front of her face, a half smile playing on his. “I said your name three
times.”
“Sorry. I was somewhere
else.” She accepted the can with a nod of thanks, quickly popping the top and
taking a quick slug of sweet, carbonated goodness. She closed her eyes,
focusing on the simple sensation of bubbles tickling down her throat.
“Somewhere good?”
Reluctantly she opened
her eyes. “Huh?”
“You said you were
somewhere else. Somewhere good?” He slid to the floor beside her, long,
muscular legs stretched in front of him as he chugged half his own Coke.
“Not particularly.”
He nodded, looking
straight ahead and letting the silence fall around them—which gave her ample
chance to admire his profile. And what a profile it is . No wonder Kim
Carruthers had gone for him. The man practically defined chiseled.
“Nice table,” he
commented, still without turning his face toward her. “Comfortable chairs.” Mirage
blinked, wondering if the pressure had gotten to Captain Justice. Then he
slanted her a look, just a fraction of one, out of the corner of his eye, one
eyebrow arching slightly, lips quirking slightly. “There a reason we’re sitting
on the floor?”
So when the world drops
out from under me, I don’t fall as far. “No reason.” She
concentrated on her Coke can, unable to meet his eyes, knowing he could hear
the lie.
He didn’t push it. Just
let the silence wrap around them again. They drank their sodas, side by side,
neither looking at the other, and Mirage felt the knot between her shoulder
blades begin to loosen. She felt calm, clear, and knew it was because of him,
though she didn’t know why. His ability? Or just something about Captain
Justice himself, the man, who eased her?
“Justice—”
“Julian.”
“What?”
“My name. It’s Julian. Julian
Case.”
She blinked, startled
she’d never heard it before. Everyone knew DynaGirl was Darla Powers, but
Captain Justice was always called Captain Justice and nothing else. “Is
it a secret identity?”
“No. Just a name no one
seems to care to use.”
“Julian. Nice to meet
you.”
“Likewise.”
He smiled—amused, just
a little bit wry, and a whole lot heart-stopping—and Mirage suddenly had
butterflies doing acrobatics in her stomach. Keep your distance, you idiot. He’s
taken. She couldn’t let herself forget that he was very publicly
head-over-heels in love with the perfectly perky blonde from The Sentinel .
Even if he was looking at her with enough heat to melt away those inconvenient memories.
Except he couldn’t be looking at her that way. It had to be in her head—just
like everything else lately—because he was in love with Kim Carruthers. Notoriously
devoted to her. He wasn’t looking at Mirage with warmth, affection and…desire? Impossible.
That he could want
anything from her was a delusion she needed to expel, just like all the other
demons crawling around in her brain. “How long have you and Kim Carruthers been
an item?”
Julian’s smile shut
off, his eyes darkening. “We aren’t.”
“Oh.” Relief and
elation threw open the gates holding her baser urges in check. He wasn’t with
Kim. He probably didn’t even like perfectly perky blondes. Suddenly, Mirage had
permission to covet Captain Justice’s justifiably covetable body and that was
all the invitation her hormones needed. Ladies, start your engines. Captain
Justice is on the market. But Julian was frowning, not grinning at her like
he should have been if they’d just overcome the misunderstanding keeping him
from jumping her bones, so she kept her lustful impulses in check and just
feigned confusion. “But the papers… I guess you can’t believe everything you
read, right?”
“It’s not that. Kim and
I were together, but we’re not anymore.”
“Oh.” A little piece of
her elation broke off and crumbled. Apparently blonde and perfectly perky was his type. “That must be hard. You seemed like you were really in love.”
It
times.”
“Sorry. I was somewhere
else.” She accepted the can with a nod of thanks, quickly popping the top and
taking a quick slug of sweet, carbonated goodness. She closed her eyes,
focusing on the simple sensation of bubbles tickling down her throat.
“Somewhere good?”
Reluctantly she opened
her eyes. “Huh?”
“You said you were
somewhere else. Somewhere good?” He slid to the floor beside her, long,
muscular legs stretched in front of him as he chugged half his own Coke.
“Not particularly.”
He nodded, looking
straight ahead and letting the silence fall around them—which gave her ample
chance to admire his profile. And what a profile it is . No wonder Kim
Carruthers had gone for him. The man practically defined chiseled.
“Nice table,” he
commented, still without turning his face toward her. “Comfortable chairs.” Mirage
blinked, wondering if the pressure had gotten to Captain Justice. Then he
slanted her a look, just a fraction of one, out of the corner of his eye, one
eyebrow arching slightly, lips quirking slightly. “There a reason we’re sitting
on the floor?”
So when the world drops
out from under me, I don’t fall as far. “No reason.” She
concentrated on her Coke can, unable to meet his eyes, knowing he could hear
the lie.
He didn’t push it. Just
let the silence wrap around them again. They drank their sodas, side by side,
neither looking at the other, and Mirage felt the knot between her shoulder
blades begin to loosen. She felt calm, clear, and knew it was because of him,
though she didn’t know why. His ability? Or just something about Captain
Justice himself, the man, who eased her?
“Justice—”
“Julian.”
“What?”
“My name. It’s Julian. Julian
Case.”
She blinked, startled
she’d never heard it before. Everyone knew DynaGirl was Darla Powers, but
Captain Justice was always called Captain Justice and nothing else. “Is
it a secret identity?”
“No. Just a name no one
seems to care to use.”
“Julian. Nice to meet
you.”
“Likewise.”
He smiled—amused, just
a little bit wry, and a whole lot heart-stopping—and Mirage suddenly had
butterflies doing acrobatics in her stomach. Keep your distance, you idiot. He’s
taken. She couldn’t let herself forget that he was very publicly
head-over-heels in love with the perfectly perky blonde from The Sentinel .
Even if he was looking at her with enough heat to melt away those inconvenient memories.
Except he couldn’t be looking at her that way. It had to be in her head—just
like everything else lately—because he was in love with Kim Carruthers. Notoriously
devoted to her. He wasn’t looking at Mirage with warmth, affection and…desire? Impossible.
That he could want
anything from her was a delusion she needed to expel, just like all the other
demons crawling around in her brain. “How long have you and Kim Carruthers been
an item?”
Julian’s smile shut
off, his eyes darkening. “We aren’t.”
“Oh.” Relief and
elation threw open the gates holding her baser urges in check. He wasn’t with
Kim. He probably didn’t even like perfectly perky blondes. Suddenly, Mirage had
permission to covet Captain Justice’s justifiably covetable body and that was
all the invitation her hormones needed. Ladies, start your engines. Captain
Justice is on the market. But Julian was frowning, not grinning at her like
he should have been if they’d just overcome the misunderstanding keeping him
from jumping her bones, so she kept her lustful impulses in check and just
feigned confusion. “But the papers… I guess you can’t believe everything you
read, right?”
“It’s not that. Kim and
I were together, but we’re not anymore.”
“Oh.” A little piece of
her elation broke off and crumbled. Apparently blonde and perfectly perky was his type. “That must be hard. You seemed like you were really in love.”
It
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