Winter's Touch (Immortal Touch Series) (37 page)

Dane’s head popped up from his work
, and when his face lit up brightly she relaxed somewhat. Apparently
he
didn’t suspect anything.

“Hey there! Long time no see.”

She forced a smile. “Yeah, guess I haven’t been out in a while. Things have been pretty crazy lately. What’s new with you?”

“
Oh, you know. Work and more work.” He took his glasses off and wiped them on the edge of his flannel shirt, then returned them to their place.

“Have a nice Christmas?”

“Not bad. Got a sweet new Polaris. I should take you for a ride.” He grinned to make it seem that he was only joking, but the glimmer of hope in his eyes gave him away.

“Sure, that would be cool.”
Wrap this up. Get to the point.
“Uh...okay, here’s the thing.” She met his gaze uncertainly. “You won’t remember this. I need you to forget I was ever here. You never saw me. Capiche?” The command sounded unconvincing even to her own ears.

He placed the apple in his hand on the produce shelf and gave her a puzzled look. “
All right, Eva. I won’t tell anyone I saw you. Avoiding someone?” The ray of hope grew more obvious. Apparently he was hoping that it was Julian she was hiding from.

Damn. Now what?

“Um...” She stood there like an idiot for a minute, then turned on her heel and, feeling supremely stupid, quickly walked to the other end of the small store where her mentor was flipping through an
Esquire
and trying hard not to laugh. Judging by the way his shoulders were shaking he clearly wasn’t having much success.

“
That
went well,” she muttered, embarrassed.

“
Lord love a duck. That was just...sad.” He shook his head, eyes glistening with mirth. She wanted to kick him.

“Okay, so I blew it. I
told
you I didn’t know how to do this.”

He
returned the magazine to the rack and gave her a disapproving look. “Bloody hell, Eva, you weren’t even trying! I could see that from here. You can’t just say the words - you have to project them. It’ll be easier if you relax and make yourself receptive to his psyche. Try again, and this time actually concentrate like I told you.”

Swearing under her breath, she shambled back down the aisle and stood in front of Dane once again. He looked up at her questioningly.

“Everything okay? You seem kinda flaked out today. No offense.”

“None taken.”
She fixated on his eyes again, this time tuning out her surroundings.
Concentrate. Focus.
Her mind relaxed and opened and this time she saw the eyes behind the glasses take on a distant look, almost as if he could see right through her. She could literally
feel
his tranquility. It was strange...like being on some kind of cosmic high.

He was
now accessible for subliminal suggestion, and she dispatched her orders firmly and confidently. “Listen carefully. You haven’t seen me at all today, Dane. I haven’t been in here since before the holidays. You won’t remember that we ever had this conversation. Is all of that understood?”

He merely nodded
languidly.

Holy crapola, it actually
worked!

Pleased,
she returned to the magazine rack and flashed Julian a triumphant smile.

“Very nice!” he praised her.
“See how easy it is?” Putting a hand to her elbow, he steered her towards the door. “Now let’s get out of here before everyone starts wondering why you keep pacing from one end of the store to the other.”

She bounced out into the
crisp sunny day, exuberant. “That was amazing! I can’t believe I can
do
something like that! Will it work on everyone?”

“Without exception.” He smiled at her enthusiasm. “Are you ready to try something a little more challenging?”

“What did you have in mind?” She felt ready to conquer the world.

“I’d like to test the range of your abilities. See what you’re capable of.
Suppose we head back home where we’ll have a little more privacy.”

They drove back to the chalet, and h
alf an hour later were walking along the familiar path behind it. Two inches of snow crunched underneath their boots and the bright sun, though it tried mightily, could not penetrate the twenty-degree temperature. Jack Frost had nothing to fear. Last night’s snow was safe from the damaging warmth.

“One of the wolves is nearby,” Julian was saying. “Call him.”

“How?”

“Much the same way you tapped into Dane, just more remotely. Picture the animal in your mind, concentrate on him. Beckon him.”

Closing her eyes, she did as he instructed. For some time she stood there, holding a mental image of the shaggy gray fur and soft muzzle. But several minutes passed with nothing happening.

“Hold on, let me see if I can make it easier.” He turned his face to the forest and within seconds she saw the huge wolf approaching. It came to within fifteen yards of the path, then abruptly sat
on its haunches. He looked more like a faithful pet waiting patiently for his doggie biscuit than a wild animal.

“Try now,” Julian urged.

She did, but to no avail. The wolf simply watched her, tongue lolling.

“What am I doing wrong?” She was disappointed by her failure. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been concentrating hard enough - her head was practically
aching from trying so hard.

“It isn’t you, love. Your talents may not be the same as mine. We might just have to experiment until we find what it is you’re best at.”
He placed a palm gently against her cheek and kissed her forehead lightly. “There’s no hurry. You’ve already mastered the main survival skill. As long as you’re able to feed without detection you’ll be fine. Any extraneous abilities are secondary.”

“There is one thing I’d like to try,” she
divulged.

“By all means. What is it?”

“Animal blood.” It was an idea she’d been turning over in her mind for a while. Just because he wasn’t able to subsist on it didn’t mean
she
couldn’t. It would make things a whole lot easier if she didn’t have to feed from humans in the first place.

He
managed to look both dubious and disgusted at the same time. “I wouldn’t recommend it. I really wouldn’t.”

“I want to try.” She lifted her chin stubbornly. Once he saw that she had no need to drink human blood he’d have to concede to the wisdom of her venture. Animal blood would be so much easier to
acquire than the alternative.

The wolf rose and meandered lazily to where they stood, gazing at Julian in rapt adoration.

“Be my guest. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“
Well...wait now.” Something distasteful suddenly occurred to her. “How am I supposed to do this without getting fur in my mouth?”

“Would you prefer a snake?” he teased.

“No, I would not prefer a snake! I’m just trying to figure out the best way to do this. Let me think for a minute.” This was something she hadn’t taken into consideration.

“For heaven’s sake.” Reaching into
a pocket, he pulled out his house key and leaned over the animal. It flinched and gave a short yelp but didn’t run. Apparently its loyalty knew no bounds.

“Just put some on your finger
and taste it,” Julian advised. “And don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

The wild
, earthy scent of the animal was there as it had always been before. But now there was the underlying odor of its blood and it smelled...
unsavory
to her. Sort of like calf liver to a vegetarian. Masking her aversion, she ran her finger through the fresh blood and brought it reluctantly to her lips. Maybe it wouldn’t taste as unappetizing as it smelled.

And maybe it would taste even
worse
than it smelled.

“Ugh,” she said,
turning away to spit the gamy, rancid bitterness onto the ground. “That is just plain
nasty.
”

“
I hate to say I told you so...”

“Then don’t
!”

“Very much of that would make you sick. We aren’t able to digest it
. An odd paradox considering we have no problem consuming meat. I suppose it has something to do with the blood being fresh.” He relinquished his hold on the wolf and it trotted indifferently back into the shelter of the trees. Turning to Eva, he pulled her into his arms and hugged her close. “Poor darling. I know what you were trying to do. I’m sure it isn’t an easy thing to accept but it won’t be nearly as difficult as you imagine. And you won’t be alone - I’ll be there to help you.”

“I know.” She buried her face in his jacket. “It’s just the thought of
...hurting someone.”

“You won’t be hurting anyone. They won’t feel a thing
once they’re under your control.”

“Honestly?”

“On my honor.” He ruffled her hair. “Why the sudden concern? You had no misgivings about putting an end to Guthrie.”

“That was a different situation altogether and you know it.
He deserved everything he got. Imagine bashing an old woman in the head!” She sighed wistfully. “I wish Lainie would have agreed to come with us. I hate to think of her living all alone.”

“Don’t worry about Lainie. She’s precisely where she wants to be.
Now, little butterfly, come show me your wings.” He walked to the edge of the path and leaned against a slender Ponderosa pine.

“What do you mean?”

He gestured toward the tree. “Let’s see how strong you’ve become.”

She looked at him as if he’d lost his
marbles. “What do you expect me to do with that? Climb it?”

“See if you can move it.”

“You want me to move a hundred foot tall tree? Are you high?”

“Come
over here and put your hands on it.”

Shaking her head, she approached the tree and rested her hands against the
rough, cinnamon-colored bark.

“Now push. No, the other way - we don’t want it blocking the path.” He stood aside and waited expectantly.

“I can’t believe you think for one minute I could so much as budge this thing. Would
you
be able to move it?”

“Effortlessly.” H
is expression was smug.

“
Bull. Show me.”

“I already
know
I can do it. I want to see
you
do it.”

“
Oh...fine.” Bracing herself, she pushed against the immovable tree.

“Come on, put your back into it.
Push.
”

Gathering
every ounce of strength she could muster, she strained the muscles of her arms against the solid pine. This was ridiculous. Did he seriously expect that someone who had trouble opening pickle jars could actually uproot a fully mature tree, for crying out loud?

And then
...it shifted. Sharp snaps and creaking moans came from beneath her feet as the roots began to loosen their hold on the subterranean earth.

“Wait
...stop, that’s enough. We don’t want to ruin the landscape.” He grinned at her proudly. “Well, look at you! I’m impressed!”

“Did you see that? I moved it! I can’t believe it!
It moved!” Excited, she pulled her hands away from the tree and regarded them with wonder. They were still her own delicate hands, marquise cut diamond gleaming on the left ring finger, nails neatly manicured with a coat of Tantalizing Amethyst polish. Only now they were imbued with a supernatural strength that nobody would ever have suspected, least of all herself.

“That is unbelievable.” She fixed her gaze on him in awe. “And you’re able to do that as well? I had no idea.”

“As impressive as it may seem, it’s still a relatively unimportant skill. The only circumstance where it could prove useful would be if we were to find ourselves at the mercy of a large group, or possibly under restraint. As long as we’re careful we need never place ourselves in that situation.” He linked his arm with hers. “Enough for today. Let’s find something more relaxing to do.”

“Something in particular you had in mind?”
She cocked her head coyly.

“Oh, yes.”

“You know what would be a great idea?”

“
No, what?”

“Did you ever think of installing a hot tub?”

“Hm...I can honestly say that thought never occurred to me. But now that you mention it, I have to say I love the idea.”

They walked
arm in arm back in the direction of the house, content just to be in the company of one another in their own little piece of paradise.

“Eva, let me ask you something. Would you be terribly disappointed if I suggested we had a private wedding ceremony?”