Closer: A Novella by Dannika Dark

given it to her? Was there a special meaning?
    He slipped her delicate fingers into his right hand.
    “What took you so long?” Her eyes were rimmed with dark terror.
    He didn’t like that look and it worried him enough to circle his eyes alertly around the room and pull her closer to him protectively.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Why did you leave me here for so long? You said it was only going to be for a minute or two.”
    The light was noticeably dimmer. “How long do you think I was gone?”
    Her bare shoulders lifted and she shivered. “Seemed like hours.”
    But it had only been minutes. “Did you hear me calling your name? Think carefully. Did you sense it in any way—or maybe something around here changed?”
    A lock of her silky hair slipped in front of her nose and he fought back the urge to tuck it behind her ear.
    “Maybe a whisper, but I thought it was the wind. It’s getting colder in here, Kane. I’m not dressed for… for death.”
    She attempted to laugh and he smiled, giving her credit for keeping a sense of humor given the circumstances. But the comment was a spear in his conscience. This won’t happen , he thought. I won’t let it .
    When she shivered again, he guided her to the window and they sat down against the wall underneath a spray of golden light. Caroline sat on his left and he leaned in her direction with his knee bent. His right hand held hers as if they were shaking hands. Strange. Kane was getting used to touching her and he shifted his body so that she would be comfortable.
    “Better? The sun will warm you up.”
    But that didn’t seem to put her at ease as he noticed the ghostly expression on her face. Caroline kept her eyes low, but she was watching him out of the corner of her eye.
    “Kane?” She scarcely breathed.
    “Yeah?”
    “What if you smothered me with a pillow?”
    Chills rolled down his arms and he swallowed thickly. “What?” he bit out.
    Kane’s intense eyes were the epitome of a blazing inferno. “You think I would do something like that? Is that the kind of man you think that I am? Why would you even—?”
    She cut him off and swallowed him up with those liquid brown eyes. “You know that feeling in the pit of your stomach before you get on a roller coaster? The line is long and everyone is waiting their turn. You hear the screams and convince yourself that it’s no big deal—until you see the green faces of the people getting off, like maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. I’m in that line, Kane. Except I’m not able to get out or cut ahead. All I can do is wait my turn. That roller coaster is roaring in my head and I’m scared.”
    Caroline blew out a shaky breath and Kane tensed when she slid closer. He lifted his arm and draped it around her bare shoulder. She didn’t just accept the invitation; Caroline molded herself against him until it felt like they were one. The flat of her left hand slid across his stomach and balled up the black T-shirt on his side, as if he might try to escape.
    “You’re so warm,” she said in a small voice. “There’s just not enough of you to wrap myself up in.”
    Those words incited an unexpected need to protect this woman. He discreetly dipped his nose in her soft brown hair and took a shallow breath. It made him want to go back and stomp on the ruthless bastard who did this to her. What could he possibly say that would offer her any comfort?
    “Hey, what if I tried to transfer some of my emotional energy to heal you?”
    “Won’t work,” she countered. “You know the rules.”
    “It works with strong emotions,” he insisted.
    “Yes,” she agreed, lifting her stubborn chin. “But the only Sensors who are ever successful at it are loved ones. We can lift, store, and transfer—but it takes something far more powerful to convert it into healing energy. That only comes from love. It won’t work if you just sit there and think of your dead puppy or your first breakup.”
    “Have you tried it? I don’t