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I’ve got to ate Ways to find the crystal But her

Joyce defended meI fooled the fooler And what convinced her was that Rob and I had broken up

because Rob liked Anna

What an idea How odd And Gabriel fell for it, too

Sheless and less cohesive I hope Gabriel isn’t really angry with s I said to hi? To let him think I’m in love with him? But it wasn’t completely a lie I do care about him

As ht, and one which jerked her fully awake She realized she had been half-dreao away

In Canada she had discovered that Gabriel loved her Loved her in a vulnerable, childlike way she could never have believed if she hadn’t seen it, felt it in his mind He had been completely open to her, so war, her mind whispered

But in Canada she hadn’t loved him Or at least she hadn’t been in love

You couldn’t be in love with two people at the same time You couldn’t

Could you?

Suddenly Kaitlyn felt icy cold Her hands were cold, her face was cold As if solacial wind blow in

If I loved Gabrielif I loved both of them

How could I choose?

How could I choose?

The words were ringing so loudly in her head that she didn’t notice the very real noise in her room Not until a shadow loomed on the wall beside her

Terror swept her For an instant she thought it was Mr Z-and then she saw Gabriel beside her bed

Oh, Lord, did he hear roped for shields, found she didn’t have any She was burned out

But Gabriel was s at her from under heavy eyelids He would never have smiled like that if he had heard "Ready to try out the balcony now?" he asked

Kaitlyn looked at hi particularly gorgeous, and dangerous as darkness She felt aher to him

But she was exhausted Unshielded And she had

just discovered a crisis within herself that threatened to bring the world crashing down

I can’t go with hier She wanted to be held She wanted him to hold her

"Come on," Gabriel whispered, and took her hand He caressed the pal her head at hiirl mean?

Gabriel could tell she wanted to come He’d read the line in so one of his stints in solitary "She tre it, he’d sneered-but noas seeing the real thing When he reached down to take her hand, Kaitlyn trembled

So as the problem?

I’ on a balcony is relaxing

He could tell she was going through sole Mad because of the way he’d acted after dinner?

Or

Did it have so to do hat he’d seen this afternoon?

His ? he asked silkily

"No, of course not," she said very quickly On the other bed a lump under the comforter stirred Gabriel eyed it with distaste

Kaitlyn was getting up Gabriel’s lip twitched at the sight of her nightgown-it was flannel and tentlike, covering her from throat to ankle Quite a bit different from Frost, who had pirouetted in front of him dressed in what looked like a transparent red handkerchief the first night he’d met her She’d made it clear, too, that she didn’t mind if he took the handkerchief off

Kaitlyn, by contrast, was holding the neck of her nightgown closed as she briskly walked to his rooraffiti?"

He snorted Mac He was living here

"And what did he think when you asked hi, waited until she turned around Then he gave her one of hissmiles I didn’t ask

"Oh" She didn’t pursue it She stepped through the open sliding glass door onto the balcony "It’s a nice night," she ht, with stars showing between branches of the olive trees The air arm, but Kaitlyn had her arms wrapped around herself

Gabriel went still

Maybe it was the si about her tre about the reason Not desirebut fear

"Kaitlyn" Instinctively, he used words instead of thoughts, giving her the distance she seemed to need

"Kait, you don’t have toI mean, you know that, don’t you?"

She turned quickly, as if startled But then she didn’t seehts-he could sense the in clear water-but he wouldn’t

’t He would wait for her to tell hihtly "Oh, Gabriel I do know And I can’t explain-I’m just oh, it’s been a hard day"

Then she put her hands over her face She started to cry, with her hair falling around her, and little quick intakes of breath

Gabriel stood transfixed

Kaitlyn the indo She did it so seldom that he was too amazed at first to react When he couldto do

He took her in his arhtly-and after a moment lifted a tear-stained face to him

The kisses were soft and slow and very passionate It was strange to do this without touching herto be the first to initiate contact He’d wait for her Meanwhile, it was a sort of pleasurable agony to restrain hiood just to hold her and touch the softness of her skin He wanted to hold her hard, not to hurt her but to keep her safe, to show her that he was strong enough to protect her Her beauty was like fire and strange music, and he loved her

And he could love her, because she didn’t belong to anyone else, and she loved hiiven it all up for hiuilt at that, but it ept aside by a fierce desire to hold her closer

To be closer He couldn’t keep hier He reached for herto caress her senses

Kaitlyn recoiled Not just pulling away fro out of his arainst hi him stricken, utterly bewildered, and bereft Cold because she’d taken all the warh him, unavoidable this ti!" She was frightened-no, panicked His suspicion swelled until it was larger than both of the else He threords at her like stones

"You’re lying! Don’t you think I can tell?" He stared at her, controlling his breath, forcing his voice into velvety-iron tones "It wouldn’t have so around here this afternoon, would it?"

"Rob-here?"

"Yeah I felt his mind and tracked hi me you didn’t know?"

Her eyes were still ith surprise-but he saw, and felt, the flash of guilt And his suspicions were confir here, Kaitlyn?"

"I told you I-"

"Stop lying to ain his voice was like ice because he was made of ice "You didn’t break it off with him, did you? And you’re not here to join us

You’re a spy"

"That’s not true You won’t even give me a chance-"

"I told them all that I’d seen into your mind-but I never really did Youe and fierce with pain "I didn’t trick you," she said in a ragged voice "And if you think I’o tell Joyce? Why don’t you tell them all?"

He was calm, now, because a block of ice can’t feel "No, I won’t do that I’ll let you do it to yourself