Love Beyond Sight by Rebecca Royce Page B

wanted.
    Samuel crossed to the medicine cabinet and tried to focus on getting out all the stuff he needed. If he didn't do something about his face, it might peel itself off. Somehow, his magic didn't want to work while Eden was around. Like his internal power monitor that allowed him to steal the features of other peoples—lucky considering what happened to him—rebelled against the idea of Eden seeing him as anything other than what he really looked like.
    Well, he snarled at his fake reflection in the mirror, that wasn't going to happen. No way would he let her see what he himself couldn't stand to witness: the horror of his scarred monstrous face.
    There was no way he could find a new appearance in the middle of a snowstorm. This one had to last.
    "Damn it."
    He stomped out of the bathroom, aware that he was acting like a lunatic. There wasn't a thing he could do about any of this. Eden needed to be away from him so he could maintain his cool and keep his skin in place. But he couldn't have left her alone in that hotel room.
    Somehow, someway he'd make do, and as soon as the snow stopped, he'd get her back onto that island where he would find a way to make sure she stayed put.
     
    * * * *
     
    After he'd put the car back where he'd stolen it from, checking to see if there was any evidence the owner had noticed a lack of the car and finding none, he hoofed it back to his apartment complex. Even though he knew how to dress properly for the cold, by the time he got home he felt frozen to his core. The cold air had helped his burning skin to relax for a while. Maybe he could get one more day out of his new features.
    Maybe .
    He'd unlocked the door but hadn't stepped inside more than an inch when the first blow struck him on the side of the head. He saw stars as he hit the ground. What the hell? He could hardly think. Shit. What had hit him?
    Using force of will alone, he barely managed to roll to the side before the next whack nearly struck him again. A streak of strawberry-blonde flew by his eyes.
    "Eden?"
    He heard a gasp. "How do you know who I am?"
    Samuel managed to open one eye long enough to see she stood above him holding a chair leg over her head. She looked fierce and stunning like some kind of warrior goddess taking down her prey. Hell, she'd broken his chair.
    "I know you. It's hard to explain." Or maybe it wasn't but he couldn't be sure. His head felt heavy and he couldn't make sense of much. Everything looked sort of blurry.
    "Your voice." Eden's lovely face came into focus for a moment before it blurred out again. Her eyes furrowed as she tried to make sense of things. He didn't blame her. This whole thing was damn confusing.
    "I know your voice."
    He tried to nod and had to close his eyes. Wow, she'd really gotten him. "Yes, you do."
    "You're the one who speaks in my mind." She gasped. "You're him."
    She dropped to her knees next to him and the scent of her strawberry aroma, which matched the glorious color of her hair, wafted to him. He wished he could roll around in it.
    "I hurt you. I don't understand what's going on here. How did I get here with you?"
    "In the bathroom, there is a first-aid kit. Bring it, would you?" He would explain when he could figure out how he was going to explain it all.
    "Sure."
    She ran off and in a second returned with the kit. As she bent over him, he got a really good view of her breasts. They were large, more than a handful, and poked through her shirt so that he could see her nipples. His cock hardened and he couldn't help wondering how it was possible that in one hand he was seriously hurt and in the other his hormones were still in fine and working order.
    "Oh wow." Her gaze bore down on him, shining with concern. "I really hurt you. You're bleeding. I think you might need to go to the hospital."
    "No, no hospital." He shook his head and it made the pounding he already endured even worse. He'd have to remember not to do that again. "I heal fast. It's part of our genetic