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Authors: Jayne Ann Krentz
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for a full moon."
She wrapped her arms very tightly around herself and angled her chin. "Don't be ridiculous."
"Look, Elly, I'm sure you're well aware that every hunter rezzes ghost light a little differently. No two do it quite the same way. My patterns have always been complex. It's the way my psi energy resonates." He didn't even pause as he gave his standard explanation. He'd been using the line for years, ever since it had become obvious in his teens that his para-senses were not the same as those of other hunters. "Doesn't mean I exerted an unusual amount of power. I didn't melt amber."
"Right." She shot him a quick, assessing look and then turned back to stare fixedly ahead at the street scene. "Nevertheless, everyone knows that working a ghost, even a small one, has a certain, uh, pronounced effect on a hunter. Turn left here."
The conversation was going downhill fast. "Don't tell me that you actually believe all that garbage about ghost hunters becoming sex-crazed after they work ghost light."
"No offense, but I've got three brothers, remember? They can't wait to find a date after a day spent working ghost light down in the catacombs."
"Most guys your brothers' ages, ghost hunters, or not, are seriously interested in sex. Goes with the territory of being male."
To his surprise, her mouth curved a little at that. "But men like you who are older and wiser are no longer at the mercy of their hormones, is that it?"
Was she teasing him? "Relax, I'm no more of a threat to your virtue now than I was before I rezzed that damned ghost back there in the alley."
"I see," she said, perfectly neutral.
That hadn't come out quite right, he reflected. The unfortunate fact was that he was semiaroused, and she had obviously sensed it. What she did not know was that the ghost work had little to do with his current condition. He'd been feeling this way since she'd walked into the Trap Door.
"Look, I'm not saying that summoning ghosts doesn't have some side effects," he plowed on, going for reasonable. "But as you get older, you learn how to handle the rush. I'm not going to throw you over my shoulder and haul you off to the nearest bed."
She tilted her head slightly. "You're starting to sound a little testy. That's part of the syndrome."
"Testy?"
"Short tempered, irritable. You know, testy. I've noticed that ghost hunters often get that way after they've fried a ghost."
"Is that so?" he said, very polite, but through his teeth.
"If they don't get rid of the adrenaline overload in some other way, that is. When they can't get a date, my brothers go to the gym, instead."
"You really know how to rez a man's amber, don't you?"
"Like I said, three brothers. I've had oodles of experience."
He got a cold feeling. No doubt about it, leaving her alone here in Cadence for the past six months was proving to be one of the biggest miscalculations of his life. He didn't make many mistakes, but when he made them, they tended to really resonate.
"What have you been doing for fun here in Cadence?" he asked, determined to change the subject.
"I've been pretty busy." She patted Rose again. "You'd be amazed at how much work it takes to open up a small business and get it running at a profit."
"As a matter of fact, I'm not the least bit surprised," he said, putting a not-so-subtle emphasis into the words. "I run the Aurora Springs Guild, remember? It's a very big business. Requires even more work and time than a small business."
"Forget it, that logic isn't going to fly with me. There's a vast difference between being interested in your work and being obsessed with it."
"And you know where that line is?"
"Yes, I do." She paused deliberately. "You know, in hindsight, you owe me, big time."
"How do you figure that?"
"What if we had actually gone through with a Covenant Marriage? Just think how miserable you would have been by now. I'd be nagging you, rezzing your amber, as you put it, constantly, day in and day out. To escape, you'd
She wrapped her arms very tightly around herself and angled her chin. "Don't be ridiculous."
"Look, Elly, I'm sure you're well aware that every hunter rezzes ghost light a little differently. No two do it quite the same way. My patterns have always been complex. It's the way my psi energy resonates." He didn't even pause as he gave his standard explanation. He'd been using the line for years, ever since it had become obvious in his teens that his para-senses were not the same as those of other hunters. "Doesn't mean I exerted an unusual amount of power. I didn't melt amber."
"Right." She shot him a quick, assessing look and then turned back to stare fixedly ahead at the street scene. "Nevertheless, everyone knows that working a ghost, even a small one, has a certain, uh, pronounced effect on a hunter. Turn left here."
The conversation was going downhill fast. "Don't tell me that you actually believe all that garbage about ghost hunters becoming sex-crazed after they work ghost light."
"No offense, but I've got three brothers, remember? They can't wait to find a date after a day spent working ghost light down in the catacombs."
"Most guys your brothers' ages, ghost hunters, or not, are seriously interested in sex. Goes with the territory of being male."
To his surprise, her mouth curved a little at that. "But men like you who are older and wiser are no longer at the mercy of their hormones, is that it?"
Was she teasing him? "Relax, I'm no more of a threat to your virtue now than I was before I rezzed that damned ghost back there in the alley."
"I see," she said, perfectly neutral.
That hadn't come out quite right, he reflected. The unfortunate fact was that he was semiaroused, and she had obviously sensed it. What she did not know was that the ghost work had little to do with his current condition. He'd been feeling this way since she'd walked into the Trap Door.
"Look, I'm not saying that summoning ghosts doesn't have some side effects," he plowed on, going for reasonable. "But as you get older, you learn how to handle the rush. I'm not going to throw you over my shoulder and haul you off to the nearest bed."
She tilted her head slightly. "You're starting to sound a little testy. That's part of the syndrome."
"Testy?"
"Short tempered, irritable. You know, testy. I've noticed that ghost hunters often get that way after they've fried a ghost."
"Is that so?" he said, very polite, but through his teeth.
"If they don't get rid of the adrenaline overload in some other way, that is. When they can't get a date, my brothers go to the gym, instead."
"You really know how to rez a man's amber, don't you?"
"Like I said, three brothers. I've had oodles of experience."
He got a cold feeling. No doubt about it, leaving her alone here in Cadence for the past six months was proving to be one of the biggest miscalculations of his life. He didn't make many mistakes, but when he made them, they tended to really resonate.
"What have you been doing for fun here in Cadence?" he asked, determined to change the subject.
"I've been pretty busy." She patted Rose again. "You'd be amazed at how much work it takes to open up a small business and get it running at a profit."
"As a matter of fact, I'm not the least bit surprised," he said, putting a not-so-subtle emphasis into the words. "I run the Aurora Springs Guild, remember? It's a very big business. Requires even more work and time than a small business."
"Forget it, that logic isn't going to fly with me. There's a vast difference between being interested in your work and being obsessed with it."
"And you know where that line is?"
"Yes, I do." She paused deliberately. "You know, in hindsight, you owe me, big time."
"How do you figure that?"
"What if we had actually gone through with a Covenant Marriage? Just think how miserable you would have been by now. I'd be nagging you, rezzing your amber, as you put it, constantly, day in and day out. To escape, you'd
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