Edge of Danger (35 page)

 
How the hell had
that
happened?
When
had that happened? Yesterday? This morning in the solarium? This afternoon when they’d made love as though if they didn’t they’d both die?

 
Preternaturally aware of him, Eden felt the heat of his body, and smelled the subtle fragrance of his skin as strongly as if they were touching and she had her nose buried in his throat. Yet a foot of space separated them.

 
He didn’t look at her, but she knew he was as conscious of her as she was of him. With a shudder, she felt the weight of his hand on the back of her neck, a sexually possessive gesture only the two of them were aware of. She felt his hand on her, and yet she knew he wasn’t really touching her.

 
Not physically.

 
Her lashes fluttered as his thumb stroked up and down her nape leaving a trail of heat behind. The same erotic phantom stroke that he’d used in her bedroom what felt like forever ago.

 
His fingers tunneled up through her hair, sifting the curls as he brushed her scalp with the pads of his fingers. Suspecting that her eyes must be crossing from the sheer bliss, she closed them, feeling the tingle of his secret caress all the way to her toes.

 
He cupped the back of her head, lightly, so lightly, and exerted just enough pressure for her to lean closer, pressing her upper arm into the rolled arm of the sofa where he sat.

 
Phantom fingers lingered on her ear, stroking the fleshy pad before tracing the swirls.
This is so freaking unfair,
she thought, twitching her shoulders at the mixed sensation of ticklish and erotic. Then she had to pretend she was covering her shoulders with the velvet throw to hide the telltale movement. She was practically on fire from his touch.

 
Except he wasn’t touching her.

 
She’d like a few skills of her own, she thought darkly as his hand skimmed down her throat. “How long could Thom sustain?” Gabriel asked, looking at Alex.

 
“Straight out of the box when he first started? He told me less than an hour. After thirty some odd years? Indefinitely.”

 
“What degree of the assimilated skills would
this
guy have?” Simon demanded. “Beginner or advanced. Alex?” Everyone turned to look at Alex Stone.

 
“Full bore.” His tone was forbidding. “When it happened to me—” Alex cut himself off as he had Lark. He raked his fingers through his dark hair, and his brilliant green eyes glittered. “He’d get everything full strength.”

 
Gabriel’s touch disappeared instantly, and Eden felt bereft. He swore under his breath. “What else do we have to look forward to, Lark?”

 
The young woman started ticking things off on her multiringed fingers with their short, black polished nails. “Invisibility. Levitation. Supernatural strength. Animal cunning. Morphing. Mind control. And flight.” She frowned. “I think that about covers it.”

 
Yes, Eden thought, pressing a splayed hand across her bruised throat. That about covers every spectrum of fear she could possibly imagine. And then some.

 
Duncan Edge was the last to leave. Eden, sitting curled up on the sofa, watched the brothers talking on the other side of the room. They were speaking in soft, hushed tones.

 
She wasn’t cold, but she was shivering anyway. Stress. Fear. Nervous energy. It all mixed in her stomach like a toxic slush. Whatever the brothers were discussing obviously didn’t make either of them happy.

 
She desperately wanted to go to Gabriel and slide her arms around his waist. She wanted to rest her head against his heart and listen to the steady beat of life.

 
And oh, Lord. She wanted him to assure her that this entire situation wasn’t as shocking, as
terrifying
as it all sounded.

 
The men separated.

 
“Just take care of Caleb,” Gabriel’s voice carried. “And don’t come back until this is over.”

 
“Done.” Duncan’s tone was as grim and tight as Gabriel’s. For a second Eden thought, how silly of Gabriel not to want his brother here with him where it is safe. And then she remembered what MacBain had told her at breakfast.

 
When the brothers were together they canceled out all but each other’s most basic powers.

 
“I could take her—”

 
Gabriel cut off his brother. “My responsibility.”

 
“Christ,” Duncan said grimly. “To quote Alexander Stone: This
is
a clusterfuck. Watch your back, big brother. I’m out of here. Nice meeting you, Doctor,” Duncan called out, lifting an elegant hand in farewell.

 
What an oddly prosaic comment. Eden collected herself. “Um—sure—”

 
One minute he was there. Then he wasn’t.

 
She shook her head. “I’m never going to get used to that.”

 
“You don’t have to,” Gabriel told her shortly, flipping off the lamp on the desk as he passed. Naturally he didn’t do anything as mundane as touch the switch. Just a glance did the job.

 
“Why not?”

 
He turned off the floor lamp, and another table lamp. “You won’t be around us long enough for that to happen.”

 
Eden’s heart skipped a beat. And then another. “Are you telling me that you can’t protect me?”

 
His eyebrow lifted. “What gave you that idea?”

 
“You said I won’t be here long enough for that to happen. That means either I’ll be dead or somewhere else. Dead is bad. And I don’t want to leave. I want to stay here. With you.”

 
“There is nowhere safer for you to be right now than here. With me.”

 
Thank God.
“And don’t you sound happy about it.” Eden kicked the light blanket off her feet and stood. Only the table lamp near the door was on, leaving the large, book-lined room dimly lit and shadowy. And a lot more atmospheric than she’d like. She already had the über heebie-jeebies.

 
“I don’t have to be happy about something to do my job.”

 
She started to fold the blanket, but her hands shook so badly she finally just tossed it back on the sofa in a heap. “Well, you’re falling a little short on that count, Gabriel. He got to me once,” she said flatly, proud that her voice didn’t break with the very real fear that was making her almost hyperventilate. She wrapped her arms about her own waist. “He’ll try again. Won’t he?”

 
“There’s a protective spell over the castle. Come on.”

 
“Come on—
where
?” she asked blankly. “Wait a minute. There was a protective spell over the castle before. He still got in. He still got his hands around my throat. I’d like some sort of assurance that that can’t happen again.” Eden started across the room to where he was waiting, impatience in his dark eyes.

 
“I amped up the protection, and got a little juice from the others. Nobody can get inside unless I let them in. And I’m not letting
you
out of my sight. That’s a promise,” he told her grimly. “I’m sticking to you like a wet tongue on dry ice for the duration.”

 
The wet tongue statement gave her pause, or was her heart racing again because she was so close to him? Either. Both. “Where are we going?” She looked at her watch. NineP.M. It felt like midnight.

 
“Bed.”

 
“Together?”

 
He glanced at the lamp and the room plunged into semidarkness. “I have a big bed.”

 
She remembered. “I know this isn’t the best time to ask this—but would you hold me for a few minutes?” She hated,
hated
being that needy, especially since he hadn’t touched her in what felt like hours. But a good solid hug would go a long way in reassuring her that she wasn’t as alone as she felt.

 
His eyes were shadowed and his jaw tightened. With annoyance? With the strength of his restraint? “No. You’re a big girl, Doctor. You don’t need to be held. You have to be
protected.
To do that we have to stay in close proximity. No physical contact is necessary.” He stepped out into the hallway where the lights had been dimmed for the night. “Come on.”

 
“Doctor?”
She narrowed her eyes, and stopped mid-step. “Excuse me?” she said carefully when he glanced around to see where she was. “Aren’t you the man who was fondling my hair not an hour ago?” She didn’t feel the need to add what they’d been doing
three
hours ago.

 
“Jesus, Eden,” he said tightly. “What the hell do you want from me?” Looking tortured, he turned and resumed walking across the dimly lit entry hall, his shoulders stiff. Their steps sounded spooky in the silence of the vast open space.

 
“Consistent freaking behavior would be nice,” she told him coolly, following him across the entry hall toward the sweeping staircase that would lead them to his big bed.

 
She glared at his broad back. The damn man moved with the stealthy grace of a cat. And he was just as disinterested, damn him. Would it have killed him to hold her one more damn minute? She shot him a fulminating look. For all the good it did her.

 
She shouldn’t be this emotional. She knew she shouldn’t. Worse, she knew she was being unreasonable. She wanted him to…pet her when he had enormous responsibilities and concerns.

 
But just because she knew she was being unreasonable, didn’t mean he was right either.

 
She increased her speed to catch up with him, reaching out her hand to grab his arm to get his attention. He moved out of her way like greased lightning.

 
“No touching.” His voice was barely more than a rasp. He took another step back, and Eden thought,
Well, shit. Here we go again.

 
“I’m dead serious. Don’t touch me right now. Understand?”

 
She opened her mouth to tell the infuriating man that no, she didn’t understand. Not him. Not this castle. Not the meeting she’d just witnessed. Instead she snapped her mouth closed, striding ahead of him to start up the stairs.

 
She didn’t understand any of this. And she was a woman who needed to know everything there was to know about her physical surroundings. Knowledge had always been her power. She wanted to know how, and what, made things work and why. It was how she ordered her life and controlled her environment. So this…this nonsensical world of his was making her nuts.