Free Kiss Of Twilight by Loribelle Hunt Page B

use her gift to feel his fatigue. His face was gaunt and his frame looked leaner.
    "When was the last time you fed?" she asked, suspiciously.
    He gave her a look and waved off the question, rising to his feet. "I'm fine, Winter."
    No he wasn't, and she wondered if he was at the same kind of risk as Dupree. He left before she could question him. What happened to a nightwalker who didn't feed off the psychic energy that made them strong? That they needed to survive? Would he starve or go crazy? Someone else teleported into the house and she felt Marcus moving toward her down the hall. Despite all her worries she smiled when he entered. He stalked straight to her, pulled her up and into his arms.
    It was a bone-melting greeting. His tongue met hers with heat and passion and promise. She pressed close, still amazed at the happiness she felt with him. The love and acceptance. He finally broke away and sat in the chair his brother had vacated. He scowled at the glass.
    "Luke was here?"
    "Yeah," she answered, sinking back into the couch. He picked her feet up and rubbed her arches. She moaned and he gave her a wicked grin.
    "You think this is good? You ain't seen nothing yet, baby."
    She laughed. She knew exactly how good his hands felt all over her body.
    "What's got you so upset?" he asked quietly.
    She told him about the orders from the council, but that wasn't what she really wanted to talk about. "What happens if you don't feed?"
    He gave her a startled look then smiled. "Is this retaliation? Did I do something wrong?"
    "Not you." She rolled her eyes. "Luke doesn't look good."
    He cocked an eyebrow. She felt the curiosity in his mind. He wasn't sure where she was going with her questions, but he wanted to know more.
    "When we find Gia and bring her home, she'll need him to be strong not half-starved." She refused to accept they might not find her friend.
    Marcus turned thoughtful. "If we go too long, we starve, just like any other creature."
    "Will it make you crazy? Like a rogue?"
    "It can definitely unhinge you, but you can come back from it with proper care." Unlike rogue hybrids. Once they gave over complete control to their demons there was no going back. No regaining the human part.
    "An insane nightwalker, even if it's temporary, sounds pretty damned dangerous to me, Marcus. If he's starving he might not know when to stop. He might hurt someone or worse."
    Nightwalkers could kill while feeding. Could suck out every last ounce of their prey's or lover's energy. Their soul. Her words caused a frown to mar his face and she almost regretted bringing it up, but they were both leaders of their respective people. They had to deal in reality, kind or cruel. He took her hand and pulled her into his lap. "No. You're right to bring it up. I'll talk to him."
    "Good." She snuggled close to him, resting her head under his chin and taking the comfort he offered.
    He titled his head to one side, his cheek resting on top of her head. "Something else happened while I was gone. What?"
    "Nothing really. The message from the council was couriered, but Gray called a little while after that to make sure it arrived."
    "Don't you have to sign for those things?"
    "Yep. He asked, really offhanded like before he hung up, if we'd catalogued Ben's library and papers yet."
    "You think there's something there he wants?"
    "I don't know. It just struck me as odd that he asked. Or there's something there he wants me to find. Or make sure isn't there. Nadia is still translating the forbidden scrolls. There's a lot more than we expected to find. Ben had to have been collecting scrolls and information for decades. And now that most of the legal stuff has been taken care of to move forward on the new compounds, Kara is going to concentrate on Ben's correspondence and records." She paused, an uneasy feeling that something wasn't right teasing her mind. "I just don't know. Gray is hard to read, even for someone like me. He's sneaky."
    "He's a prick," Marcus