Free Dark Angel's Ward by Nia Shay Page B

stairs.
    "Wait. I'm trying to talk to you."
    "Too damn bad!" I bounded down the steps two at a time, hesitating at the bottom as vertigo nagged at me. Great, just what I needed.
    "Jandra, wait."
    Shit. No time for weakness now. Gritting my teeth, I pushed off the banister and staggered into the living room. I made it as far as the entertainment center before dizziness overwhelmed me, obscuring my vision with its intensity.
    I heard Zeph thundering down the steps behind me. He circled around in front, his big body crowding into my personal space. "We're not done talking."
    "Yes we are." I groped blindly along the shelf at my back, my hand closing around my empty glass from that morning. I palmed it, holding it behind my back.
    He edged even closer. "Jandra, listen."
    "Get away from me."
    His eyes flashed bright. "Then don't dismiss me!"
    I fell back, momentarily cowed by the reflection of my own fury in his voice. "Or what?" I spat. "What can you do to me that you haven't already done? What do I have left for you to take?"
    He blinked at that, as if my shouting had woken him from a trance. "I didn't mean...."
    "Just leave me the hell alone!" I hurled the glass in his general direction before turning to flee. It arced high and shattered against the wall behind him, but he didn't flinch or glance back. I ran anyway, slammed the bedroom door, and threw myself down on the bed. The room seemed to whirl around me in a lurching, lopsided orbit.
    I curled into a tight ball, my arms around my middle as nausea ripped through me. "Oh God oh God oh God oh God." I chanted the words compulsively--not so much a prayer as an accusation.
    Dimly, I heard the door swing open again. I didn't bother to look up as warm hands touched me, hauling me upright against a hard, lean chest. "Jandra, I apologize."
    "Leave me...alone," I panted.
    "I don't dare leave you." Zeph cupped my cheek, tilting my head up to meet his gaze. "You're completely unbalanced. This is not normal."
    "Your...fault...jackass."
    "No." He sighed. "But I am sorry I reacted as I did. I haven't felt anger in a long time. It's...potent."
    "Mine more than most," I agreed. I chafed in his embrace, but made no move to free myself. The vertigo had lessened, though now I felt limp as a dishrag. As long as he felt inclined to be comforting, I decided not to test myself--or him, for that matter. The rage had fled from him quickly enough, but he'd always reverted to aloofness in the past. Who knew what he'd come up with on his own if I pushed his buttons?
    "Why is this happening?" I wondered aloud. "You weren't like this last night."
    "I can't say for sure. I don't believe the need has ever overtaken me this suddenly before."
    "No, no. I meant you didn't absorb my mood last night like you did just now. What's the difference?"
    I'd expected more vagueness, but Zeph met my gaze directly. "You let me in this time."
    I frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
    "I mean you took me without resistance. You didn't try to hold back from me, or keep me out of your mind. It's been a long time since you've done that." He smiled a bit sheepishly. "I may have taken things too far."
    "Shit." I turned my head to hide my face against his shoulder. It was just too damned much for me to process in this state of mind.
    He didn't complain. His fingers threaded in my hair, combing through with long, soothing strokes. After a while he asked, "Why, Jandra?"
    He'd posed that question to me so many times in the past twenty-four hours, but I didn't have to ask what he meant by it now. "You were hurting," I mumbled.
    "I'm no stranger to pain."
    The air between us fairly vibrated with the gratitude he hadn't voiced, but I wouldn't mention it if he didn't. All I said was, "Neither am I."
    He sighed and leaned down to place a soft kiss on my forehead. There were no fireworks this time at the touch of his lips. Apparently, the moment had passed. "What did you feel when we were joined?" he asked again.
    "What difference does