Silver Master

Chapter 41

IT WAS THE FIRST TIME HE’D HAD A CHANCE TO INVITE her to his place. Luckily it was the housekeeper’s regular cleaning day, so the apartment was in reasonably good shape. He picked up a bottle of champagne on the way home and dealt with dinner by ordering in. The night was warm and clear, so he served the pizza and salad on the balcony overlooking the Dead City.

They had talked about everything except themselves for the past three hours. Unwinding, Davis thought. They had both needed some time to relax after the events of the day.

Sometime after dinner he went back inside to get the bottle of Emerald Glow liqueur that he had bought along with the champagne. When he returned he saw that Celinda had risen from the lounger and was now leaning against the balcony railing. Araminta and Max were perched next to her.

For a moment he just looked at her, aware of the sensation of deep, hungry longing welling up inside. She was turned partially away from him, one arm resting on the railing as she gazed pensively at the view of the ruins cloaked in the starry night. He could see the curve of her cheek and the sweet, echoing arcs of her shoulder, breast, and hip.

He took a grip on his self-control, walked to the table, and poured two small glasses of the Emerald Glow. Her fingers brushed against his when he handed one of the glasses to her.

“Thanks,” she said, turning to smile at him. “I need this. I’m exhausted, but I think I’m going to have trouble sleeping tonight.”

“It’s the adrenaline.” He swallowed some of the Emerald Glow, savoring the green heat. “It jacks you up and wears you out at the same time. Takes a while to de-rez. You’ve been through a lot in the past few days.”

“Not my usual routine, that’s for sure.” She searched his face. “I don’t think it’s been routine for you, either. You never said what happened when you followed Hollings down into the rain forest.”

He leaned both elbows on the railing, cradling the little glass in one hand, and looked out at the glowing ruins. “He used the relic on me. Felt like I was standing in front of a huge dam that had just broken. A wall of psi crashed over me, wiping out everything, my normal as well as my paranormal senses. It was chaos.” He stopped for a beat. “I thought I was dying.”

“Davis.” She put her glass down and moved closer, sliding her arm around his waist. She leaned into him, letting him absorb her warmth the way she had the night she had driven him back to Cadence after the encounter with Landry’s men. She didn’t say anything more.

He set his own glass aside and pulled her tightly to him, breathing in her scent.

“You were right about the strategy to combat the effects of the relic,” he said into her hair. “I focused on something really important to me, something that was even more important than my own survival. I hung on to it the way a man hangs on to a life preserver when the ship is going down.”

She pressed her forehead against his shoulder. “Thank heavens it worked. I wasn’t sure if it would.”

Very gently he eased back and used one finger to raise her chin so that she had to meet his eyes.

“It was your name I used to anchor me in the storm, Celinda.”

“My name?” She sounded bewildered.

“I didn’t want to die, I couldn’t die, because that would leave you in mortal danger from Hollings. I know that according to that book of yours, it’s probably way too soon to say this, but I love you.”

“Oh, Davis.” She flung herself hard against him. “I love you, too. I’ve loved you from the moment I walked into my office at Promises, Inc., and sensed your psi energy. I knew that day that you were Mr. Perfect.”

“Let me get this straight.” He laughed a little, as the euphoria hit him. “You fell in love with my psi wave patterns?”

She raised her head. “I always knew I would recognize the man of my dreams when I met him.”

“Hang on a second. Doesn’t that theory run counter to the advice in your book? Trig said that in chapter one it states very clearly that there is no such thing as love at first sight.”

“If there is ever a second edition of the book, I’ll make it a point to correct that obviously inaccurate statement.”