Who happened to have a body to die for.
They met with a scientist and went on a short hike to see some of the equipment nearby. The scientist explained their gear to Taz. She knew from Matthias’ expression he was pleased. They didn’t finish until after three and had a late lunch at Canyon before setting off for their cabins at Old Faithful.
“Want to see something?” he asked as they left.
“Sure. Surprise me.” Her mood was greatly improved after the nearly normal morning they’d shared.
He took a turn and they headed down a winding, one-way paved road.
“Bring your camera.”
He parked. She followed him down a steep set of steps to an overlook. She heard a dull roar and finally spotted the source. Below them lay a huge canyon several hundred feet deep, sediments in the rocks painting it with vibrant colors, a river flowing through the bottom of it.
“There.” He pointed to their right.
It took her breath away. “That’s the lower falls!” She snapped several pictures.
“It’s gorgeous, isn’t it? The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.”
She was acutely aware how close he stood behind her, not touching, but his mouth inches from her ear. She closed her eyes and tried not to think of what she wanted to do to him, how hot his breath felt against her skin…
“I’m sorry,” he said, stepping back. “I shouldn’t be so close.”
She turned and grabbed him, kissing him. He didn’t respond at first, but then he put his arms around her and kissed her back. It took every ounce of her will to release him. When she let go and stepped back against the fence, she realized he was shocked and speechless. That had been all her doing, not his. She turned from him, facing the falls.
“Don’t toy with me, Matthias,” she thought. “If you don’t want me to act like a bitch, don’t play with me, big guy.”
She heard his breathing, choppy and quick. She’d caught him by surprise.
Surprise!
“You’re right,” he gasped. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not,” she thought, then turned to him.
“I should embrace this instead of fighting it, right?”
He looked at her and nodded.
She realized they were alone on the overlook. There were plenty of people around, but for some reason they were all interested in other areas and not working their way down the stairs to the overhang. Moe, Larry, and Curly must be doing their job.
“You don’t tell me what to do. Don’t order me around like a kid,” she thought, hard. When Matthias winced, she realized maybe that was too strong.
He nodded and she continued, trying to lower her mental volume. “Just talk to me, Matthias. Please. Tell me what’s going on so I can participate and not feel like a prisoner. I need to learn how to control these freaky powers, right?”
He nodded again.
“Come here, big guy.”
As moved toward her, his eyebrows shot up in surprise, and she truly realized even he wasn’t immune to her. When she released him, he stopped a few steps away, watching her. Then, of his own free will, he closed the distance between them and took her into his arms.
She looked up at him. “This is bad stuff we’re going up against, isn’t it?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“Are we going to die?” she whispered.
He knew what she meant. “Not if I can help it. But we’ve got a few more days here in the park, at least.”
“Then let’s not waste it.”
She kissed him.
Matthias managed to regain some self-control back at their cabin. He tried to pull away from her, and she captured him with her eyes, drawing him to her.
He shook his head, mentally struggling against her. “I can’t fight you, Taz.”
“Do you want to?”
She felt his resistance and released him. He collapsed on her bed. “No, I don’t want to fight you. I already told you, you have to learn self-control and restraint. I won’t force you to sleep with me. Please give me the same consideration.”
Her stomach twisted, remembering the guard, the waitress. Then she grew defensive. “You don’t have to force me. What is your problem, Matthias? I thought you’d be happy I want you.”
“Because you have to learn not to force people to your will. Not in circumstances like this. Especially now.”
She crossed her arms. “So what kind of circumstances are okay?”
“Life and death. Literally.”
“What about Mayfield and the waitress?”
“Those were demonstrations. Neither remembers what happened, and fortunately, neither does the guard. And it was just talk, not action. I didn’t make him dig up his roses, and I didn’t follow through with the waitress, obviously. They were not harmed. I do not make a normal practice of that. You had to learn because you weren’t listening. The only way to get you to listen was to show you why you cannot do that.”
She winced. “Okay, point taken.”
He closed his eyes. “You are much more powerful than I thought.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“It depends on what you do with it.” He sat up, tossing her jacket to her. “Come on.”
Matthias told the guards to wait for them at the end of the boardwalk then took her by the hand. It was getting late, the sun dipping low over the valley. There were still a few tourists scattered around, but most were waiting for Old Faithful’s next performance.
Matthias led Taz to a section of boardwalk near where she saw the bison. They were far enough from Old Faithful and the lodge and cabins that all they heard was the sound of the geysers, the breeze stirring the lodgepole pines, and insects and animals.
He sat. “Here.” He patted the space on the boardwalk next to him. When she was seated, he rearranged himself behind her, her back pressed against his chest, so she was sitting between his legs. He put his arms around her and held her hands.
“Close your eyes and relax against me. You don’t need to talk, just think.”
She tried to do as he asked, struggling to let go of her thoughts of what she wanted to do to him. She felt a twitch against her back and tried to ignore that as well.
He obviously liked her thoughts.
He pressed his cheek against hers. She felt his stubble, his scent stirring her emotions. It was difficult not to turn and kiss him.
“Keep your eyes closed. I want you to clear your mind. You remember what it looks like ahead of us? I want you to reach out with your mind, listen to my thoughts, see through my eyes. You have to trust me.”
“I don’t know how to do that.”
“I know you don’t,” he whispered. “That’s what you have to learn. That’s another reason I brought you here. We might not have time for this later. I needed a place we could practice in private, where I wouldn’t worry about you every moment you were out of my sight. Now relax and concentrate. Reach out to me.”
Taz wasn’t sure what to expect. She was never good at these mind clearing exercises. She always ended up getting sidetracked on a thousand different thoughts. Maybe if she tried to picture a darkened room.
She tried that.
With windows.
And suddenly, she was in a darkened room, walking toward the two open windows, looking out on—
“Good,” he whispered. “Let it come.”
There was a jolt in perspective, and she was looking through the windows, seeing what he saw. Her point of view shifted again and she saw through his eyes, really seeing. She looked to the left and watched a family walking toward them, engrossed in their picture taking. She pivoted his eyes to the right where a bison emerged from the trees.