Read Online a Touch of Intrigue by L. j. Charles - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: L. j. Charles
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safety, and speaking as a child that grew up in a similar situation, I wouldn’t trade my life for anything. Yeah, it’s sometimes brutally difficult, but it’s never been so awful that I wished I hadn’t been born, or that I’d had different parents. But you’re right that it’s too soon for us. We need to share a lot more uninterrupted sex before we deal with morning sickness, diapers, and no sleep.”
The lines of tension disappeared from Pierce’s face, and he kissed my palm. “We’ll work on it. After we find Millie and Harlan.”
I took his hand and started moving down the nearest pathway. “I’m thinking we should practice making babies often. We wouldn’t want to be inept when it’s time to create a new little Tynan.”
“Define a lot.” Laughter simmered through his words.
I shot him a sideways glance. “At least daily. Maybe hourly if we forget any steps.”
He whirled, picked me up, and held me arms-length high. Looking down, I soaked in the love that sparkled in his eyes. “I love you, Tynan Ailill Pierce.”
“I’m grateful. And in love with you.” He cleared his throat. “Your pronunciation is slightly off. It’s a longer ‘a’ and softer ‘l.’ A..ll-yail.”
I tried it out a few times, smoothing the syllables with each attempt. “Do I have it?”
“Yes. I like the sound when you say it.”
His comment opened a convenient segue to ask one of my burning questions. “Tap?”
Pierce shook his head. “Millie and Harlan first. Is your vision any sharper?”
I inhaled, centering myself, and looked along the path. “No, I… Wait.” We’d shared blood, but that didn’t mean Pierce’s gifts would work exactly the same way for me as they did for him. I closed my eyes, and the woods shimmered, then shifted into precise focus. “Yes. It’s different, like I can see a lot more detail. And it’s brighter.”
“Your eyes are closed.”
I popped them open, staring at him, open-mouthed. “Because I work differently from you. You’re more external and methodical, and I’m more internal and intuitive. Have you tried touching something, um, besides me?”
He glanced down the path. “No. But there wasn’t any difference when I touched you. No images.”
It made perfect sense to me. I nodded, pointing to a nearby tree. “Yep. Your eyes were closed most of the time. Try touching that koa with your eyes open.”
Pierce frowned, but kept his gaze on his fingertips while he touched the tree. “Shit.” He jerked his hand back, shook it, and turned to me. “It’s like being inside the damn thing. Whole new world, Belisama. Incredible.”
“Now we just have to put it together to find Millie and Harlan.”
He cocked his arm. “Hang on to me, and keep your eyes closed while we walk.”
I slipped my hand under his elbow, and latched onto his forearm. “Good plan. Let me know if we’re going to stop so you can touch something. Then we can switch up and compare notes on what you see and I touch.”
We covered five entire pathways without picking up a trace of any structure on the property, much less a lived in cottage. Discouraged, I drained my water bottle, shook it. “Water’s gone. Maybe we should head back to the house, regroup, and start from a different direction.”
Pierce tipped his head toward a narrow break in the foliage. “Let’s try down there first. There’s a rectangular shape, and nature doesn’t do rectangles.”
I stuffed the empty water bottle in my cargo pocket and ran my fingers over a eucalyptus tree that almost hid the path Pierce had indicated. An image of Harlan popped on my internal screen. “Oh, yeah. That’s it.” I bent to touch the path. “Mille, holding hands with Harlan.”
Happiness flared in my chest, and a giggle escaped. “We found them!”
I hurried along the path, slipping, sliding, jogging, tugging Pierce after me, but as we neared the cottage, he yanked me to a stop. “Surveillance first.”
Damn but I hated when
The lines of tension disappeared from Pierce’s face, and he kissed my palm. “We’ll work on it. After we find Millie and Harlan.”
I took his hand and started moving down the nearest pathway. “I’m thinking we should practice making babies often. We wouldn’t want to be inept when it’s time to create a new little Tynan.”
“Define a lot.” Laughter simmered through his words.
I shot him a sideways glance. “At least daily. Maybe hourly if we forget any steps.”
He whirled, picked me up, and held me arms-length high. Looking down, I soaked in the love that sparkled in his eyes. “I love you, Tynan Ailill Pierce.”
“I’m grateful. And in love with you.” He cleared his throat. “Your pronunciation is slightly off. It’s a longer ‘a’ and softer ‘l.’ A..ll-yail.”
I tried it out a few times, smoothing the syllables with each attempt. “Do I have it?”
“Yes. I like the sound when you say it.”
His comment opened a convenient segue to ask one of my burning questions. “Tap?”
Pierce shook his head. “Millie and Harlan first. Is your vision any sharper?”
I inhaled, centering myself, and looked along the path. “No, I… Wait.” We’d shared blood, but that didn’t mean Pierce’s gifts would work exactly the same way for me as they did for him. I closed my eyes, and the woods shimmered, then shifted into precise focus. “Yes. It’s different, like I can see a lot more detail. And it’s brighter.”
“Your eyes are closed.”
I popped them open, staring at him, open-mouthed. “Because I work differently from you. You’re more external and methodical, and I’m more internal and intuitive. Have you tried touching something, um, besides me?”
He glanced down the path. “No. But there wasn’t any difference when I touched you. No images.”
It made perfect sense to me. I nodded, pointing to a nearby tree. “Yep. Your eyes were closed most of the time. Try touching that koa with your eyes open.”
Pierce frowned, but kept his gaze on his fingertips while he touched the tree. “Shit.” He jerked his hand back, shook it, and turned to me. “It’s like being inside the damn thing. Whole new world, Belisama. Incredible.”
“Now we just have to put it together to find Millie and Harlan.”
He cocked his arm. “Hang on to me, and keep your eyes closed while we walk.”
I slipped my hand under his elbow, and latched onto his forearm. “Good plan. Let me know if we’re going to stop so you can touch something. Then we can switch up and compare notes on what you see and I touch.”
We covered five entire pathways without picking up a trace of any structure on the property, much less a lived in cottage. Discouraged, I drained my water bottle, shook it. “Water’s gone. Maybe we should head back to the house, regroup, and start from a different direction.”
Pierce tipped his head toward a narrow break in the foliage. “Let’s try down there first. There’s a rectangular shape, and nature doesn’t do rectangles.”
I stuffed the empty water bottle in my cargo pocket and ran my fingers over a eucalyptus tree that almost hid the path Pierce had indicated. An image of Harlan popped on my internal screen. “Oh, yeah. That’s it.” I bent to touch the path. “Mille, holding hands with Harlan.”
Happiness flared in my chest, and a giggle escaped. “We found them!”
I hurried along the path, slipping, sliding, jogging, tugging Pierce after me, but as we neared the cottage, he yanked me to a stop. “Surveillance first.”
Damn but I hated when
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