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Not that they would. My Mind Manipulating power was still functionable enough that I could create a bubble of protection around me, forcing anyone in the vicinity to have an urge to look away.

Rayna herself didn’t even glance out her window to meet my eyes across the street. She raised herself into a sitting position in bed, hugging her legs and sending a yawn between her knees. I watched in fascination as her curls spilled forward, then back again as she reached up and stretched, arching her back.

When her arms came back down, the sleeve of her nightgown slid sideways, exposing a bare shoulder branded with the Esholian star.

Careful, little hurricane. I sent my low warning shooting through the space between us, finding the crack in her mental blockade she always left open for me. I’m not going to survive this if you keep that up.

I grinned at the sight of her head jerking toward the window, her gaze finally searching for any glimpse of me. But the Mind Manipulating bubble of protection worked on her, too, so her eyes never quite landed on mine.

If I keep what up? she thought back, pretending to sound indignant.

Stealing my breath away, of course. It’s rude.

Even without Barberro’s eyesight, I saw the smallest of smiles sneak onto her lips.

Get over here, then, so I can make a proper apology.

I knew she meant it in a different way, but right now, I could only oblige through the power that we shared. Your wish is my command.

Grasping her thoughts, I reeled my consciousness toward her until I fell, landing on my feet, into my favorite place in the world.

Her mind.

All melted now, a wall of cobbled stone circled her maze, dripping with flowers and bordered by gnarled trees. A gurgling stream flowed past the spiraling iron bars of her open gate, where her consciousness was already standing with her arms folded, still trying not to smile.

I closed the few feet between us in a few strides, grasping either side of her face to tilt up her chin.

“Good morning,” she said against my lips.

“It is now.” I lowered my mouth to hers and fucking melted into her kiss.

Something about the way she always parted for me, so supple and warm, had my knees buckling. Half of me wanted to bow at her feet while the other half of me wanted her under me, spread out and mine for the taking. Mine for the feasting.

Of course, there was probably something seriously wrong with me for always jumping to that image over the gentlest brush of a kiss. This woman had me wrapped around every single one of her fingers that now scrabbled against my back, and I didn’t even care. If I could, I’d hoist her up by her hips, back her into the wall behind her, and kiss her again while my hands did so, so much more.

Unfortunately, we’d learned the hard way that too much mental stimulation would have moans sliding out of her mouth in the real world. And while that was really ideal for my dick, it… wasn’t so ideal for her roommates.

Including a very cheeky monkey who would never let that go.

“You know,” she said now, breaking the kiss for a second to pant into my face, “I could meet you in the jungle and we could do this in person. I have five minutes to spare.” She gave an oh-so-casual shrug.

A pang racked my chest at the glimmer of hope that broke through her teasing tone.

Last year, I’d thought that touching mind-to-mind felt just as real as skin-to-skin. Now, though, after months upon months of only mental touch, the subtle differences had started to creep in. How her figure almost seemed to glow with a dreamlike outline. How the texture of her body felt just a little too smoothed out. How our hands, when they touched, didn’t seem to spark with electricity like they once had in the real world.

I tried not to let the pain materialize on my face. She couldn’t know how much I longed to lose control and drag her into the jungle right now. Couldn’t risk the oath surging its ugly head and trying to force me to hurt her in any way.

“Trust me, Rayna,” I drawled instead. “The next time I see you in person, we’re going to need more than five minutes.”

“Mmm, that’s right.” She planted her hands on her hips, though I tracked the blush climbing up her cheeks and wished I could bottle the color. “I still need to teach you how to climb a tree properly. And introduce you to all my new animal friends.”

“Yes,” I snorted. “That’s definitely what I was talking about.”

“There’s Billy the opossum,” she continued defiantly. “He’s new.”

“Oh?” I tucked a stray curl behind her ear, curious about every part of her days I didn’t get to witness. “And how did you meet him?”

“Emelle and I were out in the jungle behind the Wild Whispering sector gathering seeds for her birdfeeder and I tripped over his dead body.”