Excerpt:

I started to sit up, only to realize that I was lying half across him, his coat around us both as the night air cooled. "You should've woken me."

"Why? Nothing happened. The old woman just left."

"I meant when I fell over on you," I told him pointedly. He knew what I meant.

"Why?"

"I didn't mean to...well...you know." I sounded even more ridiculous than I felt. Why was I apologizing? I wouldn't be with anyone else. I just felt awkward with him.

"You were cold and I was cold." He smiled at me. "We kept each other warm."

"Oh." I hadn't thought of that.

"Amelia," his deep voice had a deep edge, "you spend too much time alone."

"I'm not usually alone," I countered, babbling, and not able to stop. I felt his arms tighten around me. "I'm usually with my assistant or..."

"One of those pathetic creatures that gets lost or killed when they're around you?" He smoothed the hair back from my face.

I lost track of what I was about to say. "You've read about me."

"I've already admitted to a certain...curiosity...about you." He leaned his head closer to mine.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to kiss you for luck before we go in there."

"It would be polite to ask," I reprimanded even though my eyes were closing to get ready for the event. "I was wondering why you kissed me before. Is this a ritual from Kittimatt?"

He muttered something in his own language then kissed me. It wasn't like before. Not fast and haphazard. This was slow and deep. I felt it linger inside of me, touching a part of me that I didn't know existed. It made me want to cry out in loneliness. I never even knew until that moment how empty and alone I felt sometimes.

"That should bring me luck for a very long time."

I couldn't see his smile but I could feel it and hear it in his voice. "It was very nice." Would he think I sounded cool and unimpressed? I hoped so. Anything else might've made me break down and cry. I wanted to urge him to leave and beg him to keep me in his arms forever. It was so useless, so terrifying. Did he really think Jerritt had all the personal psi?

"Nice?" His whisper rumbled in his chest. "I think we can do better than nice."

"Shouldn't we go inside and get what we came for?" I pushed him aside and scrambled to my feet. "We can't be out here all night kissing."

He got up beside me. "You're a coward, Amelia Gallant. I wouldn't have guessed it. Is that part of your quest? Keep your heart safe? Don't let anyone in?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't. I'd been alone most of my life. I wasn't ready to give up my independence for a pair of warm arms and a few deep kisses. I'd been kissed before. I'd made love to shamans and telepaths. None of them had affected me the way this one kiss had. There was something wrong with me. Maybe I was coming down with some dread disease. Maybe it was some residual psi that Denali didn't realize he had.

Carefully, I crept to the back entrance of the museum. The door was locked securely but the lock was simple. I could've picked it in my sleep. I glanced back to see if he'd followed. He was right behind me. His face was impassive.

Author BIO: Author BIO: Joyce and Jim Lavene have a passion for romance and mystery! With forty novels to their credit (including the award winning Sharyn Howard mystery series) and a wide array of non-fiction articles and short stories, they are still going strong! They are active in local and national writer's groups, where they lecture and give workshops on the craft of writing. Converted Southerners, they live in North Carolina with their three children, two grandchildren, and assorted cats, dogs, computers, and herbs.

They welcome readers to their website at http://www.joyceandjimlavene.com Contact email-joyce@joyceandjimlavene.com

Other titles with Awe-Struck E-Books include, Flowers in the Night (nominated for the Frankfurt E-Book Award in 1999), Mask of the Stranger (Fall, 2000), Still the One (Spring, 2001), and The Singing Trees (Spring 2002)