Touched (Sense Thieves)

by Corrine Jackson

  At the lame joke, I dropped my guard and concentrated as I had the night before. His mouth dropped open, and I knew he smelled the roses in the room.

  Wrapped in each other, neither of us saw Gabe coming. He launched himself at Asher with a force that sent them both flying backwards. Asher’s head hit the wall with a loud crack. With a fist grasping Asher’s shirt, Gabe held him in place with predatory strength and glared back at me over his shoulder.

  “Do you think this is a game, Healer? Do you want to watch my brother die at the hands of those coming for you? Maybe I should take care of him now so no one else is hurt because of your carelessness. Better Asher than the whole family, right?”

  I didn’t think or plan my next move. To hurt Gabe by touching him might mean transferring that pain to Asher if I touched him, too. With cold fury, I gathered my energy and sent it at Gabe across ten feet of space. Red sparks lit, and his face turned white when I snapped a bone in his forearm.

  It took real effort to control my rage, but I managed to cut off my energy and put my defenses in place. Asher and Gabe both dropped to the floor staring at me, and the edge of fear on their faces twisted a knife in my gut. I turned to find a furious Lottie standing behind me. I ignored her and went to kneel at Gabe’s hip.

  “Can I touch you?”

  He gave a hesitant nod, and I placed a hand on his broken arm. He winced, but didn’t move. Several minutes later, when the green sparks had faded, he stretched the arm with relief while mine throbbed. I scanned myself and was relieved when I healed my broken arm without Asher’s help.

  Gabe stood and regarded me with approval. “Good work today, Remy. You may not be completely useless, after all.”

  It was the first time Asher’s brother had called me by my name since I’d learned he was a Protector.

  He ignored my shock and turned to Asher, who had climbed to his feet, uninjured. “Sorry, bro, but it was necessary. Your girl has a hair trigger where you’re concerned. You might want to have a talk with her. I don’t think she grasps that you’re the Protector.” His head tilted and he glanced around, slightly bemused. “I think I’m losing it. I could’ve sworn I smelled roses in here.”

  I looked anywhere but at Asher, not wanting to see his fear again. My gaze landed on Lottie. I’d had little interaction with her since I’d begun training at the Blackwells’. She left or holed up in her room to avoid me, and I couldn’t blame her for hating me when I’d injured her brother.

  She took a threatening step forward. “Why don’t you leave, Healer? Haven’t you done enough harm for one day?”

  Gabe placed a restraining hand on her shoulder. “Enough, Charlotte. I provoked her. She protected Asher, the same as you would.”

  Lottie knocked her brother’s hand away and departed with another glower in my direction. “Don’t compare me to her. I would never do anything to put my family in danger.”

  Gabe and Asher remained in the gym, and their stares weighed on me. Angry now, I wanted to go home to get away from Asher and the look of fear that I’d seen on his face.

  “Damn it, Remy! I wasn’t afraid of you.”

  Reinforcing my shield, I spared him a disdainful look. “Right. Could’ve fooled me.” He betrayed me to think I could hurt him. Even Gabe knew I’d do anything to protect Asher.

  “I didn’t betray you!” He leaned down to help me up and ground his teeth when I ignored his outstretched hand.

  “Get out of my head, Asher!”

  His arms crossed over his chest, and he glared down at me. “Try turning down the volume. It’s hard to ignore you when you’re shouting.”

  If I didn’t leave, I’d end up punching him in his handsome face. I rose to my feet too quickly and suffered a bout of light-headedness that had me swaying. The floor rose up to meet me until Gabe steadied me with a hand on my shoulder.

  Asher rushed over in concern, but I glowered at him until he backed off. He didn’t seem upset at my rejection, but shot me a triumphant glance. “You know, threats strung with compliments aren’t very effective.”

  I stared at him in confusion until I realized the jerk had heard me thinking he was handsome. With a mean smile, I pictured Gabe’s beautiful face and his bracing hand, filling my mind with him until Asher would see nothing else. Asher’s smug look faded into a dark scowl, and he stepped forward with his hands in fists at his side.

  Gabe heard only one side of our conversation, but he’d got the gist. He steered me away from an enraged Asher. “Hey, focus.” He sighed when we didn’t say anything.

  “Either of you notice how easy it was for me to pin Asher?”

  It occurred to me that it shouldn’t have been possible. Asher should have heard him coming, unless . . . We both turned to stare at Gabe, and he confirmed what I’d been thinking for some time. “He’s becoming human.”

  Gabe’s expression hardened, and he gripped my arm with a new desperation. I felt a tiny shiver of fear, knowing he could kill me before I could choke out a scream. “Don’t lie to me, Healer. Are you the cure?”

  My eyes met Asher’s. He looked terrified. As if he were scared to believe.

  “Yes,” I finally answered. “I think I am.”

  We moved to the garden, and Gabe served tea like we were having an ordinary conversation about everyday matters. He had a million questions, and I couldn’t answer any of them. I didn’t know why I’d been able to attack Gabe without touching him. I didn’t know what set me apart from other Healers. My mother had been powerless, and I sensed nothing different about my father, aside from his irregular heartbeat. What else could there be? Gabe left me alone with Asher, his dissatisfaction evident.

  I tried to gauge Asher’s mood as he sat in the lounge chair next to me. He hadn’t said anything while Gabe quizzed me. When he lifted a teacup to his lips to take a sip, I impulsively directed my energy at him, trying to use my power without touch. Asher’s lips curved on the rim of the delicate china, and I knew he’d tasted the tea.

  “Remy,” he sighed.

  Rising, I went to curl up next to him on his chair, my head resting on his shoulder so I could see his face. “What are you thinking?”

  He dropped a kiss on my nose. “I’m frightened about what happens if others discover your abilities, mo chridhe.”

  I’d never heard the endearment and wondered what it meant. My heart flipped at the tenderness in his eyes, and I smoothed the worry lines on his forehead. “And what will you do if you’re too human to protect me?”

  Asher’s jaw worked as he turned to study the rose garden in the distance. “It’s happening when you’re not around now,” he admitted. “This morning I bumped into Lottie in the kitchen, and I felt her. A few minutes ago, I smelled the ocean. And earlier, I was too busy smelling roses to hear Gabe coming. What if I can’t keep you safe?”

  “Aren’t you the one who’s been trying to convince me that we’re in this together? We keep each other safe, you idiot.”

  He finally smiled. “You say the sweetest things to me.”

  Asher’s eyes fixed on my curved mouth. He pulled me to my feet, and I leaned into him. He put his hands up, palms facing me, and I rested mine flat against them. My smaller hands looked fragile next to his, and the heat I always felt when we touched spread from our hands through my body like tiny prickles of fire.

  A peaceful serenity settled over me. Suddenly, the fear disappeared as if it had never been, and the words came with ease.

  “I love you, Asher.”

  His guard slipped, and he stared at me with an intensity that crackled in the air between us. “Say it again.”

  “I love you.”

  His fingers wove through mine, using them to drag me closer, and he kissed me. My thoughts shattered in a million different directions, and then coalesced into one word—Asher. His lips softened against mine. The heat radiating from his hands intensified, and I clutched him tighter until my hands began to tingle.

  “Remy?” Something in his tone alerted me.r />
  We pulled away and stared down in awe. Small sparks of green light shot from our joined hands, dancing along both his skin and mine. For the first time, they felt . . . pleasant and warm. It reminded me of the sparklers children played with on the Fourth of July, drawing lazy circles in the sky with traces of light.

  Asher smiled, obviously experiencing the same sensation. “This is new,” he said, softly.

  “But kind of cool, huh? Any pain?” My own voice sounded reverent.

  “None. It’s . . . nice.”

  We watched in silence as the flickers of light made the cool night air glow. Too soon the flames faded away.

  “Let’s do it again,” I said.

  Asher shook his head. “I don’t think so. I didn’t notice it before, but I should’ve. Your humming is fading. Are you feeling okay?”

  Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t been feeling normal since I’d used my power on Gabe. My body felt tired and achy, as if I’d run ten miles.

  Asher studied me with concern. “You have a tiny bruise on your neck where Gabe clipped you. Can you heal it?”

  I tried to gather my energy. Sparks sizzled from the tips of my fingers, but nothing more happened. “I think I shorted out my powers when I hurt Gabe and healed my arm. Otherwise, I feel fine.”

  I punctuated the statement with a sneeze. Asher put a hand to my forehead and grimaced. “You’re burning up.”

  “That’s you. Your skin is always hot.” My voice sounded grouchy to my own ears.

  He smiled. “No, mo chridhe. It’s definitely you. How long has it been since you had the flu?”

  “I haven’t been sick since I got my powers.” I sneezed again.

  “I think I’d better get you home. You need to get some rest.”

  I protested all the way home. It was not possible that I was sick. I couldn’t be coming down with something, not when I couldn’t heal myself. I was still objecting when Ben dosed me with flu medication and ordered me to bed. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, dreaming about sparklers and what mo chridhe might mean.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  By morning, the flu had arrived full blown, and I grew irritable on top of being miserable when I couldn’t heal myself. Laura and Ben left to go sailing and—to my thinking—to escape my evil mood. Even showering exhausted me, and I was sprawled on my bed with wet hair when Asher arrived to check on me.

  “You can’t go to bed with wet hair.”

  He went into the bathroom to retrieve a hair dryer and returned to help me into the chair by the window, tucking a blanket around me and draping my hair over the back of the chair.

  “Go ahead and sleep, mo chridhe. I’ll take care of you.”

  The hair dryer flicked on and his fingers tugged the long curls, separating them to let the air hit them. I half-dozed as he dried my hair, enjoying his light touch. I woke when he lifted me and sat in the chair with me curled on his lap, tucking a blanket around both of us. His heat comforted me, and I settled against him, drifting.

  My voice sounded thick with sleep when I asked, “What is mow-cry-uh?”

  “It’s a Gaelic endearment my father called my mother.”

  That didn’t seem to be an answer, but I lost my train of thought. “Hmm.”

  “I’ve been thinking.” He rested his chin on the top of my head.

  “Hmm?”

  His laugh rumbled under my ear. “Are you awake?”

  My words slurred. “Barely. Your fault. You’re a human electric blanket. What’re you thinking?”

  “We’ve done nothing the normal way. The way we met and everything that’s happened since. We’ve skipped a few steps. I want to take you on a date. Multiple dates.”

  He sounded nervous, and I frowned. “We’ve been on dates. The island. Your house. The beach.”

  “I mean a real date.”

  “But I like our dates.” The petulance had returned to my voice.

  “You mean when you broke your rib to save me on the ferry or when I’m forced to watch you spar with Gabe?”

  “Well, when you put it like that . . .” I grumbled.

  He blew out a breath, mussing my hair. “I grew up in a different time, Remy. If I’d met you then, I would’ve called on you for tea. I would’ve courted you with carriage rides through the park and candy and flowers and poetry.”

  My head rolled against his shoulder so I could see his face, as I struggled to piece together what he was saying. “You want to court me?”

  Raw emotion burned in his voice. “You deserve poetry.”

  I studied the soft full lips that could kiss me into oblivion, and his eyes that could see into me. I’d never wanted anyone to pursue me—the idea sounded archaic—but Asher changed everything. In truth, he already owned my heart. My head dropped back to his chest, and I breathed in his woodsy scent mixed with my clean one. “Okay,” I said.

  “Okay?”

  “Hmm. I like daisies.”

  “Daisies.” He sounded bemused.

  “Yes. And peanut M&Ms.”

  “Good to know. I would’ve guessed chocolate-covered espresso beans.”

  “Mmm, those, too. Oh, and I’d rather you recited Peter Pan than poetry.”

  “I’ll remember that.”

  I fell asleep listening to the rapid, irregular beat of his heart under my ear, wondering why it made me think of Ben.

  By Tuesday morning, I felt human again. My powers had returned, and I’d eradicated the flu. I rushed out the door to drive myself to school in my Mustang for the first time. When I opened the driver’s door, a huge bouquet of cheerful daisies sat on the passenger seat. Lifting them to my face, I inhaled their earthy, green scent. Then, anxious to see Asher, I started the car and jumped when a narrator’s voice blasted from the stereo reading an excerpt from Peter Pan. Somehow Asher had snuck the flowers and CD into my car.

  He waited for me in the school parking lot and opened my car door. I stuttered, thanking him for the flowers, and he grinned. As had become our routine, he took my bag and walked me to class. He left me at the door with a gentle kiss on my lips.

  His courtship continued at lunch when a café mocha waited for me at our table. Asher wore an enigmatic smile and refused to tell me how he’d managed to get the drink from off-campus during school hours. He touched me constantly during the day with a hand in mine, his arm around my shoulders as we walked, or a quick brush of his lips on my cheek. My friends looked shocked to see the unattainable Asher Blackwell smitten, and Lucy shook her head at us with a happy grin. Money traded hands between Brandon and Greg, and I suspected another wager had been placed.

  The rest of the week passed in a whirlwind of gifts as Asher wooed me. Peanut M&Ms and espresso beans made it onto my lunch tray. Tiny, square love notes hid in secret places for me to discover, including coat pockets, tucked between the pages of my books, and in my locker. A first edition of Peter Pan appeared gift-wrapped on my bed—Lucy admitted Asher had drafted her to help deliver that present. I melted each time I read where he’d underlined the description of Mrs. Darling’s hidden kiss.

  My phone rang Thursday night while I got ready for bed. There had been no further crank calls since Ben had changed our home number and he’d given me a cell to keep on me at all times. Asher had saved all the Blackwells’ phone numbers in the memory, and I resisted the temptation to leave Lottie a piece of my mind. The more time Asher devoted to me, the ruder she’d become. Instead of sticking to her bedroom during my visits, she now followed Asher and me around like a demented chaperone, never leaving us alone for more than two minutes at a time.

  A smile curved my mouth when I remembered Asher’s solution to escaping her earlier that evening. He’d sent Lottie on a made-up errand and tugged me into the pantry off the kitchen. Lottie had found us a couple of minutes later just as the green sparks faded. We’d learned that the sparks sporadically happened with more frequency, even when one or both of us had our guards up. We couldn’t predict when they’d happen
, and we’d had to make up odd excuses a couple of times when someone noticed them. We suspected they were connected to the changes in Asher’s body as he became more human. It seemed that my body healed him of his immortality a little at a time, though no one could explain why or how. I sensed Asher felt torn between his desire to be mortal and his need to protect me, but neither of us felt willing to separate to slow the process.

  At my breathy hello, Asher said, “Did you find it?”

  Laughing at his eagerness, I settled on the bed and asked, “Find what?”

  “Check under your pillow.”

  Reaching behind me, I shoved aside a mountain of pillows and found a small wrapped box. “Another present? You don’t have to give me gifts, Asher.”

  “I’m making up for lost time. Besides, you love them.”

  I fingered the black ribbon on the box. I liked that he hadn’t used pink since I’d never been a girly girl. “You see too much.”

  “Only what matters, mo chridhe.” His deep voice rumbled through the phone. “Did you open it?”

  “Just a sec.” I untied the bow and lifted the lid off. Inside was nestled a long silver chain with several charms. Holding it up to the light, I twisted the necklace to study the different trinkets. He’d chosen each one with care. A sister charm for Lucy. A tiny car for my father. A lighthouse for the place we’d had our first date and a little ferryboat for where we’d shared our first kiss. The small ice cream cone reminded me of my mother. My favorite, though, was the tiny thimble like the one Peter Pan had given Wendy when she asked for a kiss.

  “Oh, Asher. I love it!” I said, around the lump in my throat.

  “Go out with me tomorrow night? We could go to dinner and a movie. Maybe even double-date with Lucy and Tim like normal people.”

  Turning the chain in the light again to watch the charms dangle and gleam in the light, I beamed. “I would love to go on a date with you.”

  On Friday morning, Ben and Laura met Lucy and me in the kitchen. Weeks ago, a friend had offered them a cabin on Cutter Island to use for a second honeymoon. I’d completely forgotten Ben and Laura’s anniversary and felt like a heel. They planned to hit the road before breakfast and wouldn’t be back until Sunday night. On their way out the door, Laura gave us a list of emergency phone numbers and ran through the house rules—no parties, no drinking, no drugs, and no boys in the house. Ben seconded the no-boys-in-the-house rule as the door slammed shut behind them.