by Leah Brooke
Part of her, a dark, amazingly sexual part of her, wanted him to rip her shirt and bra away and take her breasts into his hands. She wanted him to tease her nipples, to put his mouth on them and ease another kind of torment.
Alastair lifted his head and turned toward her, his face breathtakingly close to hers, his smile giving him a rakish look. “Okay, now I’m intrigued, and I need to think about something other than ravaging you right here in the fucking parking lot.”
Turning back to the man, he frowned thoughtfully, settling a hand at Serena’s waist that made her stomach muscles quiver, and made her nipples tingle even more.
“He doesn’t make a lot of money, but still wants to look good. That watch is a knockoff, and his shoes are cheaply made, but you can tell he takes pride in his appearance. I’ll bet he gets into a sports car, but not a real expensive one, just one that wants to look that way. It’s Sunday and he’s whistling, and he’s got a look on his face that only a woman could put there. He’s not wearing a wedding ring, and he’s carrying a bag from a women’s lingerie store, so I’d say he recently met someone and is very much looking forward to seeing her again.”
Turning back to her, he smiled again. “That what you’re looking for?”
Serena hadn’t been able to tear her eyes away from Alastair as he analyzed the other man. Her body reacted as if they were already lovers, tingling with awareness as if knowing his touch. She ached for him.
Her pussy clenched, her clit throbbing so badly that she had to fight the urge to squirm against the seat.
“Serena?”
Blinking, she straightened, clearing her throat. Embarrassed to have been caught staring, she looked back out the window, trying to remember what they’d been talking about. Luckily, she saw the man she’d talked about earlier and it triggered her memory.
He got into a low-slung sports car, but not an expensive one.
Alastair leaned closer, his lips close to her ear, the low timbre of his tone washing over her like a decadent caress. “See? I was right about the car. I’ll bet, too, that the work he does isn’t manual labor. He probably works in an office somewhere and is ambitious. He wants the money, so my guess is that he’s aiming for the top.”
His hand moved a little higher, settling just under her breast. “I’m good at this, darling. I’ve had to rely on my ability to read people for a very long time. It’s getting dangerous, isn’t it? You and I aren’t going to be able to keep our hands off of each other. You’re trembling, Serena. You know you’re not going to be able to walk away as easily as you think.”
Serena wanted to cry. She couldn’t tell him that she felt the same way about his brother, and that she was destined to love both of them.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced a smile, knowing she had to do something to ease the sexual tension. Watching the car while the driver started it and pulled out of the parking space kept her from looking at Alastair.
“You might be good at this, but I’m better. You’re right about him not making a lot of money. He works in the mail room of a company near here, and he does want to make it to the top. He’s frustrated that he can’t, but he’s got a temper, one that’s gotten him fired from just about every job he’s ever had. He’s not married and has no plans to ever get married. The lingerie is for his girlfriend, the one he stood up last night when he met another man in a bar and went home with him. The lingerie is an apology. He’s on his way to see her now and is working on the lie he’s going to tell her when he gets there. He’s angry that he has to. He cares nothing for her. The only reason he sees her is to fool everyone else that he’s straight. He doesn’t want to admit, even to himself, that he’s gay.”
Meeting Alastair’s eyes, she smiled. “But last night he fell in love with this other man. He’s on cloud nine and can’t wait to get back to him.”
Alastair’s brows went up. “Wow. You got all that by just looking at him? Don’t you have to touch people or something?”
Taking a deep breath, Serena closed her eyes to savor the delicious warmth and intoxicating desire running through her veins, a warmth and desire that soothed her frayed nerves but did nothing to ease her shock.
“I’ve never been able to do that before. I’ve only ever been able to read one person’s thoughts before and we were alone and touching at the time. I’ve never done this. Never. Usually the voices all clump together and scream at me. It’s awful. I’ve wondered many times if I’d gone crazy—if I’d lost my mind.”
Gathering her closer, Alastair rubbed her arms. “Tell me.”
She gestured toward where the car had just disappeared around the corner. “Can you imagine being bombarded with all of that information, and sometimes more from every single person who gets anywhere near you? If I come into contact with them, it’s worse. I get feelings. Memories.” She blew out a breath. “It’s exhausting.”
Alastair frowned, reaching out to lace his fingers with hers. “What do you mean, it’s worse?”
Jerking her hand from under his, Serena bit back her frustration, shaken at what she’d done. “I don’t know. Stronger. More intense. Sometimes it’s so strong, it nearly incapacitates me, the way it did when Anthony Carello touched my arm.”
Alastair tightened his arm around her, pulling her back against his hard chest. His lips caressed her temple, his voice dark and seductive. “What do you feel when I touch you?”
She couldn’t hold back a moan at the warmth of his muscular forearm against the underside of her breasts. Closing her eyes, she fought the almost overwhelming need to move against him, to increase the pressure of his arm against her breast.
Turning toward his mesmerizing voice, Serena rubbed her forehead against his strong jaw, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop herself from leaning back against him. “Please, Alastair, don’t do this. Let me go.”
His lips brushed her temple again, his voice low and intimate. “Not a chance. Can you read my thoughts? What can you tell from my touch?”
She wanted him. She wanted to know what it felt like to be with a man so strong, so confident, everything that she hadn’t been for a long time.
She wanted to feel desired, to be needed for herself and not for her ability. She loved having strong arms around her, loved the tension in Alastair’s body and the raw sexuality in his voice. “I–I can’t r–really read you and Ian l–like I c–can other people. I d–don’t know how to explain it. It’s different. Oh, God, it’s so different with you. Please, Alastair, help me resist you.”
Sliding a hand higher, he traced a pattern on the underside of her left breast, not quite touching her nipple. “Ian touched you last night, too. Tell me why you left the reception with him without a fight.”
Knowing he’d sit here all day until she told him, she averted her gaze, stiffening against his wicked assault. “I knew that he wouldn’t hurt me. I knew that he was on the side of good. You’ve both lied, cheated, stolen, and even killed, but you didn’t want to kill anyone.”
Alastair released her as though burned, setting her back in the passenger seat, and stared out the front window. “You know quite a bit about us, don’t you?” His cool, almost hostile tone held no unease, but she sensed it anyway.
Uneasy at the cool interest in his eyes as he moved away from her, she took a shuddering breath and clenched her hands together. She knew it would happen. People didn’t want to be around anyone who saw too much.
He’d never be comfortable around her, and no matter how badly she wanted him, it wouldn’t be enough.
“Ever since my mother died, I’ve tried very hard not to touch anyone or intrude on their thoughts.”
He turned back to her, his voice clipped. “Have you?”
Her temper snapped, something that rarely happened, and she whirled on him, her anger and hurt spewing out of her.
“Look, asshole, you’re the one who touched me. You know damned well I’m psychic. You won’t let me leave, but you don’t like the things
I know about you, or the fact that I’ll learn more while I’m staying with you. I know the people both you and Ian have killed were bad men and I also know that their deaths weigh heavily on both of you. If you want to be mad at me for knowing something I shouldn’t, you’re going to spend all your time mad at me. I don’t need this from you or anybody else. I’m going back home. I should have never left.”
To her mortification, a sob escaped, enraging her further. She’d known it would happen, that he and Ian would resent their lack of privacy, but experiencing it hurt even worse than she’d thought it would.
She choked back yet another sob as she fought the door handle, only to be stopped before she could escape.
Alastair yanked her back against him, his arms coming around her. “Damn it, what happened to the shy, quiet woman Ian brought home last night? Ow! Sheathe your claws, wildcat, before you get hurt.” He tightened his grip to hold her still, quickly moving his head to the side when she tried to head-butt him. “Stop it, Serena. Listen to me. I’m not mad about what you know, but I can’t say I’m comfortable with the fact that you know things about me that I didn’t tell you. I value my privacy.”
She shouldn’t have been surprised at his strength, but her first real experience with it stunned her. She had very little experience with a man’s strength, but she couldn’t believe they could all be so strong.
Fighting her panic, she struggled harder, wishing she could kick at him, but with her legs still on the passenger side of the car, she couldn’t.
Cursing, he adjusted his hold, turning her on his lap, making it impossible for her to hide from him. “Stop it. There’s something else, something you’re not telling me and I want to know what it is.”
Releasing her arms, he gripped her chin and lifted her face to his, his sharp gaze holding hers. “You look at Ian and me as though you’re afraid of something. You’ve already said that you know we won’t hurt you, so why are you so afraid?”
Serena tried to pull his hand away, her panic and anger growing when she couldn’t. “I’ve been kidnapped and you tell me that someone’s trying to kill me. I think I have every reason to be afraid.”
He bent to nuzzle her neck, tilting her head back against his shoulder. “You know, I just realized something. Surprisingly, neither one of those things is really scaring you. Interesting.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” She knew she would go back home again—knew it all the way to her soul. She also knew it wouldn’t happen if Carello killed her, or if Ian and Alastair wanted her to stay.
Nothing could have convinced her more that this thing between them could never last, and that she had to do her best to harden her heart as much as her feelings for them allowed, something that got increasingly difficult.
His lips kept moving, his tone one she would have imagined a man like him would use in the bedroom, creating all sorts of erotic images in her mind, images that had nothing to do with her abilities, and everything to do with fantasy. “Are you afraid because you want Ian and me every bit as much as we want you?”
Serena searched for a reply to that, but when his teeth scraped her neck, her mind went blank.
Mind-numbing heat spread through her, and she couldn’t help but tilt her neck to give him better access. She bit back a moan when he released her chin, running his fingers down her neck and over her nipple before closing his hand on her breast and gently kneading.
He ran his tongue over the sensitive area right under her jaw, his voice a deep rumble. “Tell me what scares you.”
Turning her head, she cupped his jaw, her heart leaping when he caressed her breast and turned his face to touch his lips to her palm. “You. You scare me to death. Please, help me resist you. I can’t allow myself to get involved with either one of you.”
Trembling, she tried to sit up. “If we’re going to go inside, let’s go. I want to get this over with so we can go back to the house.” The crowd inside couldn’t be any more dangerous to her peace of mind than being alone with him.
Cupping her face, he stared into her eyes for several tension-filled seconds, running his thumb over her bottom lip.
“You win. For now. But, you and I both know this thing between us can’t be ignored.”
Looking out at the crowded parking lot, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling completely out of her element. “I don’t belong here. We both know that.” Avoiding the hand he held out to her, she pulled her jacket closed.
“We’ll see. Come on. The first step is finding a way to suppress some of those remarkable abilities you possess. You’ll never be convinced that you can stay here until we do.”
Before they even went through the doors of the mall, Serena knew she couldn’t do it.
Her head spun, making her dizzy and slightly sick to her stomach. With each step closer to the throng of people inside, the pounding in her head increased as the amount of information bombarding her staggered her.
She stopped, moving aside as a group of teenagers came out. Their thoughts were on the movie they just finished watching, with the exception of one of the boys who was trying to decide how to ask the blonde girl out for a date. The object of his affection seemed more interested in the new shoes she’d just bought, the ones she thought would go great with her blue dress.
The woman who walked by them had a blind date tonight and wanted to look her best.
Another group of women were on their lunch hour and wanted to buy shoes. One of them had just learned she had breast cancer and the others wanted to spoil her a little.
Thoughts. Feelings. Emotions. Secrets. Plans.
It all came at her, hitting her like a tidal wave.
This time, though, her mind began separating them until each one made sense.
Shocked that she’d managed to do it again, she glanced at Alastair, her uncertainty growing.
She’d been away from people for so long that she hadn’t even known she could do such a thing.
Had her abilities grown, and she hadn’t realized it?
If so, why hadn’t she been able to do this on the plane, at the airport, or at the reception?
Frowning, she tried to remember if she’d even attempted it.
Had Ian and Alastair planted the idea in her head and she’d done it without thinking?
Other voices, voices she couldn’t unscramble, still pounded at her from all sides. They closed in, blending with the voices she’d been able to distinguish until they all became one.
Holding her pounding head, she slumped against the side of the building, struggling just to stay upright. “Alastair, I can’t do this. I’ll wait in the car. I can give you my sizes and you can go get some things for me. Or better yet, forget the whole thing.”
The touch of his hand on her arm, like a balm to a raw wound, steadied her just enough to be able to straighten.
“Easy, baby. I’ve got you.” Holding on to her arm, he led her to an empty bench nearby and sat, pulling her down to sit beside him.
Gripping her hands, he turned her toward him, blocking her view of the people behind him. “Look at me.”
His sharp tone sliced through the noise in her head, jolting her into lifting her gaze to his.
Meeting his golden eyes, she clasped his hands in an automatic search for support, something she hadn’t done since her mother died. Surprised at how easily she trusted him, she tried to pull back, but Alastair held firm.
“Stop it. Look at me, Serena.”
Intrigued by the fact that the voices around her seemed to dim, she let him take both of her hands in his and stared into his eyes.
Alastair’s tender smile made her feel special and warm, crumbling even more of her defenses. “Are the voices still there?”
Blinking, she stilled, realizing that she’d been so engrossed in his touch that she hadn’t even noticed that they’d completely faded.
Gripping his hands tighter, she jumped up, her heart pounding nearly out of her chest.
“What happened?
They’re gone. Oh, my God! This is wonderful. This has never happened to me before.” Noticing the looks from the people around them, Serena lowered her voice. “What did you do?”
Coming to his feet, Alastair stared down at her as if he’d never seen her before.
The tension between them built as his gaze moved over her face, down to her breasts, and back again, a sexual tension that made it difficult to breathe.
No one had ever seemed so fascinated with her before. No one had ever made her feel so special.
So important.
So valued.
It eased some of the loneliness inside her and made her feel part of something more.
She’d almost forgotten the feeling, one that created a warm rush she knew would become addictive if she allowed it.
Lifting her hand to his lips, he opened her palm and placed a warm kiss in the center of it, his smile indulgent.
“Jesus, you’re beautiful.”
Her hand tingled where his lips had touched it, sending little strands of electricity up her arm and to her nipples.
The warm feeling spread everywhere, making even her fingers and toes tingle and warming a part of her heart that she hadn’t even known existed. It scared her enough to step away from him.
“Let go of me.”
The flash of hurt in his eyes shamed her, and she started to step back again when his smile fell.
“Fine.” He released her hands, his eyes watchful as he took a step back.
Serena couldn’t hold back a gasp of shock, shuddering as the voices bombarded her again, screaming at her from everywhere. Covering her ears with her hands, she whimpered at the sheer volume of them, her knees turning rubbery. Tears blurred her vision, but she reached for the only safety she knew. She took a staggering step toward Alastair, not caring about anything but silencing the voices again, and having his arms around her.
“Please.”
To her relief, he caught her to him, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close, a safe haven that she’d already begun to rely on.
Running a hand down her back, he tilted her face to his again. “That should put an end to that.”
