enthralling.
A man had used her years before.
Fool me twice.
Right now would be a perfect opportunity to use her secret gift. Unfortunately, after she’d used her power on her husband 150 years ago, she now tried to tiptoe the fine line between verification of crimes and avoidance of psychic invasion for her own personal gains. Tempting as it might be to confirm Odie’s intentions, her principles held fast. She’d have to do this the old-fashioned way.
She placed her palms on his muscled chest, waves of heat searing her hands. When she shoved against him, his hands gripped her neck and back, keeping her close.
“Odie.”
He trailed his hand over the sensitive skin at the nape of her neck, and Ruth shuddered.
“Odie, stop.”
She dipped her head, turning away from another kiss. Unfortunately, all this did was encourage him to brush his lips over her neck and jaw, each touch swirling exquisite sensations down her spine. He nipped at the sensitive lobe of her ear, eliciting tiny waves of happiness. His scent of warm, spicy man nearly undid her resolve.
“Enough. I get it.”
“
Pardonnez
?”
His eyes had turned the typical jet black of an Indebted with heightened emotion.
So what if he felt something? She refused to be seduced into participating in his risky plans.
Pushing harder, she stepped away, and his arms dropped to his sides, pulling the fabric tight as his chest heaved. He blinked several times, and his iris color changed from endless night to luminous green again.
His brow furrowed. “Did I do something wrong,
chère
?”
“I might be an easy mark, but you won’t lure me into your scheme with this ... coercion.”
“What?”
As he held his hands up, Ruth backed up, bumping into the chair. She grasped the back for support, waving off the hand he offered.
“I understand your motives, sir.”
“What?”
“Don’t play me the fool.”
“But I didn’t—”
She wanted to believe the lost, wounded expression on his tanned face, where lines of concern wrinkled his forehead. Almost gave in again. Almost believed that a sexy rogue might have wanted her without strings attached. If she had lived any different life, she might have fallen for it. But not in this life and not today. She would never trust a handsome man again.
“You’ll have to seduce someone else into helping you.” She brushed a fingertip over her lips before the action registered, cursing herself as his hungry stare locked on to her mouth. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to attend to my work.”
Now that she had succeeded in breaking his spell, however, the hated knife began to throb, clouding her mind. Every thought focused on obtaining her next kill. When would this sick insanity stop?
“
Madame
, I didn’t mean to imply that—”
With a sharp movement of her hand, she cut him off and dropped back into ingrained society manners, erecting an instinctive barrier, as she had done for years, even while her world crumbled all around.
“Why don’t you wait in the sitting room for Barnaby? He’ll be ready soon for his tour. Please enjoy yourself today, and keep him safe. If he has any fatigue or problems, would you bring him back immediately?”
“Of course, but—”
“Thank you, sir. It was a pleasure to meet you, and I wish you every success in the future.”
For a moment, he simply stood there, mouth open and eyebrows raised. Then his features turned dark and hard, making him appear larger and more dangerous. He inhaled and then snapped his jaw shut, pressing his lips into a harsh line. Turning on a heel, he stormed out of the dining room.
Damn if she didn’t study how his thigh muscles bunched under the blue jeans, and damn if the air didn’t cool twenty degrees as he departed. She had gotten her senses all addled by this man with a plan. A plan that would never include her.
Chapter 5
That evening, she asked the concierge at the hotel’s front desk about which section of town to avoid. Then she
A man had used her years before.
Fool me twice.
Right now would be a perfect opportunity to use her secret gift. Unfortunately, after she’d used her power on her husband 150 years ago, she now tried to tiptoe the fine line between verification of crimes and avoidance of psychic invasion for her own personal gains. Tempting as it might be to confirm Odie’s intentions, her principles held fast. She’d have to do this the old-fashioned way.
She placed her palms on his muscled chest, waves of heat searing her hands. When she shoved against him, his hands gripped her neck and back, keeping her close.
“Odie.”
He trailed his hand over the sensitive skin at the nape of her neck, and Ruth shuddered.
“Odie, stop.”
She dipped her head, turning away from another kiss. Unfortunately, all this did was encourage him to brush his lips over her neck and jaw, each touch swirling exquisite sensations down her spine. He nipped at the sensitive lobe of her ear, eliciting tiny waves of happiness. His scent of warm, spicy man nearly undid her resolve.
“Enough. I get it.”
“
Pardonnez
?”
His eyes had turned the typical jet black of an Indebted with heightened emotion.
So what if he felt something? She refused to be seduced into participating in his risky plans.
Pushing harder, she stepped away, and his arms dropped to his sides, pulling the fabric tight as his chest heaved. He blinked several times, and his iris color changed from endless night to luminous green again.
His brow furrowed. “Did I do something wrong,
chère
?”
“I might be an easy mark, but you won’t lure me into your scheme with this ... coercion.”
“What?”
As he held his hands up, Ruth backed up, bumping into the chair. She grasped the back for support, waving off the hand he offered.
“I understand your motives, sir.”
“What?”
“Don’t play me the fool.”
“But I didn’t—”
She wanted to believe the lost, wounded expression on his tanned face, where lines of concern wrinkled his forehead. Almost gave in again. Almost believed that a sexy rogue might have wanted her without strings attached. If she had lived any different life, she might have fallen for it. But not in this life and not today. She would never trust a handsome man again.
“You’ll have to seduce someone else into helping you.” She brushed a fingertip over her lips before the action registered, cursing herself as his hungry stare locked on to her mouth. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to attend to my work.”
Now that she had succeeded in breaking his spell, however, the hated knife began to throb, clouding her mind. Every thought focused on obtaining her next kill. When would this sick insanity stop?
“
Madame
, I didn’t mean to imply that—”
With a sharp movement of her hand, she cut him off and dropped back into ingrained society manners, erecting an instinctive barrier, as she had done for years, even while her world crumbled all around.
“Why don’t you wait in the sitting room for Barnaby? He’ll be ready soon for his tour. Please enjoy yourself today, and keep him safe. If he has any fatigue or problems, would you bring him back immediately?”
“Of course, but—”
“Thank you, sir. It was a pleasure to meet you, and I wish you every success in the future.”
For a moment, he simply stood there, mouth open and eyebrows raised. Then his features turned dark and hard, making him appear larger and more dangerous. He inhaled and then snapped his jaw shut, pressing his lips into a harsh line. Turning on a heel, he stormed out of the dining room.
Damn if she didn’t study how his thigh muscles bunched under the blue jeans, and damn if the air didn’t cool twenty degrees as he departed. She had gotten her senses all addled by this man with a plan. A plan that would never include her.
Chapter 5
That evening, she asked the concierge at the hotel’s front desk about which section of town to avoid. Then she
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