Free Dark Angel's Ward by Nia Shay

turn the dryer off.
    His trembling hands lowered fractionally, but he didn't look at me. "Jandra," he said thickly.
    "Yes, I'm here, and the city is safe, and you didn't even burn the house down, thank heaven for small favors." Though I spotted a quarter-sized scorch mark on the wallboard below the socket. I cursed under my breath, running a sleeve across my forehead to wipe away the sheen of sweat that had formed there. It was positively oven-like in here.
    I turned on the faucet to wash my hands. Zeph moved behind me, his slow rise reflected in the mirror. His head came up last, and I gasped aloud at the image of his eyes. They burned as bright as heat lightning, the whites and pupils practically obscured by blazing color.
    I whirled to face him. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
    He didn't answer, but he didn't really have to. The instant our gazes met, a bolt of his energy arced between us, leaving a ghostly afterimage on my retinas. I choked on a cry at the brief jolt and stumbled backward into the vanity.
    "Jandra." His voice rang bell-like in my ears.
    "No." The word came out as a croak. Between pain and terror, my throat had closed up tight. I'd never seen him like this before, not even at his worst. I squeaked and leapt aside when he reached for me.
    "Jandra. I need you."
    "No!" I shrieked it this time. When he came toward me again, I shied and made a dash for the door.
    My speed was no match for his reach. I'd made it maybe three steps into the hallway when one huge hand clamped onto my shoulder, the other catching my elbow. I screamed again and lunged forward, but only succeeded in losing my balance. He dragged me back against his chest as I fell. We both ended up on our knees. With his arms wrapped around me and his body curled over mine, I was trapped.
    "Let me go!" I demanded.
    "Take me."
    "No!"
    Alas, I didn't have much choice in the matter. Sparks raced over my skin everywhere our bodies pressed together, his azoth seeping into me against my will. With a whimper I lurched away one more time, knocking us sideways onto the floor. He shifted one long leg to pin down both of mine. I clawed at the carpet, but got nowhere.
    His voice rumbled just above my ear. "Stop it."
    " You stop! You're scaring me!"
    "Jandra." He spoke in a groan, his breath scorching my cheek. "Please."
    There was that word again--and more than that, the sentiment behind it. I couldn't shut him out of my mind at this close range, couldn't help but feel his pain as my own, and it finally broke me.
    With my resistance gone, his energy raged through me unchecked. Strangely, though, it hurt less than it had the night before. Rather than an electric shock, it felt more like intense heat. Still uncomfortable, but not unbearable. By the time it ended, I felt another twenty degrees hotter than I had in the overheated bathroom.
    Then the transfer just...stopped. I hadn't needed to break contact with him to interrupt the flow of power between us. A good thing, too, since he still had me wrapped up just as tightly as before.
    "Zeph," I complained, squirming beneath him.
    After a moment he shifted his weight, allowing me enough space to turn in his arms. I was grudgingly relieved to see his expression softened into something more normal. His eyes still smoldered, but with a mellow glow.
    "You're hurt," he murmured. His fingertips grazed my cheek, and I winced at the small pain of a carpet burn.
    "Aw, great. That should look just wonderful in the morning."
    "You'll look beautiful. You always do."
    "Whatev--oh!" I gasped as he brushed his lips against the scrape. He'd applied no more pressure than with his fingers, but the touch of his mouth had brought that unnatural warmth to the surface of my skin in a burst. "Ow!"
    He grunted something that might have been an apology before his lips closed over mine. Heat poured through me, into him, and back again like a circuit. I shrieked a protest into his mouth, lifting us both up off the floor as my spine bowed