like this with Jacinta. Intense, exciting, lustful, yes. But the air had never burned with heat the minute she walked into a room, and her smile had never done strange things to his heart.
'Tell me what happened by the stream,' he said softly.
Her gaze searched his, then she sighed. It was a mournful sound. 'You thought I was Jacinta.'
That explained the hurt he sensed in her. 'And?'
Her gaze slide away. 'And you said some crazy things to the moon.'
So he had performed the ceremony. Yet the moon binding couldn't have worked if it had been Jacinta he'd been seeing in his mind. And it certainly hadn't been Jacinta's name he'd howled to the moon. That much he did remember.
'Did you take the condoms from my pocket to hide the fact we hadn't used them?' It was a guess, but it was a fairly safe one.
'Believe me, we didn't create life last night.' Her voice was almost bitter, but there was an undercurrent that troubled him.
'How can you be so certain?' Because if he'd performed that ceremony she would be pregnant. New life was part of the moon's gift and always the final outcome. But even if he hadn't finished the spell, werewolves tended to be extremely fertile while in moon fever.
The image of her pregnant, her belly round and full with his child, sent a surge of fierce satisfaction through his veins. He wanted that image. Desperately.
Her gaze flashed to his. 'I'm a witch. We know these things.'
He cupped her cheek again, then leaned forward and brushed a kiss across her sweet lips. 'When I drop off Janie and Karen, I'm coming back.' For you, he thought, but didn't say the words aloud.
Her gaze searched his. 'Why?'
'Because we need to talk.'
'Do we have anything to talk about? I think you've already made your intentions more than clear.'
Intentions could change. Had changed. He might be uncertain about the true depths of his feelings, but he was certain of one thing. He couldn't let her go.
'Time to move, people,' Gwen said behind them.
'You be careful in there,' he said and kissed her again, fiercer and harder than before.
Then he let her go and stepped back. She stepped past him then hesitated, looking back over her shoulder. 'I meant what I said in the cavern. Until you can give me an answer, don't bother coming back.'
She grabbed a pack from Gwen and threw it around her shoulders, then the two of them disappeared into the trees.
He fought the temptation to follow them and climbed into the car. Janie and the other little girl were his priority, his responsibility, and before he could do anything else, he had to ensure they got to the meeting point Gwen had arranged with Benton.
But it was the longest half hour of his life.
An armada of cars awaited him. Benton obviously wasn't taking any chances. Medical personnel rushed over as he climbed out, sweeping the two girls toward waiting ambulances. His brother appeared out of the flow of people, a mirror image of himself except for the eyes.
Luke's were blue rather than brown.
He clapped a hand on Ethan's shoulders and 'Thank you,' was all he said. All that needed to be said.
'Go be with her while you can,' Ethan replied. 'I'll talk to you later.'
Luke didn't move. 'Nina's with her. I can't stay because it's too close to dusk. What's wrong?'
Ethan hesitated. 'When you performed the binding ceremony with Nina, did you ever remember much of it?'
'No.' Luke raised an eyebrow. 'Why do you ask?'
He shrugged. 'Just curious.' Now was not the time to question his brother. Not when the ambulances would soon be leaving.
Luke half turned away, then stopped. 'You were seventeen when you met Jacinta. Neither of us was as wise or as worldly as we thought we were, and she knew a good catch when she saw it.'
Arguments he'd heard before. Arguments he was only just beginning to understand. 'Go be with Janie.'
Luke glanced toward the ambulance, then met Ethan's gaze again. 'You spent six moons with Jacinta, yet you were never tempted to perform that ceremony with her.
You might have loved her, Ethan, but you weren't in love with her. Not in the way the moon demands.'
'I think I'm beginning to realize that.'
'About time.'
'Always was a slow learner.' He pushed his brother toward the waiting ambulances. 'Go see her before the ambulance leaves. We can talk later.'
'With your lady in tow, I hope.'
'Yes,' he said. Hoped.
Mark approached as Luke walked away. 'What's happened to our two psychics?'
'They're going after the thing behind all this.'
Mark stopped and thrust his hands into his jacket pocket.
'You do know Benton wants this woman caught and behind bars.'
'You and I know that no jail will ever hold this thing.'
'Maybe.' Mark studied him for a moment, expression giving little away. 'We found a fingerprint match for that dead guy you had me check out at the morgue.'
Ethan raised an eyebrow. 'Really?'
'Apparently he died 25 years ago. The coroner's report suggests he died much the same way as that old man we found at the farmhouse in Rogue River.'
So it wasn't just any old dead the soul sucker was raising, but her ex-lovers. The poor bastards weren't even allowed peace in death. 'She's been killing a lot longer than that, my friend.'
'That won't matter to Benton.'
'I don't care if it matters to Benton. The only thing I care about is stopping the killing.'
Mark nodded and glanced over his shoulder. 'Benton's headed this way. If you have any intention of going back to help those ladies, I'd leave now.'
By the time he got there, over an hour would have passed. Anything could have happened. 'Thanks partner.'
As the captain made his way past the ambulances and toward Ethan, he quickly climbed into his car. He caught a glimpse of Benton's familiar red face.
'Goddamn it Morgan, get your ass back here!'
Ethan closed the door on Benton's shout, thrust the car into gear and sped away. And prayed to the moon that he got there before the change hit him.
Prayed that he had something — someone — to go back to.
Kat thrust the last of her weapons into the specially designed tool belt around her waist then tossed the empty backpack on top of her grandmother's. Gwen stood in front of the concealed entrance, murmuring softly as
