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  “Oh God…God, yes.”

  Reddix continued to caress her, using a slow, light, sliding motion to give her just enough stimulation. At the same time, he continued to thrust deep inside her, never letting up or stopping the rhythm he’d started. He wanted to make her come again, was determined to feel her spasming around him before he let himself go inside her.

  “Reddix,” she gasped. “Oh, God, Reddix.”

  “That’s right, sweetheart,” he told her. “Work for it. You’re so close—work for it hard.”

  Nina let out a low wail and clutched at his forearms, digging her nails into his flesh as her body went rigid. Suddenly, he felt her clenching around him, her inner muscles squeezing him like a hot, wet velvet glove. Finally, she was reaching her peak. At the same time he felt the cum building in his balls and knew he was going to fill her very soon.

  “Come for me,” he growled, loving the feel of her milking him. “Come for me, sweetheart. Want to feel you come on my cock while I fill you up.” And then he let himself go, let the orgasm take him as hot jets of cum spurted deep inside her, filling her pussy at last.

  Nina seemed to like the feeling of him coming inside her. She writhed against him, her fingers tightening on his arms and her breath coming short.

  “Yes…Reddix…yes, yes.” She was nearly crying now, her voice breaking on his name as she called for him, begging and moaning, saying…

  Saying…

  Suddenly, her words came into full focus, and he looked at her more closely.

  “What?” he asked hoarsely.

  “I love you.” Nina’s eyes were as bright with tears again, her chest heaving and body trembling with the aftershocks of the orgasm he’d given her. “God, Reddix, I can’t help it—I love you.”

  Without waiting for a reply, she pushed him off her—out of her—and rolled away. Before he could say anything, she got off the bed and left the room.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  “Nina?” He followed her into the living area but kept his distance because she so obviously didn’t want to be touched.

  She was standing across the room from him, beside the couch. She was still naked with her arms wrapped protectively around herself. He couldn’t help loving the view she presented—her full ass and hips with the tiny dimples just below her waist. He wondered if she had any idea how beautiful she was, how desirable.

  He wondered if she’d meant what she said.

  “Nina,” he began in a low voice.

  “I shouldn’t have said that,” she said, still not facing him. “Shouldn’t have let myself feel it, and I sure as hell shouldn’t have said it. Never in a million years.”

  “Yes, you should,” Reddix murmured. “Because I needed to hear it. And because…I want to say it back to you. Want to say I love you too.”

  “Don’t.” She half turned her head, meeting his eyes briefly before looking away again. “Don’t. It only makes it worse.”

  Reddix felt like his heart was in his throat.

  “I’m sorry. So Goddess damned sorry I can’t give you what you need…can’t be the male you need me to be,” he told her in a low, choked voice.

  “All I ever wanted was to heal you.” She looked down at the ground, her hair sweeping over her shoulders like a long, dark shawl. “I felt it from that very first dream we shared—felt that you needed something, something maybe only I could give you. Even Mehoo-Jimmy’s message to me made me think it. ‘Heal the bear’—that was what she said.”

  “Nina…”

  “But in the end, I couldn’t even heal myself.” Her soft voice was bitter and so filled with hurt he ached just to hear it. “Couldn’t stop myself from loving you or heal my heart when leaving you broke it.”

  Reddix yearned to take her in his arms, to feel her soft form pressed against his both giving and receiving comfort. He wanted to stroke her hair and whisper in her ear that everything would be all right. That he would love her forever even if they couldn’t do anything about it. But he was frozen in place, paralyzed by the knowledge that she didn’t want his touch, that she didn’t need to be hurt any more than he’d already hurt her.

  Still, he wanted to caress her so much, even in a small way. If he could just sweep the curtain of hair away from her face and see her expression.

  If he could just touch her…

  * * * * *

  Nina felt his fingers brushing feather-light against her temple, stroking the hair from her face and sliding gently down her throat.

  “Don’t,” she whispered, not looking at him. “Don’t do that—don’t touch me.”

  “I’m nowhere near you.”

  Nina had supposed he was right behind her, but surprisingly, his voice seemed to be coming from the other side of the room.

  Turning, she stared at him. “Then what was that I felt?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know—what did you feel?”

  “I felt your hands on me—your fingers—brushing my hair away from my face, stroking my neck.”

  “You what?” His voice was slightly strangled. “Are you serious?”

  She frowned. “Of course I’m serious. Why would I make something like that up? You even moved my hair…or something did anyway. How did that happen?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. I was just standing here, thinking how much I wanted to touch you, thinking that I wanted to move your hair so I could see your face…” His eyes widened. “No…it can’t be.”

  “Can’t be what?” she asked impatiently.

  “Don’t move.” He looked at her intently, his silver eyes narrowed to slits. “Just stand there for a minute and don’t move.”

  “Stand here and do what? What are you…?” Suddenly, she felt his fingers again, stroking over the side of her face and cupping her cheek. The sensation was as real as though he was actually touching her, yet, he was still standing across the room. “Reddix?” she whispered, putting a hand up to her face. There was nothing to feel, but she still had the sensation of invisible fingers stroking her skin.

  “Did you feel that?” he asked hoarsely. “Gods, Nina, please tell me you felt that.”

  “I felt…something. An invisible hand cupping my cheek?”

  “That was no invisible hand—it was my whisper fingers. I Touched you, Nina. I actually Touched you.”

  She knew at once what he meant and her heart started to pound.

  “Quick,” she urged. “Do it again.”

  “Close your eyes,” he instructed. “And describe what you feel.”

  Nina closed her eyes obediently and clenched her fists at her sides, waiting. What would he do next? Could this really be happening? Could he really…

  Then a gentle finger was sliding around her nipple, tugging it playfully and making her moan with surprised pleasure. Her hand went to her breast involuntarily and her eyes flew open.

  “Reddix?”

  “I can tell you felt that.” He grinned at her, one eyebrow arched rakishly. “How did you like it?”

  “It feels amazing,” Nina said. “But what does it mean?”

  “It means…” He took a deep breath. “I think it means my Touch Sense has finally turned itself around. It’s not inverted anymore.”

  “So then your RTS…?”

  “Is cured, if I’m right.” He closed his eyes. “Hold on a minute—let me concentrate. The people in the suite next to ours were having a fight earlier and I could ‘hear’ everything they were feeling. So let me just…” His voice trailed off, and Nina could see the intense look of concentration as he focused on the people in the next suite.

  “Well?” she asked after a minute, unable to help herself anymore. “What do you feel? What do they feel?”

  “I have no idea.” When he opened his eyes they were glowing with excitement. “It’s gone—it’s all gone. I can’t feel or hear any emotions anymore but my own.”

  Nina shook her head in wonder. “That’s amazing. But how…?”

  “I think you did it.”