Skye's Trail by Jory Strong Page B

the dance floor. Then she turned to Gian. “You’re very good. I’m impressed.”
     
    “And yet you can elude me.”
     
    Her heart began racing in anticipation as he moved so close that she could feel his warm breath across her lips. “Can I?”
     
    “Who were you dancing with earlier?” His voice was a seductive whisper.
     
    “A friend.”
     
    “A lover?”
     
    She smiled slightly, but didn’t answer.
     
    He reached up and gently stroked her cheek then cupped the side of her face in his hand, trapping her so that their eyes met, so that she couldn’t break his hold, couldn’t look away.
     
    Skye laughed. It was low, sensual, excited. It held no fear.
     
    She stroked the line of skin bared by the vest he wore and slipped her hand under the smooth fabric so that it rested on his heart. Then without warning, her eyes became the endless blue of a summer sky. She felt him fall into them and beckoned him to come deeper, to rejoice in the sensation of being a hawk flying high over the desert. To embrace the warmth of the sun. The power of the breeze.
     
    He stayed with her, though she knew he was not yet trapped in the illusion. Underneath her palm his heart began beating faster. And then his mind pulled away, took hers with it, dropping them into night-darkened woods. Into the sensation of running as a wolf runs, effortlessly, powerfully. The smell of the earth was intense, familiar to Skye. So many times this was what she’d become when she searched. A hunter, a predator rejoicing in the movement of body, in being alive.
     
    His voice whispered across her. Commanding, compelling, his voice a smooth trap. “Come with me.”
     
    It was a dangerous game they played.
     
    She let the illusion go, escaping from his mind and letting him escape from hers. “Where to?” she asked and once again saw shock register on his face at being unable to trap her.
     
    “To my table.”
     
    Skye laughed, amused. Perhaps she’d have asked this same thing of him if she’d been able to hold him in her eyes. “Okay.”
     
    They stood. Skye pulled her jacket off the back of the chair and followed Gian.
     
    As soon as Haley saw Skye, her hand flew to the pendant in an agitated gesture. The man next to her noticed the reaction. His eyes sharpened, moving from Skye to Haley and back again. His posture screamed possessiveness, a willingness to do anything to protect what was his. And once again Skye wondered if he was responsible for the disappearance of Haley’s sister.
     
    Gian indicated the empty seat next to Haley. Skye sat down. He followed her, introducing the pale blonde as Kisha, her boyfriend as Nahir before saying, “I think you’ve already met Haley.”
     
    “If you call sharing a sink in the ladies’ bathroom an introduction,” Skye said easily, naturally. She smiled at the other woman and added, “I’m Skye Delano.”
     
    Haley’s hand never left the pendant. “I’m Haley Warren.” Her eyes flit nervously to the man beside her. “This is my boyfriend, Kyle.”
     
    Syke met his eyes and knew instantly that he too could use them to hypnotize. There was little doubt in her mind that by the end of the night he’d know about Haley’s visit to her apartment. If the other woman didn’t lose her nerve and confess, her boyfriend would simply pull it out of her mind.
     
    They played cat and mouse. Parried with questions and answers until dawn approached and the club began to clear of people.
     
    Emboldened by the events of the evening, Mike and Candy and Dawn dared to stop by the private table. Candy impulsively hugged Skye and whispered, “Thanks for everything.”
     
    As they left, Skye wondered how many hours of sleep she’d get before having to face the music and visit Detective Caldwell. “I’d better get going, too,” she murmured.
     
    Kyle stood, helping Haley to her feet. Skye watched them closely and saw no fear in the other woman’s face.
     
    Gian also stood, offered his hand to