Read Online Warrior from the Shadowland by Cassandra Gannon - Free Book Online

nodded.  “We need to stop.”  She regarded his warily, but
with markedly less fear.  “Let me go.”  It was a test.  He could see it in her
face.
    Cross
instantly took his hands off her and held out his palms, in classic ‘I Come in
Peace’ fashion.  It would be worse for him to see her fully naked, but it
didn’t matter.  Nia was in control, even if Cross outweighed her by a hundred
pounds.  He eased back, slightly.  “That’s all you ever have to say to me.  Alright? 
You say ‘stop’ and the discussion’s over.”  Everything he felt for her was on
his face.  He could tell and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
    Nia
stared into his eyes.  Stared past his eyes and straight into his soul. 
“Okay.”  She whispered, on a relieved sigh.  “Good.”  Her hands stopped pushing
at his chest and slid down to fist against his shirt front, hanging on.  “It’s
alright.”  She relaxed against him again, cuddling closer so he couldn’t see
her body.  “Just fix it.”
    Trust.
    Cross
had never had anyone trust him before.  Certainly not to this extent, when he
didn’t even trust himself.  If he were Nia, he’d be screaming for help or
blasting him with as much Water energy as he could possibly generate.
    He
just watched her silently for a beat.  Then, his hand slid over to touch her
back, hesitantly.  “Forgive me.”  He heard himself say.  “It was an accident. 
I didn’t mean to take… Well, okay, maybe your shirtI did want to
take off, but…”
    “Would
you hurry?”  Nia swallowed.  “I really don’t want the others to see me
without my clothes.”
    “Believe
me, baby, neither do I.”  Especially, not Uriel.
    “So,
put them back on, then, dummy!”  If he didn’t know better he’d swear there was
a teasing element to her voice, now.
    Cross
closed his eyes and reached out to the Shadows, searching for whatever he’d
done so he could undo it.  It took him a minute to backtrack and figure it
out.  The Shadows were so enormous, so heavy that Cross couldn’t use them the
way other Phases drew on their powers.  He fought every day for some kind of
control, but it never worked very well.  Generally, all he got were nosebleeds. 
He had no idea why touching Nia had jumpstarted something.
    He
found the string he’d accidently pulled and yanked, again.  Nia clothes came
back in exactly the same condition they’d been in before.  She beamed at him. 
“You did it.”
    What
he’d done was unforgivable.  Scaring her.  Manhandling her when she was hurt.
Holding her still; she was so much weaker than he was physically.  Touching her
at all; she was so much better than he was in every possible way.  It was bad
enough that Nia was stuck with Cross as a Match, but this was how he
treated her?  There was still blood on his hands, for God sake.
     He
was an even bigger bastard than his stepfather had claimed.
    Cross
dropped his forehead to hers, breathing hard.  “I’m sorry.  Nia, I’m sorry. 
Are you okay?”  He had to force his hands to let her go and stepped away.  “I
won’t…”  He broke off because he knew that if he promised he’d never touch her again,
it would be a lie.
    Fuck.
    “I’m
fine.  I think I’m doing much better than you, in fact.”  Turquoise eyes stayed
fixed on him for a long moment.  “You have so much energy in you.  More than
you’re even letting me see.  I can still feel it all over my body.  How do you
control so much energy and stay sane?”
    “I
don’t.”  Cross admitted in a dead tone.  “I’m broken.”  The headache was
already coming back now that he wasn’t touching her.
    “You
don’t feel broken.”  Nia glanced down at her arm and her mouth curved.  “You
even healed me.  Broken Phases don’t do things like that.”
    Cross
frowned.  “I didn’t…”  He stopped in confusion as he saw that the cut on her
shoulder had completely vanished.  Even the bandage was gone.