defined edges. The blue streaks were brighter next to his skin, almost glowing.
Tonya spread the herbs on Marcus’s chest. “Oh, yes. That Rodríguez.”
Katie leaned forward, her hand flattening on Marcus’s smooth skin. “You know him?”
“He’s a clever son of a gun.” Tonya tapped him with her fingertips, one at a time, as if she were impatient. A tiny frown line formed between her brows. “I never thought I’d see him like this.”
“What else?”
“He’s conflicted.”
Anyone could have guessed that—he was a witch who’d lost his power and transformed into an animal, a lesser version of himself.
“Strong. Smart. He’s endured a lot.” Tonya continued to tug magic out of Katie, a gentle thread that didn’t tire either of them.
The outlay softened her mood and her spine. The urge to cuddle up to Marcus hit her. The warmth of his skin under her palm tempted her to caress him, to let her fingertips explore his dark nipples. Or down, tracing his muscles, finding that lean hollow near his hip.
Kissing it. Licking it.
Katie bit her lip and concentrated on the aura around Marcus instead of the body behind it. A faint purple tinged the edges of the blue in his chi.
Tonya looked up, meeting Katie’s questioning gaze. “He’s honest. Other people may not agree with my reading due to certain events in his past, but I think we can trust him.”
“I thought honesty was brown?” Would Tonya tell the truth about Marcus’s chi if it meant she could sway Katie and Zhang Li to her way of thinking?
“Brown. Or brownish gray. Or gray.”
“What’s purple?”
Tonya grinned. “Let’s just say I bet your chi’s purple too, when you think about him.”
“Ah. That.” Lust. Marcus could have been horny before coming here. Oversexed. Chi wasn’t like mind reading, so Tonya had no way of knowing whether Marcus’s purple had anything to do with Katie…did she?
She didn’t have a chance to ask. The luminous shimmer around Marcus rippled as the man in question opened his eyes.
He glanced at their clasped hands and then at his chest. Katie was tempted to snatch her hand back, but it would interrupt the power circuit. After a long, silent moment, he turned his gaze on Tonya.
“Hello, Ms. Applebaum,” he said in a calm voice. “I can’t say I’m pleased to see you here, still reading people’s chi without permission.”
Tonya let the aura dissipate and dropped Katie’s hand. “You’d think after what happened to your sister, you wouldn’t have done the same thing?”
Marcus frowned, deepening the groove between his brows. “I don’t care to discuss my sister.”
“You’re a great deal younger than you were the last time I saw you. That was a remarkable age mask. I wouldn’t have guessed. It seems we have more than the true eye in common.”
“He had the true eye?” Katie returned her hands to her lap, her fingers tingling with magic residue—and contact with Marcus’s skin.
“All good scientists do. He can probably read a lattice with it. I only read character.” Tonya dabbed his chest with the washrag from the dresser, cleaning off the spell components. “So what have you been up to the past ten years? Aside from dating a wolf, I mean.”
“I don’t care to discuss that with you either.” Anger Katie had never seen from Marcus in her admittedly short time of knowing him tightened his expression. “Not after you and your sympathizers bungled your promise to help my sister and got her killed.”
“You what?” Katie shot Tonya a shocked glance, but Tonya was concentrating on Marcus.
“Yes, you would think that. And then you went with them, so we couldn’t stay in touch with you.”
“I went with no one. I was taken,” Marcus spat.
“Oh, dear. Were you? You know, I always wondered. You seemed so earnest. I guess this is a good time to tell you that your sister…”
Marcus lunged. Tonya leaped back with a squeak. The metal of his handcuffs clanked against the
Tonya spread the herbs on Marcus’s chest. “Oh, yes. That Rodríguez.”
Katie leaned forward, her hand flattening on Marcus’s smooth skin. “You know him?”
“He’s a clever son of a gun.” Tonya tapped him with her fingertips, one at a time, as if she were impatient. A tiny frown line formed between her brows. “I never thought I’d see him like this.”
“What else?”
“He’s conflicted.”
Anyone could have guessed that—he was a witch who’d lost his power and transformed into an animal, a lesser version of himself.
“Strong. Smart. He’s endured a lot.” Tonya continued to tug magic out of Katie, a gentle thread that didn’t tire either of them.
The outlay softened her mood and her spine. The urge to cuddle up to Marcus hit her. The warmth of his skin under her palm tempted her to caress him, to let her fingertips explore his dark nipples. Or down, tracing his muscles, finding that lean hollow near his hip.
Kissing it. Licking it.
Katie bit her lip and concentrated on the aura around Marcus instead of the body behind it. A faint purple tinged the edges of the blue in his chi.
Tonya looked up, meeting Katie’s questioning gaze. “He’s honest. Other people may not agree with my reading due to certain events in his past, but I think we can trust him.”
“I thought honesty was brown?” Would Tonya tell the truth about Marcus’s chi if it meant she could sway Katie and Zhang Li to her way of thinking?
“Brown. Or brownish gray. Or gray.”
“What’s purple?”
Tonya grinned. “Let’s just say I bet your chi’s purple too, when you think about him.”
“Ah. That.” Lust. Marcus could have been horny before coming here. Oversexed. Chi wasn’t like mind reading, so Tonya had no way of knowing whether Marcus’s purple had anything to do with Katie…did she?
She didn’t have a chance to ask. The luminous shimmer around Marcus rippled as the man in question opened his eyes.
He glanced at their clasped hands and then at his chest. Katie was tempted to snatch her hand back, but it would interrupt the power circuit. After a long, silent moment, he turned his gaze on Tonya.
“Hello, Ms. Applebaum,” he said in a calm voice. “I can’t say I’m pleased to see you here, still reading people’s chi without permission.”
Tonya let the aura dissipate and dropped Katie’s hand. “You’d think after what happened to your sister, you wouldn’t have done the same thing?”
Marcus frowned, deepening the groove between his brows. “I don’t care to discuss my sister.”
“You’re a great deal younger than you were the last time I saw you. That was a remarkable age mask. I wouldn’t have guessed. It seems we have more than the true eye in common.”
“He had the true eye?” Katie returned her hands to her lap, her fingers tingling with magic residue—and contact with Marcus’s skin.
“All good scientists do. He can probably read a lattice with it. I only read character.” Tonya dabbed his chest with the washrag from the dresser, cleaning off the spell components. “So what have you been up to the past ten years? Aside from dating a wolf, I mean.”
“I don’t care to discuss that with you either.” Anger Katie had never seen from Marcus in her admittedly short time of knowing him tightened his expression. “Not after you and your sympathizers bungled your promise to help my sister and got her killed.”
“You what?” Katie shot Tonya a shocked glance, but Tonya was concentrating on Marcus.
“Yes, you would think that. And then you went with them, so we couldn’t stay in touch with you.”
“I went with no one. I was taken,” Marcus spat.
“Oh, dear. Were you? You know, I always wondered. You seemed so earnest. I guess this is a good time to tell you that your sister…”
Marcus lunged. Tonya leaped back with a squeak. The metal of his handcuffs clanked against the
Similar Books
