Vaughn felt an unexpected stroke of pride. She was small, but there was strength in the female in front of him.
"How long before someone misses you?"
"I said yesterday that I'd be out of commission for three days, but I don't think their patience will last that long. I need to be back inside the compound sometime tomorrow night at the latest."
Sascha looked over her shoulder. Lucas scowled at the silent question, but jerked his head at Vaughn. "You got any ideas?"
"The old cabin." It was both far from any of their vulnerable people and hidden enough to provide privacy. "We have to blindfold her. Sascha can make sure she doesn't pull any Psy tricks."
"Don't talk about me as if I'm not standing right in front of you." A cool comment, but Vaughn wondered what had driven her to make it. Psy weren't known to take offense, because to take offense, they'd have to feel.
"Any objections to being blindfolded?"
"No. So long as it's Sascha who leads me."
"Why?"
"Leave her be, Vaughn." Sascha frowned. "She can't handle your energy."
"No way she gets to put a hand on you." He glanced at Lucas.
"Vaughn's right. We don't know anything about her."
Sascha turned to argue, but Vaughn knew Lucas wouldn't budge on this point.
The other man gripped his mate's wrist and said to Faith, "Let Vaughn lead you or leave."
Sascha seemed to realize this was one battle she wasn't going to win. "He won't touch you any more than necessary," she told Faith.
"Fine." She gave a short nod that sent her hair sliding everywhere. Standing so close, Vaughn couldn't fight the urge to run his fingers over the fire that shimmered even in the darkness. She went immobile, though she shouldn't have felt his featherlight touch.
"Here." Sascha pulled off her scarf and threw it to him.
Catching the makeshift blindfold, Vaughn enclosed Faith in the circle of his arms. She didn't move as he placed the soft material over her eyes, despite the fact that his front was pressed against her back. He was being deliberately provocative, taunting her. He'd never have done it if he'd thought her weak and easily bullied. No, this woman, despite her apparent fragility, was more than tough enough to take him on.
But as he finished fastening the knot, he felt a different kind of stillness steal over her. He imagined what it must be like - darkness, complete darkness, and she was having to trust people she'd only met minutes ago to do her no harm. It was to her credit that she did nothing but stand there in an appearance of utter calm. Deciding not to push her any more than he had already, he came around, took her hand, and hooked two of her fingers through a belt loop on his jeans.
A slight tug as she curled her fingers. "Thank you."
"Let's go."
As they followed Lucas and Sascha more slowly to the car, Faith spoke to him. "You think I'm making it up. I'm not."
"What?"
"About the seizures. I've seen recorded instances of F-Psy collapsing after too much sensory input."
He scowled. "Are you telling me you're never touched?"
"Once every six months they do a medical checkup that involves some unavoidable touching. And of course, I sometimes need other medical attention." She tripped and pressed a hand against his back to steady herself, a fleeting imprint of feminine softness that was gone as soon as it had come. "I apologize."
"Only medics touch you? You've never been held?"
"Perhaps when I was an infant, I might have been cradled by nursing staff."
Even after all that he'd learned from Sascha about her race, he couldn't imagine the inhuman coldness of such an existence. "We're at the car."
She let him nudge her into the vehicle. Taking the seat next to her, he pulled the door shut. They started moving almost immediately. Faith was like a statue next to him. If he hadn't been able to see the rise and fall of her breath, hadn't been able to smell the soft woman scent of her, he would've thought her made of -