Power Trip(26)

“Oh, how the high and mighty have fallen,” he teased, pulling her out of the car. His grin faded when he looked at her. “Be honest with him. Don’t do anything you don’t want to do. But don’t miss out on something good because it makes you uncomfortable.”

She hated that her uncertainty was so apparent. “I don’t understand why you are encouraging me, Jake. You always made it clear you didn’t want me at the Lair. You’ve never introduced me to any of your friends. Every time the subject came up, you called me vanilla and made fun of me until—” The guilty expression on his face stopped her. “Wait, did you make me feel awkward on purpose?” Had she never explored kink because Jake had made her defend her conventional sexuality so many times? Was he manipulating her now too?

Gently, he moved her away from the car. “I need to get going, Aud.” He got into the driver’s seat. “I’ll explain everything later—I promise.”

Audrey watched him reverse out of the gates. “You’d better,” she whispered.





Chapter Eight

Cal watched Audrey approach his front door. His reaction to the sight of her was immediate and profound. His heart began to race. His body prickled with sweat and sparks. He wanted to play it cool, so he wouldn’t scare her off, but it was impossible.

Fuck being cool. “I’ve been thinking about you all day,” he said, as he opened the door.

Her face lost the tense expression he had noticed on her way up the walk. “Oh, yeah? Well, I almost got kidnapped today, and all I could think about as I drove over here was getting naked with you.”

“Glad we’re both crazy.” Emboldened by her admission, he reached out and carefully wrapped his hand around her ponytail, drawing her forward and pulling her head back at the same time. “Have you eaten lunch?”

“Is that another one of your kinks? Feeding women?” Her voice was breathy, strained by the angle at which he held her head. He watched a fast pulse beat in the hollow of her throat, felt his electrons match its pace.

“No, but I’m hungry.” He controlled his energy and bent to taste her neck, drawing the tip of his tongue up the long column of her throat. Current connected them immediately and he fought the urge to take her down to the floor.

She grasped his arms and he groaned. Her fingers were soft, slightly cool, and the most erotic thing he had ever felt. He shouldn’t let her touch him. It wasn’t safe without the monitors.

A long shudder shook his body. “Stop,” he begged in a whisper, barely recognizing his own voice, so choked with need. “Please don’t touch me.” It took enormous effort to release her hair and step away.

He leaned his head against the wall and peered at her through heavy lids. “I have no restraint around you.”

She looked up at him. “Do you need restraint?”

“Your brother says neutral talent is impossible to measure. Do you really want to risk it?” The reckless black heat in her eyes told him she did. Any woman willing to jump off a building, albeit a small one, in search of latent talent probably wouldn’t hesitate to grab a live wire like him, especially now that she believed she had some measure of immunity. He would have to have enough control for both of them. “You didn’t answer my question,” he said. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving.”

“Come on.” He gestured for her to precede him down the hall to the kitchen. “Tell me more about this kidnapping thing.”

She sat at the island. “I can’t tell you any more because I don’t know anything. Jake took off to give the guy’s cell and wallet to Truman and promised he’d tell me everything when he got back. He said you were right about me being a neutral talent, Cal, but that’s all I know. Well, that and the fact Jake’s been keeping secrets from me for our entire lives.”

She sounded frustrated and he wanted to comfort her. Comfort her? Whoa.

One night of experimentation with no dangerous reaction on the heart monitor and EEG didn’t mean he could afford to get attached to her, especially when there was no guarantee her talent would prevent her from getting hurt the next time he touched her. He needed to stay focused on the developing situation, not his unexpected feelings for Audrey. Even as he had the thought, he recognized the futility of remaining detached. Now that he’d met her, he couldn’t imagine putting his energy into pleasuring a hooded sub ever again. And that was the most dangerous reaction of all.

He set a glass of water in front of her, then turned to dip two bowls of potato soup from the pot on the stove. She gazed at him through narrowed eyes as he cut thick slices of bread and put butter on the table. “What?” he asked, when her intent regard became too much.