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asked and smiled a little.
    He had the tiniest chip in one of his front teeth. When he smiled, it made him look mischievous, young, and beguiling. She couldn’t help returning his smile.
    “I have a narrow comfort zone. I don’t like to touch people or have them touch me.” Okay, she wasn’t exactly lying. She shuddered, thinking of Rob. Damn, that memory snuck in at the damnedest times.
    He saw the slight movement of her shoulders. “Throwing off ghosts,” he asked. Something was bothering her. That thread led to the pulled-in aura. Bad time with a man, would be his guess. “Okay,” he said and held up his hands. “I will try my best NOT to touch you. But I must admit, in terms of fair disclosure, touching you is something I very much would like to do.”
    He watched her pull inward again. Although her body didn’t actually move, it was as though armor went around her.
    “I said ‘like to’ not ‘would.’”
    He could see she was trying to relax.
    “Let’s talk about this Ruthorford.” He pushed her drink toward her, encouraging her to stay.
    “Okay. ” She took a small sip. “Ruthorford is a small town in the mountains of Georgia. Many of its inhabitants are descendants of the founding families. I’m one of them. My suspicion is that you and Dorian are, too.”
    “This Dorian, he’s not from there?”
    “No. He was born in Washington, DC, but he became the ward of Mel and Thom Kilraven and grew up in Ruthorford.”
    “ And his wife?”
    Jasmine took a deep breath. Talk about complicated. Yet, this was still the easy part. “ Morgan is the natural daughter of Mel and Thom, but was adopted by Becky and Talbot Briscoe and raised in Virginia.” She glanced around. “Not too far from here, actually.”
    He started to open his mouth to let the questions pour forth, thought better of it, and closed his mouth again.
    Jasmine laughed. “Yep, now you’re getting the hang of it.”
    He seemed to ponder something before he spoke. “I have a small plane at the airport. We could fly down after th e show closes. Brandy, that’s my assistant, can go on with the show and I’ll catch up later.”
    He saw panic flicker in her eyes before she looked down.
    She ran her finger around the rim of her cup . “You fly down. We’ll have a car meet you. I’ll go in the Abbott House plane.”
    Something really s pooked her. He tried to make it light. “You do understand I’ll be flying the plane?” he said, letting a teasing note tinge his statement.
    She blushed , but stood firm. “I’ll meet you there.” Geez. It’s not like he could fly a plane and attack her at the same time. Maybe she needed a few more sessions with Dr. Browne, after all.
    He shrugged.
    Deciding a change of subject was needed, Eryk held up his hands. He looked around and, when he saw no one nearby, let the sparks fly from one hand to the other. “What do you know about this?”
    Jasmine lifted her hands. He watched as a more delicate, finer thread of current moved from the tips of her long fingers to the tips on her other hand. “Family trait,” she said and put her hands down in her lap.
    “What else can you do?”
    A glint showed in her eyes. “I’m not a dog. I don’t do tricks.” It came out more clipped than she’d intended.
    “Whoa. I didn’t mean to imply…,” he frowned as the words died.
    “Sorry. I might as well tell you. Not many people know I can do that. It’s new to me,” she said, then realized she’d confided in this complete stranger something she couldn’t bring herself to tell her therapist.
    Nervous, Jasmine reached over, took a sip of the soft drink, and realized all the ice had melted. It wasn’t particularly warm out. She looked down into the cup. Not a single piece of ice remained. She looked up, sensing a feeling of warmth around her. She had an urge to heighten her own senses, something she’d tried but hadn’t been able to do successfully. She could dampen her energy a little to keep from