Lightning Game (GhostWalkers #17) -Christine Feehan Page 0,17

my fancy-ass-doctor brother while he sees all his patients.” He deftly shoved food onto three plates. Although he didn’t look at Jonquille, there was one note in his voice that implied he might really need the help to protect his brother should there be trouble.

What are you doing? Rubin demanded.

You want her to stay, don’t you? You’re not going to get her to do that with your serious lack of charm. She’s ready to run.

Why would she want to run? I don’t get this. She should want to stay if she’s paired with me.

Seriously, Rubin? Diego sighed in exasperation. He nearly slammed the dishes onto the table, glaring at his brother. You did everything but pull out a microscope. You may as well have been Whitney. I have to be the charming brother now.

You try to charm her and I’m going to shoot you. Rubin held out his hand to Jonquille. He didn’t like the way she was looking at him, her gaze speculative. She was intelligent and quick.

“Pay no attention to Diego. If those men show up, looking to acquire you, I’m perfectly capable of helping to keep them off you.”

You’ve got her thinking something might be wrong with me, Diego, that I can’t defend myself.

Now you’re a mystery. Women like mysteries. Diego groaned deliberately. “He’s not civilized. He spends most of his life tramping around in the swamp, avoiding everyone so he doesn’t have to speak to them.”

Jonquille flashed a tentative smile. “I’m not very civilized either. I spend most of my time hiking in the woods, looking for plants to sketch.”

She took Rubin’s hand and allowed him to pull her out of the rocking chair. The moment her hand was in his, he realized maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to touch her skin. He expected her hands to feel rough from being outside so much, but instead, her skin, next to his, felt soft. Up close, her subtle fragrance of coral honeysuckle and mountain daffodils surrounded him, filling his lungs until he felt as if he were drowning in her.

She looked up at him through a veil of thick lashes. Her lashes were long but so light-colored they appeared silver, with the tips almost bluish. The silver circles surrounding the deep blue of her eyes had thickened, giving her eyes a uniquely rare and extraordinarily beautiful appearance.

Rubin couldn’t tell whether or not her taking his hand meant she was willing to stay or that she was just hungry. He pulled out the chair for her, reluctant to give up her hand, but knowing if he made excuses to hold it, he’d look strange.

She isn’t reacting to me the way I am to her. He was disappointed. Maybe we really aren’t paired, Diego, and I’m just very attracted to her.

Diego heaved a sigh and Rubin shot him a quick, quelling look. Diego was a good cook. They both were. They’d had to be in order to survive.

“You have skills,” Jonquille observed. “I haven’t had real food in a while.”

Rubin noticed she ate slowly and very sparingly. They’d brought beef with them. They usually hunted once they were on the land, but first they’d deplete the supplies they’d brought. It was clear Jonquille really did have survival skills. She knew the correct way to eat after going light for a while. Her gaze flicked to Rubin’s face a few times, but she didn’t ask questions.

“You any good with a gun?” Diego asked.

“Whitney trained all of us as soldiers from the time we were very young. I’m very good with a gun. Just about any weapon.” She shrugged easily.

“How good?” Diego persisted.

“I don’t miss what I’m aiming at,” Jonquille stated matter-of-factly.

Rubin believed her. He liked that she was confident. That she was cool sitting at the table with the two of them. She’d been in their cabin. She knew they’d grown up there. She had to know they didn’t miss either.

“I feel compelled to point out to you, if that team of mercenaries is hunting me because I was at the conference on harnessing lightning too many times, Rubin, you speak at the conferences. Not only do you speak, but you’re practically revered. If I decided this was a perfect place to look for you, wouldn’t they think so as well? I would think your knowledge would be much more valuable to them than someone like me. What do I have to contribute? They don’t even know.”

“What do they know about you?” Diego asked. “Why would they suddenly