Playing With Fire (tales of an extra ordinary girl)

by Gena Showalter

  “We only… dated-” any second I’d be hit with a lightning bolt for that whopper “-for a little while, but he wasn’t right for me. I dumped him.” Hard core. “Listen, Daddy,” I said, quickly changing the subject. God, I was tired. “I’ve decided to take a vacation. You know, get some R and R. So don’t worry about me if you call the apartment and I don’t answer.”

  “Like I’d worry.” He snorted.

  Oh, he’d worry. He loved me as much as I loved him, and he was always looking out for me. I yawned again, this one longer, deeper. My limbs were beginning to shake, my mind forming more mush than thought. “I’m… going… ”

  “Get some rest, angel, and call me when you get back from your vacation.”

  “I love you, Daddy.”

  “Love you, too, doll.”

  We hung up. I rolled to my side and blindly replaced the receiver in its cradle. My arm flopped on the mattress and I stayed exactly where I was, too exhausted to move anymore. In the span of one day, I’d kissed a (supposed) government agent, developed superpowers, propositioned a teenage virgin and lied to my dad.

  “Anything else you want to make me do?” I muttered to the heavens, pulling my knees to my stomach.

  Don’t fall asleep yet, Jamison. I had a lot to sort through, beginning with whom to trust. Not Pretty Boy, the bogus CIA agent who had tried to pump me full of darts. What a bastard. He tortured people. Killed them. I didn’t doubt the truth of that. When Rome spoke of Vincent and his experiments, I could practically hear people screaming.

  More than that, I remembered the deadness in Vincent’s eyes.

  Should I go to the police?

  If I did, would they just hand me over to the government? To Rome? Hell, would they believe me? I almost didn’t believe myself. Para-agencies, for God’s sake. What about Rome? I was out of my league with him. He knew it and I knew it. Still, the question remained: could I trust him?

  Rome had promised to help me find Dr. Roberts (and maybe an antidote) and make Vincent leave me alone. All I had to do in return was help him hide his daughter. Sounded like a great trade-off. Too good, actually. I guess what bothered me about the situation was that I was just, well, me. No training for this sort of thing. Unpredictable. I didn’t know how to hide people, so what help could I ultimately give him?

  Obviously, there was something he wasn’t telling me. And if he wasn’t telling me about it, it couldn’t bode well for me.

  “Shit.” I had no clothes, hardly any money. Maybe I would call Tanner in the morning, have him take me shopping, and forget, if only for a little while, all of my troubles. I could give him more date tips and feel normal again.

  And you can put him in more danger.

  A sense of dejection filled me. I’d never felt more alone. More helpless. More tired. I moaned and covered my eyes with my arm, blocking out any hint of light. The hypnotic sound of the air conditioner wafted to my ears.

  Lord, the stress of the day had zapped all my energy. Besides that, I hadn’t yet fully rebuilt my strength from the effects of the formula. It was clear I wouldn’t be making a decision on what to do anytime soon, so there was no reason to force myself to stay awake any longer.

  When I woke up, everything would seem clearer.

  Yeah, who did I think I was fooling?

  CHAPTER NINE

  “DID YOU REALLY THINK you could escape me?” a husky, familiar voice breathed into my ear. “You may be the Periodic Table Chick, but I’m a damn good tracker.”

  I came awake instantly. A ball of fear slammed into me and quickly sprouted cold, treacherous wings as I became aware of several startling facts. One, Rome ’s heavy weight pinned my body to the bed. Two, my hands were tied above my head. No, not tied, I realized. Manacled by him. Three, a steely palm covered my mouth, preventing me from screaming. And four, the most startling fact of all, Rome had an erection that pressed against my belly-and I liked it.

  Did I forget to mention I was naked beneath the sheet?

  “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “You know I won’t hurt you.”

  That should not have eased my worry, but it did. His voice was soothing, gentle. Warming.

  Moonlight slithered through the crack in the curtains and bathed his face. His crystalline eyes seemed to glow, all the more vivid in contrast to the shadow beard that dusted his jaw. My tormentor. My rescuer. My… puzzle.

  “Are you going to give me to him?” I asked the moment he freed my mouth. I didn’t have to specify who “him” was. Rome knew. “He told you it was the only way to get rid of him.”

  He drew in a sharp breath. “No. That’s something you don’t have to worry about. I’ll never give you to that disgusting scrim. I gave you my word, remember?”

  He said it with such force, I believed him. As my fear abated, though, I encountered sparks of anger and dug my nails into my palms. My blood began to heat. How dare he sneak into my room. How dare he lie on top of me. How dare he look so freaking good. How dare he-

  Wait. Calm down. Calm down, Belle Jamison. I couldn’t let myself become upset or I’d start a fire. I just-damn it! He’d found me so quickly. I hadn’t had time to decide if I trusted him or not.

  Slowly I drew in a breath through my nose; slowly I released it. In the dim light of the room, I stared up at Rome ’s harshly sexy face. He looked stern, grim, nothing like his tender voice.

  He looked wonderful. I must have looked ready to scream, though, because he covered my mouth again.

  While I was upset he’d found me, a small part of me was suddenly glad to see him, all else be damned. It meant I wasn’t in this alone, that I had someone to lean on, if only for a little while.

  “You left me with a hell of a mess to clean up, Belle. As you well know, the general public doesn’t know people with superpowers exist. I had to tell everyone a movie was being shot. Thanks.”

  “Mmm, mmm mmm mmm-” I narrowed my eyes at him. With his hand over my mouth, my words emerged garbled. I wanted to tell him to stop poking me in the belly with his penis! They should have been the first words out of my mouth, but I couldn’t think straight with it close to me.

  “Yeah,” he said, as if he’d understood me. “I’m turned on. Barbecue me if you don’t like it.” Now his tone held an irresistible challenge.

  If I didn’t like it-puh-lease. Inability to think because of it did not equal dislike. What, he assumed I had no hormones? I might despise this entire situation, but I was (stupidly) attracted to this man. The part of me that was glad to see him urged me to spread my legs and allow him to fall into the cleft presented. He could rub me where I suddenly ached.

  Come on, Jamison. Show some restraint. The admonishment from my common sense helped me remain unmoving. Deep inside I knew if I moved the tiniest bit, he’d be on me, kissing me, and I’d be on him, devouring him.

  “I’m going to remove my hand again, Periodic Table Chick, and don’t you dare think about screaming. I’m pissed at you right now, and you don’t want to push me further.” Gradually, he did as he’d promised. All the while, he frowned down at me.

  “I’ll push you further if I want,” I said, mouth free a second time. No reason to let him wallow in the delusion that he could intimidate me. “And don’t call me Periodic Table Chick.”

  “I dare you to try something,” he said. “You won’t like what happens.”

  “You won’t like what happens if you don’t get off me. You’re crushing me.” Deliciously. “I can’t breathe, damn it.”

  “If you can talk, Four Elements Girl, you can breathe.”

  Logic sucked. “I’m dying here, I tell you. And don’t call me Four Elements Girl. That’s stupid. Besides, I’ve only used three. Fire, air and ice.”

  Rome rolled his eyes. “A technicality. I think you like me where I am just fine, and that scares you.” His frown deepened. At least he didn’t call me by another one of those ridiculous names. “I won’t press you, though. Not now. I’m going to move. But if you point your hands at me, I
swear to God I’ll tie them behind your back and leave them there this time.”

  “Go ahead,” I said smugly. “I can shoot fire out of my eyes.”

  Intense blue eyes narrowed on me. “Thanks for the reminder. Believe me, blindfolding you won’t be a hardship, you little pyromaniac.” More exasperated than angry (I seem to have that effect on a lot of people) he shook his head. “I saw the damage you did to the apartment. That’s one hidey-hole I can mark off my list.”

  My cheeks colored in embarrassment. “That was an accident. I didn’t mean to cause so much damage.”

  “So a little damage would have been okay?” He lifted off me inch by inch, removing his weight just as I’d asked. Except without him, I suddenly felt cold and empty. He released my wrists, severing all contact, and crouched on his knees at the foot of the bed.

  I jolted upright, very aware a thin sheet was all that separated us. Our gazes clashed as I tugged the material up and held it to my chest in a kung fu death grip. My naughty nipples were giving him a happy, so-glad-to-see-you salute, further increasing my humiliation.

  “How did you get in here?” I said through clenched teeth.

  “I picked the lock.” One corner of his mouth curled, but quickly fell back into place, giving his face a dark, menacing cast. “Now you answer a question for me. Who was the boy who gave you a ride?”

  Oh, no. No, no, no. Not Tanner. “He’s just a kid, and if you hurt him, I’ll fry you to a crisp. You’ll taste ashes for a year.”

  He arched an insolent brow. “Embracing our powers already, I see.”

  “Just trying to survive.” Asshole. He made it sound like it was a crime to utilize my new abilities. And can you say hypocrite? He wanted me to use them to help hide his daughter, didn’t he?

  “I’m not going to hurt the kid,” he said grudgingly. I heard the word yet linger in the air silently, and my fists tightened. “Did you tell him anything about your situation?”

  “Of course not.”

  Rome studied my face for a long while. “I got his tag number, which means Vincent, the man spitting tranqs at you, did, too.”

  I paled, literally feeling all the color drain from my face. “Do you think Vincent will find him? He’s a nice kid and he doesn’t deserve to be hurt.”

  “You should have thought about that before you got in his car.”

  “I was desperate,” I snapped, slamming my fist against the mattress.

  Rome sighed. “Don’t get mad. Bad things happen, remember?”

  I closed my eyes and forced myself to draw in a calming breath.

  “The kid lost his tail on the highway with that stuntman driving of his,” Rome added. “Happy now?”

  I relaxed, but only slightly. “So how did you find me?”

  “I’m a better tracker than most.” There was no smugness in his tone, only cold, hard truth. “I told you to stay at the apartment, Belle.”

  My chin tilted, and I know I radiated pure stubbornness. “Hello, did you see the place? It was kind of smoky in there. Not to mention that cops and firemen were on their way.”

  “If you hadn’t tried to escape,” he growled, “that wouldn’t have happened.”

  “I needed time to think. Alone. Not that I got any,” I grumbled. “Listen. We can talk about how stupid you were in locking me up later. We’ve got to do something to protect Tanner-the boy who drove me here.”

  “We?” His brows did that arch thing again, an action I was coming to hate.

  My jaw clenched, and I glared at him. “Fine. Be that way. Act like a child. I’ll do it on my own. I’ll find him and I’ll protect him.” I covered my eyes with my right hand, losing my bravado. “I should have made him stay here.”

  “You should have done a lot of things.” Rome plucked at the sheet, his fingers brushing my calf, my knee, then my inner thigh. It was a casual touch, and all the more sensual because of that.

  I shivered, licked my lips, but didn’t move or voice a protest.

  “Don’t worry about the kid.” His voice emerged hoarse, strained. “I’ve stashed his car, and he’s now sleeping in mine.”

  My muscles released their viselike grip on my bones as relief coiled through me. “How-”

  “Some of us actually know what we’re doing,” he interjected drily.

  “That’s totally unfair!”

  “Temper, temper.” He tsked again.

  “You better watch how you talk to me.” Glaring, I leaned forward and pointed my finger at his chest. “You asked me for help, remember? I can assure you this is not the way to go about getting it.”

  Without warning, his hand snaked out and gripped my wrist. The touch was electric, erotic. “I’ll let you do a lot of things to me with your finger.” His voice dipped low. “But poking isn’t one of them.”

  Warm tingles invaded my bloodstream, slipping between my legs and rubbing in all the right places; I gulped and jerked from his clasp. Happy place, happy place. “I, uh, need to know some things about you so I can make an informed decision about what I should do.” There. A perfectly safe, nonsexual, nonthreatening subject. “Where are you from?”

  All hints of emotion drained from his features, leaving him with a blank stare. He remained silent.

  I tried again. “How old are you?”

  Nothing.

  “How old is your daughter?” Again, nothing. Grr. “I can’t trust you until I know exactly how you think I can help her.”

  “Your abilities,” was all he said, but a flash of guilt filled his eyes for a split second.

  There had to be more to it than that, but I didn’t press him. Stop stalling, Jamison. You’re going to trust him. Unfortunately, he was my only option at this point, and I was finally ready to admit it. Though I’d fought against it, denied it, hated it, he’d been my only option all along. I didn’t know how to hide myself (obviously). I didn’t know anything about tracking people. My talent was getting pissed and accidentally burning stuff down. Can I get a woohoo?

  “Once you learn how to use them,” he added, and there was that flash of guilt again, “you’ll be exactly what I need to ensure my little girl’s safety.”

  “Fine,” I sighed. “I’ll work with you.”

  He ran his tongue over his bottom lip, an action more sensual than he’d probably meant it to be. “Maybe I need to rethink working with you. You’re trouble, baby. A lot of it. And trouble I don’t need, especially from someone who’s this reluctant. It’d be real easy to knock you out, take you in and wash my hands of you.”

  Eyes slitting, I squared my shoulders and straightened my back. “It’d be real easy to smoke you right now.” That was, if I could still summon fire. I was mad at him, but no flames were appearing. “You’re really starting to piss me off.”

  “I’m trembling.”

  “You need my skills, Rome. Once I figure out how to use them, that is.”

  “I’m not so sure you’re trainable anymore,” he said flatly.

  “So you’ve changed your mind in the last three seconds?” How’s that for a twist of the ironic? I now needed to convince my captor to allow me to accompany him. My fists tightened over the sheet, bunching the material. “You can’t do it on your own or you wouldn’t have asked me for help.”

  “A moment of weakness, I assure you.” He shrugged, but the nonchalant movement couldn’t mask the hard, determined glint in his eyes.

  “Liar. You were willing to help me escape rather than take me to your boss, and that goes against your orders. You need me. Desperately.”

  Silence stretched between us. Sizzled. I didn’t allow myself the luxury of looking away and easing the tension. His intense eyes studied my features, gauging, measuring. Too bad my new powers didn’t include reading minds.

  “I said it before, but I’ll say it again. You’re no good to either of us until you learn to use and control your powers.”

  Duh! I tossed up one of my hands. The other remained locked on the sheet. “Just how am I supposed to le
arn? It’s not like I can peruse the classifieds for a superhero coach. It’s not like I have a lot of time, either. We’re kind of on the clock here.”

  He covered his eyes with the crook of his arm. “I’ll practice with you, and we’ll just have to pray we don’t destroy the entire world in the process.”

  Would he be a hands-on coach?

  The stray thought drifted through my mind, and I frowned. Hello, my name is Belle Jamison and I have a potty brain. Geez. Wait. Rome ’s delectable mouth was moving. He hadn’t stopped talking. I hated when I lost track of a conversation.

  “-we track down Dr. Roberts, we’ll have a better understanding of your abilities.”

  Since finding the bastard doctor had been on my To Do list, I eagerly agreed to Rome ’s plan. “Do you have any idea where he is?”

  “Not yet.” Pause. He shook his head, dislodging several dark locks of hair over his forehead. “God, I can’t believe I’m doing this. I should just set myself on fire right now and save you the trouble.” Another pause. “I once allowed myself to be taken captive so I could get inside a para-prison and help another agent break free. I was tortured unmercifully, but I have a feeling that will seem like a vacation compared to this.”

  I didn’t like the thought of him imprisoned, beaten up, bleeding. Weird. “I’m not that bad,” I grumbled.

  “Baby, you’re worse. Get dressed. I’ll be waiting in the car.”

  I didn’t move. “Where are we going?”

  His gaze raked over me, lingering on my breasts, the juncture of my thighs. Heat flared in his eyes, so scorching my skin nearly caught on fire. Breath seared in my throat. “We’ll be going to bed if you don’t get dressed,” he said, his voice laden with wicked intent.

  Unbidden, my gaze traveled the path his had taken. I was completely covered, but the sheet was see-through. Even in the moonlight, my nipples were clearly outlined, as was the dark triangle of hair between my legs. I gasped. “You should have told me I was giving you a peep show!”

  “What, and let you end it? Do I look stupid?” He turned away from me. “Hurry up. The sooner we’re out of here, the better.” His legs kicked over the side of the bed, and he stood.