Touched Read Free Page A

obstacle. These boulders were no match for her.
    She leaned against one, stroked it, and as if it were a tiny pebble, with one swift push, rolled it aside. Then she did the same with the other boulder.
    Cooper watched in awe.
    “Your strength is quadrupling,” he exclaimed as the boulders rolled down the pathway and stopped about six feet away.
    Keira felt chills run up and down her arm. What would have been a huge task for her even a few days ago, was now nothing. She was thrilled, but also needed more intensely to know where these powers were coming from. What was wanted from her in the long run?
    The cottage inside was fresh and welcoming. There was a main room with wicker furniture, a hand woven rug and windows bordered by white shutters and offering a view of trees, bushes and a little lawn outside. A small kitchen was at the far side of the living room, with a yellow wooden table for them to eat at. Off the main foyer were two little bedrooms, each with twin beds, made up with fresh linen and clean, worn, wool blankets. It was unsettling to see the place so well cared for.
    “Who does this belong to?” Keira asked.
    “No one,” said Cooper. “These places are hideouts, prepared and waiting for the Shadow Vampires all over the world, should they need them. The cottages are scattered everywhere. You just have to know they are here, and be able to find your way. I heard about this place-- and others-- for years.”
    Keira breathed deeply, wondering if she and Cooper could actually settle in and live here? They could use time alone together, to find out how to make their relationship grow and who they could possibly be to each other. She looked over at Cooper and shivered. He looked so gorgeous standing in the dim light that came in through the windows. His eyes glowed and his body rippled with strength and energy. She longed to go over and hold him, but was also afraid. There was nothing keeping them apart now. There was no place they could go to be away from each other. Would her love for him destroy him? Destroy her? Could they tolerate the closeness and the intensity?
    Sensing her feelings, Cooper turned his gaze to her and ran it up and down her body. Keira felt his desire, flowing over her, through her. He wanted her too, but she felt he was being careful and protective of both of them. She had no idea who would make the first move, or if the first move could even be made?
    As if hearing her thoughts, he turned away and sat down in a chair on the far end of the room.
    “I want to show you something,” he said, to break the mood between them. Clearly, he wanted to stay on focus, not be distracted from the reason they had come.
    Keira went over and sat on a chair opposite him.
    “What do you want to show me,” she  asked. They were just beginning to live together, she reminded herself. This was different from quick, furtive, meetings at school. It was okay to go slower, understand each other more deeply. For all they knew, it could save their lives.
    Cooper pulled something from his pocket and put it in the palm of his hand. Then he opened his palm, reached out and showed it to her.
    It was a beautiful, gleaming, silver ring, with 5 small jewels set it in – an emerald, amber, ruby, opal and amethyst. There was an empty spot next to the amethyst, where a sixth jewel had fallen out.
    Keira was dazzled by it.
     “This ring belonged to the Torches for hundreds of years, and was then in my mother’s possession. My father stole it from her, when he kidnapped me. All through the years he looked at it. It gave him strength, connected him to her, and her tribe. From time to time, he even showed it to me.”
    “It helped him in his battle with them?”
    “No,” Cooper bristled. “I believe he missed her. He still cared for her.”
    Keira was shocked. “Really? I thought the Shadow Vampires were at war with all the other tribes?”
    “They are. But my father had a moment of surrender after a battle with her