Gena Showalter - Playing With Fire (tales of an extra ordinary girl)

“I’m not usually this dense. I hope. But I don’t get what you’re trying to tell me.”

I didn’t need an empath to help me read her emotions at that moment. Her shoulders slumped as her sadness deepened. “ Rome likes me. He might even love me, but it’s not the kind of love a man should have for a wife. I knew, I always knew, that there was someone else for him. He didn’t. He thought I was the one, but he would have learned the truth soon enough. And he would have stayed with me despite wanting-no, craving-this other woman.” She wiped a tear from her eye with a trembling hand. “I couldn’t have endured that.”

Her words were both wonderful and terrible. She wasn’t the right woman for him, but was I? I couldn’t kiss him without starting a fire. Trouble followed me everywhere. I was currently jobless. Not exactly great girlfriend material. Still. I wanted to be the right woman. Badly. If I wasn’t… My stomach twisted.

“Who is right for him?” I found myself asking. My fingers clutched the sheets as I waited for her answer. I hoped; I dreaded.

“Maybe you. Maybe someone else. I don’t know who.”

So there was still hope, but there was also doubt. A sharp ache tore through my temples. Cringing, I covered my eyes with the crook of my arm. Best to change the subject before I induced a brain aneurism from overanalyzing. “I’m sorry about your home. You were right. I torched it.”

She waved her hand through the air. “It was only a building. Rome and Sunny are safe. That’s all that matters.”

I didn’t want to like her, I really didn’t. After everything she’d revealed, however, I found that I did. Despite my (alleged) jealousy. She could have railed at me for holding the (temporary) affection of the man she loved. She could have thrown me out. Instead, she gave me that sad smile.

“I think you have two admirers,” she said, wistful. “Tanner was so worried about you.”

“Well, I like Tanner, too. He’s a good kid.”

“He’s not a child. He’s a man who just has a bit more maturing to do.”

Her affection for him was clear.

“His abilities are raw,” she added, “hardly developed, but I think with the proper training he could do great things.” A warm chuckle escaped her. “ Rome almost knocked him out.” Her smile spread all the wider as she returned to the bed. “Tanner kept saying you would have been perfectly healthy if Rome had let you leave with him, and I think it hit Rome hard. He has always been a protector, yet he had enough faith in you to utilize your… skills.”

There was just enough hesitation in her voice to suggest I didn’t really have any skill, but I still experienced a tendril of pleasure because Rome had trusted me. The pleasure was quickly followed by prickles of disappointment. “I hate that I did so little to actually help, and so much more to hinder. The only reason he and I stayed around was to question one of the men, but I ended up freezing or barbecuing everyone there. And then-”

Lexis suddenly straightened, and she lost her good humor. My words ceased abruptly. “What? What’s wrong?” I demanded. I guess I was coming to rely on Lexis as Rome and Brittan did.

“The door is… ” Frowning, she closed her eyes and an aura of stillness came over her. Several seconds passed, and her smile returned. “The men are about to return. As Tanner would say, Rome is pi-issed.”

AS PREDICTED, the door burst open. Rome stalked inside, dragging a protesting Tanner behind him. When the door closed in their wake, he pushed Tanner into a chair and dropped a heavy bag at the boy’s feet.

“I’m not afraid to use my lethal kung fu moves on you,” Tanner growled.

“Stay,” Rome growled back. “And don’t speak for the rest of the day.” He pivoted toward me, and when our eyes met his expression softened. “You’re awake.”

I sat up slowly and finger-combed my hair, wishing I had a mirror. I probably looked like crap, while he looked edible. He wore one of the black T-shirts he favored, and black slacks. I would have liked to see him in stone-washed jeans, but he only ever wore pants. And no underwear, I suddenly recalled, my cheeks heating.

He approached me and settled at the edge of the bed, a whisper away. My heartbeat accelerated, nearly exploding from my chest when his arm brushed mine. Always there was this electric tingle between us.

“How are you?” I asked, drinking him in. His face glowed with healthy color. He didn’t appear strained or hurt. In fact, he looked perfectly normal. Well, as normal as a dark angel could look.

“I’m good. Just a twinge in my side. How are you?”

“Better.”

He reached out and smoothed a hand over my cheek, his gaze becoming fierce. Lethal. “You scared me. Don’t ever do that again.”

I shivered at the savage intensity he projected. “I won’t.”

His blue, blue eyes bored into mine as he laced our fingers together. “When you passed out… ”

I squeezed his hand.

“Ah, look at the little lovebirds,” Tanner cooed. “Want Lexis and me to leave?”

“Yes,” Rome said, not switching his focus from me. They didn’t leave, unfortunately, but stayed where they were. With absolute tenderness, Rome ’s thumb played across my palm. “Belle, do you feel well enough to go outside and practice using your powers?”

At the moment, with his strength seeping into me, I felt capable of anything. “Sure.”

“Good. After yesterday, I need to know how you’ll hold up. Besides, I don’t want to head into the city until dark, so we’ve got time to kill.” He turned to Lexis. “Did you tell her about her dad?”

I stiffened with renewed fear and felt a cool draft gust through my veins.

“No,” Lexis said. “I knew you would want to explain.”

“Someone better tell me what’s going on with my dad before I freeze this entire place.”

With his free hand, Rome hooked a strand of hair behind my ear. “He’s fine, but I’m afraid Vincent might try to use him to draw you out.”

A lump formed in my throat, and my hand flew to my mouth. If my dad were in danger, I’d-I’d… I’d simply die, and take everyone responsible with me. “We can’t move him from the center. His medication is there. His nurses are there.”

“I know. That’s why I’d like to send Lexis to guard him.”

“I don’t know.” Automatically, my attention moved to the woman in question. Yes, I’d seen her catch the knives Rome had thrown to her, but could she fight off armed men? Would she kill to protect my father, a man she’d never met before?

Her lips twitched in genuine amusement. Before I could blink, she unsheathed a knife and tossed it straight at me. I heard a whoosh, immediately followed by a thud as the blade embedded in the wall behind me. I gasped out, “Holy shit!”

“I can take care of him,” she said, her confidence a palpable force.

“Way to test my bladder control,” I said drily. My pulse hammered hard and fast. God knows I didn’t have enough excitement in my life. Having a knife thrown at me was like contaminated icing on an already poisoned cake. “She’s perfect,” I told Rome. “I’ll have to call the center and ask if they’ll allow her, but-”

“No need,” he said, cutting me off. “The kid here apparently does have some uses. He’s very good with a computer and already hacked into their system. They are now under the assumption that a specialized cardiac nurse has been ordered to give him twenty-four-hour care.”

“Okay. Good. I’ll just call my dad and-”

“No phone calls. No telling who’s been tapped.” There was an apology in his tone, but the command was clear, unrelenting.