And you can put him in more danger.

A sense of dejection filled me. I’d never felt more alone. More helpless. More tired. I moaned and covered my eyes with my arm, blocking out any hint of light. The hypnotic sound of the air conditioner wafted to my ears.

Lord, the stress of the day had zapped all my energy. Besides that, I hadn’t yet fully rebuilt my strength from the effects of the formula. It was clear I wouldn’t be making a decision on what to do anytime soon, so there was no reason to force myself to stay awake any longer.

When I woke up, everything would seem clearer.

Yeah, who did I think I was fooling?

CHAPTER NINE

“DID YOU REALLY THINK you could escape me?” a husky, familiar voice breathed into my ear. “You may be the Periodic Table Chick, but I’m a damn good tracker.”

I came awake instantly. A ball of fear slammed into me and quickly sprouted cold, treacherous wings as I became aware of several startling facts. One, Rome ’s heavy weight pinned my body to the bed. Two, my hands were tied above my head. No, not tied, I realized. Manacled by him. Three, a steely palm covered my mouth, preventing me from screaming. And four, the most startling fact of all, Rome had an erection that pressed against my belly-and I liked it.

Did I forget to mention I was naked beneath the sheet?

“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “You know I won’t hurt you.”

That should not have eased my worry, but it did. His voice was soothing, gentle. Warming.

Moonlight slithered through the crack in the curtains and bathed his face. His crystalline eyes seemed to glow, all the more vivid in contrast to the shadow beard that dusted his jaw. My tormentor. My rescuer. My… puzzle.

“Are you going to give me to him?” I asked the moment he freed my mouth. I didn’t have to specify who “him” was. Rome knew. “He told you it was the only way to get rid of him.”

He drew in a sharp breath. “No. That’s something you don’t have to worry about. I’ll never give you to that disgusting scrim. I gave you my word, remember?”

He said it with such force, I believed him. As my fear abated, though, I encountered sparks of anger and dug my nails into my palms. My blood began to heat. How dare he sneak into my room. How dare he lie on top of me. How dare he look so freaking good. How dare he-

Wait. Calm down. Calm down, Belle Jamison. I couldn’t let myself become upset or I’d start a fire. I just-damn it! He’d found me so quickly. I hadn’t had time to decide if I trusted him or not.

Slowly I drew in a breath through my nose; slowly I released it. In the dim light of the room, I stared up at Rome ’s harshly sexy face. He looked stern, grim, nothing like his tender voice.

He looked wonderful. I must have looked ready to scream, though, because he covered my mouth again.

While I was upset he’d found me, a small part of me was suddenly glad to see him, all else be damned. It meant I wasn’t in this alone, that I had someone to lean on, if only for a little while.

“You left me with a hell of a mess to clean up, Belle. As you well know, the general public doesn’t know people with superpowers exist. I had to tell everyone a movie was being shot. Thanks.”

“Mmm, mmm mmm mmm-” I narrowed my eyes at him. With his hand over my mouth, my words emerged garbled. I wanted to tell him to stop poking me in the belly with his penis! They should have been the first words out of my mouth, but I couldn’t think straight with it close to me.

“Yeah,” he said, as if he’d understood me. “I’m turned on. Barbecue me if you don’t like it.” Now his tone held an irresistible challenge.

If I didn’t like it-puh-lease. Inability to think because of it did not equal dislike. What, he assumed I had no hormones? I might despise this entire situation, but I was (stupidly) attracted to this man. The part of me that was glad to see him urged me to spread my legs and allow him to fall into the cleft presented. He could rub me where I suddenly ached.

Come on, Jamison. Show some restraint. The admonishment from my common sense helped me remain unmoving. Deep inside I knew if I moved the tiniest bit, he’d be on me, kissing me, and I’d be on him, devouring him.

“I’m going to remove my hand again, Periodic Table Chick, and don’t you dare think about screaming. I’m pissed at you right now, and you don’t want to push me further.” Gradually, he did as he’d promised. All the while, he frowned down at me.

“I’ll push you further if I want,” I said, mouth free a second time. No reason to let him wallow in the delusion that he could intimidate me. “And don’t call me Periodic Table Chick.”

“I dare you to try something,” he said. “You won’t like what happens.”

“You won’t like what happens if you don’t get off me. You’re crushing me.” Deliciously. “I can’t breathe, damn it.”

“If you can talk, Four Elements Girl, you can breathe.”

Logic sucked. “I’m dying here, I tell you. And don’t call me Four Elements Girl. That’s stupid. Besides, I’ve only used three. Fire, air and ice.”

Rome rolled his eyes. “A technicality. I think you like me where I am just fine, and that scares you.” His frown deepened. At least he didn’t call me by another one of those ridiculous names. “I won’t press you, though. Not now. I’m going to move. But if you point your hands at me, I swear to God I’ll tie them behind your back and leave them there this time.”

“Go ahead,” I said smugly. “I can shoot fire out of my eyes.”

Intense blue eyes narrowed on me. “Thanks for the reminder. Believe me, blindfolding you won’t be a hardship, you little pyromaniac.” More exasperated than angry (I seem to have that effect on a lot of people) he shook his head. “I saw the damage you did to the apartment. That’s one hidey-hole I can mark off my list.”

My cheeks colored in embarrassment. “That was an accident. I didn’t mean to cause so much damage.”

“So a little damage would have been okay?” He lifted off me inch by inch, removing his weight just as I’d asked. Except without him, I suddenly felt cold and empty. He released my wrists, severing all contact, and crouched on his knees at the foot of the bed.

I jolted upright, very aware a thin sheet was all that separated us. Our gazes clashed as I tugged the material up and held it to my chest in a kung fu death grip. My naughty nipples were giving him a happy, so-glad-to-see-you salute, further increasing my humiliation.

“How did you get in here?” I said through clenched teeth.

“I picked the lock.” One corner of his mouth curled, but quickly fell back into place, giving his face a dark, menacing cast. “Now you answer a question for me. Who was the boy who gave you a ride?”

Oh, no. No, no, no. Not Tanner. “He’s just a kid, and if you hurt him, I’ll fry you to a crisp. You’ll taste ashes for a year.”

He arched an insolent brow. “Embracing our powers already, I see.”

“Just trying to survive.” Asshole. He made it sound like it was a crime to utilize my new abilities. And can you say hypocrite? He wanted me to use them to help hide his daughter, didn’t he?

“I’m not going to hurt the kid,” he said grudgingly. I heard the word yet linger in the air silently, and my fists tightened. “Did you tell him anything about your situation?”

“Of course not.”

Rome studied my face for a long while. “I got his tag number, which means Vincent, the man spitting tranqs at you, did, too.”

I paled, literally feeling all the color drain from my face. “Do you think Vincent will find him? He’s a nice kid and he doesn’t deserve to be hurt.”

“You should have thought about that before you got in his car.”

“I was desperate,” I snapped, slamming my fist against the mattress.

Rome sighed. “Don’t get mad. Bad things happen, remember?”

I closed my eyes and forced myself to draw in a calming breath.