She opened her eyes then—she had to. He was going to do his healing thing right down there. In the pertinent spot. “Um.” She had to tell him. “That might be going a little too far. I’m not thinking about being absolutely naked or that I’ve just gone a little crazy in your arms. Or that I was a complete moron and forgot birth control. I’m just zoning out. If you’re wandering around inside my body with your white healing light and moving around in my very happy spot I might . . . um . . . well . . . um.” She waved her hand, hoping he got the message.
His mouth twitched. “Happy spot?” he echoed.
She raised her eyebrow. “Very happy spot. Although technically, I’m happy all over, so I guess it isn’t just one spot. Still, I wouldn’t go messing around in there right now. You could set off an explosion or two.”
The expression on his face was priceless. She figured he was getting the message, but really, she’d had to spell it out for him and that was highly embarrassing. It had to be a language thing. She was fairly articulate but not used to men who healed by going into other people’s bodies. Which was cool, but still.
He shook his head. He looked good shaking his head. His gleaming long, thick hair was just plain beautiful falling around him. She loved his face. She could get lost just looking at his face. He should be outlawed for his body alone, but then you put that together with his face and his hair and his eyes. Oh—and his mouth. No one could possibly be a better kisser. His kiss was something from another realm.
“Teagan.”
She’d forgotten about his voice. Her belly did a familiar shiver and her breasts, beneath the hot water, tightened. She licked her lower lip and forced her gaze to his, trying to look innocent.
“You are doing it again, going off somewhere in your mind instead of out loud. But I can hear your thoughts. I appreciate that you think I am beautiful, but I am still going to check on you. I cannot imagine not repeating the experience with more enthusiasm, and I do not want you sore.”
More enthusiasm? That sounded promising. Teagan nodded, speechless. She tried to curb her thoughts as well, because seriously, he was going to think she was insane if she kept it up. She just talked to herself whenever she was nervous. Okay, she talked. In general. To everyone. Whatever was in her head often came out her mouth.
Grandma Trixie had tried very hard to curb that particular failing. Her sisters had really tried to curb it, especially when they invited men—and that one woman—in the hopes she would find someone. They were pretty desperate . . .
“Teagan.”
She bit her lip. “Sorry. I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”
He smiled. A real smile. A full-on, perfect white teeth smile. He looked more handsome, more masculine than ever. Sort of like a wolf about to pounce. She brought herself up short and then couldn’t help but laugh.
He didn’t laugh, but his smile stayed more than one brief moment and his eyes went soft and incredibly beautiful.
“I love the sound of your laughter,” he said.
She closed her eyes and laid her head back. He was going to blind her with his beauty or worse, cast his spell even deeper, and she couldn’t afford that. She wasn’t thinking sanely. She waved her hand. “All right. Get to it, healer. The more enthusiastically part sounds mag.”
“Mag?”
She didn’t open her eyes. “Yep. Totally mag. Magnificent.”
He remained silent and she was tempted to open her eyes, but she wanted to be in his mind when he shed his body and became spirit. She didn’t understand how he could do it and the healer in her was envious and totally blown away by his incredible talent. The truth was, she could fall for him just for that. Who had that kind of ability—that amazing gift?
She waited. Held her breath. He came into her and it was different than the feel of his mind pouring into hers. This was all about selfless healing. This wasn’t his personality or his power. Simply his need to heal. It was beautiful like everything else about him. The light was bright and warm, hot in a completely different way than the heat generated when they had sex. His spirit warmed her. Soothed her. Eased every ache as he moved through her toward his goal.
She thought she’d be embarrassed. She’d felt blood and seed trickling together down the inside of her thighs when he’d carried her to the hot spring. He was so caring and gentle she’d been able to put it out of her mind. Now, because he was pure spirit, there was no way to be mortified.
If she was being strictly honest with herself, she was very tender. She thought maybe she had skid marks inside of her. The water helped, but the heat he applied deep inside her was wonderful and in a matter of minutes the ache was gone.
She opened her eyes to watch him come back to his body. It was there in his eyes. One moment his body dead, an empty shell. She couldn’t hear his heartbeat or see him breathing. His eyes were flat, unseeing. Then he was there, vital. Alive. Larger than life and giving off an aura of danger. He carried that with him, a supreme confidence that bordered sometimes on arrogance, as well as the feeling that he could be utterly dangerous.
“When you heal people or yourself, it’s risky to you, isn’t it?” She slid her hand over his arm. “You have to leave your body unprotected.” She felt his instant shock.
Andre nodded slowly. “Yes.”
“But you still do it.”
“Of course. Especially if it is you.”
She sighed. She had no choice. They had to have the talk. “Andre, you know I live in the United States. I’m here for a few weeks, that’s all. I have to return home. The truth is, my grandmother isn’t nearly as crazy as we all thought she was. There really are vampires in the world. I can’t let doctors put her on medication, or have my sisters think she’s losing her mind. That wouldn’t be fair to her. So I can’t stay.”
Her confession was met with absolute silence. He was suddenly gone from her mind. She was no longer in his. She couldn’t read his expression, but she had the feeling whatever he was thinking wasn’t good.
“It’s not that I want to leave you,” she added in a little rush. “I don’t. I really don’t. I’m not leading you on. I’m really not like that. I didn’t expect to meet someone like you or fall so hard. But I can’t stay.”