The Conduit The Gryphon Series - By Stacey Rourke Page 0,17

flat iron on upstairs.” I stammered. I’m an awful liar.

“And it caused the second story to explode? What is with you lately?” Gabe’s dark brows pulled together as he frowned.

I tittered a weak laugh to make light of it. “Yeah, funny, huh? Hi, Alec.”

The unanswered questions that played across his face made me glad I didn’t have to feel his emotions right then. The expression he settled on was equal parts amusement and confusion. “Hi. Nice entrance.”

“Like that? Wait till you see my dinner show.”

Gabe turned to Alec and clasped a hand on his shoulder with enough force to cause Alec to wince. “You know, no one will think badly of you if you decide not to go through with this. We know how she is and would totally understand.”

I glared daggers at him.

“I’ll take my chances.” Alec winked at me with a crooked grin.

“Whatever, man. Your funeral.” As Gabe passed me, he noticed my evil eye and answered it with a toothy grin. My rebuttal was an elbow to his ribs, which hurt like I rammed my funny bone into a brick wall. I grabbed my elbow and grimaced in pain. Gabe laughed.

With my brother gone, Alec moved in closer. He put a hand on each side of my head and did a mock examination, turning my head this way and that. He then turned his attention to my left arm. Gently lifting it up, flipping it over, inspecting it and then dropping it back to my side. He repeated the pattern with my right arm, and paused to dot a kiss to the elbow that was smarting from hitting Gabe.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Making sure you’re still structurally sound after your head trauma.” He held my hand in both of his for a moment, before reluctantly releasing it. “You seem good.”

“I’m feeling better. But thank you for the clean bill of health.”

He looked into my eyes intently. “You’re good? Really?”

I could feel myself blushing under his intense stare. I broke our gaze and looked away as I pushed a loose lock of hair behind my ear. “Yes, I’m really okay. How’ve you been?”

Alec filled me in on his activities over the last few days. I’ll be honest, I completely tuned out. Despite my earlier fears, curiosity got the best of me. I opened myself up to whatever his psyche would tell me.

It came so subtly I almost missed it. My palms dampened, my heartbeat sped up a bit, and a fresh blush colored my face. He liked me, and I was feeling just how much. Guilt plagued me, because I didn’t know if my feelings matched his. Truth be told I’d only ever had one boyfriend. His name was Owen. We met in art class and I fell for his soulful brown eyes and easy smile. Right about the time in our relationship when we were thinking of exploring “second base,” my Dad died. Owen tried to comfort me and be there for me, but I completely shut him out. When I found taking care of my family left no time for anything else, I broke up with him. Since then I hadn’t dated at all. I didn’t know if I was ready for another relationship, or not. I definitely didn’t want to hurt Alec like I had Owen.

Yet as I stood there, deeply immersed in these borrowed emotions, I couldn’t help but revel in how nice it felt. This level of enamored infatuation made me feel alive again, even if it wasn’t my emotion to hold on to. As I looked at Alec the feelings of adoration accentuated all his finest attributes. His crystal blue eyes twinkled like that of a mischievous little boy. The afternoon light filtering in through the window emphasized the red in his hair. If I kept plugged into him like this I was going to have no choice but to stretch up on my tiptoes and gently press my lips to his.

But I didn’t.

Instead I closed the valve on the emotional spigot that flowed from him and went back to my own infuriatingly indecisive feelings.

“…it came out blue, which was weird. But I think I can live with it.” Wrong moment to tune back in. I had no clue what he was talking about.

“Blue’s not bad.” I interjected, hoping the answer would fit somehow.

“Absolutely. Blue is totally workable.” His eyes crinkled as he grinned. I gave an internal phew and vowed not let my mind wander like that again. “So, are