Aidan’s eyes flashed bright amber. “Are you mad, woman?” Reaching for her wounded hand, he cupped it in one of his and turned it up so he could examine the damage.
Blood spilled out of the deep cut and filled her palm.
Swearing, he pressed the palm of his free hand to hers.
“Seriously,” she gritted, “how the hell could you act like your chest and arms didn’t hurt? Your cuts were way deeper than this one, and this hurts like hell.” It really did.
Aidan’s hand heated, becoming as warm as a hot-water bottle.
The pain in her palm decreased, then vanished altogether.
“I’m used to it,” he commented absently as he lifted his hand and peered down at her palm.
Dana did, too, and couldn’t believe her eyes. The wound was gone.
Grabbing one of the damp towels she had used on Aidan, she wiped her palm clean.
No wound. No scar. Nothing.
“Holy crap,” she whispered and stared at him with no little awe. “You can heal with your hands.”
He shrugged, his lips turning up in an adorably sheepish smile. “Amongst other things.”
She groaned. “Aidan!” she complained. “You can’t do that!”
“Do what?” he asked, all innocence.
“Tell me you can read minds and don’t age and heal quickly and can heal me, then—just as I’m beginning to process all of that—imply there’s more.”
He winced. “There is more. Quite a bit, I’m sorry to say.”
She sighed. “It’s times like this I wish I were a heavy drinker.”
He laughed. “Shall I pop over to the liquor store and fetch you some scotch?”
Amazingly, amusement flitted through her. “No, thank you.” Then she frowned as she recalled the ultra-tall, scary guy with the long hair appearing out of thin air earlier. “When you say pop over there, you don’t mean—”
“I can teleport,” he announced matter-of-factly.
Her mind went blank. “Oh, come on!” she nearly shouted.
Aidan laughed.
And she had to admit, despite everything, that it was good to see his handsome features lighten and his eyes lose some of their sobriety.
“Please, tell me you’re joking,” she begged, “and that teleportation only happens in sci-fi movies.”
“I’m not and it doesn’t. You saw Seth teleport earlier tonight.”
“Seth was the giant with the long hair?”
He grinned. “Yes. He’s our leader or commanding officer.”
“And he can do magical stuff, too?”
“There’s actually very little Seth can’t do.”
“What about Roland and the woman? They were immortals?”
“Yes. Roland can heal with his hands. And his wife Sarah has prophetic dreams.”
She sighed. “This is a lot to take in.”
“I know.”
“Too much for you to mention on a first date,” she admitted now that her brain was starting to process everything. “Or a second. Or even a third.”
“Such was my thought.” Slowly, as though he expected her to jerk away, he reached over and covered one of her hands with his. “It’s also a lot for me to trust you with, Dana. These secrets are not solely my own to share. We’ve worked hard to keep knowledge of our existence—of your existence, of gifted ones, immortals, and our advanced DNA and abilities—a closely guarded secret. Our lives and the lives of many others depend upon it. And each time one of us trusts someone with that knowledge, we make our brothers more vulnerable.”
She could see the truth in that. Society had always, it seemed, been dominated by people who would rather hate, harm, kill, or exploit those who were different from them than seek to learn from them and live in peace. “But you’re immortal. How vulnerable could you be?”
He squeezed her hand. “Remember, I said we’re mostly immortal. We can still be killed. Two of my brothers were slain not long ago when our secret was shared with the wrong people. A third immortal nearly lost her life as well.”
“I’m sorry.”
“And I’m sorry I didn’t find a way to tell you all this sooner.”
“I guess I can understand why you didn’t. But I can’t help feeling a little hurt that you didn’t trust me with it.”
“Had it only been my secret to share…” Brow furrowing, he combed the fingers of his free hand through his hair. “Hell, I probably still wouldn’t have told you. I care about you, Dana. More than I was beginning to think I could, if you’re to know the truth. I’ve enjoyed so much our time together. Every minute we’ve shared. And I feared losing that if I told you and you found it all to be too much.”
Drawing in a deep breath, she let it out in a long sigh, then turned her hand over and twined her fingers through his. “Okay. You can read minds, heal superfast, teleport, don’t age, can heal other people with your hands, run superfast, are superstrong and can make your eyes glow.”
“The last is more of an involuntary response.”
“Is there anything else you can do?”
His face crinkled up in a Welllllllllll, now that you mention it expression.
She groaned. “Just tell me.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to fetch you that scotch first?”
She laughed. “No, thank you.” His reluctance to confide more didn’t anger her. Oddly, it made her feel better, because she believed him when he said it didn’t stem from distrust but from a fear that she wouldn’t want him anymore if she knew it all.
“I have telekinetic abilities, too,” he confessed. “I just don’t use them very often.”
“You can move things with your mind?”
“Yes.”
“Will you show me?”
A pillow suddenly leapt up and hovered a couple of feet from her face.
Dana gaped. “What?” Even though she had expected something of the sort, it still shocked her.
Aidan’s look turned mischievous a second before the pillow flew forward and gently bounced off her face.
Dana burst out laughing and caught the fluffy projectile as it fell to her lap. Slinging it playfully at Aidan, she hit him in the face.
Aidan grinned, fell backward as if she had hit him with a fist instead, then sat up again.
“That is so cool.” Much cooler than prophetic visions.
He shrugged modestly.
“Can you only move little things? Or can you move bigger things, too?” she asked.
Turning toward her dresser, he stretched a hand out toward it dramatically.
Dana watched the dresser. After a second or two, it began to vibrate.
She sent Aidan an encouraging smile.
He winked.
Then Dana rose into the air.
Shrieking in surprise, she threw out her arms but found nothing to grab.
Aidan laughed.
When she looked down at him, he twirled his index finger.
Dana laughed as she spun in a circle, then floated down onto his lap.
He wrapped his arms around her.
Still smiling, she slid her own around his neck.
“Still like me?” he asked softly, the glow in his eyes failing to hide the vulnerability that lurked there.
She nodded.
“You’re not afraid of me?”
“No.” Whatever his abilities, he was still Aidan.
Her Aidan.
Closing his eyes, he hugged her tight and buried his face in her hair. “Thank you.”
Chapter Eight