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

Besides, I’d told my dad I wouldn’t call him. I’d told him I would be away on a fabulous vacation, relaxing. I wish.

“Unlike what you see in the movies,” Rome said, “phone calls can be traced instantly. If your dad is under any type of monitoring, I don’t want you in contact with him.”

“I understand.” Sighing, I glanced at Lexis. “Can you keep me updated on him? Secretly? He thinks I’m on vacation, and it would be best to let him keep thinking that.”

“Of course.”

I eased back against my pillow. “I’ll shower and eat, then we can go outside for our practice session. Okay?” I asked Rome.

He leaned down, pressing his cheek against mine, but not before I caught a glimpse of his wickedly sexy smile. “Belle Jamison naked and in the shower. I like that image.”

I gulped, and peered once again at Lexis, who had already turned away from us to busy herself in the kitchen. I didn’t want to hurt her more than necessary. Look at what the woman had done-and what she was going to do for me. I don’t think Rome realized his ex still loved him. In his realm of male understanding (aka limited), he likely figured Lexis didn’t care who he was with.

“One day I’ll be able to join you in there-and not just in my mind.” His breath fanned my cheek, then my ear, and he added softly, “I’ve been thinking about this, and I think the shower is the perfect place for us. If things get too hot, the water will cool us off.”

Or turn us to steam, as hot as I was for him. “One day,” I replied just as softly. God, I hoped that day came soon. “I want you so much.”

His nostrils flared, and his eyes gleamed with heat. He looked, in short, like a man who was battling a savage need to claim me. “Get in there. Hurry. I’ve been worried about you, and if you don’t get in there I’m going to take you here and now.”

Oh, I loved it when he went all alpha on me. I lumbered from the bed. My knees were wobbly as I hobbled into the bathroom. For my own sake, I locked the door.

I showered, lingering in the hot, steamy water and letting it clean me inside and out. I felt stronger with every second that passed. The damp, misty air soothed my throat and swept the soot from my lungs. A part of me worried about Pretty Boy Vincent finding us and bursting in on me, catching me with my pants down. I’d been surprise-attacked too many times in the last couple of days. Still, the other part of me simply luxuriated in this totally normal act. The cabin was a safe haven, and one I desperately needed at the moment.

When the water became too cold to bear, I exited and dressed in the black shirt and jeans Lexis had packed for me-which someone had laid across the toilet. Someone who had picked the door lock and entered the bathroom without my knowledge. Whoever the lock picker was (cough, cough- Rome!) hadn’t brought me panties or a bra.

I was unwilling to wear the dirty ones-if I had them, that is, which I didn’t. The aforementioned someone had taken them with him. So, as this someone had obviously planned, I dressed without them. No panties. No bra. My lips inched into a smile. Lecherous man.

Rome was a true male, even in the face of danger.

When I emerged, a cloud of steam followed me. Rome, Tanner and Lexis were at the table, eating breakfast. Seemed weird, since the last meal I recalled was the breakfast in Lexis’s apartment. I guess that’s what happens when you sleep an entire day away. I strode to them, meaning to claim the empty chair next to Rome, but he tugged me onto his lap and plopped a buttered biscuit in front of me, all without pausing in his speech.

“-forces are divided while they search for both Belle and Dr. Roberts. Now is the perfect time to strike.”

Sitting in his lap aroused me. My nipples instantly pearled; my stomach quivered in anticipation of a touch. Maybe I was a slut and a harlot (a slot?). Or maybe, just maybe, Rome emitted lethal pheromones no woman could resist.

“I’m not saying I disagree with you,” Lexis said, slathering her own biscuit with strawberry jelly, “but you have to consider the fact that we’re divided, too. I’ll be with Belle’s father, while the three of you evade capture from Vincent. And John, if he’s looking for you.”

“John might be looking for us?” I asked. I smeared honey on my biscuit and then proceeded to inhale it. “I thought Rome took care of him.”

“He has to know you’re helping Belle now,” Lexis said to Rome.

He plucked the last nibble from my fingers and popped it into his mouth. “For all he knows, she escaped me and I’m still hunting her down.”

Lexis snorted. “No one intelligent will believe she escaped you.”

“Hey! For your information,” I told her indignantly, “I did escape him.”

“And I helped,” Tanner added. His chest puffed up like a peacock.

“I know you did, honey, and I’m proud of you.” Lexis patted his back. “Truth is stranger than fiction, I suppose, but no one will believe Belle defeated Rome.”

“I called John and told him she was a wily little thing and had gotten away,” Rome said, “but that I’d find her soon and bring her ass in.”

Both Lexis and I gasped. “You did?” we asked simultaneously. Our tones were different, though. She sounded surprised. I sounded pissed.

Rome ’s hand squeezed my waist. “Yes, I did.”

Okay, I was totally feeling betrayed here. Did Rome truly plan to bring me in after I helped him with Sunny? I couldn’t stand it; I had to know. I deserved to know. “Are you going to be an asshole and give me to John when you no longer need me?”

“John didn’t say much,” Rome said, ignoring me. “Just told me to find her before Vincent did.”

Lexis sighed. “Knowing John, he’s probably got other agents looking for her.”

“Stop ignoring me. I’m getting mad, and we all know that’s not a good thing.” I pinched Rome ’s leg. “You better answer me.”

“We’ll talk about this later, Wonder Girl,” he said.

Wonder Girl. Hmm, I liked it. I just wished he had answered me. Frowning, I sipped at my water. “Why later?” I finally asked, unable to help myself.

He sighed. “You’ll get mad. I’d rather talk to you about it in the shower.”

My stomach twisted. “Why will I get mad?” There was only one answer that would make me mad, and that was that Rome did indeed plan to betray me.

He ran a hand through his hair. “I did plan to turn you in, okay? After we got Vincent off your back, I planned to dangle you in front of John so he’d be distracted, and I could take Sunny safely into hiding.”

Tanner and Lexis became quiet, and all hint of moisture left my mouth. “But… but I thought you said you needed my powers to help hide her.”

“I did, just not the way you assumed. John will want you even more when you’re able to control your abilities.”

“You bastard!” I tried to jump out of his lap, but he wouldn’t let me. He held on tight. “You told me to trust you, and you even said specifically that you wouldn’t betray me,” I yelped.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’ve felt horribly guilty for double-crossing you. I was only able to comfort myself with the thought that you’d be able to take care of yourself.”

“You-you-” Words failed me, I didn’t know what to call him. I’d never felt so betrayed in my life-not even when I’d discovered that the Prince of Darkness had cheated on me.

“I’m not going to do it,” Rome said, squeezing my waist again. “I can’t. I realized that last night. I’ll think of something else.”

I started to relax, but forced myself to stay on guard. “What changed your mind?” I demanded.

“Yes, what changed you mind?” Lexis echoed.