He'd never wanted to see it again, but he didn't tell her that. For a woman with average Flair, she still managed to be a step or two ahead of him. He delighted in it.

Mitch.e.l.la gently placed the HeartGift on a table, picked up the remaining gold marriage band, took his right hand, and curved the cuff around his wrist.

Love exploded between them, a burst of cycling heat so huge it overwhelmed. There was only Mitch.e.l.la, only love. His body quickened.

A yowl came from the other room. FamMan!

"I heard her," Mitch.e.l.la said, but she lifted Straif's fingers to her lips and kissed them. His eyes stung. There was no such pleasure in the world as linking with his HeartMate.

Drina trotted in, saw them embracing, and sniffed. The door swung open, and Antenn, Pinky riding his shoulder, entered.

"Straif and I are HeartMates, and we're marrying!" Mitch.e.l.la announced.

Drina hissed.

Pinky purred.

"Huh. Good," said Antenn. "Am I going to be a Blackthorn?" He eyed Straif.

Straif opened his arms, and Antenn flung himself into them. Another pleasure. Grinning, Straif rolled to the floor to wrestle with the boy. Mitch.e.l.la jumped on top of them, and Straif felt the roundness of her breast, her hip. The cats joined in, and he shouted in happiness. A Family, he had a Family, at last. A few moments later they all lay panting and laughing. Mitch.e.l.la clasped hands with Antenn and Straif. He took Antenn's hand and completed the circle. The cats lay sprawled atop them.

Mitch.e.l.la gazed into his eyes, and he found the cure for his tortured heart that he'd always searched for.

"We're a Family. Now and forever," she said.

Turn the page for a special preview of Robin D. Owens's next novel Heart Quest Coming soon from Berkley Sensation!

Black Ilex Winterberry watched his HeartMate from the shadows. He shouldn't approach her, but knew that he would.

His mouth tightened when Trif Clover performed her little ritual as she hunted for her mate. She held the charmkey she'd fashioned against the door of GrandLord Ginger's mansion and intoned, "HeartMate."

A HeartMate could fashion a key and open their love's door, and Trif was obviously on a quest to find him.

So she truly knew she had a HeartMate. They'd connected emotionally in her last Pa.s.sage and since her Flair was unstable, a few times since. Each instance left Ilex aroused and wanting, and yearning for more than her body. He hadn't known whether she'd believed the connection was anything other than an erotic dream. He had made it a point to find her-and now she was trying to do the same. But he was an experienced hunter.

He'd kept his distance from her. He was far too old, more than twice her age. Worse, he had a touch of prophetic talent and had experienced a little vision a long time ago that his life would be relatively brief. He might have a few more years left, and he refused to have this lovely, vibrant young woman die within a year of his own death, as always occurred with HeartMates.

Her face fell when the door refused to open, then she sighed, looked at the key in her hand, shrugged, and straightened her shoulders.

By the time Ilex pushed himself away from the large bole of the tree at the end of the portico, her usual cheerful smile had returned.

"What are you doing, Trif Clover?" he asked.

She jumped and flushed. Her dark green eyes went first to his guardsman's insignia instead of his face, causing a twinge of pain.

"Oh, uh." She whipped her hand holding the key behind her back and increased the charm of her smile.

Ilex shook his head at her.

Her shoulders slumped a little. "You know."

"It is worth our time for me to tell you it can be dangerous wandering the streets of Druida alone?"

She looked startled. "Druida's safe, especially n.o.ble Country."

It didn't help his ego that she hoped her HeartMate was n.o.ble. But that wasn't the real problem. The true difficulty was that there had been a string of three murders of young, extremely Flaired people whose psi powers were unstable. Murders that Ilex's superiors wanted kept quiet for the moment.

Indulging his m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.tic tendencies, he took her arm and let the touch of her shoot through him, heat his blood. The scent of her came, too, the light fragrance of spring flowers. He'd moved into her apartment building, MidCla.s.s Lodge, a couple of months ago, after he'd heard she'd gone door-to-door in the lodge, beginning her search for her HeartMate. And after the first murder.

"Please don't continue to go door-to-door testing your charmkey," he said neutrally, leading her down the drive to the walled entrance of the mansion and the wide-open gates. Ilex frowned. Most of the n.o.bles he knew were paranoid about security, but then, his recent "cases" had included the creme de la creme of Celtan society, the FirstFamilies.

Trif stopped and looked over her shoulder wistfully. "GrandLord Ginger is a widower and he has three sons, not to mention all the other unattached male Gingers working in the household."

"Ah, a good source of men."

She shrugged. "I suppose you think my quest is stupid, like everyone else. But it's my business."

"Not when you trespa.s.s on n.o.ble land."

"Has anyone reported me? Will you?"

"No. Not yet."

"So, are you going to lecture me or not?"

Ilex winced inwardly. That's what she thought of him-an older, neighbor guardsman, ready to lecture.

They had reached the pillar of the entrance when the wind changed-and brought the odor of death.

t.i.tles by Robin D. Owens.

HEARTMATE.

HEART THIEF.

HEART DUEL.

HEART CHOICE.