She shifted her weight. "I don't think you're crazy. You have some baggage, obviously, that you're dealing with, but we all do."
"Then...we should be all right."
She gave him an incredulous look. "Doesn't my gift disturb you? Guys are usually out the door right after I tell them. Some would be halfway to another island by now."
He shrugged one shoulder. "'Tis an odd ability, I grant ye that, but I¨CI'm no' in a position to cast stones for being different."
She still looked stunned. "You're okay with it?"
"Aye. I'd like to see you again."
"I¨CI can't. I'm sorry."
It hurt more than he expected. Dammit, why would she reject him? She didn't know he was undead. She didn't think he was crazy. He'd been honest, so she couldn't have caught him in a lie. But if he kept seeing her, wouldn't he have to lie at some point? And then she would know.
Unless...A niggling suspicion crept into his thoughts. "What am I feeling now?"
Her eyes widened. "I would say you're...annoyed."
Not even close. His heart was aching at the thought of never seeing her again. He stepped toward her. "Ye're no' sensing me, are ye?"
Her face paled. "I'd rather not talk about - "
"Since ye value honesty so much, ye should tell me the truth."
She looked away with a grimace. "Okay. I can't sense you at all. And I don't know why. It's never happened to me before."
Obviously, she'd never met the Undead before. "Ye canna tell if I'm lying?"
"No." Her shoulders drooped. "It's terrible. I've never felt so...blind."
"Lass, 'tis no' that bad. We're in the same boat. I canna tell if ye're lying either."
She snorted. "You knew the four uncles was a lie."
He smiled. "I dinna hold it against you. I thought it was understandable and...adorable."
Her mouth fell open, and it struck him like an invitation. Lord Almighty, he wanted to kiss her. He took another step toward her.
She stepped back, her cheeks a lovely shade of pink. "I'm sorry, but I can't get involved with someone I can't read."
A spurt of anger shot through him. He was accepting her even though she was a therapist. Why the hell wouldn't she accept him? "Lass, we were having a grand time, joking and laughing. Ye doona need special abilities to recognize how happy we were."
Her eyes glimmered with tears. "I enjoyed it, too. But I can't have a relationship with someone I can't trust."
Of all the complaints to lodge against him, this had to be the absolute worst. "Ye - ye think I canna be trusted?" His voice rose to a shout.
Her eyes widened. She moved closer to the grape arbor.
"Bloody hell." He paced away, fighting to control his anger, but it was obvious that he was pissed. She grabbed hold of the cricket bat.
"Lass, I willna hurt you." Damn it to hell. First he'd insulted her, and now he was frightening her. There was no help for it. He would have to explain. Otherwise she would never understand. "I dinna want to tell you this, but...I was in battle one night with the enemy. And I was captured."
She drew in a quick breath.
He looked away, ashamed to admit he'd been a victim. "They wanted information about my comrades. When I refused to talk, they...tortured me. For two nights."
The bat she was holding fell onto the tile floor with a clatter.