“I can’t get a signal underground.” Carr gently stroked a lock of hair from her forehead, sending a tingle of awareness from her head to her toes. “I didn’t want to leave you alone.”

  Damn, the man was potent, or maybe all the other men who’d touched her before were just not “right”, and this man was the only one who could elicit such feelings.

  She sighed and snuggled her head into the space between his neck and shoulder. Why fight the feelings? They were good ones. She needed the comfort, and she suspected she needed him.

  Carr made a low rumbling sound, reminiscent of a large purring cat. She sensed his approval of her reaction to his touch through their mental connection. The amulet on her chest sparked and sought his.

  Damn, she wished there was a manual on how the amulet and the Talisman-Consort bond worked. She had a gut feeling that if they so wished, they could monitor each other’s feelings and thoughts one hundred percent of the time. Right now, she received only occasional flashes of how Carr felt. His next words verified her conclusions and proved he could read her better than she read him.

  “I need you also. Never doubt that, Lily. You are now my life.”

  Carr cleared his throat and his high cheekbones reddened. He was embarrassed. This was not a man who liked to be vulnerable.

  “Now that you’re conscious, I can do a quick medical on you,” he said. “Then I’ll go outside and try to raise Donovan Callahan to come and get us the hell out of here.”

  She went with his change of subject. Over the last few seconds, it had become very clear that she needed to examine how she felt about this relationship with Carr. The connection between them was growing stronger the longer they were together. Instinctively, she’d already accepted him; those same instincts told her he was the only man who could make her “feel” and not just react. The prophecy and the voice of the amulet, which had to be Gaia, pressured her not to waste time. The future was barreling toward them at light speed, and if she did not come to terms with her destined role, and soon, there might not be a future for anyone.

  “Why a medical exam?” She reached with a tentative hand and stroked his shoulder. His full body shudder thrilled her. She had just as much control over his reactions as he did over hers. It was a sensual power exchange she had never experienced before. “I just have bumps and bruises and maybe a few cuts.”

  “Humor me.” He stroked a finger over a sore spot on her forehead. “I want to check for possible fractures that might need to be stabilized.” His voice was tight with some strong emotion. “When I arrived in the cave, you were dead to the world. I couldn’t rouse you, and I was worried. The quake had bounced you around pretty brutally.”

  Covering his hand with hers, she traced the bruise using his finger. His eyes narrowed and he groaned low in his throat. He captured her hand and kissed the tips of her fingers.

  “Um, I see what you mean. I’ve got a bump on my forehead.” She struggled to sit up. Carr released her and helped her to sit next to him on some sort of mat. “The cave isn’t spinning. I’m only seeing one of you.” She turned her head. “How are my pupils?”

  He reached into a box sitting next to him and picked out a small penlight. He tipped her head up with a gentle finger under her chin and shone the light into her eyes. “Besides being the most beautiful green eyes I’ve ever seen, the pupils are equal and reactive. Thank the gods.”

  “Then, I think your patient is fine.” She patted his muscled thigh. “You can go outside now and try to get a signal.”

  A draft of cool air swept over her exposed shoulders, and she shivered. Immediately, he put his arm around her and pulled her against him, tucking the blanket around her again. His body heat engulfed her.

  Damn, the man is a frickin’ furnace.

  “I’m fine, Carr. Really. Go signal. I’m sure whatever gear you brought doesn’t include dry clothing for either of us or food for more than a day or two. The sooner we know if someone is coming for us, the sooner we can deal with reality if they aren’t.”

  Carr stroked a finger down her nose, tapping the end. “Not only is my Talisman strong and courageous, but she’s also one smart cookie. I only managed to grab the survival kit from the helicopter. We hadn’t planned on an extended cave stay when we set out to get you.” He stood after making sure she was covered completely by the blanket. He picked up a pack from the other side of him and removed some items. “Here are some protein bars and a canteen. We’ve got lots of water, so drink what you need. The spring running through this cave is clean, I tested it.”

  Lily took the items. “I feel really uncomfortable in this blanket. Do you have anything in that pack I can put on?”

  Carr pulled out a thermal long-sleeved shirt. “This was packed for KOTE operatives so I imagine it will be huge on you.” He laid it across her lap.

  She smiled. He could’ve used the shirt to replace his wet one, which lay drying on a rock, but instead he’d saved the one dry piece of clothing for her. Her insides melted and her heart fluttered. Was this what love felt like? “I’m betting you’re right. Thanks.”

  “Sweetheart, you don’t need to thank me for taking care of you.” Carr’s voice was a smoky drawl. “It’s my right and honor to do so. I’m just sorry I wasn’t able to get here sooner.”

  “No guilt trip allowed. You promised to come get me and you did at a great risk to yourself. A girl can’t ask for much more than that in her man.” She knew of no other male of her acquaintance who could’ve done what he had.

  “You believe I’m your man?”

  Great Gaia! The words had slipped out of her mouth without any conscious thought. Yeah, her body, mind, and spirit—and let’s not forget the prophecy—recognized Carr as hers. She wouldn’t lie to him. He could too easily prove her false.

  “Yes, I do believe you are. But I’m pretty sure I got the better part of the bargain.” Avoiding his hot gaze, she concentrated on peeling off the protein bar wrapper. She really was frazzled with all the new feelings taking over her body, uncomfortable with his total devotion to her. “I’m not. I probably won’t be enough of a woman for you. I, uh … oh, damn!” Tears of frustration welled in her eyes.

  Yeah, Lily, talk around the topic, why don’t you?

  Carr knelt next to her. Cupping her face, he captured her gaze, stroking away the moisture on her cheeks with his thumbs. “You’re the only woman for me. I sense your fears. We’ll take the next steps in our relationship as slowly as you want, Lily. I don’t want you scared. I’ll protect you from everything and everyone, including myself. I promise.”

  She smiled at him through wet lashes. “I know you’ll take care of me. And I appreciate the fact you want to go slowly … for me, but we might not have the time to get used to each other’s, um, sexual needs. It all depends—”

  He halted her words with a light kiss on her lips. “Shh. We’ll just deal. We can use astral sex for as long as we need to. Just remember, astral sex is more potent when the two partners are within touching distance. If that doesn’t work, then we’ll take it from there. You’re driving this, Lily. I’ll follow your cues.”

  So, tell him about the part where the Power of Three means conceiving while saving the world.

  Eventually.

  Sooner would be better. The amulet on her chest sparked.

  “Thank you, Carr.” She stroked his whiskered jaw. “So, just a heads-up—um, I liked the nibbling of the ears and the neck nuzzling. Oh, and the cuddling. Maybe after you reach KOTE, we could … kiss or something while we wait for rescue?”

  She lowered her lashes. Her cheeks burned. She’d never asked a man for any kind of intimacy before.

  Carr captured the hand stroking his jaw and placed a kiss in the palm, followed by a slow, circular lick that generated far more heat than she would’ve expected. “I think we could manage that. And if you like my kissing, maybe we could go to the next level and try some fondling.”

  Lily’s breath hitched. Her nipples, the little hussies, perked and begged for his touch and her womb clenched. “Maybe.”

  In less than a day, she’d become a needy, wanton woman, and he’d only licked her palm and talked about touching her.

  Carr grinned and stood up. “Hold those thoughts, baby.”

  His words indicated yet again that he seemed to be able to monitor her wayward thoughts. Ground rules, they needed ground rules about that—

  “Stop worrying so much,” Carr murmured. “We’ll figure out this connection between us, together. I’ll be back soon.”

  She nodded. “Be careful. The ledge seemed weak in spots. Gaia only knows, the water may have eroded it farther.” Damn, she was babbling.

  “I’ll be very careful, Lily. You’ll never be alone again, I promise.” He turned and walked into the darkness beyond the glow pack.

  Carr knew her fears more intimately than even she did. Until he’d said it, she hadn’t even been aware that her greatest fear—even greater than her fear of the unknown world of male-female sexuality—was being left alone.

  In that epiphanic moment, she realized everything between them would be fine. She wanted to be this man’s woman more than anything in the world. Gaia had chosen well.

  CHAPTER 10

  Monday, 9 p.m. (EST), Brody’s Finger Lakes Estate

  Trent slipped into the sitting room of Autumn’s quarters. The security in the house had not changed. The heightened security activity was mostly concentrated outside the house and around the edges of the estate. They were looking for him, but he didn’t intend on being found. He and Autumn should be on the road and halfway to New York City before anyone had realized she was gone.

  Moving swiftly and soundlessly, he entered Autumn’s bedroom. A night-light over the bed was the only light in the room. It highlighted her small figure curled into a ball under the sheets. He knelt by the bed and covered her mouth with his hand. Her eyes flew open, and he almost cried out at the stark fear—and pain—he read in her gaze.

  What had the bastard done to her this time? And what kind of man was Trent that he’d let it happen? It didn’t matter that Autumn had insisted she try to get more information from Brody, Trent should have taken her away earlier.

  She touched his arm as if to comfort him. He removed his hand from her lips.

  “Trent—” His name came out on a soft, heartrending sob.

  “Tell me you’re okay. Are you in pain? Baby … I’m so sorry.” He crooned under his breath as acid ate his gut.

  “Trent! You’re alive. I heard … I thought …” Her voice trailed off. Tears flowed down her cheeks. “Gaia save me, I thought you were dead. He bragged”—she grabbed his hand and rubbed her wet cheek against it—“that he’d had you killed.”

  All this emotion, pain in her eyes, was for him? Her love humbled him; he didn’t deserve this kind of devotion. He’d failed to protect her from a madman. He vowed to place her needs and existence before his for the rest of their lives.

  “Sweet, blessed Gaia, Autumn. You have to stop crying.” He drew her into his chest and stroked her back. “He didn’t touch me, baby.” You’re the one who suffered while I hid like a coward in a cave. “I was gone, long before he sent anyone after me.”

  Gradually, her trembling and tears quieted. He could’ve held her forever, wanted to, but, first, he had to get her the hell away from Brody’s foul reach. Easing her back onto the bed, he dried her cheeks with the edge of the sheet. “We’re leaving. I have a plan.” He stood and headed for her closet to get her some clothes.

  “I can’t.”

  He stopped and hastened back to the bed. He soothed a bruise he’d just noticed on her cheek.

  “I’m fine.” She lied. She’d always downplayed the pain. “I want to go, but”—she threw back the covers—“he has me chained to the bed. I displeased him. He threatened to come to me later and he wanted me to stay where he put me.”

  “Bastard.” Trent added a few more foul words and stopped when he noticed Autumn’s fascinated expression.

  Avoiding the evidence of new bruising and cuts on her nude body, Trent examined the manacles around her ankles. If he catalogued her injuries, he might do something reckless, such as go after Brody and strangle him. Trent, then, would most likely be killed, thus leaving Autumn alone and unprotected.

  Even with the situation as dire as it was, her expression was filled with love and confidence in him that he wanted to howl.

  “Trent?” Her voice brought him back to the moment. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” His face heated. “I love you, Autumn.”

  “I know that, darling. I love you, but I really would like to leave. Can you get these off?” She jangled the ankle chains.

  “I can get those off. Are they connected to an alarm system?”

  “No, I don’t think so.” She frowned. “No wires or anything I saw.”

  “Okay, first I’ll get the manacles off and then get you some clothes.”

  Autumn managed a slight smile even though he knew she had to be in great pain. “Sounds like a plan. Hurry! There’s no telling when Algernon might come back.”

  Trent nodded. After pulling out a Swiss Army knife, he chose a tool and went to work on the locks. They were simple and snapped open almost immediately.

  “You’re good at that.”

  She had no idea—no one did—at all the talents and training he’d managed to hide from Brody and the rest of the Terran world. He might only be half-Terran, but that half was more powerful than he’d ever let on. He’d known there would be a day he’d leave Brody’s employ and he’d need his skill set to hide from the powerful Destroyer. His element might only be Air, but he had Protector genes, not Keeper.

  Going to the large walk-in closet, he located a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a sweater. Returning to Autumn’s side, he handed them to her. She stood on shaky legs, and with his assistance, tugged the jeans over her bruised nakedness, then followed with the tops.

  Trent swallowed a groan at the full picture of what Brody had done to her. He had to stay on task—getting his love away from the devil—time enough later for taking revenge. “We’ll buy you more clothes when we get to New York City. Anything you need to take from here?”

  “Just my mother’s jewelry.” She moved slowly, but steadily to a chest and retrieved a small velvet pouch which she tucked into a small backpack type of purse. Slipping on some sneakers, without socks, she turned to him. “I’m ready.”

  He moved to her side and took her arm. “Baby, swallow this.”

  She took the small capsule from him and looked at it. “What is it? I don’t need a pain pill.”

  “It’s a morning-after pill.”

  He had the second dose in his pocket. He’d also packed a small kit to deal with any aftereffects of the drugs. They’d probably have to stop somewhere for a day until she stopped bleeding. He was upset that she’d have to go through all this, but it was better than letting the bastard’s seed grow in her.

  She smiled, then swallowed the capsule dry. “You think of everything.” She hesitated, peeking at him through her lashes. “By the way, just so you know. I want your babies—lots of them.”

  Once again, she’d knocked him off balance. “I want that, too. More than anything.” Trent kissed her and then placed his arm around her waist. “Stay close to me. We’re heading for the side entrance at the western edge of the estate and the timing has to be just right. A patrol passes by every ten minutes.”

  “What about the dogs?” she whispered as they slipped outside through the French doors of her bedroom.

  “They’re sleeping. I put sedatives in their food.” He looked around the corner of the house. They had to cover some open ground before they hit the trees. Seeing no one, he said, “Run to the woods and hide. I’ll cover you.” He drew out his gun.

  Autumn’s eyes fixed on the weapon, then on his face. She nodded and ran.

  Trent followed, sweeping his gaze and the gun from side to side. So far, so good.

  Catching up with a trembling Autumn, he hugged her and kissed her forehead. “My strong, brave woman. The trickiest part will be at the perimeter wall. I have a way up and over it, using a tree. I’ll have to lift you—”

  Autumn covered his mouth with her hand. “I can climb trees. Don’t worry. I’m just sore, not crippled.” She kissed him before he could beg her forgiveness once again. “Stop looking so guilty. I’m the one who refused to leave until we had as much information as we could get.”

  She kissed him again when he opened his mouth to apologize. She read his moods so easily. “Do you have an extra gun? I can shoot.”

  Maybe he wasn’t the only one in this relationship with hidden depths. He looked forward to a long future together so he could discover every single one of hers.

  “I’m one lucky son of a bitch.” He withdrew another gun from his pack. “Here’s a Glock. Can you handle it?”

  “Yeah.” Autumn took the gun and checked the load. She did it with authority. He knew then she’d hit what she aimed for. “Let’s go. I have a taste for freedom.”

  “Me too, baby. Me too.” He gently nudged her ahead of him. “From here out, we need to be extra quiet.”

  Autumn grabbed his hand with her free one and squeezed, then started forward. She moved swiftly now. Getting out of the house seemed to have given her extra strength. She moved quietly as if she had some training. His woman was proving to be one hell of a partner.

  As they neared the perimeter wall, Trent tugged on Autumn’s sweater. She stopped instantly. He steered her to the cover of a large oak. The glow of the security lights mounted along the wall cast an orange aura over the tree.

  Autumn smoothed a hand over the trunk. Turning to him, she smiled. She handed him her small bag, stuck the Glock in the waist of her pants at her back, then grabbed the lowest branch, about four feet off the ground and pulled herself up like an experienced trapeze artist. Straddling the thick limb, she waited for him. He followed her onto the sturdy branch.