db1bd484fe8700408f51338793ca8c56

To his surprise, he felt her hand in the small of his back, moving him out into the office. She followed and closed the door.

“After everything we’ve been through this last month, I thought you should know that Jacques and I aren’t…that is, I’m not…I mean, we won’t…”

“Why not, then?”

Claire stared up at him in astonishment.“Why not?”

Overcoming the urge to grab her and shake her, Dean nodded.“Yeah, why not? You gave him the flesh he’s been bugging you for.”

“Only to save him and the professor and only until dawn.”

“Okay. But since you both want to…” He raised a hand to cut off her protest “I’m not blind. I can see the way you two are together. Why shouldn’t you take advantage of it?”

“He’s dead?”

“Are you asking me if that’s a reason?”

“No,” she said slowly. “I guess not. Even though Jacques’ body died, his passion, his personality, even his physical appearance, they stayed. And now they have substance.” Standing so close she could smell the faint scent of fabric softener that clung around him, Claire looked up and tried to see past her reflection in his glasses. “And you’re okay with this?”

Dean blinked. The way he’d played out this scene, he asked her, “Why not?” and she said, “Because it’s you I really want,” and things moved to a satisfactory if somewhat undefined conclusion from there. He hadn’t intended to talk her into it. Since that’s what he seemed to have done, although he wasn’t entirely certain where things had gone wrong, there seemed to be only one way out. “Sure. Go ahead.”

Claire expectedsure to mean,Would it matter to you if I wasn’t? It didn’t and she couldn’t seem to find an actual translation. “I’m not saying that I’ll rearrange my life to spare your feelings, but I don’t want you to be…” She’d intended to say hurt but the assumption that her actions would cause him pain just sounded too egotistical. Even for a Keeper. “…upset.”

“Not a problem.”

It was, actually, but every Keeper learned early in her career that sometimes a lie had to serve. People were entitled to emotional privacy.“Good night, Dean.”

“Good night, Boss.”

She watched him go down the hall, listened to him go down the stairs, until a furry weight against her shins distracted her.“What?”

“Sure meant I’m not so stupid that I can’t see you’ve made your choice, so if I get all bent out of shape about it I’ll look like some kind of a wuss moaning on and on about what I can’t have, so I’m just walking away and pretending it doesn’t matter.”

Claire blinked.“How do you know that?”

“It’s a guy thing.”

“Yeah. Right.” Stepping over Austin and purposefully closing the door in his face—not that a closed door ever stopped him— Claire went back into the sitting room to find Jacques sprawled in the armchair poking himself on the bridge of the nose with an old wooden ruler. “Why are you doing that?”

“I have never done it before.” He tossed the ruler aside and stood. “You have said what you have to say to our young friend?” When she nodded, he reached for her hands.“Bien. Now I will say something to you.”

“Jacques…”

“Non. My turn.” His grip tightened around her fingers, cool and still weirdly insubstantial. “I desire you. You know how I wish to use this flesh you have given me, but I will not make pressure on you.”

“Put pressure on you.”

“That also. If you decide we will not be together tonight, I have a bed still of my own in the attic. But know that you are to me more than a way to break a very long time without a woman.”

“Jacques.”

He winced.“Too much? I should not have said the last about the woman, I know. It is funny, I am, how do you say…nervous.”

“That’s how we say it.” This was the moment she had to decide. On the one hand, Jacques was sexy and funny and there’d been a frisson between them from the moment she’d forced him to materialize. On the other hand, he was dead. That would definitely be a problem for most people. “I don’t want to be likeher.”

“You are not anything likeher.” Releasing her hands, he cupped her face.

“I don’t want to just use you.”

“Use me,cherie. I can stand in.”

“Stand it.”

“We are both needing each other, Claire. Stop worrying about regrets you might have tomorrow. This is now.”

He was going to kiss her; it hadn’t been so long that she couldn’t recognize the preliminaries. She just didn’t know how she was going to respond. Fifty-three seconds later, she found out.

“Oh, my…”

[Ęŕđňčíęŕ: img_5]

PERFECT. SHE’S DISTRACTED.

WE SHOULD BE UP THERE, the rest of Hell protested. WE’RE MISSING A TERRIFIC OPPORTUNITY TO SCREW WITH HER HEAD.

I’VE GOT BETTER OPPORTUNITIES DOWN HERE.

The power seepage had been gathered in one place, prevented from escaping into the shield.

ARE YOU GOING TO CREATE ANOTHER IMP?

YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR PROBLEM IS? YOU DON’T THINK BIG ENOUGH. THAT’S WHY YOU’RE GOING TO SPEND AN INFINITE AMOUNT OF TIME DOWN IN THAT PIT.

YOU CAN’T GET THE SEEPAGE THROUGH THE SHIELD.

OH, YES, I CAN.

NO, YOU CANT.

YES, I CAN.

N…