Paranormal Romance ( 18+)

Oh god. She was going to die.

Lena's skin was on fire. The place on her arm, where Tom had touched her, had gone from merely unpleasant to excruciating in the short time it had taken her to get to the guestroom. As she paced around the room, trying to work out what the fuck was going on, she clawed at her own skin. Her arm was red raw and the feeling was only spreading. So hot. She was so hot.

She had to cool down. She tore at her uniform, her utility vest and shirt falling to the floor. She ripped her combats sending buttons flying across the concrete. A shower. Yes, that's what she needed. In a rush she ran towards the bathroom but instead collided with the door frame with all the grace of a stricken baboon. Her brow knitted as she slid down the wall. She was still wearing her boots. She yanked at them, not bothering to untie the laces and threw them across the room.

Scrambling to her feet, Lena lurched into the bathroom, the bright-white tiles hurting her eyes as she fumbled with the light-switch. Reaching into the glass enclosure, she wrenched the cold tap on and fell into the shower.

Sweet Jesus. The relief was instant. She swore she could see steam rising from her as the freezing cold water ran over her skin. Lena stayed in a crumpled heap for the longest time. Her face grew numb, mashed against the hard floor and it was only when her back screamed for her to move that she finally shifted position. Staying on the floor, she sat upright and leaned against the shower wall, bringing her knees up in front of her so she could rest her arms on them. She rubbed her right arm that Tom had brushed earlier. The uncomfortable, almost sickly feeling had abated and the redness dimmed. Lena leaned her head back against the tiles and closed her eyes.

The water continued to pour over her, soothing her skin, but she could still feel fire within her. An inexplicable, golden fire burned brightest at her core, yet reached every part of her soul and the longer she sat under the freezing water, the more she realised there would be no relief unless... Unless what? Lena didn't have the first clue what was happening to her body, or her mind for that matter. It was very likely she was losing her grip on reality entirely.

Gideon left Christian in the communication suite. Reeling from the truth he'd learnt and only just keeping a lid on the now-familiar-heat that rolled through him when he'd seen Lena talking to Tom, he made his way to the guestroom.

His hand hesitated on the handle. Lena had made a pretty speedy exit earlier and as he sent his senses out in a wave, he knew she'd retreated to the room they were to share for the day. Share? Jesus Christ. How the hell was he supposed to get through an entire day with her in such close proximity? He felt strung out already, his nerves stretched to breaking point. Swearing again,he raked his hand through his black hair, manned-the-fuck-up and barged in.

Lena was nowhere to be seen. Gideon made his way to the bed and cursed as he nearly tripped over something. Feeling like an idiot, he sat down and brought up one of Lena's boots? What the hell? His eyes shifted towards the only other door. He could hear the shower in what had to be the en-suite. Images of Lena arching her strong body into the spray flooded his mind. Her long, jet-black hair clinging to her as she washed her china-white skin. The soap sluicing down between her breasts as she squeezed the sponge. Her hand moving lower as she...

Enough! Gideon squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to force himself back to reality. What the hell was he doing? All he needed was some cheesy pan-piped music and he had a full on porn film running in his mind. And Lena was the star.

Jesus, get a grip, Blackwood. Lena Adlard was a warrior, Steward of the Watch. His warrior. His... That word flooded his mind until all other thoughts were lost. One resounding ideation; Mine.

And then the door to the bathroom opened and Lena stepped out.

This hiss that broke forth was completely involuntary. Barely covered in a white towel with her wet hair snaking down her back Gideon had never seen Lena looking so vulnerable. She clutched the too-small cloth to her with one hand and rubbed her arm with her other. When she finally lifted her chin and looked him in the eye, Gideon stopped breathing altogether.