Running Hot (The Arcane Society #5)(24)
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz

“I suppose you’re right,” she said. She wondered uneasily how much Fallon knew or suspected about her own Jones Scale number.

“Fallon tweaked my file to make sure my rank stayed under the radar,” Luther said. “He wanted to keep my abilities under wraps. But how the hell did you manage to alter your own number?”

“What makes you think that I did?”

“Because I can see your power wavelengths,” he said quietly. “I can feel them. Whatever you are, you’re no seven.”

Maybe she could finesse this.

“I told you, my mother died when I was thirteen, shortly before I was due to be tested at Arcane House. I went straight into the foster care system where no one knew or cared about the Society. The result was that I wasn’t tested until I applied to join the Bureau. By then I knew how to control my talent. It was no big deal to make sure I scored a seven. You know how people react to nines and tens within the Society.”

“Sure. They think we’re freaks of nature. Freaks, especially powerful freaks, make people nervous. So, what are you? A ten?”

She cleared her throat. “A nine.”

“Bullshit. You should see your aura. It’s pulsing like crazy. You’re a ten plus, aren’t you?”

That much was true.

“Yes,” she said.

“Like me.”

She sighed. “The Jones Scale stops at ten.”

“Only because they haven’t found a way to measure psychic energy beyond that point. That’s why they came up with the damned asterisk. Think Fallon Jones knows your real number?”

“Until this morning, I would have said no.” She unclasped her hands. “Now, I’m not so sure. Given the nature of his own talent, I suppose it’s possible he’s guessed that I’m a little higher than my file indicates.”

“You’re an exotic,” he said, very sure. “Like me.”

One secret in exchange for another. As he had pointed out, where was the harm in acknowledging a piece of the truth to another aura talent? It was a relief to admit it to someone who truly understood.

“Yes,” she said. She made a face. “But I hate that word.”

“Exotic?”

“It’s just a semi-polite term for psychic freak.”

“You’re no freak.” He started toward her, cane thudding softly on the carpet. “But you are a very rare creature in my book.”

She stood, turning to face him.

“I am?” she said.

Another wave of hot, sensual energy whispered through her. He was revved up again, watching her aura. She could feel the light pulses of heat from his energy field. Now she knew just what that meant. The sensation was exquisitely intimate. He sees the real me, she thought. He’s the only man who ever has.

He came to a halt directly in front of her, smiling a little. “This is where I get to say here’s looking at you, kid.”

She laughed, feeling suddenly light and very highly charged; sexy. Adventurous. Living in the moment.

“Like the view?” she asked. Good grief, she was actually flirting with him.

“Oh, yeah,” he said. He touched her cheek. “No one has ever noticed me screwing around with their auras, let alone pushed back.”

She held her breath but there was no psychic jolt. Experimentally she put her fingertips on his bare chest. She felt nothing except warm skin and sleek, strong muscle. Last night hadn’t been a fluke. She really could touch him without pain. She flattened her hand against him.

She could feel the intense, very focused energy of his desire sweeping around her, enveloping her in powerful and possibly quite dangerous currents. But she no longer cared about the warning signs.

“Are you telling me that you’re attracted to me just because I can keep you from manipulating my aura?” she asked.

His smile was wickedly sexy. “And because you’re hot, of course.”

She blinked. “You really think I’m hot?”

He moved the cane behind her back and grasped the other end in his right hand, trapping her. He pulled her closer and lowered his mouth to hers.

“Very, very hot,” he said against her lips.

The words thrilled all her senses. He wanted her. So what if part of the attraction was based on the fact that he saw her as an interesting challenge? At least she didn’t scare him, the way she did other men. That was a really big plus. And she could touch him.

Live in the moment.

“Yes,” she said. “But it’s cool to hear the words.”

“How about actions? Don’t they count?”

“Oh, yes.” She was breathless now. “Actions are very important.”

“That’s good because I’m in the mood for a little action.”

His mouth closed over hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, throwing herself into the embrace with all her might. Caught off balance by the sudden impact of her weight, Luther dropped the cane and staggered back a step. They collapsed together onto the rumpled bed.

She landed on top. Dazzled and energized, she started kissing his throat. He moved his hands down the sides of her body to her hips and tugged the hem of her nightgown upward. A moment later she felt his fingers close around her bare bottom.

He squeezed gently. She shuddered in response and dug her nails into him.

“Oh, yeah, definitely hot,” he said, his voice tight and ragged.

He raised one knee, cradling her between his thighs and pressed the hard, demanding shape of his erection against her leg.

Enthralled, she slipped one hand down his chest and over his flat belly until she found his zipper. She started to tug. The zipper did not slide readily due to the presence of the large object in the way.

Luther drew in a harsh breath and eased back a little.

“I’ll get it,” he said.

“Okay. Hurry.”

He sat up on the side of the bed. “Trust me, I’m moving as fast as I can.”

She rolled onto her side to admire the powerful shape of his shoulder and hip while he got rid of the trousers. When he pushed the pants down she saw the ragged, newly healed scar that marked his thigh halfway between his hip and his knee. Shock lanced through her.

“Oh, Luther,” she whispered.

He looked down, his mouth twisting. “Not very attractive, is it? One of the doctors talked about plastic surgery to make it look better, but at the time the last thing I wanted to do was go back into a hospital.”

“Who cares how it looks?” She sat up beside him and gently put her fingertips on the savage brand. “You must have lost a lot of blood. You could have been killed.”