Power Trip(50)

“Touch me, please. It’s okay.” He took her hand. The buzzing in her head stopped and her brain came back online. “Ahh, thank you,” she breathed, then coughed. Her chest hurt.

The other man handed her a cup of water and she took a sip.

“Smoke inhalation,” he said. “You all had it, but the Doc couldn’t cure yours. I’m Truman Smith, by the way. I kind of introduced you guys, in a roundabout way.”

“So I heard. You’ll have to go into detail about that sometime.”

Truman grimaced. “I’ll leave the two of you alone. Welcome back, Audrey.” He clapped a hand on Cal’s back and left the room.

Cal held onto her hand, creating a pleasant blaze throughout her body, completely unlike the punishing heat of the fire last night. He squeezed her fingers. “I thought I’d lost you.”

She sat up in bed, remembering. “Oh my God. You touched me last night.”

He let go of her hand and hung his head. “I’m so sorry, Audrey. I lost control. God knows what would have happened if the boy hadn’t dragged me away from you. You blinked out like a light. I thought you were dead.”

“Nope, not dead. In fact, I feel pretty good.” She got out of bed and stretched, looking around the room. Light poured through the window. His bedroom was spare, masculine and expensively furnished with well-chosen antiques. “Did you sleep with me?” she asked, surprised.

“I slept in the chair. I didn’t want you out of my sight.” His gaze drifted down her body and she realized she was naked.

“Pervert.” She stripped the sheet from the bed and wrapped it around herself.

“Your clothes were toast,” he said, jerking his gaze back to her face. “The ones Jake brought are on the dresser. Are you feeling well enough to get dressed and come out to the kitchen? Your brother and the rest of the gang are here having breakfast. We need to talk.”

His tone was ominous and the hair stood up on the back of her neck. She looked at him, trying to guess what he was thinking from his expression. Did he blame himself for what had happened last night? Because it had been his power fueling the bio-enhancer? Just before she’d begun hosing the room with blue fire, she remembered thinking now? Now he decides it’s okay to touch me? But what else could they have done? Let Peter kidnap or kill them?

“I feel fine, Cal. Really.”

Cal nodded, looking unconvinced. He walked out of the bedroom and closed the door behind him.

She sat on the bed. If Cal decided he was dangerous to her, where would that leave them? Exactly where they’d been before, she realized, with her begging for every touch and him imprisoned by his goddamn gloves. Nope, not going to happen. She’d almost given up on a relationship with him because she didn’t feel comfortable wearing black leather in public, a total cop-out that made her as big of a control freak as he was. She could put up with being uncomfortable for him. Her comfort zone was widening every day, and she refused to be held in a prison of her own making.

She wasn’t going to let Cal wall himself off from her, either. In order for them to be together, Cal needed to trust her talent. He’d pumped God knew how much energy into her last night, and she’d survived. Clearly, he could touch her without hurting her. Cal was a scientist—he couldn’t ignore the data. However, it was difficult to reason with emotions. How could she convince him it was safe to lose control for her?

Control. That was the key. It was time to reverse their power exchange.

Anticipation made her tingle, deep inside, and she wondered if Cal felt this way when he was thinking of kinky ways to drive her wild. With a house full of people, she’d have to wait to suggest their next experiment. But as soon as she got Master Calvin Davis alone, they were going to reopen negotiations.

Audrey carried her clothes into his bathroom. When she caught sight of herself in the mirror, she sucked in a harsh breath. Her hair was mostly gone. That must be why there was a pair of clippers lying on the sink and Cal was sporting a new military cut. There wasn’t even enough hair left on her head for a cute little pixie hairdo. She made a face in the mirror and picked up the clippers. It was only hair; it would grow.

G.I. Jane, here I come. She flipped the switch and leaned over the sink.





After a quick shower, her head felt lighter, her brain felt clearer and she no longer smelled like a campfire. She dressed and stepped out into the hallway. Hearing voices and the sound of a television, she followed the noise into the den where Jake, Truman, Sam and the Doc were watching the news.

“Hey, yo, sis! We’re almost twins. You look great.” Jake’s voice sounded too cheerful.