“Yeah. Normally it’s not a problem. Too bad normal isn’t on the menu lately.” Her voice was clipped with irritation, but that didn’t bother him nearly as much as the small tremor of fear he felt seeping out of her.
“Talk to me. Tell me what’s going on. Maybe I can help.”
“I’m probably just tired. I kinda missed getting any sleep last night.”
Her need hit him hard as he realized he had been neglecting his duty to see to her health. Not that he could simply order her to bed like a child. She’d be as likely to shoot him as she would be to obey a command of his, no matter how much she agreed with it. She was the most contrary woman he’d ever met, and yet that made her only that much more interesting to him.
So rather than risk a bullet, he kept his mouth shut about her needing to take a nap. Later, when the danger to Ronan was over, then he’d see that she rested. There were several ways he could wear her out, some of them more enticing than others.
“It’s more than that,” he said, keeping his lust clear of his voice. “You’re afraid.”
Her spine went rigid, and her tone dripped with indignation. “We are going to meet a vampire. Most sane people would be a little apprehensive about that, don’t you think?”
He cast a quick glance in her direction. Her skin was pale, and he could see a fine trembling in her fingers as they toyed with the strap of her purse. No matter how indignant she sounded, she couldn’t fool him. “The visions are getting worse, aren’t they?”
“Yeah,” she whispered, as if saying it too loud would make the situation worse. “I had a couple at home, too. That has never happened before—at least not with my neighbors. They’re too far away. Or they were.”
But no longer. “Try to stay calm, okay? Whatever is going on is probably just a temporary problem caused by you taking my luceria. You could be inadvertently using my power to amplify your ability.”
Sarcasm sharpened her tone. “Right. ’Cause I know so much about all this magical bullshit. I wouldn’t even know where to start using your power to amplify anything.”
“You know more than you think. Otherwise, how would you have known to take my luceria? I didn’t even tell you it was possible. You simply knew.”
“That was different. I saw it and wanted it. It was a selfish, impulsive thing to do, and look where it got me.”
Cain covered her hand with his, wishing he knew how to ease her frustration. He hadn’t been around a lot of people in the last few centuries. Most of his time had been spent with Sibyl, and Rory was nothing like Sibyl. Rory was fiercer, more independent. He wasn’t sure what to say to make her feel better, no matter how loudly the need to ease her clamored inside of him.
“It’s going to be okay,” he told her, wincing at the lame inadequacy of his words.
She went still beneath his hand. Even her trembling quieted. “How do you do that?”
“What?”
“Whenever you touch me, the visions go away.”
“It’s not something I’m doing purposefully.”
Her pink head fell back against the seat in frustration. “I don’t suppose you’ve got some magical, vision-blocking ring stashed somewhere, do you?”
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’ll survive. I always do.”
There was something more to her words than what lay on the surface. Cain could feel a jagged vibration of fear buzzing through their link. With it came a chaotic flurry of images of dark water and terror. They were gone before he could blink, but the greasy remnants of her fear remained.
He wanted to delve deeper and seek out the source of that fear, but didn’t dare distract himself like that while driving.
“Did something happen to you?” he asked. His voice was rougher than he’d intended, more forceful.
“Lots of things have happened to me. That’s life.” She turned away from him to stare out the side window. Her fingers slipped out from under his hand, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “How close are we?”
The distance she’d shoved between them echoed with a hollow chill. Cain felt it all the way to his bones until he was aching with the need to feel her warmth again.
If it hadn’t been for her very loud body language and the neon KEEP OUT sign it painted, he might have reached for her again. But as it stood, all he could think to offer her was the small amount of privacy the cab of his truck could allow.
The last two miles of their trip seemed to take forever. He wanted to touch her thoughts and search for a way to make her relax, but he didn’t dare—not when he was behind the wheel and so new to their partnership. The kind of concentration he’d need to make contact was more than he could spare. And even if he had, it would have felt like a violation—an encroachment on her wishes to be alone.
So Cain let it drop, feeling useless and restless. By the time he pulled up into the driveway of the Gerai house, all he could think about was getting this chore done and finding a nice, quiet place to sit her down and work through some things. Or perhaps lay her down. That had its own lovely set of possibilities as well.
There was no way to know how long their partnership would last. And even if it was only for a few days, they needed some ground rules. Namely, she needed to stop shutting him out. If he didn’t know what was going on, he couldn’t help her.
Then again, if her quest to find the person who stopped her visions failed, then she’d be tied to Cain indefinitely. He could spend the rest of his life touching her as often as possible, driving away her visions. She would need him. He would once again have purpose. And Rory.