When she glanced up at him with troubled eyes, he fought the urge to take her right there on the sofa, and spend the rest of the night fucking the worry right out of her.
Satisfied with the fire he’d built, he crossed the room and sat on the coffee table in front of Nicole. It was then that he noticed the salve and strips of towels. Nicole’s concern for his well-being did the strangest things to him. A wave of possessiveness came out of nowhere and swamped him, and need gathered in his gut. Fuck, he wasn’t sure how to respond to her, never having dealt with these kinds of emotions before.
“Nicole—”
She cut him off with a no-nonsense glare. “Shh. I’ll bandage you while you tell me everything.”
Resolve melting, he nodded and held his hands out and hoped like hell they weren’t shaking. As she tenderly went to work on doctoring his hands, he figured the best way to gather control over his rattled emotions was by getting right to the point. “I’m Connor. Connor McClain.” His voice came out a little harder than he meant.
She gently rubbed salve onto his burns and cast him a questioning glance. “And it seems you already know me.”
He nodded and continued. “I’m a Paranormal Task Force officer.”
Her head jerked back with a start, her eyes clouding in confusion. “And?” she asked. “What does that have to do with me?”
As her green eyes searched his for answers, he reached out and felt her emotions. Turmoil. Anxiety. Stress. Impatience.
Need.
Connor cleared his throat. “And can you read auras?”
She nodded, and gently wrapped a swathe around his hand, leaving his uninjured fingers free. Her warm hands glided over his with the utmost care. His body hummed in response, tension building inside him.
Dark lashes flashed up at him. “Yes. But how—”
“And you can pick up on peoples’ energy, their vibrations, right?” he rushed on, barely able to control the sudden burst of lust worming its way through his veins.
“Yes, but—”
“Have you always felt a little different, a little alone in the world? Unable to forge deep, meaningful, lasting relationships with the opposite sex?”
She nodded, and starched her spine, evidently unnerved that he knew so much about her. The tension in her body brought out his protective instincts full force. He squeezed her fingers, offering his comfort.
“Sounds like you’re talking from experience,” she challenged.
Without allowing her to turn the conversation around to him, he pitched his voice low to soften the impact of his words. “You’re a guardian, Nicole.”
“A guardian?”
“Yes, you control the portal between earth and hell. And that was Lucifer himself that you were about to sleep with.”
Her mouth opened wide, but no words formed as she sank back into the cushions. Connor gave her a moment of reprieve, letting her work through his shocking announcement, giving her time and space to come to terms with it. “He had you under a spell and created a vision to fit your idea of the perfect man,” he added quietly.
“So he really was too good to be true,” she murmured.
Minutes ticked by as he watched her expression and the play of emotions crossing her face—everything from disbelief, confusion, agitation, to acceptance and finally relief. Connor blew a sigh of relief himself, and ran his fingers through his hair, rather amazed that acceptance had come so easy to her.
Understanding dawned in small increments as she furrowed her brow. “So that’s why I’ve always felt alone?”
Leaning forward, Connor braced his elbows on his knees and met her eyes. “Yes.”
“And different?”
He nodded, and when she let out a burst of air, he could feel another rush of relief ooze off her in waves. An emotion stemming from a lifetime of unanswered questions, he supposed.
She slanted her head and he met her probing gaze. “How do you know all this?”
“Because I’m a guardian, too.”
“I see.”
“We’re rare, Nicole…” His voice hitched when he spoke. “I never thought I’d come across another guardian in my lifetime.”
As a new calmness settled over her, she hugged herself. “So you’ve been just as lonely as me?” When he didn’t respond, she touched his cheek. “Connor—” Then suddenly something in her expression changed, darkened.
Connor closed his hand over hers. “What?”
“What would have happened if I had slept with him?”
He blew a long, slow breath and gave it to her straight. “If Lucifer controls the guardian, he controls the portal, able to pull whoever he wants back to hell with him. Controlling the guardian means his powers wouldn’t be limited on earth, and he or his henchmen wouldn’t weaken after forty-eight hours. It would allow him to come and go at whim, wreaking havoc and taking anyone he wants back with him. He can unlock the door from his side, but cannot open it from earth, to pull through unsuspecting humans, not unless he is in control of a guardian.”
Nicole gave a slow side-to-side shake of her head. “Jesus, we can never allow that to happen.”
“Never,” he echoed. “When your powers grow, you’ll learn to block your mind to his power of suggestion.”
“How do I keep the door closed if he tries to control me?”
“Simply by visualizing a closed door. When someone pushes from the other side, you just brace your hands on it to keep it closed. But it takes years to learn the skill, which is why the PTF begins training at such a young age.”
At that exact moment they both stood. Their bodies collided, their groins bumped and just feeling her softness next to his hardness had Connor’s cock thickening to the
