Embraced By Darkness (Riley Jenson Guardian 5)

"I'm not sure yet. Rhoan's gone to find the doctor."

"Would you like me to come back and pick you up? Take you home?"

By home, he meant his place, not mine. And I wasn't sure I was ready for that after everything he'd just said. So I shook my head.

"There's a heap of stuff I have to do at home, and I haven't even unpacked from the holiday yet."

"So when do I get to see you again?"

"That depends on your definition of 'see.' "

"You know what my definition is." He kissed my fingers, his lips so warm on my skin. A tremor ran through me. I wanted to feel his lips all over me, kissing and teasing and exploring. I ached for his touch with a suddenness that surprised me, and yet, reluctance - or was it fear? - held back the words that would have had him in my arms tonight.

It was stupid, I knew it was stupid, but I couldn't get rid of this fear. What if I gave more of myself to this man, and he had more second thoughts?

Tuesday, I thought. I had until Tuesday to give him the answer. Which gave him until Tuesday to settle his thoughts and decide whatever it was he had to decide.

He glanced at his watch again. "I have to leave for a meeting. Promise you'll ring me if you get out of here tonight?"

"I'll ring."

"Good." He rose and kissed me good-bye. It was a light kiss, a gentle kiss. Like I was a porcelain doll that was so very fragile.

Only I had never been - and never would be - fragile. And if Kellen wanted that in a relationship - wanted someone he could protect - then he was chasing the wrong woman. Not that I didn't want someone to love and protect me. I just needed someone who could love me as I was. And that included the part of me that was a trained hunter. A trained - if somewhat reluctant - killer.

I might have told Kellen what I was, but until tonight it hadn't really connected on any deeper level. And I could only hope that the realization of who and what I was didn't spell the end for us.

Because I didn't want to lose him. It was another three hours before the doctor managed to drag his overworked butt into my room. After a quick check - during which he marveled over the pink scar on my leg and healing capacity of werewolves in general - he declared me fit enough to go home. To say I limped out of there in record time would be the understatement of the year.

Once in the car, I rang Kellen to let him know I was out. He invited me to lunch the next day, and I accepted happily. No matter what he might have said, he still wanted to be with me. Right now, that was all that mattered.

When Rhoan and I got home, I had a shower and something decent to eat. With body and belly happy, I went into Rhoan's room, grabbed his laptop, then hobbled over to the sofa.

Rhoan plopped a coffee on the table next to my feet, the heat of the cup warming the side of my foot even though it wasn't actually touching, then sat down on the sofa opposite.

"What are you looking for?"

"I asked the cow to do a full background search on Jorn and Yohan Duerr, the owners of Mirror Image."

"Do you think the man you smelled at the club was Jorn or Yohan in disguise?"

"Possibly. And if he was also the man Adrienne ran into at the club, then it would certainly explain her rushing off to the island."

He frowned. "How?"

"Apparently she has a psychic gift that allows her to see images of the past or future when she touches people."

"Oh, that would not be a fun one to have."

"No worse than having ghosts wanting to sit around and chat." I rubbed my leg gently, wondering how long it was going to take for the ache to go away. "Jorn and Yohan apparently shipped over here a couple of years ago from England. I just wanted to know why they came here - whether they were running to better weather, or simply running from trouble."

"If they were running from trouble, they wouldn't have gotten into the country."

"Convictions keep people out, not suspicions."

"True. And new identities are easy enough to get."

"I'd like to think DNA scanning will put an end to all that." I reached past the laptop and picked up the coffee, taking a sip before placing it back down again.