Lost in Mist and Shadow: A Between the Worlds Novel by Morgan Daimler Page B

opportunity to enjoy the sensual pleasures of life. She had not asked him to abstain, and had refused to accept his promise to the same effect before he had left, but she could not deny that it made her happy to know that he wasn’t with anyone else. And not just because she would be aware of it while it was going on through their bond, but because she had enough human culture ingrained in her upbringing to think monogamy was the best option, even if she knew it made him desperately miserable because they were apart so much of the time. It made her feel petty and immature, especially since she couldn’t help but be annoyed at getting tumbled into bed right away when he did see her again after weeks apart. She knew that she was putting him in an untenable position and found herself considering what Liz had said earlier. Maybe I should consider trying to break the bond I forged…
    “I am so glad you are here now Allie. I have wanted to go and see you, but I could not get permission to take the time. I was starting to worry that you had forgotten me until you spoke into my mind last night.”
    …or maybe not . Allie winced. “I could never forget you. And I’ve missed you too you know. But I hadn’t heard anything from you so I wasn’t sure what was going on.”
    He moved, forcing her to pull back slightly until she was looking into his eyes, “Did you not know from my thoughts I was back here?”
    “Well, I, yes, but,” Allie flushed, feeling like a child caught stealing cookies before dinner. “I mean I did know you were back but not that you wanted to see me and couldn’t.”
    He frowned and she felt his confusion overwhelming her own embarrassment, making it hard to focus. “Do you not always hear my thoughts?”
    “No,” she said, then shook her head slightly. “I mean yes, but it’s not like that. I’m…aware of you all the time and if you are especially upset or emotional it, kind of draws my attention. And if we are touching or very close then everything is stronger. But usually what you’re thinking is like, it’s like listening to someone talk in another room. I don’t hear what you’re thinking unless I focus on you and make the effort to reach across the connection.”
    “I see. I had not realized,” he sounded thoughtful. “I thought you were always with me in a more direct way.”
    She shook her head, running her hands across his chest. “No. I mean sometimes I’m there for just a moment and then I pull back,” her eyes jumped to his looking for a reaction, worried she’d said too much, “if you are feeling a strong emotion it gets my attention.”
    “So,” he said, grabbing her hand and directing it lower, “I can get your attention if I’m focusing on an intense emotion?”
    She felt herself blushing, flustered, thinking Again? Already? But out loud she said “You have my attention now.”
    He smiled, rolling her over, “Good.”
    ***************************************
    Allie still had her earlier conversation with Liz on her mind when she pulled back up to the house later that afternoon. It was easier to dwell on Liz’s question about whether she could break her spellbond with Jess than to think about the situation with Jess itself, which seemed untenable and also impossible to change. He wanted her to live with him and she didn’t want to give up her life – but she also didn’t want to stop seeing him. On the other hand she didn’t want their relationship to become nothing but a series of assignations between long separations either, and today’s visit had done nothing to reassure her on that front. She also couldn’t deny that seeing him had made her feel better than she’d felt in a long time and that the boost she got empathically from being with him - if she was brutally honest with herself from feeding on his emotions – was amazing. Despite the fact that her visit to the Outpost hadn’t changed anything she felt almost giddy as she pulled into her usual