"You killed him, you killed my husband!"

Ungrateful b.i.t.c.h!

Shaking my head, I dropped to my knees next to James. I turned his body over to survey the damage. I sucked my breath in. The bullet had gone into his chest. I was by no means an expert, but it looked like it had been a blow to the heart. His hand came up, I thought he was going for his chest wound, I was wrong, he was going for my hand. I took it and leaned over him, caressing his check with my other hand.

"Tell me what to do, James. Tell me what to do...."

He opened his mouth but no sound came out. I heard sirens coming in our direction. Under normal circ.u.mstances that would have been a blessing but I had a vampire dying on the ground before me and humans were not allowe d to find out they existed. I'd worked for the Paranormal Regulators, Ken's firm, long enough to know how this went down. They would "dispose" of James. They'd make no effort to heal him. A shot to the heart meant death to a vampire, so they wouldn't waste time or resources on him, and they would most likely hurt the only remaining witness, the cashier. They would cause damage that would affect her short-term memory. That, of course, would be a last resort. First, they'd bring in a witch to try towipe her memory clean and those of any responding officers that had shown up. It would be a mess.

My power rose up again. I didn't fight it. I found that it generally handled stress better than me. Magic poured out of me and over the area.

The cashier froze in mid-movement. I glanced down at James and watched a s his body lifted off the ground. Getting to my feet, I ran to open the car door without any more thought on my part and watched as my power eased James into the back seat. I kept forgetting it was me, it was my mind that did this, even if it was on a subconscious level. I slammed the door shut and started the car.

I pulled out and headed down the road. I looked back at the gas station, from what I could tell the cashier wasn't moving yet. I hoped my magic would wear off soon. At least I hoped it would. The responding officers would be pretty freaked out by a petrified female and a dead body.

James made a small noise and I tried to reach over the seat to touch him while I drove. My arm wasn't long enough. "James, hang on ... I'm taking you to Pallo, he can fix this. I know he can ... hang on James ... don't you dare give up!"

I pulled onto my road, and I mean my road, I was the only house on it.

James touched my hand and I grabbed hold of his, giving it a squeeze. He gave a weak one in return and then his arm went limp. Slamming on the brakes, I put the car in park and climbed into the back seat. James' blue eyes were gla.s.sy and staring at up at the interior roof of the car.

"JAMES!".

I slammed on his chest, he didn't respond. "JAMES!" I hit him again.

Something grabbed me from behind and yanked me out of the vehicle. I kicked and carried on, until I saw the long white blond hair blow past me.

Ceasing to struggle, I turned and looked up at Caradoc. He set me down gently.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, seemingly unfazed by my blows.

"No, James ... James is hurt." I looked into the back seat. It was emptyand the other door was open. I saw Pallo putting James down on the ground. I climbed through the back seat as fast as I could.

I know, I know, walking around the car would have been faster, I wasn't thinking clearly.

I dropped down next to them. Pallo looked at James then at me. "Go back to the house with Caradoc."

Shaking my head no, I did my best to shield my thoughts from him. It wasn't easy to do and I knew that it wouldn't last long, but I wasn't about to leave James' side. "Did the bullet hit his heart?"

Pallo reached towards me. "It is still in his heart, I cannot heal him with it lodged in there. I am afraid that your dear James will not...."

My dear James? What the h.e.l.l?

This was no time for jealousy. I smacked his hand away and thought about sending enough power into him to launch his a.s.s back to his house. I refrained. "Don't do this, Pallo! He saved my life ... do you understand me? I won't let him go like this, not if we can help him!"

"Gwyneth, you cannot save all your precious men all the time," Pallo said dryly.

I glared up at him. "If you're not willing to help then get the h.e.l.l away from him so I can try!"

Placing my hand over James' chest, I sensed his pain and visualized the bullet in his heart. I thought about it as being on a rope, I tugged the magical string in my mind, and felt it give. I yanked harder and the bullet flew out and through my hand.

"Ahh ... ouch!" I screamed out.

Pallo grabbed my hand and turned it over. The bullet had gone all the way through it, leaving a gapping hole in my hand.

"Hey, beautiful," James said.

Shocked, I stared down at him and he smiled. "James?""Look," Pallo said, pointing at the blood dripping from my hand. It was falling into James' open chest wound. I bent over him and watched as he healed himself. James lifted his head up and looked down at his chest.

"The woman went straight to my heart," James said, grabbing himself and doing a lame country boy accent. I pushed him hard.

"Jerk!"

He grabbed my b.l.o.o.d.y hand and pain shot through it. Something demonic crossed over his face. I'd never seen James shift into full vamp-mode and it scared me. His blue eyes grew dark and his nose widened. Fangs came out as his head lunged at my hand. I thought he was going to sink his teeth into my hand, but he didn't. He tongued the wound, lapping up the blood. The feel of his tongue pressing into my open flesh should have repulsed me. I didn't. Instead, I felt drawn to James, as if we were sharing more than simply my blood. I knew he would never hurt me and eve n though his demon had surfaced, he still had hold of it enough to be gentle with me.

Pallo seized James by the throat. James dropped my hand and changed back to normal. James' eyes widened, but he made no attempt to free himself from Pallo's clutches. He could play the role of subordinate vampire all friggin' night, but I wouldn't. I grabbed hold of Pallo's hand and tried to pry it off James' neck.

"Pallo, no!"

"He calls himself your friend, yet he feeds off you like you are nothing to him."

James tried to talk, but Pallo's grip didn't allow any air to pa.s.s through his windpipe. His blue gaze locked on me, pleading with me to forgive him. In my mind, there was nothing to forgive. He was a vampire, he drank blood, it happened. It was gross but it happened and he hadn't hurt me.

"Pallo, let him go this instant or you will never be welcome in my home or my life again. Do you understand? Read my thoughts now and know that I am NOT exaggerating!"

Pallo's eyes grew dark. "You would choose him over me?"

"Don't make me. Let him go." I touched his arm and ran my hand up it.

He let go of James' throat and stood. James coughed and I glanced over at Caradoc, who was still on the other side of the car. Smart man. I motioned for him to deal with James and I went after Pallo.

Pallo was storming off down the street. I knew that he could have got away much faster but he didn't, he wanted me to come after him. It was a test, and if I didn't go then I would fail. I wasn't one who liked to fail so I ran after him.

"Pallo!"

He didn't stop. I continued to run after him until white-hot pain shot through my stomach. "Pallo, help, oh..." I flipped over in mid-stride and hit the ground hard. I curled up into myself. The pain was so great that I couldn't even cry out. Again and again the cramps came, each one lasting longer than the one before. This wasn't normal, it felt as though my insides were being laid open with a dull knife.

My body grew cold and I began to shake on top of the vicious cramps.

"Gwen!"

I felt hands on me and opened my eyes to see James next to me. "Gwen, what's wrong? s.h.i.t, you're freezing."

He picked me up as if I weighed nothing and spun me around. I knew vampires could fly, I just never got used to it. We moved up and off the ground. I closed my eyes and put my head against James' healed chest.

Chapter 12.

"Don't go!" I said, grabbing James' arm and pulling him back to me.

He closed his eyes slightly and I could see the struggle within him all over his face. "Pallo wants to come in and check on you, love, and I think it's time you let him."

I glanced over at my bedroom door and knew that somewhere in my house Pallo was listening to every word we said. "I don't care if he wants to come in. He was going to let you die!"

"He'd've been a bit late on that one, 'cause I'm already dead. It would have been better all around if you'd have left well enough alone, Gwen."

I touched his soft cheek and shook my head. "Don't say that. Don't even think that! You may not give a d.a.m.n what happens to you, but I do."

James narrowed his eyes, searching my expression for something. I pulled him closer and his muscles tensed. It was clear that he didn't want to be close to me, but I didn't care. I needed to hug him, needed to be sure he was safe and that he knew he was loved. "Jameson, you have two seconds to wrap those pale a.s.s arms around me before I give you a good dose of faerie power."

He chuckled and relaxed. Slowly, he eased himself over me. It was odd to hug him while lying down. It felt so much more intimate. When I pulled him close, he was left no choice but to place his body on mine. For the fist time since I'd known James, I took in his sweet scent and felt my body responding to him in ways it shouldn't. We were just friends, yet moisture began to build between my legs and my nipples hardened against his hard chest.

James stiffened and began to pull back from me. I held tight to him. My eyelids fluttered closed as I drew in another breath, taking in his scent. My body tingled and without thought, I rubbed against him andkissed the side of his neck softly. Before I knew it, his lips had found mine. We opened our eyes at the same time and jerked away from one another. We sat up fast.

Awkward silence followed. James still sat next to me on the bed and it took a moment for me to realize that my hand was resting in his lap.

Mortified beyond belief, I cringed. James burst into laugher. My mouth dropped open.

"How is this funny?"

He bit his lip and nodded, suddenly looking very series. It was forced, I could tell. "I think the real question you ought to be asking yourself is--how the h.e.l.l is it not funny?" That did it, he feel forward, laughing even harder.

It was official, he finally snapped. The blue hair dye must have been a cry for help. "James? Care to share?"

"Oh ... you ... ha ... Like you don't have enough issues!"

"Hey!" Okay, he had a point. I was neck deep in emotional baggage as it was. I closed my eyes and shook my head. How the h.e.l.l did I always manag e to get myself into these messes?

"Whatcha thinkin' about, love?"

I peeked out at him and let my forehead crinkle up. "Can't you just read my mind and figure it out? That's what Pallo and Caradoc do to me." I meant it as a joke. James didn't take it that way.

"Gwen, I'm not like them. I'd never do it on purpose, you know that.

Occasionally a random thought or feeling you're havin' comes to me, but I do my best to block it out. h.e.l.l, I'm not even sure I'd do read you if you asked me. You kind of scare me. Plus, I know who your father is and I'm a wee bit concerned about what kind of sick s.h.i.t might be goin' on in that noggin of yours."

That was bold to admit on his part. He was cementing the groundwork for our friendship and that meant a lot to me. It was good to hear that one of them wouldn't take advantage of being able to read my thoughts. I'dalways a.s.sumed that James did it too. He seemed to always know what to say to me, or when to offer his support. I'd always a.s.sumed that our friendship was based off his vampire skills of perception. I didn't realize it was just him being a good friend.

He laid his hand against my cheek. I turned my face into his palm and kissed it gently. "Thank you."

James jerked his hand away like I'd scalded him and then tried to play it off. "Right, then ... well, how's your hand feeling?" He picked it up and looked and examined it closely. It was completely healed. "Sorry about makin' a snack of you."

I laughed softly. "No worries! I'm fine, and thanks for saving my life tonight. How the heck did you manage to find me so fast?"

He shifted on the bed slightly. I got the distinct impression that he didn't want to tell me. I touched his face lightly, turning his attention to me. "James, how did you find me so fast?"

His gaze darted downward. "I, umm ... I can sense when you're hurt or scared."

I shrugged. It seemed like most vampires had some sort of power, so I wasn't too surprised. From the way James was acting, I got the distinct feeling that there was more to the story. "James, full disclosure buddy."

"A vampire should only be able to sense a person with the intensity I sense you if they've had intercourse or use 'em as an all you can suck buffet."

And here I thought that I was confused before. Now, I was now shocked.

"But, James, we haven't had ... and you don't suck...."

He shook his head fast. "Yeah, I know its friggin' weird. I try to block you out, but still sense you." He stroked my cheek lightly. "I can't say for sure, but I think I may have a closer bond to you then Pallo has. And I don't know why. That's not even the worst part."

"There's more?" I really didn't want to hear the rest of this.

"Oh, there's more! I ... umm ... before I figured out what was happenin'... I sort of sensed you while you were havin' s.e.x."

"What do you mean, sort of sensed me?" Now I knew that I did not want to hear the rest of this.

He took a deep breath. "I thought I was dreamin'--I had no idea they were real."

"They?"

James gave me a sheepish smile. "It happened quite a bit for in the beginning ... I just thought they were dreams, my fantasy about you," he averted his gaze for a moment, " but when you walked into Necro World a couple of months ago, I realized you were alive and that dreams weren't dreams at all."

It took a moment for all that he'd said to sink in. Prior to going to Necro's Magik World & Supernatural Theme Park, I'd had no recollection o f a past life and no knowledge of my biological birth parents. Once Caradoc had opened the door and let me in, my life changed completely. Prior to that, I'd been nursing a broken heart from my break-up with Ken and hadn't even entertained dating again.

Another thought came to mind. "James, who did you 'sense' me having s.e.x with?"

"Ken and Caleb," he put his hands up quick, "but just the first time with him! Honest! And it was only a portion of it ... not the whole thing."

Tipping my head, I stared into his blue eyes, hoping beyond hopes that he wasn't lying to me. From day one, I felt comfortable with James--I could trust him with anything. No, he wasn't lying. If anything, he was the most honest man in my life, next to Caleb that is.

I sat up and rubbed my temples. Whatever was happening to me had left me feeling like I'd been hit by a freight train. I twisted slightly on the bed and my knee brushed past James' leg. Heat flared through my leg and James dropped his hand down on it. Closing his eyes, he looked strained for a moment before the heat vanished."James, what's happening to us?"

"I'm not exactly sure."

"Could we ask...?" I stopped short of saying Pallo's name.

"Pallo doesn't know about any of this, Gwen, and you can't tell him."

I glanced at the door, wondering how close Pallo really was to us. "He does now. I'm betting he's listening to every word we say! I've all but given up on private thoughts around him."

James shook his head and touched my chin. "I'm blockin' him from hearin'

this. I'm not strong enough to hold him out long so listen carefully.