Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(11)
Author: Gena Showalter

I shivered.

His nostrils flared. "Stop that. Now."

"Stop what?" I asked, confused. I hadn’t done anything.

"Whatever it is you’re thinking. Stop."

Was he kidding? "Why? You have no idea what I’m thinking."

"I can guess. You want me, and I don’t like it. Yeah, I know we were engaged. I don’t remember, but I’ve been told, seen pictures. That doesn’t mean anything to me right now." Wereengaged, he’d said. Don’t be hurt! "You’re awfully full of yourself, aren’t you?" My pride spoke for me, and I was helpless to stop it. "Maybe I’m looking at you but thinking of another man. One who actually remembers me."

"Fuck this. John," he shouted. He even banged a fist into the two-way mirror, rattling the walls. "Get her out of here."

My jaw clenched, but I managed to say, "Sit down, Agent Masters." Remember me. Please. "John asked me to speak with you and he’s our boss, so we’ll speak. Whether you like it or not. The sooner we get started, the sooner we can part."

Sadly, that propelled him into instant motion. He stomped to the table and sat, then waved his hand for me to do the same.

Pretending indifference, I tossed my notebook and pen on the surface. Eyes narrowed on him, I smoothed my jeans and sat across from him. "This interview isn’t about us. It’s about what happened to you that night at the warehouse. Have you remembered anything since waking up?" I asked, getting down to business. Surely something would trigger his memory as I hoped.

Ever the stubborn male, he said, "I’ve already answered that question. Several times."

"Not for me."

For a long while, he simply peered over at me, expression blank. I shifted left, right, realized I appeared nervous (I was) and commanded my body to still. Then Rome surprised me by saying, "I broke into the laboratory with a fellow agent and helped neutralize the eighteen on-duty guards – a few with a syringe full of night-night cocktail, a few with sleeper holds and a few with gunshots. Then we freed the prisoners."

When he offered no more, I arched a brow. "That’s it?"

"Yes."

Nothing new. "Well, then, you can just start over. This time, break it down for me minute by minute." He scowled again, but did what I’d asked. I learned how he’d taken the guards by surprise, tracking them through the vents and dropping onto them without them ever being aware. I learned how he’d copied data from the computer system, though the disks he’d stored that data on were now missing, gone like his memories. But I learned nothing that would help me.

"Okay, then." I tried another avenue. "What do you remember doing before that last mission?"

"Talking to John."

"Before that? And think hard." Because he’d been with me.

He propped his elbows on the table and leaned forward. There was a wicked glint in his eyes, one I knew well. He was about to provoke my fury. Before, that would have excited me because I would have known we’d make love for hours afterward. Now…"I kissed my daughter goodbye and left my wife sleeping in bed. Very, very satisfied."

A blazing mound of dirt suddenly and unexpectedly appeared in the palm of my hand. Rage and jealousy, all blended into one fiery ball. I wanted to jerk my hand under the table so he wouldn’t see, but I didn’t. It was better he learned what happened when people upset me.

"You’re not married," I said stiffly. "You’re divorced."

"I know that," he growled. "I left my ex-wife satisfied, then. But it’s only a matter of time before she agrees to marry me again." His focus never strayed from the fiery mound of dirt, and before I could start sobbing over his claim, he added, "Impressive."

"Thank you." So badly I wanted to remind him of all the (naughty) things we’d done together, but this conversation was being recorded. Others were listening. My colleagues did not need to know the things I allowed – okay, begged – Rome to do to me. Then again, maybe Lexis needed to hear all about it.

"Now why don’t you tell me why you’re so angry with me?" I tossed the crackling mound from hand to hand in a mesmerizing rhythm. "If you have no memory of me, you would treat me as a stranger. Polite, but distant. Instead, you treat me as an enemy. Why?"

One of his brows arched, a slash of black topping a barely tolerant expression. "Is that an official question?"

"Why not? I’m the official in this meeting, and I asked it."

"You’re not going to like the answer." His gaze returned to the scorching dirt. "And I definitely won’t like the consequences."

"Tell me anyway."

A muscle ticked in his jaw. "I read your file and it wasn’t pretty. My wife told me – "

"Uh, we’ve already established that she’s your ex-wife." And if he called her by that title one more time, something bad was going to happen. I didn’t need Miss Know-It-All to verify that, either. Already the flaming dirt ball in my hand was snapping, smoke billowing through it as it prepared to welcome another stream of fire. A fire that would not be so easily contained.

Careful.Any more smoke, and I would soon be coughing for hours, since pollutants were my Achilles’

heel. Apparently, so were gorgeous cat men.

"Wife, ex-wife. It’s just semantics," he said. "Lexis told me you were trouble, that you burned down her entire building. Do you deny it?"

One point in his favor: he referred to the building as hers, not theirs. Some of the flames flickered, then died. "No, I don’t deny it. I was trying to save your life." I’m sure Lexis had left that part out, though.

Bitch. "Did she also tell you that we made out on her couch?" So much for keeping our private life private. "You had your tongue down my throat and your hands…oh, about right here." I cupped my breast with my free hand. The girls weren’t big, but they were perky and I knew Rome loved them.

His pupils dilated and he licked his lips, but he said nothing.

My cheeks were red as I released myself. It had been worth a shot. "Your ex may not like me, but your daughter does. Are you aware of that?"

He nodded stiffly. "I’ve talked to her, yes, and she asked about you."

"What’d you tell her?"

"That you were busy and would call her later," he said through gritted teeth.

Finally! Progress. "Clearly, you’re missing a big chunk of your life. Maybe, just maybe, I was a good part of it."

"Like I told you a little while ago, Weather Wench, I don’t deny that. That doesn’t mean I want you to be a part of it now."