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Caleb.”
    He didn’t move.
    “I mean it.”
    “If I do, you’ll collapse within ten minutes.”
    “What?”
    “I warned you,” he said softly. “I can see it coming. You’ve been going at a frantic pace, helping Joe with all the preparations for this media circus. I’ll bet you haven’t slept at night.”
    “I’ve slept.”
    “But not much. I told you when you asked me to try to heal you enough for you to be released from that hospital that the effect wouldn’t last if you overdid it.”
    “I feel fine,” she said quickly. It wasn’t true. She felt exhausted, but she’d hoped it had nothing to do with the wound and infection that had put her in the hospital and out of the hunt for Eve. “I’m just tired.”
    “And you might last a little while longer if you rest now.” He smiled. “And I told you I was at your service if this happened.”
    “Screw you.”
    He laughed. “I wish. Now admit it, there was nothing about the experience that was unpleasant. As I told you, there are all kinds of medical studies being done on the value of laser therapy stirring the blood around wounds to induce healing. I just stirred the blood in a wider area throughout your body and used my own method. Much more efficient than any laser.”
    Unpleasant? Bare flesh to bare flesh. His mouth on the wound in her shoulder. His hands stroking her body, his tongue on her nipples.
    Heat.
    Intense need.
    Swirling darkness.
    Fiery tingling.
    “You’re remembering.” His gaze was on her face. “Pleasure, Jane. Not complete. But you didn’t want it to stop. I’m the one who backed away.”
    It was the truth. She had been completely helpless against that powerful wave of feeling. “You didn’t tell me that what you were doing would have a sexual effect.”
    “You would have done it anyway. You were still weak and ill, and the doctors at the hospital wouldn’t release you. You were desperate to get out of that hospital and on the hunt for Eve.” He chuckled. “And I wasn’t sure that it would be quite that explosive. It could be because you had my blood in your veins, which I donated to you after you were shot. Though it might not have mattered anyway. You might not trust me, but you can’t deny the chemistry between us.”
    “I trust you … sometimes.” She stared him in the eye. “I’ll trust you now if you tell me that you were telling the truth about my being on the verge of collapse. Were you lying to me, Caleb?”
    His smile faded. “No, it may take a little longer, but you’re on the way. I told you that I’m no healer. I can manipulate the blood and give you a constant rush of energy and a temporary masking of symptoms. That’s what I did in the hospital, so that the doctors would release you. If you’d rest, you’d even heal yourself. But we both know you’re not going to do that. Not until you find Eve.”
    “Damn.”
    “But maybe you can stave it off if you’ll take periodic rests. There’s a possibility that you can do without undergoing the same bonding we did last time.” His brows rose. “You see, I’m not giving you the answer I’d like to give you. Maybe because I don’t like being a drug you can’t do without even on a temporary basis. Well, actually I would, but I don’t want it to be based on a physical weakness. When I touch your body again, I want you strong and wanting it.”
    She forced her gaze away from him. “I believe you’re being honest with me. Though I don’t want to believe it.” She started up the steps toward the porch. “I can’t afford to be stupid about this. I’ll see that I rest more.”
    “And I’ll be close by in case you need me,” he said softly. “All you have to do is call.”
    She ignored those words. “Tell Joe I’m fine, that I’m only going up to see Kendra. Do not tell him I’m tired.”
    He nodded. “Whatever you say.” He stood watching her from the bottom of the stairs. “But Quinn never trusts me entirely. He’s too protective