jedibuttercup

Glad you enjoyed the story!

About the love thing... no, it's just most obvious with Justine and Thomas.

Thomas explains it pretty thoroughly in... um. Turn Coat, I think? Yeah, that's the one where Harry visits the Raith-run club Zero. Thomas tells him that the burn happens when a White Court vamp's Hunger touches anyone that's protected by reciprocal Love. Ironically, if Thomas didn't want Justine so much, they might be able to touch without burning despite loving each other, but he just can't keep the Hunger from reaching out around her. He can control himself around anyone but her. On the other end of the scale is Madeline Raith: Justine burns her by whipping strands of her hair across her face, because Madeline never bothered to learn control-- her Hunger reaches out to everyone.

Lara, on the other hand, was perfectly fine around Harry. Until her Hunger started reaching out to him during that kiss at the end of White Night, when he was still protected by having last been intimate with a woman he loved and who loved him (aka, Susan). It was pretty much the same with Inari, when her Hunger first woke in Blood Rites.

(I may have reread this series too many times....)