Playing With Fire (tales of an extra ordinary girl)

by Gena Showalter

  “I can smell her desire.”

  “Is that… part of the good or the bad?”

  “Good.” His voice dipped to a wine-rich whisper, a whisper that caressed my still-hot cheeks. “Very, very good.”

  Holy hell, this man knew how to seduce. My knees were weakening at a rapid pace. It didn’t matter that the cabin was behind us and Tanner could be watching from the window. It didn’t matter that we were outside. Nothing mattered but Rome.

  “I love all of those abilities.” He pinched my nipples, and I arched backward. “I can find the unfindable. Stalk the unstalkable.”

  “But…?”

  “But these abilities have not helped me do what matters most. They haven’t given my daughter a normal life. No, they’ve brought the evil of the world to her door. Because of that, I can never drop my guard. I can never fully trust. People want to examine me, bad people, just like they want to examine you. They want to test me, experiment on me, and they don’t care how painful it is. They want to make more like me. More like you. More like Sunny. I can’t keep her off Vincent’s radar forever. If the bastard ever tried to experiment on her… ” The last was said in a growl.

  I quivered when he glided his wicked hands down my stomach again, this time gripping the hem of my shirt and allowing his fingertips to dabble with the exposed skin.

  “Do you trust me?” I asked breathlessly.

  “Surprisingly, yes.” He bit the shell of my ear, then licked away the sting.

  “ Rome.” I groaned in need. My head fell onto his shoulder. I wanted him to lick my neck. Bite it. Something. Anything. Except…

  He released me with a low, guttural growl. “Come on.” He pushed out a shuddering breath. “I can’t fuck you the way I want right now, and holding you is torture. Let’s go inside and eat.”

  He strode away from me without another word.

  Happy place, happy place. “I’ll be there in a minute,” I called. “I need some alone time to decompress.”

  He nodded but didn’t look back.

  Even though I was famished, I needed time to calm my racing blood. I was panting (a little) and aching (a lot). I didn’t think I’d find complete satisfaction until that man had me penetrated. Right now I didn’t fear I’d start a fire or anything like that. It was just, well, I feared I was giving Rome more of myself than was wise. Frissons of love had already sprouted, but giving him any more of my heart was completely idiotic.

  I plopped onto the grass, which was damp from the rainstorms I’d produced. The wetness seeped through my jeans, but I didn’t care. Every minute I spent in Rome ’s presence, I fell a little deeper under his erotic spell. He was animalistic (obviously), addictive, charming when he wanted to be, sexy without meaning to be, and protective.

  Who could resist that?

  Not me, I thought with a small twinge of dejection.

  I kind of understood now why Lexis had walked away from him. To love him, but have him love another… was there any greater torture? No, probably not. When a woman looked at him, she wanted all of his focus to be on her, all of his strength under her hands, all of his passion directed at her. She simply wanted him to be hers.

  He pulled you into his essence, and you were helpless to resist.

  I was in serious danger of falling completely, I’m-in-deep-shit in love with him, of losing myself to him, and I knew it. I was too excited by him, too aware of his every touch. I plucked at several strands of grass. I wasn’t going to walk away from him-it was too late for that, and I was honest enough with myself to admit it. But I needed to erect better guards against him.

  How did a girl do that, though?

  If it involved rejecting Rome ’s touch and not getting naked, then no, I couldn’t do it. I had to know what it felt like to make love with this man. I’d always had a strong fantasy life. This time, however, I needed the real thing. After the way I’d exploded for him, I knew that everything else I’d ever experienced would pale in comparison to Rome.

  He’d given me an orgasm while we were dressed, for God’s sake, not a single stitch of clothing removed. A first for me.

  “Belle,” he suddenly called, breaking into my thoughts. His deep, rough tone made me shiver with remembrance. “You okay out there?”

  “Yeah.” I pushed to my feet. “I’m coming in.”

  “Lexis phoned. She’s with your dad and he’s doing great. He even tried to hit on her.”

  That was my dad, I thought as relief flooded me. I hadn’t realized how deep my worry was until just that moment. I wished I could have talked to him, but it was enough for now that my dad was alive and well, with no bad guys lurking around him.

  “The, uh… sandwiches are ready,” Rome added.

  From the hesitation in his voice, I suspected Tanner had done something to the food. It had better be something good, by God. The noises my stomach made were deafening. I trudged up the porch steps and past the front door. Cool air caressed my bare skin and cooled the damp flesh under my clothes.

  The cozy scene that greeted me had me blinking in surprise. Both Rome and Tanner sat at the table, their elbows propped on the surface. A plate of sandwiches rested in front of them. Neither was eating. Like gentlemen, they were waiting for me.

  Rome didn’t look at me. He radiated a supreme arousal he couldn’t quite manage to hide.

  Tanner grinned wickedly when he spotted me. “I prepared a meal, just like you told me.”

  Mouth watering, I plopped into the chair beside Rome and gazed at the food. My jaw dropped. Sure enough, Tanner had prepared dinner. Sandwiches, just like Rome had said. Except these sandwiches were cut into round globes and each was topped with an olive.

  “They look damn good,” Rome said.

  “Yes,” I said, “but they also look like-”

  “I know.” Tanner’s grin widened. “I was inspired, what can I say? You asked for food, and I delivered.”

  “You are such a punk,” I replied, but I, too, was grinning.

  His black brows wiggled up and down, momentarily hiding under his hair. The silver piercings winked. “Now you can tell everyone you’ve sampled grade A boobies.”

  Rome snorted, but he leaned toward me and whispered, “I already have.”

  Grade A? Ha. More like A-cup. Still, I shivered at the intensity of his words. Instead of allowing myself to jump him as I always seemed to want, I reached for a sandwich. Rome and Tanner reached for one at the same time. The boys were lucky they didn’t pull back bloody stumps, I was that hungry. Apparently, the more I used my powers, the hungrier I became. With my first bite, I almost died and went to the pearly gates. Turkey and Swiss. Mmm. I ate three pairs of breasts.

  “So, Rome,” Tanner said, after swallowing a gulp of milk. “How’d you get Belle into bed so soon?”

  I choked on the olive currently in my mouth.

  Rome fought a grin and slapped me on the back.

  “I mean, you guys have only known each other, what? A few days? And you’re already going at it like rabbits. I wish you could have seen yourselves. She was moaning, you were groaning. Live porn for sure.”

  The moment I could breathe, I shouted, “Are you calling me easy?”

  “Close your pie hole, Viper. I’m not meaning no disrespect, okay? Rome obviously has some skills I need to know about, and since you haven’t exactly given me any tips that work… ”

  I scowled at him. “They work when executed properly.”

  “Oh, really?” He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms over his middle, the picture of disbelief. “I told Lexis she had pretty hair and you didn’t see her stripping and falling into bed with me, did you?”

  “You’ve got to try it on someone your own age, moron.”

  Rome slammed his palm against the table surface. The plates jostled and clanked. “You’re teaching him to con women into bed?”

  What was this, dump on Belle hour? “Not con. Exactly.” I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “Seduce.”

  “The
re’s a difference?” He studied Tanner, letting me off the hook for a minute. “You shouldn’t sleep with a woman unless you care about her.”

  “That’s easy for you to say,” Tanner grumbled. “You’re getting some.”

  “Not really.” This time, Rome was the one grumbling. His eyes darkened with savage need.

  My nerve endings reacted to that need, springing to instant attention. Again. Why couldn’t I have civilized men in my life? Instead I was stuck with a horny teen determined to nail some booty and a horny adult determined to nail my booty.

  Never mind that I liked the latter.

  And never mind that I planned to offer said booty freely and eagerly.

  Just remember to guard your heart, my mind piped up.

  “Well?” Tanner banged his empty glass on the table. “Are you going to share your expertise or not?”

  “Not,” Rome said succinctly. “We have more important things to do than talk about your lack of a sex life.”

  “Hey, now. There’s nothing more important than my sex life.” The kid straightened, adamant and offended. “All we’re doing is eating. Nothing wrong with a little erotic conversation during a meal. Especially when we’re eating booby sandwiches.”

  No way to refute that.

  Flustered, Rome pushed his plate away. “Fine. I’ll talk to you about sex and how I-how I got Belle to like me, but I’ll do it later. Right now I need to talk to you guys about tonight. Have either of you ever broken into someone’s home?”

  “No.” Me.

  “No.” Tanner. Although his admission came more reluctantly, as if he didn’t like revealing he wasn’t a criminal.

  “I thought not.” Rome glanced to the heavens. For guidance? “Usually the best time to go in is during the day. People are at work and less likely to be home, and if you’re dressed right, the people who are home won’t notice you. But Belle was sick and I needed to see how much she could handle, so I postponed for-”

  “Dressed right, how?” I interrupted. Had people broken into my house that way?

  He popped a nipple (aka an olive) into his mouth and shrugged. “Repairman. Deliveryman. Doesn’t matter, though, because we’re going in at night. This night, to be exact, and it’s a whole different story. Dr. Roberts’s house is, I’m sure, being watched by Vincent’s men. And Belle is a wanted woman,” he continued, “so we don’t have the luxury of hiding in plain sight.”

  A wanted woman. I liked that. Well, when it pertained to Rome. Not Vincent. “What exactly are we looking for?” The antidote, please say the antidote. “We know the good doctor isn’t home, and we’re risking a lot by going there.”

  “Papers, books, anything that will give us information about where Dr. Roberts is hiding and whether he has an antidote.”

  Excellent! “Wouldn’t Vincent have already found those things, though?”

  “Not necessarily.”

  Okay, what did Rome mean by that? I was about to ask him when Tanner said, “If the house is being watched, how the heezie are we going to get in? You mentioned breaking and entering, but we can’t do that if our every move is monitored.”

  Confused, I shook my head. “Heezie?”

  “You know. Hell. Don’t you ever listen to the Snoop Dogg?”

  The Snoop Dogg? Dear Lord, another superhero? “If heezie means hell, then why the heezie don’t you just say hell? Jeez.”

  “Doesn’t sound as cool,” he said with a pout.

  Rome covered his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing. Or possibly to keep from strangling us. “You want to hear my plan or not?”

  “Yes, please.” Me.

  “Totally.” Tanner.

  “All right. Here’s what we’re going to do.” Rome launched into a speech worthy of any army commander.

  I listened, growing pale. God help us. The more he talked, the more it sounded like he wanted us to die.

  Actually, I think that was Plan B.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  THAT NIGHT, after I’d changed into clean clothes-with panties and a bra!-we made the hour-long drive to Dr. Roberts’s house in silence. I was too nervous to speak. The men, well… I think maybe Rome was getting into his zone. His kill-or-be-killed zone, that is, weighing possibilities and probabilities, mentally preparing to do whatever was necessary to obtain the desired results. Tanner’s features were pale, and he looked ready to pass out at any moment. Oddly enough, he also exuded a palpable air of excitement, like he could high-five some of his buddies while bragging to the ladies.

  “Duck,” Rome said conversationally.

  Tanner and I didn’t hesitate; we ducked. Since we were both in the back seat, Tanner smashed his face against the seat and I covered his body with my own. My heart rate burst into hyperspeed.

  “What’s going on?” I whispered, then mentally chastised myself for whispering. I didn’t have to be quiet yet.

  Our car slowed, turned gently, straightened out and eased over a speed bump. “I’m going to park several blocks away from the doctor’s neighborhood. We’ll enter on foot.”

  Great. Walking. Exercise. Making a target of myself. My favorite things. Perhaps I should just hang a neon sign around my neck that read Shoot Here.

  “Why are we ducking?” Tanner said, whispering as well.

  “Vincent’s agents are patrolling the area,” Rome said.

  “What the hell?” Tanner, I noticed, was too nervous to say “heezie.” I did my best to comfort him by giving his arm an I’m-here-for-you squeeze. I only prayed he didn’t notice the nervous, swamplike nature of my hands.

  “You didn’t mention that in the plan,” he continued. “You said they’d be watching the house, not the whole goddamn state of Georgia.”

  “I did mention the fact that you could be shot at or knifed, and this is what you complain about?” Rome blew out a heavy breath, and through the crack between the seats I watched as his hand inched from the steering wheel and curled around the handle of the gun resting in the passenger seat.

  That gun was the reason I’d been relegated to the back seat. He’d wanted it at the ready, and he hadn’t wanted me near it. You might accidentally nail me, he’d said. And I’d replied, I thought you wanted me to nail you. He’d shut up after that.

  A few seconds passed-or were they minutes?-before he parked the car in a shadowed corner. “I saw four agents in four different cars, and they’re diligently watching this lot.” He tucked the gun in his ankle holster and covered it with his pants. I knew he had knives (and other guns) strapped to several parts of his body, too.

  “Park somewhere else,” I said. Please.

  “Every shop, house and building is going to be watched. Dr. Roberts got away. We got away. And they’re determined to find us. This is as safe a place as any.” Rome paused, turned off the car and palmed the keys. “This is what we’re going to do. I’m going to head toward the store and create a distraction, as well as draw the agents to me and, well, you can guess. When I’ve done that, you guys get out, stay in the shadows, and meet me behind the Dumpster on the west side.”

  I gulped. “I could try to start a fire somewhere in the distance.”

  Before I spoke the last word, he was shaking his head. “Too risky. One, we don’t know if there are innocent people in the area, and two, you might accidentally start the fire in the car, and we need a getaway vehicle. I’ll create the distraction.”

  “With what?”

  He patted his slacks pocket. “You’ll see.”

  Frustration clawed at me. “How am I supposed to develop my powers to the point that I can help you with Sunny if you’re always making me hide and duck?”

  “I told you I was no longer sure how I’ll want you to help with her, so that question is moot right now.”

  I hated that Rome was taking so many risks, but didn’t see how I could truly aid him at the moment. “Be careful,” I said softly.

  “No worries, baby.” He didn’t turn to look at me. “I’ll be fine. You just make sure
you don’t get hurt.” With that, he exited as casually as a man intent on shopping for eggs, milk and biscuits. But I could see the muscles bunched under his shirt, the tension that he tried so hard to hide. Had I once thought him impossible to read?

  The door shut, leaving Tanner and me in complete silence. Wait, no, not complete silence. I could hear the raggedness of our breathing, the rush of blood in my ears. “I’m so sorry I got you into this, Tanner.”

  “It’s okay.” He uttered a nervous laugh. “It’ll be one hell of a story for my bitches.”

  “You could leave. You don’t have to stay with us.”

  He paused. Groaned, sighed. “I’ll stay.” The edge of firmness in his voice left no room for argument. “What kind of man would I be if I abandoned you? You’re, like, my family now.”

  “I feel the same way.” And I did. I loved this kid. He was smart and brave, a dear friend I hadn’t known how desperately I’d needed until now. “Wait till you meet my dad. He buys Viagra on the black market, so I know he’ll love you.”

  “I like him already. Hey, can I tell you something?” Tanner asked, his voice going soft, sweet.

  “Of course. You can tell me anything.”

  “I can feel your boobs pressing against my back.”

  I choked back a laugh. “If we’re family now, that comment is completely incestuous.”

  He didn’t reply. Our nerves were frayed, our minds heavy with the coming events. It was odd, really. I’d lived my entire life craving adventure, wishing for it, depressed that I didn’t have it. Now that it was here, a part of me wanted the return of my staid existence. Normalcy, the ordinary, were the gates to paradise. Weren’t they?

  “How will we know when Rome ’s created the distraction?” I asked.

  Boom!

  I gasped and jolted upright. Tanner did the same. We stared wide-eyed out the front window as flames consumed a small patch of trees. “My God,” I breathed. Moonlight bathed the area, then was chased away by the glow of the fire.

  “I think we know,” Tanner said, his tone awed.