Adam tried hard to keep up the facade of a carefree, joking man, but Claire could see through it. All was laid bare in his blue eyes, which teemed with a turmoil and darkness that often contradicted his harmless grin. Perhaps he'd fooled the Coven witches, but he hadn't fooled her.

Adam was a man to watch out for, a man with a temper, a past, and an appetite to do damage because of it all.

"I never know for certain with you." Was her voice shaking a little? Damn it!

"As a fire witch, healing lies within my domain. You say the elium is like a cancer within you, so let me explore it. Maybe I can help." His thumb continued to stroke her palm.

"Stop that," she snapped.

"I'm trying to make you relax."

"It's having the exact-opposite effect."

The stroking stopped. "Sorry, baby."

Irritation flashed. "Don't call me baby. I am not your baby. Stop it."

He grinned. "Sorry, Claire. Relax now."

"You won't be able to—oh." Her breath hitched and her eyes closed.

His power invaded her senses—spicy, strong, hot. It curled through her body like a velvet ribbon with a mind and a mission. It reminded her of the first time Rue had tweaked her power, but that had been purposeful, matter-of-fact. This was seductive, sexual.

Adam's magick permeated her skin and soaked through her, like a smoky awareness. It wasn't threatening, but rather something subtle and soft. It reached into her body, exploring her within—seeking, seeking…

She shivered. "How can you do that?"

"Don't underestimate us lowly witches." His voice was a silken snare. "We all have our specialties. Now relax."

"I don't think of you as low—oh." The sleek tangle he wove through her did things that had nothing to do with magick, not the elemental kind, anyway. She was powerless to tell him to stop.

"That's right. Just allow it."

Her knees went weak and Adam helped her to sit on the couch. He knelt on the carpet in front of her and continued the exploration.

Then he found the elium and she jerked, her eyes coming open. What had been the brush of velvet and silk now rasped like burlap. It didn't hurt, but it did jar in comparison. The elium was an oddity, not fitting with the rest of her magic. Adam's gentle exploration brought that fact home clearly.

His eyes were closed. "Ah, there it is." The internal stroking began again, calming her back into relaxation. "I can feel it. It's rougher than the rest of your magick, foreign. It doesn't fit with your base power, like a puzzle piece with irregular edges, but it's still elemental in nature."

Her body had gone heavy and warm. Adam's fingers tangled through her hair and massaged the base of her neck as the tendrils of his power curled through her. She swallowed hard and had to force her vocal cords to work. "It's daaeman magick, not elemental."