Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(60)
Author: Gena Showalter

I nodded shakily.

"Everything will be okay." He drew my hand to his mouth and placed a kiss on the inside of my palm. A kiss of comfort, I imagined, but it was enough to fog my brain.

Okay, that wasn’t helping. Back to the anger thing, I thought as we reached an abandoned sidewalk.

What made me mildly angry? Traffic. Slowpoke drivers. Memory loss. Oh, yeah. That was the ticket. A spark lit inside my chest, burning, melting away the cold.

"Why are you suddenly radiating heat?" Rome muttered. "Pissed?"

"Slightly, and it’s on purpose. For our protection."

"Good. This will be a good test for both of us. If it becomes too much, give some of it to me."

"Uh – "

He pinned me with a fierce glance, the force of it nearly knocking me backward. "You will this time, Belle. No excuses."

I swallowed, despite the fact that my mouth had dried, and nodded. I didn’t want to hurt him. That would make me a worse agent than I already was. But I would do this. For us, for Sherridan. Maybe even for Lexis. If my anger spun out of control, I would give some of it to him, whether he knew what to do with it or not, forcing it from my body and into his. But if he burned because of it…

Don’t think about that.All right, so. I needed more anger. Lines were irritating. Waiting in the doctor’s lobby for forty-five minutes, then half an hour in the actual examining room. Then, of course, the doctor would have an emergency – a.k.a. running late because of a long lunch – so the appointment would have to be rescheduled. Memory loss.

Flames broke out over my fingers.

"You’re about to burst. Give some to me, Belle."

"No, not yet. I can handle this." Memory loss. The flames spread, licking up my wrists. Shit. I had to stop thinking the words memory loss. The fire spread to my armpits and Rome yelped and jumped away from me. Damn it! Okay, calm down. Happy thoughts now.

"Belle," he growled. "Do it. Now."

"We’re not at that point yet. I can calm on my own." Ice cream. Memory loss. "This isn’t critical yet." Chocolate cake. Memory loss.

He snarled. Stomped to me. Grabbed my shoulder despite the heat I radiated and shook me. His teeth were bared in a scowl. "Do it!"

You promised. Memory loss. No other choice. Memory loss. You’ll BBQ both of you if you don’t at least try. Memory loss.The fire was leaping inside me, desperate for escape. Any moment it would spring free. Shaking, I closed my eyes and shoved the hottest edges of my fury at Rome, my body instantly cooling.

He grunted as though he’d been hit with a meaty fist.

My eyelids popped open. He was not on fire. Neither was I. He was pale, lines of tension around his eyes, but he was fine. Thank God. He’d done it. Even without his memory, he’d done it.

"Told you it’d work," he gritted out. He hunched over, drew in a breath. A moment passed, then another. Finally he straightened and jolted back into motion as if we’d never stopped.

I had my filter back.

Before I could reply or laugh or twirl from joy, he stopped in front of an electronics store. A streetlamp glowed above us like a spotlight. Rome didn’t ask me to, but I pointed a finger at the bulb –  Desert Gal, my friends hurt, scared, memory loss  – and forced a beam of fire out. That flame slammed into the bulb, causing it to explode. All the while, I could feel Rome’s strength surrounding me, keeping the worst of my abilities under wraps.

The world around us darkened.

Rome could see in the dark, a perk of having cat senses. Thankfully, my eyes also adjusted quickly.

Before I could finish saying, "Here’s your jacket back," to drape around his hand and protect the skin, he busted the glass above the door lock.

Cuts appeared and blood trickled, but he didn’t seem to notice. "Didn’t want you cold," he said.

How sweet. And something my Rome, the old Rome, would have done. Was he coming back to me?

Without his memories? I didn’t dare hope.

He reached inside the store and swiftly disabled the lock. In the background, I could hear the alarm beeping, preparing to erupt.

"Stay here," he said. "Stand guard." He pressed a quick kiss to my lips, frowned down at me rather than pull away, and shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. Then he leaped into motion, the alarm finally screeching to life.

I stood there, my back to the store, my attention on anyone who might pass, my nerves dousing the fire and leaving a sheen of ice. I was coming to hate the ice more than any other element. Behind me, I could hear the shuffling of feet, scraping, cords dragging.

In the distance, I thought I heard sirens.

"Cat Man," I called, not wanting to use his real name.

He was at my side in the next instant. "Let’s go."

He was weighed down with equipment, but raced along the street without any problem. I kept pace beside him, huffing and puffing, determined to start working out as soon as possible. It would be part of my Become A Better Superagent plan.

No one chased us, thank God, and fifteen minutes later we strolled into a motel without incident. Rome got us a room, and when we were finally inside, I collapsed on the bed, completely spent.

What a hellish night.

Using my powers always tired me. Being hit on by eleven men at once, petty theft and the kidnapping of my friend did, too, it seemed. As for Lexis, she wasn’t my favorite person, but even her kidnapping upset me.

Rome dumped his contraband on the twin bed beside mine. He didn’t look at me, I noticed. "I’m going to review the feed from the room." His voice was strained.

I blinked in surprise, sat up. "You can do that still?"

"Of course. I had everything recording on my phone. I can hook that to the laptop and watch what happened. Now get some sleep. You’re going to need it."

"No." I threw my legs over the bed, groaned at the ache in my joints. "I’ll help." Finally his gaze landed on me. His pupils were dilated. With anger? Arousal? He studied me, taking my measure. What did he see? What thoughts were drifting through his head? That I could help, see something he didn’t? That being near me would only make him want me more? Or was all that wishful thinking on my part? And where was the new and improved me? I wasn’t supposed to be pining after a man when there was a rescue operation to plan.

He gave a curt nod. "All right. Let’s do this."

Chapter Nineteen

The buzzing of my cellwoke me. I glanced around sleepily, but saw no sign of Rome. Damn it. I rubbed at my face, hoping to kick-start my brain into action. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep, had actually stayed up and helped him review most of the video he’d shot.