“Is that some of what it feels like when you shift? An even temperature?”
He shook his head. “No. It starts with pressure. Everyone’s different, but for me it starts in my gut. If I’m really pumped for a fight, it starts lower. In those nether bits you wondered what it felt like to have.”
She laughed, lifting her beer bottle in salute.
“The pressure spreads outward until it sparks across my skin. I was barely a teenager the first time I shifted. The feeling scared the hell out of me. I raced from the house with my older sister on my heels telling me not to panic. I barely managed to strip out of my clothes before I was on all fours, paws tearing clumps from the earth as I ran.”
Gabby watched his face. Watched his mouth as he spoke, and the emotions playing in his eyes as he relived the story.
“Sparks,” she repeated.
“Inside and out. Like jolts from a live powerline downed after a storm.” He paused. “What about you? You took Aiden’s hand and knew immediately he was about protect and defend. What’s it like knowing what makes someone tick?”
“I wouldn’t put it that way.” She angled her head, considering. “It’s hard to describe. I feel what’s bubbling beneath the surface. Most people hide their emotions with humor or rudeness. The darker the emotion, the more coiled beneath the skin. Like a snake ready to strike. The brighter the emotion, the more ribbon-like the feel. Easy and light. Like streamers.”
“Could you read me?”
Gabby laughed, waving him off. “You? Easy.”
Luke put his beer in the side cupholder, and then got up from his chair. “Challenge accepted. I’ll even close my eyes, so you won’t feel like I’m assessing you.”
“Dude. Emotions-wise, I’ll know your deepest darks the moment I touch you.”
She stood, straightening her shoulders before holding her hands out, palms up. Instead of sliding his hands over her open palms, Luke laced their fingers together, gripping her tight.
“You may fire when ready, Gridley.” Luke winked, but Gabrielle held his gaze, unblinking. “Sorry.” He sobered immediately, closing his lids.
Images plowed through Gabrielle’s mind, instantly. Vivid. Dense. The man felt everything deeply. Love for family. Unconditional and resolute. Ironically, Gregory was missing from that flood of loving resolve. A ghost of residual emotion floated past, and the feel was reluctant and dutiful.
The sentinels had their own layer. Aiden, Jared…Alain and faces she didn’t know. Loyalty went marrow deep. As deep as his love for his mother and sisters.
The feeling changed in this multi-layered complex, and desire pulsed to the surface. Uninhibited. The emotion was vivid and aching. Her body reacted, slick and throbbing, and she almost broke contact. Luke stayed calm, his breathing even, so she delved deeper. Searching past his uninhibited want.
Another layer emerged. This one dark, swirling red with anger and hurt. The feel was so strong and familiar it nearly knocked her backward.
Flexing her fingers, he let go, breaking contact. Gabrielle closed her fingers into her palm, not ready to make eye contact.
“Raven said we had a lot in common, but I never expected it to be on such a visceral level.”
She looked up at that, only to see Luke’s forehead crease for a moment, but then he laughed it off.
“So you’re as hot for me as I am for you.”
Holding his gaze, she shook her head. “I am, but that’s not what I meant.”
Luke stood stock still for a moment, and then nodded. “From the look on your face, I’m guessing you found the box in my head labeled ‘fucktard father.’ My feelings are pretty even and not at all hard to interpret, until you get to my relationship with Gregory. It’s complicated.”
“I read emotions, Luke. I don’t read minds. Still, I’m pretty sure I have the same box, with the same label, buried in my own head. We’re kindred spirits, wolfman. In more than just sexual attraction.”
Luke’s eyes darkened, and gold flecks fairly glowed in the brown depths. “We can unpack those boxes together sometime, Gabrielle, but why deal with the unpleasant, when there are more satisfying ways to spend an afternoon?”
Gripping her hips, he pulled her close. He slid his arm around her waist, pressing her against his chest enough to feel his low growl rumble.
Holy Wolfbane! There it was, plain and undeniable. Primal. Wild. Fierce. Not that she doubted Luke’s dual-nature, but damn!
“The scent of your warm skin, and your full, sexy mouth is too much for both wolf and man to ignore.” He grinned. “Even unfiltered.”
She licked her lips. Teasing words coupled with the pressure of his hands on her waist made her panties wet. Was this really happening? Hell yes!
Her lips parted to reply, but Luke’s mouth claimed hers and all talk ended…
Gabrielle sat with the memory for a moment. She threw off her covers and let her legs dangle from the side of the bed, until she got up and padded into the bathroom.
She spent every second with Luke since that day on the beach. That was until the other sentinels arrived, and they set off to follow the leads they uncovered in New Orleans. No one heard a word since.
Leaving the bathroom light off, she stood in the dim glow from the nightlight, staring at the little white stick on the vanity. Its two blue lines were unmistakable in the small test oval.
Her adventure had just taken an ultimate sharp turn. So had Luke’s. He just didn’t know it yet. She sat on the floor in front of the bathtub, no clue how to break the news.
“Hey, babe! I’ve missed you so much! Listen, I know you’ve been busy hunting a merciless demon, but guess
