Read Lost Girl: Hidden Book One for Free Online Page B

reached out and grabbed my elbow.
    I don’t think I planned what happened next.
    I turned, and rewarded Nain with a growl and a blast of pure energy that sent him across the service drive and slammed him into the chain-link uprights on the bridge.
    Oh, shit.
    Well. He did have it coming.
    I took a second to watch him pulling himself out of the mangled chain link. And he was pissed. Royally, royally pissed. My rage still burned within me, and his washed over me just as strongly.
I did tell you to stay out of my thoughts
, I thought at him.
    I jogged to my car, got in. Sat there, trying to breathe. “What the ever-loving fuck was that?” I asked the empty car. I could feel myself starting to panic, feel my power spiking again.
    It hurt. I gritted my teeth against it. And of course, just then, the son of a bitch was knocking on my window. I snarled, pushed the door open.
    He towered over me, three hundred pounds of very pissed, very powerful demon. “Explain,” he said, and it sounded as if it was taking him some effort to control himself. This wasn’t gonna be good.
    I could feel my power building within me, burning hotter in response to his anger, my own fright. It happened sometimes, when I was very emotional, and being near him just seemed to magnify everything. I glanced up at Nain, and I could tell from the way he positioned his body, defensive, that he felt it, too.
    “I felt you in my mind, again,” I said, aware of the threat in my voice.
    He just looked at me, seething.
    “I told you to stay out. Between you and the Puppeteer, I have had entirely too many people violating my conscience in the last day or so.”
    I felt a tiny bit of guilt from him, but not much. “What did she do to you?”
    “She dug out some old shit I’ve been trying to bury. Turned my thoughts against me,” I finished, hating the tremor in my voice. “I couldn’t even move. I was just stuck there.” I hated remembering that feeling of absolute helplessness. I’d spent my entire adult life doing what I could to avoid feeling that, ever again. I balled my hands into fists as my power surged.
    “So, did she just decide to leave, or?” Nain asked finally, nervousness from him.
    I looked at a spot just over his shoulder. “After she was done, she made her offer again. And it just pissed me off.”
    “And?” Nain asked.
    “I punched her in the face. Twice.”
    Nain let out a short laugh. I felt his rage dial back, just a little. “I never would have thought of that,” he said.
    “I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted to hit her. Hard. Anyway, after a few hits, she ran for it. I chased her about a block, determined to hit her some more. But she had a car waiting.”
    We stood, leaning against the side of my car. I took deep breaths, trying to draw down my power. He looked at me. “That still doesn’t explain your reaction to me,” he said quietly. “What the hell was that?”
    “I was going to ask you the same thing,” I muttered.
    “That’s never happened before?”
    I shook my head. “I can’t turn it down. I had so much power built up in me, and it just blasted like that…that was nuts. And I am loaded up again, and how do I avoid blasting the shit out of someone? What if I hurt someone? What if I’d blasted some innocent pedestrian instead of your infuriating ass?”
    “It’s not the first time I’ve seen someone do that.” I sensed apprehension from him, something else I couldn’t quite pinpoint. “You need training.”
    “I do not want you messing around in my head.”
    “It’s the only way. I’ll promise to stay out unless I tell you I’m going in first. And I’ll only go in when we’re training.”
    I was quiet. My power had receded again. Relief. “This seems unlike you,” I finally said.
    “Meaning?”
    “You seem like a pushy, entitled, take-what-you-want asshole. Why are you giving in so easily?” I looked over at him, met his eyes.
    “Right on all counts.”
    “So?”
    “One: you need to