"How else is it supposed to work? Don't worry, I Googled how to do it on my iPhone.”
"You Googled it?" I asked astonished.
"Sure, you can find anything on Google. Now lay down."
"Jesus Shawn," I said, relenting uneasily.
"Alright, you're going to have to pull your shirt up. Here, you can cover up with this," he said, shoving a folded sheet my way.
I pulled the sheet up over me, mortified that my brother would see me in my bra. Silly, based on the situation, but what can I say.
"Are you ready?" He asked, looking green in the face once again.
"Yeah, let's get this over with. If this works, tell Sam I love her," I said, trying to say my goodbyes.
"Krista, this isn't goodbye," Shawn said, looking at me uncertainly like he was changing his mind.
"Of course not," I said, not wanting him to back out. "Do it now," I coaxed him.
He hesitated for a second, but then pulled the vial of medicine out of his pocket. He handed it to me while he unwrapped the sterile syringe he also swiped.
Once the syringe was filled with the dose of adrenaline, he turned back to me. "Are you sure you’re ready?" He asked.
I nodded my head, shutting my eyes. Shawn adjusted the sheet so he could plunge the syringe in at the right angle. I kept my eyes shut and focused on gathering all my energy to one location. I felt a sharp pain as the syringe pierced my heart. The adrenaline hit me instantly, causing me to jump like I had been launched from a cannon. My hair tingled and a warm sensation began to creep down my scalp, filling every surface on its way down my body.
The comfortable bed vanished out from under me as I slammed into Mark’s rock hard body, landing on top of him.
"What the Hell?" He said, startled. I finally opened my eyes and found myself peering at his face. It was amusing, looking down into his eyes as he took in my sprawling half-dressed appearance on top of him.
Chapter 15
Mark's amusement faded to something else as he appraised the smooth flat skin of my stomach. I watched as his eyes traveled over me.
I gave a nervous laugh that came out more like a grimace as my body tried to recover from the second transport in one evening.
Mark's desire abruptly burned out as he looked at me with concern.
"Krista, are you okay?" He asked, sitting up and holding me in his arms.
I nodded my head weakly. "It just takes its toll," I said, trying to keep my words short so I wouldn't lose the last of the remaining air in my lungs.
He pulled me up closer to him so that I could rest against his hard chest. "Krista, I thought you said you wouldn't be able to come back," he said, stroking my head. His touch felt heavenly, but lacked the healing touch he used to be able to offer.
"Shawn had a plan," I said, trying to adjust my shirt so that I wasn't flaunting so much skin.
"A sentence that starts with ‘Shawn had a plan,’ is never a good sign," Mark said with a chuckle.
"If I didn't feel like a bus just ran me over, followed by a Mack truck, I might argue with you," I said, trying to find the strength to turn my head to look at him.
"Then why did you risk it?" He asked, angling my body so he could peer down into my eyes. "To help the other Guides and Protectors?" He probed.
"You know why," I said, feeling flushed. What if I had misread the situation? What if he had no feelings left for me now that our link was gone? I looked down at my hands, mortified. I was so stupid. Why hadn't I transported somewhere else, somewhere useful, where I could have helped the others? Instead, I let my feelings override everything else.
"Krista look at me," he pleaded quietly.
I shook my head no as my face burned out of control.
"Krista," he said again, using two of his fingers to lift my chin. I tried to avoid eye contact, afraid of the pity I would see there. The pad of his thumb swiped away a lone tear that had escaped without me noticing. He moved his thumb further down until it gently caressed my bottom lip.