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“Thank you, Doctor… And thank you for tending to Erin last night. I apologize for my behavior. Then again, I don’t like to have information withheld, so in future…”

“I won’t keep anything from you again.”

Nodding to end the conversation, I head back to Erin, who is now alone. “Hey.”

“Hey to you too. Did you make amends?”

“I did.”

“Thank you.” She leans over and kisses me sweetly.

“Still enjoying the trip?”

“Oh yes. The more time I spend with your family, the more I love them.”

“Huh! It has the opposite effect on me,” I grumble. Erin bats my arm playfully.

“What were you talking with Marcus about?”

“Oh, this and that.”

“You are a terrible liar. Where’s that smooth poker face you had in place when we first met?”

Laughing, I shake my head. “You, Erin Hanson, stripped me of every ounce of smoothness I had the moment those fiery eyes locked on me.”

“Really? I wonder what else I could strip you of.” Erin’s voice is low, only above a whisper. Her hand snakes to the top of my thigh.

“Easy, tiger,” I laugh, but it’s forced. Erin’s eyes squint almost unperceivably, but I catch it. I know she senses there is more going on. “No sexy times with all my family close by.”

Erin removes her hand from my leg and crosses her arms over her chest. “Amelia, what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, this is the third time you’ve looked uncomfortable when I’m making a move.”

“I’m not uncomfortable. Well, maybe a little, but that’s only because my family is right there.” I hook my thumb over my shoulder for emphasis.

“Hum, okay, so when we get to the hotel, you’ll be perfectly happy stripping naked and fucking me.” Well, she gets straight to the point, doesn’t she?

Taking a quick look around to check none of my nosy siblings are eavesdropping, I scoot closer to Erin. “My love, we have plenty of time for sex. It’s going to be a long day of traveling. I’m sure we’ll both be shattered by the time we fall into bed.”

Erin sits up straighter. “I knew it,” she exclaims a little louder than I would like. “You’re scared to touch me, aren’t you?” It sounds like a question, but I think it’s more of a statement.

“Of course not,” I lie terribly.

“For a smart woman, you are acting pretty stupid right now, Amelia.” Well, ouch! “This bonding thing, you know it works both ways, right?” Um, what does she mean by that?

“Meaning?”

“Meaning that if you’d talked to me about last night, I could have warned you I can do that thing, you know, the thing you do with me?” I’m utterly confused. “I can sense you. In here.” She points to her chest. “I can close my eyes and know where you are.”

“You can?” This has to be proof of Marcus’s and Dr. Mendhi’s theory, right?

“Yes, and I can also sense when you are lying to me.”

Well, shit!

I clear my throat, suddenly feeling parched. “Are you thirsty? I’m thirsty. Let me grab a couple flutes of champagne.” I don’t wait for Erin to answer. Unfortunately, grabbing two drinks takes me all of thirty seconds to do.