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Yes, he had a powerful reason for remaining unattached.
Putting his hand to his stomach, he groaned, not because of the usual cramping but because it was gone, completely gone. He was pain-free for the first time since he’d gained mastyr status so long ago.
And to his knowledge, there was only one reason he could ever be free of that kind of pain.
He opened his eyes, meeting Hannah’s now-worried gaze. She’d taken a couple of steps closer. “Jude, what’s going on?”
“Did you ever wonder why you were suddenly so into me in the same way I’d become obsessed with making more frequent trips to the Gold Rush?”
She shrugged. “I guess I just thought I’d awakened to this.” She waved a hand to encompass his entire body. She even smiled.
In any other circumstance, he would have been gratified, his male ego stroked nicely by her words. He would have smiled as well, maybe even laughed, and he definitely would have hauled her back into his arms.
But not this time.
Things had just gotten way too complicated.
“Think, Hannah. You said your heart felt weighty until you fed me. Doesn’t that sound familiar to you? I know that you’re on the loop with all the other bonded females. Surely they’ve talked about what it’s like for them.”
She laughed and used a second towel to pat her hair dry. “But you’re talking nonsense now.”
“Am I?”
“Of course. Look, I think you’re overreacting to what happened between us just now.” She waved in the direction of the bunkroom. “You know, in there. And it was amazing.”
For a moment, he let himself remember, and his tension eased a little. “It was incredible.”
She cocked her head. “Wait a minute. I just supposed it was always like that for you.”
He shook his head. “No. This was damn extraordinary.”
At that, she frowned. “You mean the sex?”
“Especially the sex. What did you think I meant?”
“The feeding, of course.”
“That, too.” His gaze fell to her neck and an internal vibration very deep wanted to rise, one that he’d kept suppressed for a hundred years. Shit, this couldn’t be happening, but all the signs were there. Yet, Hannah wasn’t taking his hints.
“I need to ask you something.”
Hannah leaned her hips against the sink, the second towel bunched in her hands. She looked troubled, and her gaze flitted toward him then away. “Sure. Whatever.”
“Why did you throw yourself on me like you did, earlier, in the parking lot? At the time, I didn’t understand because it hurt like hell. So why did you?”
“You don’t know what happened?” She set the towel on the sink, then tightened the one around her body.
“Only that you seemed to be protecting me,” Jude said. “But from what I still don’t know. I was flat on my back and I couldn’t see everything that was going on.”
Her eyes widened. “Well, because that vampire was aiming his hand-blast at you. I was looking back at the dock and caught sight of this red glow and it was coming from his palm. He would have killed you so I covered you.”
“Shit,” he murmured.
She then shook her head. “But Jude, don’t you remember what happened next, because you sent this kind of wave of heat passing right through me and it burned him up. He was horribly blistered and died soon after. Don’t you remember? Didn’t you see what you did to him?”
Jude’s spirits sank one more notch. She’d just confirmed everything in those few words. It was also clear she didn’t understand what had really happened. “I don’t have that kind of power to bring fire out of my body and destroy others, to burn others.”
She put both hands on her head. “I’m so confused. I don’t get what you’re saying. How is that possible? I mean maybe what happened was that your usual blasting power got activated somehow.”
