Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian 1)

"Develop a psi link between us."

"Psi links can be nullified by psychic deadeners, and I'm betting Talon will have the latest installed." Though the latest deadeners hadn't worked with Quinn in the Directorate, they'd certainly stop me. "He couldn't take the risk of not doing so if he's developing vampire clones."

"But we've shared blood."

"So? A deadener is a deadener."

"And it works on one specific section of the brain. Because we've shared blood, our psychic connection will work in a whole different area."

"You're shitting me?"

The smile that tugged his lips made my pulse skip. "No, I am not."

I tilted my head slightly and studied him for a moment. "Why?"

He shrugged. "Because unless it comes down to that choice, I intend to get us both out of there alive."

"And once the link is formed, can it be broken?"

He hesitated. "No, but I'm in Sydney most of the time, so it won't matter."

"And on the odd occasion you're not?"

"It still won't really matter. The link is basically a locked door between two rooms - your mind and mine. And like any locked door, you have to knock to gain entry."

"No master keys?"

Starlight twinkled briefly in his eyes. "No keys."

"Then what do we do?"

"Put your coffee down."

I did so

"Now, raise your left hand and touch your fingertips to my temple, then close your eyes."

He echoed my movements, his fingertips so warm against my head

"Now, imagine yourself standing on a vast dark plain. In the middle of this plain there is a wall you cannot see past. Imagine that wall as your psi shields."

It was harder than I thought it would be. I'd always taken my psi shields for granted - they were a gift of my heritage, something I'd had since birth, and they'd strengthened greatly over the years. Rhoan had taught me how to lower them once he'd become a guardian, but that was about it for training. No one had ever told me I could create "doors." Maybe it was something not everyone could do

Sweat trickled down my face and I resisted the urge to swipe it away. The dark plain was forming, and so too was a wall. It was red, endless, and seemed to shimmer slightly

"Now," Quinn intoned softly, "imagine there is a door on the left edge of that wall."

"The wall is endless."

"Then either you have not envisaged an end, or you have psi talents you have not yet tapped. Imagine the door as far left as you can see without moving."

Again I did as he bid, but the effort left me trembling

"Now, push that door open and see me there."

I took a deep breath and envisaged that door slowly opening. It felt like I was trying to move a damn mountain. I pushed and pushed, and finally, with a snap, it opened, and I fell flat on my psychic face. I looked up, imagining Quinn standing there, imagining him laughing

And suddenly he was laughing, not out loud but deep inside. It was a caress of warmth that stirred the fibers of my soul, intimate in a way that went beyond touch, beyond sex