“I started to suspect something when you were busy sorting through the edges of my mind.”
He stared.
“You didn’t know it, but that’s what you were doing. You have paranormal powers. I don’t know the extent of them, but when you met me they went into high gear. Sykes had an idea that was the case, too. But Sykes usually figures everything out first.”
He took a deep drink of the brandy and it burned all the way down. That was a sensation he didn’t think could be overestimated.
“Do you know why I knew that helmet was in the warehouse?” he asked. “I guess I don’t have a choice about what you call
“You might as well like them. They’re part of you. If you hadn’t known about the helmet, Nat and his officers were going to walk right out of that place and relegate me to nut status again.”
“You expected to find things there and they were gone. You say you didn’t see the helmet so why did I know it would be there?”
Marley swirled the brandy in her glass. “Either I saw it without realizing and you picked it out for me—from me—or you’ve got remote sight most paranormals would kill for.”
“Kill?”
“Forget I said that. If you have the power to visualize details without ever being in a location first. You’re off the scale, Gray.” Her voice grew breathless. “You’re off just about any scale I can think of.”
He took another drink and when he looked at Marley again, she was watching him. Her face had softened, but not in the comfortable way a friend looks at a friend. More in that vaguely predatory cast when the eyes darken, the nostrils flare and the tongue makes slow passes over the lips.
Gray couldn’t look away from her mouth.
“It’s there, isn’t it?” Marley said. “The sexual thing. It’s not anything gentle.”
“Uh, no.” But he hadn’t met a woman who was quite as blunt on the subject as Marley. “I’d have said it has all the indications of turning into a tornado.”
“Would you like that?”
If he were someone who blushed, he’d be red in the face. His own nostrils flared. He was so hard there wasn’t a darn thing he could do about hiding it if she chose to gaze south. And his heart pounded in time to the thunder of blood in his ears.
“Are you hot?” he said. Sheesh, that sounded like a line.
“Take off your shirt, Gray.”
Another goodly sip of brandy—and Marley matched him swallow for swallow—and he hauled his T-shirt over his head. This was one of those times when a man could be grateful if he’d kept himself toned and hard around the edges. He had always been fit.
“Nice,” Marley said, her head tilted, her assessment unabashedly direct. “I like a little hair on a man— especially if it’s dark. Your stomach looks as if you eat ground rock for breakfast.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“You’re welcome. Feel cooler now?”
He laughed. “What do you think?”
Her smile was unexpectedly wicked. “I hope not.”
She sobered and lowered her eyes. “I don’t know what’s come over me. I don’t even sound like the Marley everyone knows.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m not sure of myself around men.”
“Really?”
“Really.” She bowed her head and studied her hands. “Now I’m embarrassed.”
He inclined his head and waited until she looked up again. When she did, he smiled at her. “I’m not embarrassed,” he said.
“Oh, boy.” Marley took in a deep breath and blew it out. “Perhaps we should try to focus on something constructive. We could make a list of what we discovered tonight. I find it helps if I write things down.”
“What I want right now doesn’t need writing down,” he said. “Do you think you can say the things you’ve just said then move on to another topic? It’s not going to happen.”
“Gray.”
“What, Marley?”
“It’s not fair to let you get in any deeper with me. I bring some pretty unusual baggage with me.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Ooh.” She set down her glass and held her head in her hands. “Why does it all have to be so complicated? The Millet Bonding. There’s a phase that should scare the pants off you.”
He laughed until he fell against the back of the couch. “Nice line,” he said when he could speak.
“If this Bonding does exist between one of us and someone who comes into our lives, there’s a kind of test.” She held up a hand. “Please don’t interrupt. It’s a stupid test because it causes some sort of shocking reaction. Pain—addictive, so I’m told, an explosion, I don’t know because I’ve never experienced it and, frankly, I’d decided I never wanted to.”
“Until me?” he asked quietly.
She closed her mouth tightly.
“Marley, love, something happens every time we touch.”
She nodded.
“Has that happened with any other men you’ve met?”
“Never before. Once I thought it might, but I was wrong.”
His stomach rolled over and his body clenched. “But there’s more? If this bond is there, the results can be bizarre?”
“Not bizarre,” Marley said. “Mind-blowing. And according to our lore, once experienced, it’s hard not to want to repeat the process at every opportunity.”
“I see.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Are you hot?” Gray asked.
“Yes.”
“Take your shirt off.”
She turned bright red. He reached out to her with only his face and sucked on her lips. Marley shuddered and so did he, kept on shuddering and kept on kissing.
Putting inches between them, Marley grasped the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it over her head. The long, tight sleeves took some working off.
Her body was beautiful. Small and compact, and completely desirable. Her soft pink bra didn’t quite cover her nipples and Gray was tempted to sit on his hands just to control them. He wanted to grab her.
He caught sight of the angry marks on her wrists and the palm of her hand. “I don’t want to hurt those wounds,” he said.
“You won’t. And if you do, I’m not going to notice.”
Gray leaned toward her again and this time he curled his tongue beneath one bra cup to tease the nipple from its hide-and-seek lace. Marley made a sound and leaned back on her hands, thrusting her breasts toward him.
He grasped her waist and pulled her close. All sensation melded together, a mix of pleasure and pain that made him feel drunk and very thirsty for more.
Vaguely he was aware that their timing didn’t feel so right. But the thought was gone as quickly as it came. She was fire and silk in his arms.
Pressure mounted through his body, expanded his veins and muscles and pumped power into him. He was a strong man, but with her he was iron.
“I can’t wait,” he said against her ear. And he kissed her deeply while she drove her hands into his hair. And from his hair she went to the bulge in his jeans. She unsnapped and unzipped the pants and forced her hands inside.
