Playing With Fire (12 page)

“Are you experiencing a strong surge of emotion?”

“Yes. Sadness.”

“Then you’re doing this.” His tone was grave.

I covered my mouth with my hand; my eyes widened. “I don’t want to do this. I don’t want my every emotion to create a change in the weather. I just want to be
me.
I want to feel and not worry that I’m going to burn, freeze or drown someone.”

The fine lines around his eyes tightened, and the shadows on his cheeks deepened. In that moment he looked scary, but so comforting I could have thrown myself in his arms. “I know, baby,” he said. “The formula sucks ass, but there’s nothing we can do about it right now.”

“Why did Dr. Roberts create the formula in the first place?” I asked with a gulp.

“From what I’ve heard, he meant to do America a great service. He wanted to make our military stronger. He just fell in with the wrong people, people who hoped to exploit his ambition.” Rome reached over and massaged my neck. “It won’t always be this hard for you.”

“How can you be sure?” I asked hopefully.

“You’ll learn to control the abilities.”

“When?” God, when?

“Soon. Let’s pray it’s soon.”

W
HAT
R
OME FAILED TO TELL
me in the car was that his “friend,” Lexis Bradley, was a psychic, as well as one of the most beautiful women in the known universe. She was also hot for his body, and the mother of his child.

I discovered all of that on my own, and then was pissed as hell. Allow me to relive the unfolding of my enlightenment for you.

We rode a plush, mirrored elevator (that was bigger than my entire apartment) to the top of a towering chrome-and-glass building. Below, the doormen and subsequent security guards hadn’t given us a second glance when we’d entered—despite the fact that Rome, the caveman, carried a snoozing Tanner over his shoulder. They’d waved at him as if they’d been expecting him.

I guess Rome came here a lot. With strange people in tow.

I wasn’t sure what to make of that.

When we reached Lexis’s door, she opened it before we could knock. I stood stunned for a moment, gawking at her loveliness. She had sleek, straight black hair that hung down her back like a midnight cloud. Her eyes were a vibrant emerald-green and up-tilted at the corners. Her olive skin glowed to perfection. I swear to God, she looked like a work of art come to life.

I’d like to say she did not threaten my self-esteem. Yeah, I’d like to say that. Too bad it’d be a hideous lie. I looked like steaming dog poo in comparison, and I knew it.

Apparently she knew a lot of stuff, too.

“I knew you were coming,” she said, her voice soft and lilting, with the hint of an accent I couldn’t place. Definitely not Georgian, though. Her green gaze ate Rome up, devouring him. Mentally stripping him. “Come in. Please.”

“Sorry to crash on you so late.” Rome swept past her with Tanner bouncing on his shoulder. “How’s Sunny?”

“Sleeping.” Lexis nearly shut the door in my face.

I caught it with my foot and shoved my way inside. Sunny…I’d heard the name before, I think. It hovered on the edge of my memory. “I’d like to come in, too,” I said.

“Oops. Sorry,” Lexis said, not sparing me a glance. “I didn’t see you.”

I mentally flipped her off.

“Put the boy in the yellow room,” she told Rome. “I’ve already made the bed for him.”

As I dogged Rome into the hallway, my shoulder brushed Lexis’s. She whipped around, her face a kaleidoscope of horror. I stopped. My lips thinned into a scowl. What, did I smell? Did I offend her delicate sensibilities? Did my hideous ugliness ruin the ambiance of her home?
Maybe I should warn her that I’m a dangerous weapon and pissing me off isn’t a good idea.

She tore her gaze from me, reached back with a shaky hand and closed the front door. Her cheeks were colorless by the time she faced me again. “Your name is Belle,” she said, a statement, not a question.

“Yeah. Did Rome mention me?” Had that sweet man told people about me already? He must like me, then.

“No. He didn’t.” She strode to a nearby table, lifted a cell phone and dialed a number. “You need to come over here right now,” she said into the mouthpiece, and hung up.

O-kay. Had she just told someone to come and get me? Had she blown my cover? My heart skipped a beat.

Rome emerged from the hall minus his burden. He approached my side, causing Lexis to frown. “I’ve called your brother,” she told him.

At the same time I said, “She called someone—” Wait. Rome had a brother? “Is he an agent, too?” I asked.

Confusion flittered over Rome’s face. He ignored me, saying to Lexis, “Why did you call Brit?”

“I want him to take Sunny for a few days.” Lexis anchored one hand on her waist. “Why have you not taken Belle to John?”

John. As in John Smith, Rome’s boss? Huh. I’d thought he’d been lying about his boss’s name.

Rome stiffened and became utterly still, not even breathing. “Is Sunny in danger?” He didn’t bother responding to the question about me, I noticed.

“She’ll be fine,” Lexis soothed, reaching out and stroking his arm. “I promise. Your friend, who should be locked in a laboratory right now, is going to cause trouble. I want Sunny out of the building.”

I popped my jaw. Lexis, who should be punched in the face right now, was working her way up my People to Punish When I Could Control My Powers list. But much as I wished I could discount the “cause trouble” comment, I couldn’t. Not after the fires, the ice and the car chase. “Who’s Sunny?”

“Our daughter,” Lexis told me haughtily.

I stopped breathing for a moment.
Our daughter.
As in Rome’s and Lexis’s. So. Rome
had
been intimate with this beautiful, perfect woman. Was he still? My hands twitched at my sides. Other than the fact that we’d admitted we wanted to sleep together, I had no claim on Rome. Still, I was feeling very possessive at the moment.

“You want to take me to your
friend’s
house, huh?” I said quietly, darkly. “Are you two married?”

“Not anymore,” Rome said. That was a relief, at least. I hadn’t kissed and fondled a married man. To Lexis he said, “I’ll go wake Sunny up and get her things packed.” He strode away in the same direction he’d taken Tanner, leaving Lexis and me alone again.

We didn’t speak. Not a single word. We didn’t even look at each other, just stood there. Uncomfortable. She was the mother of Rome’s child, for God’s sake.

I used the time to inspect the apartment. I don’t think I’d ever been in the presence of so much wealth. A panoramic wall of windows consumed the far edge of the apartment, looking out onto the heart of the city. Vibrant paintings of oriental flowers pulsed with life. Mint-green-and-pearl marble flooring swirled in rivers of iridescence. Scattered throughout were chests and tables composed of bright blue and green lacquer. A crimson velvet couch with silk pillows adorned the center of the living room.

Running out of things to look at, I peeked at Lexis. She was as sophisticated and elegant as her home. She wore a bold green dress that hugged her slender curves, each seam threaded with gold. Gilded leaves adorned the hem. Such loveliness was irritating. And Rome had seen her naked, which was even worse.

He returned none too soon, holding an angel and a bag. The angel’s hair was as black as his and—gag—her mother’s, with just a hint of curl. Her eyes were up-tilted and green, also (gag) like her mother’s. She wore a nightgown with brown bears scattered all over the fabric. One of her delicate arms was wrapped around Rome’s neck and the other clutched a teddy bear. She yawned.

Seeing father and daughter together made my chest ache. Love radiated between them, a shining force of trust, comfort and serenity. A quiet bond that no one would ever be able to break. I had that with my dad, I thought, homesick.

“I missed you so much, sunshine,” Rome told her.

“Missed you, too, Daddy,” she said sleepily.

She was four years old, was my guess, and the cutest thing I’d ever seen. Until her gaze latched on to me. She frowned. “Who,” she said imperiously, “are you?”

“This is Belle. She’s a friend of Daddy’s,” Rome answered for me. Tenderly he smoothed a hand down the girl’s hair. “Let’s be nice to her, okay?”

“I don’t like her,” was the reply, stated as conversationally as if she’d said, “My bear needs a hug.”

Lexis smirked.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Mind telling me what I did wrong?” I asked the girl.

“She doesn’t like
anyone,
” Rome told me. He kissed Sunny’s plump little cheek. “Except me.”

“It’s true,” Sunny said, sounding like a college professor. “Oh, I like Mommy, too.” She shook her head and her hair swished over her shoulders. “But strangers are bad, bad people who do bad, bad things.”

Rome beamed with pride. Sunny had probably quoted him verbatim.

“They sure are,” I agreed. “So I guess this means I can’t like you, either, since you’re a stranger to me.”

She giggled, and the sound lit up the room. “I’m not a stranger.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, tapping a finger to my chin. “You look like a stranger to me.”

“Very sure,” she said with a laugh, and Rome smiled. He gave me a soft look that nearly melted me into a puddle.

“Brittan is here,” Lexis said, and moved to the front door. She opened it, revealing a tall man whose fist was poised, ready to knock. He wore black lounge pants and a gray T-shirt. His dark hair was rumpled, and if not for the bump in his nose and the fact that his eyes were brown, he would have been an exact replica of Rome.

Brittan’s lips twitched. “I thought for sure I’d beat you this time.”

“Like that will ever happen.” Lexis stepped back and waved him inside. “Come in.”

“Hey, bro,” Brittan said, walking forward. He clapped Rome on the shoulder with genuine affection. Up close, I could see that Rome was taller than his brother and the younger of the two. Silver was woven through Brittan’s hair, and there were fine lines around his eyes.

Brittan saw me and frowned. “Who’s she?” he asked, giving me a chin nod.

“Belle Jamison,” I answered before someone else (namely Lexis) could introduce me as Troublemaker. “Rome’s friend.”

“Co-worker?” he asked, but I wasn’t given the chance to answer.

“Uncle Brit, Uncle Brit! Stop ignoring me!” Sunny squirmed in her daddy’s arms and threw herself at Brittan. Amid her giggling, he hugged her tightly. “You saw me a few hours ago, squirt, but I like this kind of greeting.”

“I need you to watch her for a few days, Brittan. Don’t take her back to your apartment, take her out of the building,” Lexis instructed. “To our safe house on Peach Street.”

Brittan lost all hint of joviality. “Is something going to happen?”

No one doubted a single word out of perfect Lexis’s perfect mouth, apparently, even when those words predicted a future no one could know for sure.

Lexis gave Sunny a pointed glance, and Brittan nodded in understanding. Obviously, they didn’t want her to know what was going on.
I
wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, either. Either Lexis wanted the girl away from me because she simply didn’t like me, or Rome really had told her about me and she wanted her daughter out of the line of fire. Literally. That would explain her hostility toward me.

Rome came up to my side, his heat wrapping around me. I don’t know why, but just having him near made me feel better. Calmer about everything. Even though the bastard had married Lexis. And slept with her. And given her a child.

Lexis placed little kisses all over Sunny’s face. “I’m going to miss you so much, but I know you’ll have fun with Uncle Brit as always.”

“Daddy said you’re going away again,” Sunny said. “How long this time?”

“Two weeks,” Lexis said.

“Two days,” Sunny countered.

“One week,” Rome said.

Sunny thought about it for a moment. “Deal.”

“Give me a kiss before you go, sunshine.” There was a tremor in Rome’s voice now.

He was upset that she was leaving, which was heartbreaking. I reached out and laced our fingers. He didn’t pull away, but squeezed in thanks. Sunny leaned away from Brittan, who kept a tight hold on her, and stretched past Lexis to plant her lips on Rome’s with a loud smack.

“I love you,” he said.

“Love you, too.”

Tears filled Lexis’s eyes, and I admit they filled mine, as well. I felt kind of guilty for intruding on this very personal, very private family goodbye. I felt even more guilty for causing it.

“Get out of here now,” Lexis said. “Go on.”

“Bye, stranger,” Sunny said to me. I smiled and waved.

Brittan anchored Sunny at his side with one hand and gathered her bag with the other. They were out the door a few seconds later, chatting about bears.

Silence filled the foyer until Rome gave me a half smile and said, “What do you know. You not only charmed me, you charmed my daughter.”

I’d charmed him? I suddenly felt like dancing (naked).

Before I could, though, Rome turned back to Lexis, his expression sobering. “He’ll take care of her,” he said, and I think he said it to comfort himself as well. “He might not have powers, but he’s trained military.”

“Come,” Lexis said, wiping away her tears. She held out her hand. “We’ll talk in my bedroom.”

“Behave,” Rome said to me. As if it was totally natural and he’d done it millions of times before, he released my hand and took Lexis’s, and they headed down the hall.

I scowled at their backs, suddenly furious and feeling the rims of my eyes burn. “You expect me to wait here? Seriously?”

Rome groaned under his breath and stopped abruptly.

“Yes,” Lexis said. “We do.”

He released Lexis’s hand (a lifesaving action, for sure) and gave her back a gentle push. She tossed me a glare over her shoulder, then flounced away. Rome remained in place, not turning to face me.

“If you think I’ll let you go off and have a beddie-bye chat without me,” I said, “you’re in serious need of an IQ exam.” Rome and Lexis, former husband and wife. Alone. Together. Hell, no. Not on my watch.

And this had nothing to do with jealousy. Really. Seriously. My safety hung in the balance, and I had a right to hear any and all conversations about me, my powers, the people chasing me, Rome, his present/past/future (he
is
my partner), Tanner, and a possible relationship between Rome and Lexis. After all, Rome had kissed me and admitted he wanted to sleep with me.

After the way he’d taken her hand…Anger brewed and churned inside me, and I swear tiny curls of smoke wafted from my nostrils. “Well,” I prompted.

Finally he gave me his full attention. His lips were pressed together. To keep from scowling? Or grinning? He crossed his arms over his chest, and his gaze cataloged my expression. His brow puckered in confusion, but there was a sparkle in his eyes. Grinning, I realized.

“What are you mad about now?” he asked.

“Nothing,” I said in typical girl fashion, while inside I shouted,
Everything!
A part of me wanted him to read my mind and figure it out. Was that too much to ask?

“He can’t,” Lexis suddenly said.

I hadn’t heard her return; my attention had been consumed by Rome. Unfortunately, she now stood beside him. “Can’t what?” I asked, frowning.