Her shield winked out. It wasn’t really visible, except to a magic user who was concentrating on finding a shield. For Wanderers, it was just a matter of us activating our senses tattoo.
I felt Tess concentrating, and a moment later, a shield formed three feet in front of her in a large oval that reached from the ground to about two feet over her head.
“Excellent,” I said. “Good work. Now you can practice creating different shapes and locations even when I’m not with you.”
Her shield winked out again, and she turned toward me, her eyebrows furrowed. “Why wouldn’t you be with me?”
I shrugged. “I’m not going anywhere, Tess. I promised you that, but now you can practice if I oversleep or if I’m–”
“Or if you’re what?” she demanded. “You aren’t going off by yourself again. You know what happened the last time.”
Her voice was stern, more like she was the mentor and I the apprentice. I understood her concern, but…
“I don’t plan on letting anyone stick a knife in my ribs again. That was a special circumstance and won’t happen again,” I said.
“Sure, but you didn’t think it would happen that time either. Damn it, Rafe, I can’t do this without you. You promised you’d get me trained and if you go off and get yourself killed again, I might not get there in time to bring you back.”
Her jaw muscles were tightening, and I could see a hint of moisture in her eyes.
I clasped her shoulders in my hands and stared into her eyes. We still meshed, and I could feel her dread and concern for my welfare. It wasn’t totally altruistic, but we were partners–mentor and apprentice–Wanderers in arms together until she was fully trained and that was a couple of decades away.
I sighed. “Forget I said anything. I am not leaving you alone, and I’ll be more careful in the future.”
“Yeah, right, until the next time some woman gets your pants down around your ankles. You are so damned powerful, Rafe, but as soon as you start thinking with your pecker instead of your head–”
“Excuse me?” I said with a little heat.
“You aren’t immortal, Raphael. You can be killed. Laura proved that. You were lucky or should I say that I was lucky? There’s no way I can do this without your training me and if you get yourself killed again–”
I shook her, just a little. “Stop talking like that, Tess. I screwed up with Laura, but she was a special case–”
“Why?” Tess interrupted. “Because you once loved her? You’ve mentioned a lot of women who’ve bedded you over the years. Are you claiming that none of them could have gotten close enough to put a knife in your ribs? Please, don’t try to bullshit me. I know you’re used to jumping in the sack with every warm body that attracts you.”
“Whoa there, Apprentice! When did I ever give you the impression that I’m a slut?”
Tess pursed her lips and looked at her feet. I let go of her shoulders and lifted her chin with one hand. She avoided my eyes for a few seconds, but finally, she met my gaze.
“Okay, Beast confided in me. When you were lost in that other world and then again, after I brought you back alive, we talked. He explained a little about your feelings for Laura.”
“And he told you I was a slut?” I asked.
“Not in so many words,” Tess said. “But you’d already mentioned Cris and Cynthia and Beast just remarked about your proclivity to have women throw themselves at you. Not that I can blame any of them, you are pretty much a hottie, but you’ve got to settle down until you get me trained. I don’t want to lose you while I’m still learning.”
“You mean like when Walt was killed before he finished my training.”
She nodded and then held my stare. “Yes, like that. From everything you told me, Walt’s death was unavoidable, but you’re going to have to be more careful.”
I frowned. “Wait a minute. Is that why you’ve been so damned ready to drag me into bed every night? Are you just trying to keep me from wandering around and finding another bedmate?”
Her mouth hung open. “What? No, of course not. I wouldn’t–”
I placed a finger against her lips, hushing her. She’d forgotten that we were meshed and touching. The touch alone would have been enough for me to feel her emotions, but while meshed I could damn near read her mind.
“Okay, so that’s not the only reason you’re so hot for my body every night, but it’s part of it. You know I wanted to keep our relationship platonic while you’re my apprentice and I told you that you were free to jump the bones of any man you wanted to scratch whatever itch you felt.”
Tess slapped my hand away from her lips. “No, damnit, I’m not just fucking you to keep you close.”
The venom in her statement stung, but I had felt the truth of my statement.
I shook my head slowly. “No, not just for that reason, but you’re lying to yourself if you don’t believe that’s part of it.”
Her right fist came up on a trajectory that would end at my jaw. I triggered my shield tat and formed it between us as I took a step back. Her knuckles smacked into my shield with a crunching sound that brought a wide “O” of pain to Tess’s face. I dropped my shield and, gripping Tess’s shoulders, I spun her around. Capturing her wrists in my hands, I pulled her back into me.
In her anger, she had dropped out of our meshing, but I felt the pain flash through her hand before she did. Her blow had cracked at least one bone in her hand. Tess was angry enough that the pain wasn’t even on her radar.
She struggled against me, but I focused energy into my muscles, and held her in a grip she couldn’t break.
