When he laid a finger under her chin and closed her mouth, her teeth came together with a soft click. The sound must have galvanized her, for she snapped out of her stupor. “Yours? As in mine—like you belong to me? I . . . I don’t . . . Wait one minute. You can speak perfect English.” She folded her arms under her breasts and stood there, attempting to stare him down. “You’ve been holding out on me. After that info bomb, you can’t stand there all silent and stoic.” He’d come to understand she’d wanted to know his name a while ago, and after the second time she’d touched her mind to his, he’d been able to read her thoughts. Her memories were his now. He understood her language as well as she did. The word games weren’t necessary, but they gave him a chance to study her, and since she thought she needed to touch him so he could pick up her thoughts, she’d held his hand for the majority of the time. He found he craved contact after years locked in stone. “I am your protector.
