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from the chess table as she plopped into his recliner and turned on the TV, which she quickly muted. Nonchalantly flipping through the stations, her actions reflected carefree defiance. The red-rimmed eyes in her beautiful face showed the truth; he had hurt her.
    “Jess, this is not what you think,” Shane began, still holding his face in his hands. His dentes had retracted while he’d been waiting, but now that she was in the room they were on the cusp of erupting again. “There is much we don’t know about each other.”
    Jess rolled her eyes at him. “Save the ‘we don’t know each other well enough’ speech. I’m sorry about what happened in there. You interrupted a great dream I was having about Matthew McConaughey. I must have thought I was still dreaming for a minute.”
    WTF? “Who is Matthew McConaughey?” His eyes clashed with hers. She was lying, he knew it, but that didn’t stop him from feeling the sharp stab of jealously. How could she pull the thought of another man into her mind after what had just nearly happened between them?
    Jess waved the remote at him like he was dense. “I know you watch TV.”
    Ah. He got it. She wanted him to think he had interrupted some fantasy with an actor. His relief was palatable. He would not have to kill this Matthew McConaughey after all. Her nonchalance was her way of pleading with him to let her keep her pride. Making a great effort to keep a serious expression and not show her his amusement, he conceded. “I will try to be more careful and make sure you are awake from now on.” He was unable to contain his chuckle when Jess rolled her eyes at him again.
    “What where you really dreaming about?” It had occurred to Shane while he was waiting for her to come out of the bath that she may not realize that she was traveling through space; porting might not be something she was doing consciously. Like her probing him for his intent earlier in the Jeep, she was oblivious to what her mind was doing, what it was capable of.
    Jess let out a long sigh, turned off the TV, and tossed the remote onto the chair across from him. She came over to sit on the love seat next to him, tucking her legs underneath her, and he was awarded a quick view of her knees, calves, and feet before they disappeared beneath her. It was the only part of her that he had been unable to see below the water line of her bubble bath. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to keep that glimpse from returning him to the uncontrollable beast he had almost become moments earlier. His dentes were throbbing, but thankfully he was able to keep them from erupting into his mouth this time.
    She sat close enough that he could feel the heat coming off her freshly bathed body. He was forced to stand and adjust himself behind his jeans again, and a blush colored her cheeks before she looked away. Shane smiled internally at Jess’s reaction. He sat back down, uncomfortably hard, but he was no longer being pinched. Did she still think he had rejected her? No matter. She wouldn’t be able to believe that for much longer—there was no way in hell he would be able to deny her a second time. His only hope was that she didn’t try to seduce him again until after he’d had a chance to explain a few things to her. Once she knew his true form, he prayed to the fates she would still want him. Right now he needed to know where she had gone.
    ****
    Jess saw what Shane did with his obvious erection. Her friend Aymee had once told her that men could get hard when the wind blew on them; it didn’t mean anything. Her pride kicked in, forcing her to turn away before doing anything else stupid. Like she didn’t already know she had thrown herself at him, a total stranger. He wasn’t even attracted to her, even if he did have an erection.
    “I have an aunt,” she began. “She lives in my dreams. That sounds crazy, I know.” Jess was watching her hands as her fingers fumbled with the material of the robe in