Chapter 9
Vaughn grabbed her out of instinct but loosened his grip when he felt Mariah's delicate frame stiffen beneath his palms. The top of her head with that glossy chestnut hair stopped a few inches below his chin.
He tried not to notice how perfectly she fit next to him, how that white coat couldn't totally hide her figure. His traitorous arms twitched with the need to wrap around her. A ridiculous notion, given the situation brewing with his sister. Hell, he still needed to hunt down and destroy that fucking creature that had put his sister in this hospital in the first place.
He had no time and no business thinking about anything besides professional matters when it came to the woman in front of him.
Okay, maybe another brunch date. Where he could watch her eat large quantities of food.
Christ.
Through some miracle of whatever gods still had his back, Vaughn managed to hold his shit together. What he really wanted was to back Mariah flush against the wall and press every inch of his body hard against hers, from her black pants to her plum-colored shirt that made her green eyes glow. But he didn't move a muscle.
Instead, he inhaled her mint aroma, which made his mouth fucking water, the craving stronger than when he wanted alcohol. Her scent also fired up his power again, and he gave in, mentally throwing the latch as he grimaced against the headache when the damned ability reached out to surround her and protect her.
Protect her from what? Danger? Only person here was... him.
Well, crap.
"Sorry there," she said.
Her breathy voice erased all rational thought, but he couldn't help himself. His biceps flexed, drawing her into his chest. Like she belonged there. So right.
So wrong.
No one belonged this close to Vaughn. Hell, he was practically radioactive. Everything he touched went to hell, and he'd be damned if Mariah would be hurt because of him.
Also, they were in a professional situation here.
Her small palms seared him through his shirt as she pushed back.
Pushed back.
Of course she did.
Faster than when the bell signaled the end of a fight round, he let go of her.
Damn her wide eyes and open mouth, but he wanted more of her, from the bow of her fuller upper lip to the tip of her pert nose.
His power flowed from him in a wave of crushing need to keep her safe, sucking the air from his lungs. That damned gift wanted to cocoon Mariah as surely as his physical arms. This was more than familiarity from their date together yesterday.
His head ached.
He swallowed a lump of what felt like gravel mixed with failure. "So, did you figure out what's going on with Shelby?" Mariah flinched. Time to tone down the angry voice. It wasn't her fault his brain waves fritzed when he was around her.
The inward roll of her lips had as much of an impact as if she'd dragged them over his skin. Fuck. Then that soft, pink mouth was moving.
"...no bleed in the brain, which is good. But I don't have an explanation for her loss of consciousness."
Eric had filled him in on what had happened back in that hospital room. Shelby had used her power to pull Eric back to the world of the living, but the cost was that she went into another coma. Whether she would recover this time was anyone's guess.
Unfortunately, no one in the family would ever spill the secret about the Taggarts' strange powers. Which left one doctor very frustrated and worried. Not that a medical professional knowing what Shelby had done would be able to help. According to Garrison and Kerr, their sister's ability had grown a few weeks ago. No one knew the price of that power changing.
Icy terror crystallized in his veins. Maybe this was the end game for his sister. For all of them. What if the Taggart kids could tolerate only so much of a shift in their power, and beyond that, their heads imploded?
A horrible thought, considering he was talking about his sister.
A fist formed way down deep in his chest. Damn. It wasn't fair. None of the bullshit his family had to deal with was fair.
