That much was true.
“Yes,” she said.
“Like me.”
She sighed. “The Jones Scale stops at ten.”
“Only because they haven’t found a way to measure psychic energy beyond that point. That’s why they came up with the damned asterisk. Think Fallon Jones knows your real number?”
“Until this morning, I would have said no.” She unclasped her hands. “Now, I’m not so sure. Given the nature of his own talent, I suppose it’s possible he’s guessed that I’m a little higher than my file indicates.”
“You’re an exotic,” he said, very sure. “Like me.”
One secret in exchange for another. As he had pointed out, where was the harm in acknowledging a piece of the truth to another aura talent? It was a relief to admit it to someone who truly understood.
“Yes,” she said. She made a face. “But I hate that word.”
“Exotic?”
“It’s just a semi-polite term for psychic freak.”
“You’re no freak.” He started toward her, cane thudding softly on the carpet. “But you are a very rare creature in my book.”
She stood, turning to face him.
“I am?” she said.
Another wave of hot, sensual energy whispered through her. He was revved up again, watching her aura. She could feel the light pulses of heat from his energy field. Now she knew just what that meant. The sensation was exquisitely intimate.
He sees the real me, she thought.
He’s the only man who ever has.
He came to a halt directly in front of her, smiling a little. “This is where I get to say here’s looking at you, kid.”
She laughed, feeling suddenly light and very highly charged; sexy. Adventurous. Living in the moment.
“Like the view?” she asked. Good grief, she was actually flirting with him.
“Oh, yeah,” he said. He touched her cheek. “No one has ever noticed me screwing around with their auras, let alone pushed back.”
She held her breath but there was no psychic jolt. Experimentally she put her fingertips on his bare chest. She felt nothing except warm skin and sleek, strong muscle. Last night hadn’t been a fluke. She really could touch him without pain. She flattened her hand against him.
She could feel the intense, very focused energy of his desire sweeping around her, enveloping her in powerful and possibly quite dangerous currents. But she no longer cared about the warning signs.
“Are you telling me that you’re attracted to me just because I can keep you from manipulating my aura?” she asked.
His smile was wickedly sexy. “And because you’re hot, of course.”
She blinked. “You really think I’m hot?”
He moved the cane behind her back and grasped the other end in his right hand, trapping her. He pulled her closer and lowered his mouth to hers.
“Very, very hot,” he said against her lips.
The words thrilled all her senses. He wanted her. So what if part of the attraction was based on the fact that he saw her as an interesting challenge? At least she didn’t scare him, the way she did other men. That was a really big plus. And she could touch him.
Live in the moment.
“Yes,” she said. “But it’s cool to hear the words.”
“How about actions? Don’t they count?”
“Oh, yes.” She was breathless now. “Actions are very important.”
“That’s good because I’m in the mood for a little action.”
His mouth closed over hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, throwing herself into the embrace with all her might. Caught off balance by the sudden impact of her weight, Luther dropped the cane and staggered back a step. They collapsed together onto the rumpled bed.
She landed on top. Dazzled and energized, she started kissing his throat. He moved his hands down the sides of her body to her hips and tugged the hem of her nightgown upward. A moment later she felt his fingers close around her bare bottom.
He squeezed gently. She shuddered in response and dug her nails into him.
“Oh, yeah, definitely hot,” he said, his voice tight and ragged.
He raised one knee, cradling her between his thighs and pressed the hard, demanding shape of his erection against her leg.
Enthralled, she slipped one hand down his chest and over his flat belly until she found his zipper. She started to tug. The zipper did not slide readily due to the presence of the large object in the way.
Luther drew in a harsh breath and eased back a little.
“I’ll get it,” he said.
“Okay. Hurry.”
He sat up on the side of the bed. “Trust me, I’m moving as fast as I can.”
She rolled onto her side to admire the powerful shape of his shoulder and hip while he got rid of the trousers. When he pushed the pants down she saw the ragged, newly healed scar that marked his thigh halfway between his hip and his knee. Shock lanced through her.
“Oh, Luther,” she whispered.
He looked down, his mouth twisting. “Not very attractive, is it? One of the doctors talked about plastic surgery to make it look better, but at the time the last thing I wanted to do was go back into a hospital.”
“Who cares how it looks?” She sat up beside him and gently put her fingertips on the savage brand. “You must have lost a lot of blood. You could have been killed.”
“I told you, it was my own fault.” He paused, watching her very steadily. “Does it bother you?”
“Of course it does. It was obviously a very serious injury.”
“That’s not what I meant. Does it turn you off?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I was just concerned, that’s all. Was it a car accident?”
“No.” He opened his wallet and took out a condom packet.
“Does it still hurt?”
“Aches a little sometimes.” He sheathed himself in the condom. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather not discuss it. Sort of takes the glow out of the moment, if you know what I mean.”
She blushed. “Wouldn’t want to do that.”
He gave her another sexy smile and settled her back down onto the bed and loomed over her.
“On that we are in perfect agreement,” he said softly.
He put one hand on her breast. She was intensely aware of the heat of his palm through the fabric of the nightgown. She closed her hands around his shoulders. A shudder swept through him. His aura flared higher. It seemed to her that in some way it was starting to resonate with hers. A glorious sense of her own feminine power soared within her.
He moved his hand deliberately up the inside of her thigh to the hot, full place between her legs. He started to stroke her the way he had the night before, as though he knew exactly what she wanted and needed. She sensed the now-familiar pulse of his energy.
Damn. He
did know exactly what she wanted and needed. He was reading her aura to see what worked and what didn’t.
“Wait a second,” she gasped. “I think that’s cheating.”
“All’s fair in love and war.”
He did something with his fingers that shocked her senses in the most delicious way. Of their own accord, her legs stirred amid the rumpled sheets, opening for him.
Impulsively she reached down and wrapped her fingers around him. He sucked in a deep lungful of air and exhaled on a groan. She did not need to see his aura to know that she was pressing all the correct buttons.
“You’re right,” she said, savoring his reaction. “All’s fair.”
He was hard and solid and very erect. She watched him with her other vision as she explored him, discovering exactly where and how to touch him. The sexual excitement in his hot energy field began to resonate harder and faster, emboldening her. She had never tried anything like this with anyone else. The game was compelling, addictive; and her learning curve was very fast, thanks to the feedback she got from his aura.
She heard a low, husky laugh and knew that Luther knew that she was watching him in the same incredibly intimate way that he was watching her.
“You are definitely getting the hang of this,” he growled. He captured her wrists and pinned them over her head. “But I’m not going to let you end things too soon.”