“Different how?”
“I’m just—well,” he rubbed his face with his hands in a gesture Meg recognized as shyness, “apparently I’ve broken every record at the Facility.”
Her eyes widened. “Every record?”
“Yeah, the instructors and doctors there test us and keep track of all our scores—our running times, accuracy with different weapons, martial arts skills, weight lifting—everything.”
“Wow, that’s impressive!” Meg was staring at Creed with a new level of awe.
He just shrugged.
They were silent for a moment, each in their thoughts.
“Why did I dream of you?” Creed’s voice was barely above a whisper.
Meg sighed, not sure how to answer.
He turned his large body toward the girl with the Cherokee dark eyes to study her face. She held still, allowing him time to think, to process.
“In my dream, you would touch me,” he motioned to his temple, “and take away my pain.” His blue eyes watched for her reaction.
She smiled softly and nodded. “It’s my evolved gift. That’s what I do…what I did for you. I stumbled onto the ability the day of the battle on the island. You were the first person I reached out to like that. I desperately wanted to ease your emotional pain.”
“There was a bright-white blanket.” His voice sounded far away.
“That’s the way you described it to me. You said it felt as if I had wrapped you in a pure white blanket and taken away your pain.”
He locked eyes with her again. “Why me? Why use your gift on me? It hurts you, doesn’t it? Like in the barn?”
“You’re worth it.” She answered from her heart.
“Meg, I have to know. Were we—I mean, I have such a strong feeling I can’t explain—were we close—you and me?” He looked torn between embarrassed to ask and desperate to know.
Meg felt a wave of shyness, and went back to studying the hem of her shorts. “Um, wow.” Heat rushed up her neck, burning her cheeks.
“We were, weren’t we?” His eyes searched hers.
“We were heading that way,” She admitted, forcing herself to look him in the eyes as she spoke.
He nodded, the corners of his mouth lifting into the softest of smiles. “I really wish I could remember that.”
“Me, too.” She bit her lip at the memory crisp in her mind, but lost to him.
His eyes locked onto the flesh between Meg’s teeth. “Did I ever get to kiss you?”
She opened her mouth to answer when he stood abruptly. “No, wait. Don’t answer that. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” He paced away from the sofa they’d shared, hands on his hips, his back to her.
“Listen Meg, we have a job to do. We’re about to walk into the spider’s web.” He shook his head, trying to regain focus. “And he’s one hell of a nasty spider.”
He turned to look at the girl, hands still parked on his muscular hips, “I need to focus, and I can’t if I’m worried about you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t want you to get hurt, or worse,” he blurted.
“Are you telling me you think I’m too much of a liability to be part of the plan?”
“That’s not what I’m saying,” he frowned.
“Oh, so you just think I can’t hold my own. Is that it?” She stood abruptly, arms crossed, eyes flashing accusations.
“Meg, lower your voice,” Creed looked back toward the hallway where most of the bedrooms were.
“No, no, Creed Young. Everyone may as well hear this. You must think I’m a stupid weakling. Well, I’ll have you know, I may not have broken records, but I make up for it with moxie. How dare you suggest I can’t—”
Creed took one long stride, closing the distance between them before Meg could utter another word. His body radiated heat. His strong hands held her gently but firmly by the shoulders catching her completely by surprise. Her jaw fell open but nothing came out.
“There is nothing weak about you, Meg. I admire the hell out of you, and that’s just based on what I’ve seen in the past day. I have no doubt you are a kick-ass fighter, but the strongest part of you is your heart. I would follow you into battle any day.”
Her hands, of their own volition, reached up to push him away, but instead of pushing, they just held still, flat against his chest, feeling his strong heartbeat. He was solid. The skin and muscle under the thin T-shirt was beyond tight. She forced her eyes not to linger on his lips instead grabbing his eyes and locking there. “If my strength is my heart, how much damage could I possibly cause?”
The blue of his eyes glistened like an oasis, dizzying and surreal. “You could obliterate.”
That’s when the bright overhead lights burst on.