Page 47 of Entranced
“I wasn’t ready.”
“But that was the first number that popped into your mind.”
It was, but she shook her head. “I wasn’t ready.” She closed her eyes. “Now.”
She was good, he thought. Very good. Right now she was using all her will to block him out. To distract her, he nibbled on the knuckle of the hand he still held. “Three.”
She opened her eyes. “All right. How?”
“From your mind to mine.” He rubbed his lips over her fingers. “Sometimes in words, sometimes in pictures, sometimes only in feelings that are impossible to describe. Now you’re wondering if you had too much wine, because your heart’s beating too fast, your skin is warm. Your head’s light.”
“My head’s fine.” She jerked her hand from his. “Or it would be if you’d stay out of it. I can feel …”
“Yes.” Content, he sat back and lifted his glass. “I know you can. It’s very rare, without a blood connection, for anyone to feel me, particularly on such a light scan. You have potential, Sutherland. If you care to explore it, I’d be happy to assist you.”
She couldn’t quite mask the quick shudder that passed through her. “No, thanks. I like my head just the way it is.” Experimentally she put a hand to it while watching Sebastian. “I don’t like the idea of anybody being able to read my mind. If we’re going to go through with this temporary partnership, that’s the number one rule.”
“Agreed. I won’t look inside your mind unless you ask me to.” Noting the doubt in her eyes, he smiled. “I don’t lie, Mel.”
“Witch’s creed?”
“If you like.”
She didn’t, but she would take him at his word. “Okay, next—we share all information. No holding back.”
His smile was both charming and dangerous. “I’m more than willing to agree we’ve held back long enough.”
“We’re professional. We keep it professional.”
“When appropriate.” He touched the rim of his glass to hers. “Is sharing a meal considered professional?”
“We don’t have to be ridiculous. What I mean is, if we’re going to go under posing as a married couple wanting a child, we don’t let the act—”
“Blur those lines of yours,” he finished for her. “I understand. Do you have a plan?”
“Well, it would help if we had the cooperation of the FBI.”
“Leave that to me.”
She grinned. It was exactly what she’d hoped for. “With them backing us up, we can establish a solid identity. Papers, backgrounds, IRS files, the works. We need to come to the attention of the organization, so we’ll have to be affluent, but not so high-profile as to scare them off. We should be new in the community we choose. No ties, no family. We’ll have to be put on the waiting list of several reputable adoption agencies. Have records from fertility clinics and doctors. Once they’ve gotten to Parkland or one of the others, we’ll have abetter idea where to set up, and how.”
“There might be an easier way.”
“What?”
He waved her aside. “I’ll get to it. This could take quite a lot of time.”
“It could. It would be worth it.”
“We compromise. I work out where we begin, when and how, you handle the procedure from there.”
She hesitated, aware she’d never be any good at compromise. “If you pick the when, where and how, it has to be for solid reasons, and I have to accept them.”
“All right.”
“All right.” It seemed simple enough. If there was a frisson of excitement working through her, it was the anticipation of an interesting and rewarding job. “I guess I could help you deal with all these dishes.”
She rose, started to stack the delicate china with the competence her waitress mother had taught her. Sebastian put a hand on her arm. The frisson erupted into a flare.
