“Christ, you’re ice cold.” Shrugging out of his leather jacket, he laid it over her. The added warmth felt nice, but not as good as the intense, permeating heat of his body beneath her, or the soothing comfort of his hands moving tenderly over her face and brow. “Does that feel better?”
It did, she realized. The savage pound kicking up inside her skull was ebbing under his touch. She nodded, not yet able to form coherent words. Her eyelids lifted and she stared up into the face of a golden angel. A scowling angel, whose grim concern was focused entirely on her.
And he was still touching her. His fingers stroked her forehead and temples, while his gaze clung to hers.
It felt more than good. It made her crave the feeling in a lot of other places on her body.
A weak moan escaped her as she struggled to lift up from his lap.
“Relax, Brinks. You’re not in any shape to even think about moving yet.” He shook his head and exhaled a curse. “Tell me your name. Your real name this time.”
It leaked out of her in a whisper. “Devony.”
He gave her a nod, the edge of his mouth quirking in response. “Devony. That’s a hell of an improvement over Brinks. Now, stay put, Devony. Let me help you.”
Accepting his help was the last thing she wanted, but she didn’t have the strength to refuse. He slipped his hands under the jacket he’d covered her with, moving his palms over the length of her arms then along her center.
“What did you do to Jordana back there?”
“I didn’t hurt her, I promise. I just borrowed her ability . . . temporarily.”
“Borrowed it.” His brow furrowed. “You mean you absorbed it into yourself? Explain.”
She hesitated, uncertain how he would react. “I can siphon someone else’s ability. I can use it as if it’s my own. Not for long, though. I can only hold it for a few minutes.”
“That’s what you turned on Nathan when he came at you? Jordana’s power.” He shook his head, his expression grave. “No wonder. That’s about the only thing that could stop a former Hunter like him. Don’t make the mistake of thinking he’ll give you a chance to do it again.”
Devony wasn’t surprised to hear that Jordana’s mate had been one of those formidable assassins. When he’d come at her, explosive in his fury, she had almost resigned herself to the fact that her next breath might be her last.
But Jordana’s power had protected her.
Not even a massive, clearly lethal Breed male like Nathan was any match for the light that had manifested in Devony’s hands.
“What is she, Rafe? Jordana . . . she isn’t Breed like you or Nathan. She isn’t a daywalker like me, either.”
“No.”
“But she is an immortal?”
His lengthy silence neither confirmed nor denied it. But he obviously wasn’t going to give her any more than that. The message in his stony expression was clear enough.
He didn’t trust her. Not with information about people he once cared about. He probably didn’t trust her with anything.
Not that she should blame him, considering the way Cruz had set him up tonight. Choosing the MFA had been Rafe’s test. She doubted Cruz could have anticipated they might run into someone he knew. The gang leader was cruel at times, but she wasn’t ready to give the man that much credit.
And while Devony didn’t have an obligation to clue Rafe in about Cruz’s intentions, she couldn’t deny that her guilt had been gnawing at her the entire time.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you where we were going tonight.”
Rafe grunted. “Don’t worry about it.”
His reply was clipped, toneless. She couldn’t decide if that was because he expected everyone to betray him, or only her.
“Well, I’m saying it anyway, Rafe. I am sorry. Cruz told me he was going to test you somehow, but I didn’t know the details. And I didn’t know there was a chance we could run into friends of yours.”
His gaze clashed with hers. “I said forget it. And they’re not my friends. Not anymore.”
“But they were once?”
