Page 16

"It’s going to head right for me. I hit it and pissed it off." She got there before he could. She'd be damned if she sat by and let him keep her hidden away. "It’ll save me the trouble of hunting it down."

He turned her chair, so she had to face him. "You're not going to become a lure we staked out in a field for these things."

"You can’t protect me from this. I’m the Guardian. I was literally made for this job," she informed him.

"Well, that's the other thing I wasn't going to bring up," Elsie interjected.

"There's nothing to bring up." Sarah turned back to the book.

"Your power's been leaning on that man since you walked in," Elsie reported as if I hadn’t said anything. "Both your energies have been feeding off one another. I've been mated a long time. I know what a bond looks like before it sets."

Sarah’s cheeks heated. "That's a reach." She kept her eyes on the book, which fooled no one.

"Then prove her wrong." Amelia crossed her arms. "Reach for your Scribe powers. Try with him touching you and without. That’ll tell you what you need to know. You're a scholar. You love a control group."

Sarah narrowed her eyes on her friend as she accessed those powers. Abraxos had gone still when Elsie made her comment, but his hand remained on her arm. The power came up quickly. The green and violet magic flared up her arms. Without her saying anything, he lifted his hand as if he had read her mind. The magic guttered and went out. She put effort into pulling it up again. It felt like I was drawing from a nearly dry well.

"That's obnoxious." She complained as she let the power go. "I've got a headache the size of the Superdome. Thank you for that, Elsie."

“I do what I can,” the vampire queen smirked at her before she slid off the table, gathered two books, and stopped to squeeze Sarah's shoulder.

“I’m going to get a snack. And some painkillers,” Amelia said as she followed Elsie out.

The door clicked, and a hush fell over the room. Now it was her and her angel. And ten thousand books that were going to be no help at all.

"You should sleep," Abraxos told her.

"I've been asleep for a day and a half." She shook her head and met his gaze. "They’re wrong. If we were really that bonded, you wouldn’t keep being so careful with me."

The hunger in his eyes ignited, and his head lowered to hers. His mouth came down on hers, and her back met the top of the table. His hands mapped her ribs like he was trying to memorize them.

That was when her power woke. It spilled out of her and climbed from her hands, where they'd fisted in his shirt. Where her skin found his, the violet-green magic flared until the room turned the color of a bruise healing.

"You're glowing," he said against her mouth. She felt him smile.

"I know." She pulled him back down. "I can't control it with you. We'll panic later. Right now, I want you."

His desire for her was written across every hard line of his body, and Sarah could feel it in his lips as he claimed her mouth. Rational thought abandoned her as he lifted the hem of her shirt and bra. He broke their kiss just long enough to pull both over her head.

His erection pressed firmly between them while she searched his face for a hint of how he was feeling. He hadn’t denied Elsie’s assertion, so she was taking that as a good sign. She could see the desire in his eyes before he kissed her again.

Whatever restraint he'd been clinging to was slipping away, leaving only the raw need she felt mirrored inside herself. He lifted the hem of her sports bra and broke their kiss just long enough to pull it over her head before letting it fall to the floor beside the old oak library table.

His shirt was over his head and off before she could blink. She licked her lips and brushed kisses across his chest while her hands slid up the powerful muscles of his back. He stepped fully between her knees and drew her closer to the edge of the table.

“You are so damn sexy,” he growled, then reclaimed her mouth, stealing her ability to respond.

Their kiss became desperate. Every ounce of desire they’d been trying to ignore burst over the dam. Her body developed a mind of its own, and her legs wrapped around his waist. The new position drew a quiet gasp from her. She instinctively rocked against him, earning a rough exhale from him. His hands settled beneath her ass. He lifted her easily, so her clit pressed against his hard cock.

When she finally broke away, he rested his forehead against hers. "I'm not going any farther unless you're certain," he said quietly. "If you tell me to stop, I’ll stop."

The seriousness in his voice squeezed her heart and made her smile. "I’m certain. I’ve never been more sure of anything. Though it took you long enough, Sparky."

A soft laugh escaped him before it dissolved into a low growl. He settled her farther back onto the broad oak table, making room between her legs before trailing gentle kisses across her shoulders and collarbone.

Every touch drew another shaky breath from her. He looked up. "Still with me?"

"Very much." She sighed and arched her back as he tugged her pants down. She was already barefoot.