Free Of Shadow Born by S. L. Gray Page A

it. We know it's here, but what it looks like ..." He spread his hands again. "I'm not a historian."
    "You're a bodyguard." Her expression changed, softened somehow. Kade didn't know what she thought when she looked at him now, but he liked the way it chased the worry out of her eyes.
    "Yeah," he agreed with a little smile. "More or less."
    "But you're like them."
    That was a one-two punch. Lower his guard, then go for the gut. "Not a chance, not ever. Not like them." The ferocity of his words made her flinch and pull away. He made himself lower his voice. "People in the IU would call me a guardian, but bodyguard works. It's my job to make sure no one hurts you." And despite the fact that he still didn't want the responsibility, it was his and he would do his job until she was safe.
    She studied him another moment then seemed to make a decision. "I owe you my life." She moved before she'd finished speaking, leaning in close to brush her lips against his cheek. He'd turned his head to argue that she didn't owe him anything, and she caught the corner of his mouth instead.
    It felt like being touched by the low current of a live wire. His awareness of her, not as a project, but as an attractive woman blazed back with force. The scent of her hair surrounded him again and the depth of the almost-green in her eyes drew him in as surely as if he'd clasped his hands and dove. Completing the kiss, turning his head that last little bit that made their mouths fit together didn't take thought or planning. It just happened.
    They both realized it couldn't at the same moment.
    She pulled back, pressing a hand against her lips. The look she gave him wasn't betrayal. It was suspicion and surprise.
    Kade left the couch. It took every ounce of will not to dive for the shadows and put some distance between them. What was he thinking? The problem was, he hadn't thought. He'd just reacted. He knew better. He couldn't make mistakes and he wouldn’t get attached. Not to her. Not to anyone.
    "Which one's the bathroom?" He'd started down the hall before he asked. He could put a door between them, at least. Get himself under control and get back to work.
    "The second," she answered. "On the right. The light's outside."
    "Thanks." He didn't touch the light switch, just stepped inside and closed the door. The darkness wouldn't bother him. The darkness brought him peace.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Si x
    No matter how she tried to get comfortable, Melanie couldn’t sleep. No, that wasn’t exactly true. She dozed in fits, dropping off just long enough that her dreams kicked in and reminded her of the evening’s excitement. Not that she thought she’d ever forget. The sound of the gun going off woke her every time.
    She was still breathing, though. That had to count for something, given the way her lungs had been acting up lately. Asthma had been the bane of her childhood, keeping her from doing too many things. As she grew up, she’d learned to control it, to know her limits and how far she could push before she gave in to her body’s demands. She took her medicine like clockwork and always had an inhaler nearby, just in case.
    She’d reached for it more often in the last week than the several months before. Something had her stressed and trigger-happy.
    Something like the man sleeping on her couch.
    It wasn’t fair to lay all the blame at Kade’s feet, of course. For starters, she’d known him less than twenty-four hours. Unless he could time travel, he couldn’t be responsible for all of her attacks. The reason he’d come to find her, though? The things that had tried to kill her tonight? Those she could and did blame.
    Which was still crazy. She was being stalked by shadows. What sort of responsible adult believed in the things that went bump in the night? Melanie preferred to deal with the world of cold, hard facts.
    Or at least in the rules that made up the world she lived in. Art couldn’t always be measured on a scale, but the