Jesse dropped his hand, but didn’t back away. He cocked his head to the side so he could see the reflection of the overhead light on her face. Shea’s pulse was beating rapidly and her forehead had a sheen of sweat covering it. He finally understood why she was so frightened of him. But he would never do anything to physically harm her. “I swear to you, I would not touch you unless you wanted me to.”

But she just gave him a sad, nervous smile. “No. You don’t understand. You can’t touch me. Not ever. You would hurt me, Jesse.”

He recoiled from her words. “Shea, I would never harm you.”

“Yes, you would. It would be unintentional, but it would happen.” She took a deep breath, hugging herself, like she was trying to make herself smaller. “Something happened to me when Luukas disappeared. I didn’t know it until the day Nik told us his brother was missing. He was so upset, and as I was about to leave, I reached out to hug him. As soon as I touched him, something…happened. I nearly ended up on the floor.”

“What exactly are you saying?”

She paused a moment. “I’m saying I can’t touch you. I literally can’t. And you can’t touch me. If I even so much as brush up against a male, I feel like”—she glanced around, like the words she was looking for were written on the walls—“I’m being electrocuted or something.”

Jesse studied her, taking in every small movement of her eyes. Every breath. She wasn’t lying. It suddenly all began clicking into place. He’d heard her hiss in pain when the others had brought her into the altar room that first time. Although he hadn’t realized what the sound was at first, it had traveled up the corridor to him, distressing him and hurrying his steps. And the way she’d recoiled from him in his room when he’d only been trying to console her. And the way she’d tried to avoid the dancers at the club, hissing in pain when they accidentally bumped into her. His earlier pondering had been correct.

It was Keira’s curse. Leeha had bragged about it to him in one of her more talkative moments. “But, how do you feed?”

“Females don’t affect me, only males. I can…touch females.” She wouldn’t look at him.

Jesse studied her guilty expression. “You do other things with the women as well, other than feed. Sexual things.” It wasn’t a question, or an accusation. Just an observation. His blood heated at the thought of her with another woman, but not in the way he would expect. The thought of her with someone else, anyone else, had him grinding his teeth together and clenching his fists at his sides. He’d never felt such possessiveness with anyone else. Yet, in the weeks he’d had her in his home, he’d come to think of this female as his own.

She lifted her chin and straightened her spine. “Sometimes.” The word was said defiantly, despite the spots of color decorating her cheeks. Her discomfort with the conversation told him all he needed to know, even if he hadn’t just plucked it from her mind.

“Have you been with anyone since you left me?” He didn’t know why he asked. He really didn’t want to know.

She stared at him a moment. “Not like that. No.”

Jesse swallowed his ire. He knew what it was like to feel alone. He’d spent most of his life that way. “That’s not something to be ashamed of, Shea. Everyone needs to be touched, to be held and loved. It’s human nature, and vampire also, I would imagine. It doesn’t matter what gender you are with.” However, he intended to see to it that she would be touching no one else from this moment forward.

Shea crossed her arms and tilted her head in a way that he was coming to recognize as her telltale defensive gesture. “Yeah, well. Tell that to my father. He’s probably rolling over in his grave as we speak.”

“Your father was old-fashioned, then.”

The snorting sound she made was definitely not ladylike. “You have no idea.”

“And yet, he has such a heathen for a daughter.”

An adorable crease appeared between her brows as she scowled, until she realized he was teasing her. The lines relaxed, to be replaced by a forlorn expression. “He actually never knew of the thing I became.”

Jesse approached her slowly. Distracted by her memories, she held her ground this time, and warmth filled him that she trusted him to get so close, whether she realized it or not. Very carefully, he picked up a tendril of her dark hair from where it lay over the front of her shoulder. It was just as fine and silky as he’d always imagined. No wonder his raven was so enthralled with it. Catching and holding her gaze, he lifted the strand to his nose. “You are not a ‘thing’, Shea. I don’t ever want to hear you calling yourself that.” Her hair smelled wonderful. “What is that smell?”

“Pantene.” The sarcasm was back. Turning her head so her hair slipped out of his fingers, she put distance between them, taking on a casual mien as she walked past him to stand by the cold fireplace.

But she didn’t fool him. He could hear her heart pounding and see the flush of her skin. And he could sense the battle she was fighting with herself in her mind. She was not as unaffected by his nearness as she tried to appear. “Come with me, Shea.”

She shook her head, but when she looked at him, her green eyes were bright with longing and unshed tears. “Why? It would only be torture for us both.”

Her words gave him hope. “To be so close and yet so far away?”

“Yes.” The word tore from her on a hiss.

Ah. Finally. Some honesty. “I have quite a few tricks up my sleeve, Shea. Perhaps I could figure out a way to alleviate your pain.”

Hope flashed across her lovely features, but it was gone before he could appreciate it, to be replaced by a cynical smile. “And what if you can’t?”

“I still want to spend time with you,” he told her sincerely.

Throwing her arms out to the side, she looked to the heavens. “Why? Why the hell would you want to be with a female you couldn’t touch?”

“Because I care for you.”

“You barely know me.”

“Then give me the chance to do so.”

“Jesse—”

He stormed over to her, stopping close enough that her spine stiffened, and she looked up at him with a hiss of warning and a flash of her fangs. Gods, she was beautiful when she was vamped out. It made him instantly hard. “Give me a few days of your time, Shea. That’s all I ask. Give me a damn chance to try to help you.”

Indecision battled in her thoughts.

He pressed his advantage. “Come with me. Let’s save the world. Together. And maybe we can save you in the process.” He waited with bated breath as she fought with her decision. Gently, Jesse pressed harder into her mind, amazed at the speed of her vampire brain as she thought of and discarded every side to her arguments.

Finally, she relaxed. Her decision had been made.

“Okay.”

Backing off slightly, he smiled. “Okay.” Her decision, he knew, had little to do with him, and a lot to do with helping Luukas and the other Hunters. At least, that’s what she chose to believe.

She rubbed her forehead with the fingers of one hand, as though her head hurt. “I just need to pack a bag.”

He glanced out the window. If they hurried, they would have just enough time to make it back to his home for the day. “I’ll wait.” There was no way in hell he was letting her out of his sight until he had her safely away from here.

Then, and only then, would he tell her the truth.