I’d wanted so badly to give up my powers when they were uncontrollable, but now that I was beginning to see exactly what I could do-and would be able to do-I wasn’t sure I really wanted to return to my normal self. Officer Parton had clearly been enamored of his own power. Would I be just like him?

I sighed and my shoulders slumped.

“You okay?” Rome asked. He strode to my side and wrapped his arms around my waist. He rested his chin on top of my head. “That was a pretty heavy sigh.”

“Hey, are you guys going to start kissing again?” Tanner called from the cabin window. He pretended to gag. He’d been watching us the entire time, throwing out bits of unneeded advice and unwanted orders like “try to make a naked ice sculpture.”

“Did you ever make lunch?” I retorted. Or was it dinnertime now? Either way, I was starved!

“I do not cook.”

Exasperated, I threw up my arms. “Then how do you eat?”

“Takeout.” Tanner shrugged. “Maids.”

“Maids?” I expected him to laugh, but he didn’t. He was totally serious. Great. I’d invited a Richie Richerson to join the Squad of Doom. Wait. Never mind. So not a cool name for us. “Just make sandwiches or something. We’ll join you in a minute.” I hoped. My stomach rumbled.

“Fine.” Scowling, Tanner stomped away from the window. I heard him mutter, “I’m just the empath, so I get the grunt work.”

Rome maneuvered behind me to block me from view, wrapped his arms around my waist and said, “You never answered me. What brought that sigh on?”

“I was just thinking.” A slight breeze wafted past us, cooling my sweat-beaded skin. His body sizzled against mine, eclipsing the coolness, but no way in hell I’d ask him to move. I liked him where he was.

“About?”

“Powers.” I paused, considering my next words carefully. “If you could give up being a cat-”

“Jaguar.”

“Jaguar. Whatever.” Jeez. Like there was a difference? “If you could give up that ability, would you?”

He offered no hesitation. “In a heartbeat.”

“Even though you can get into places normal humans can’t? Even though you volunteered for the DNA splicing? Even though you can-”

“Even though,” he interjected firmly. “Whatever the advantages, there are far more disadvantages. Like the fact that Vincent would love to recruit me for OASS by any means necessary, which puts my family in danger.”

Somehow I’d known he would say that.

“I’m not saying I hate everything I can do.” His hands rasped down my arms, up my chest, and cupped my breasts. The man obviously liked to touch me. “I’m not saying that at all.”

“Then what are you saying?” I asked breathlessly. His hands were big and callused, and I felt the abrasion through my cotton shirt, felt the phantom imprint that branded my very soul.

I’d had other boyfriends; I’d always enjoyed sex. But something was different with Rome. His slightest touch excited me like nothing else ever had.

“I’m saying the good doesn’t outweigh the bad. Yes, I’m able to see more clearly in the dark. Yes, I can smell things I couldn’t smell before.” He paused, the silence laden with sinful intent. “Yes, I know when a woman is aroused before she does.”

“How?” I squeaked, suddenly embarrassed. Heat spread and branched from my cheeks. I’d been aroused by him so many times I’d lost count.

“I can smell her desire.”

“Is that… part of the good or the bad?”

“Good.” His voice dipped to a wine-rich whisper, a whisper that caressed my still-hot cheeks. “Very, very good.”

Holy hell, this man knew how to seduce. My knees were weakening at a rapid pace. It didn’t matter that the cabin was behind us and Tanner could be watching from the window. It didn’t matter that we were outside. Nothing mattered but Rome.

“I love all of those abilities.” He pinched my nipples, and I arched backward. “I can find the unfindable. Stalk the unstalkable.”

“But…?”

“But these abilities have not helped me do what matters most. They haven’t given my daughter a normal life. No, they’ve brought the evil of the world to her door. Because of that, I can never drop my guard. I can never fully trust. People want to examine me, bad people, just like they want to examine you. They want to test me, experiment on me, and they don’t care how painful it is. They want to make more like me. More like you. More like Sunny. I can’t keep her off Vincent’s radar forever. If the bastard ever tried to experiment on her… ” The last was said in a growl.

I quivered when he glided his wicked hands down my stomach again, this time gripping the hem of my shirt and allowing his fingertips to dabble with the exposed skin.

“Do you trust me?” I asked breathlessly.

“Surprisingly, yes.” He bit the shell of my ear, then licked away the sting.

“ Rome.” I groaned in need. My head fell onto his shoulder. I wanted him to lick my neck. Bite it. Something. Anything. Except…

He released me with a low, guttural growl. “Come on.” He pushed out a shuddering breath. “I can’t fuck you the way I want right now, and holding you is torture. Let’s go inside and eat.”

He strode away from me without another word.

Happy place, happy place. “I’ll be there in a minute,” I called. “I need some alone time to decompress.”

He nodded but didn’t look back.

Even though I was famished, I needed time to calm my racing blood. I was panting (a little) and aching (a lot). I didn’t think I’d find complete satisfaction until that man had me penetrated. Right now I didn’t fear I’d start a fire or anything like that. It was just, well, I feared I was giving Rome more of myself than was wise. Frissons of love had already sprouted, but giving him any more of my heart was completely idiotic.

I plopped onto the grass, which was damp from the rainstorms I’d produced. The wetness seeped through my jeans, but I didn’t care. Every minute I spent in Rome ’s presence, I fell a little deeper under his erotic spell. He was animalistic (obviously), addictive, charming when he wanted to be, sexy without meaning to be, and protective.

Who could resist that?

Not me, I thought with a small twinge of dejection.

I kind of understood now why Lexis had walked away from him. To love him, but have him love another… was there any greater torture? No, probably not. When a woman looked at him, she wanted all of his focus to be on her, all of his strength under her hands, all of his passion directed at her. She simply wanted him to be hers.

He pulled you into his essence, and you were helpless to resist.

I was in serious danger of falling completely, I’m-in-deep-shit in love with him, of losing myself to him, and I knew it. I was too excited by him, too aware of his every touch. I plucked at several strands of grass. I wasn’t going to walk away from him-it was too late for that, and I was honest enough with myself to admit it. But I needed to erect better guards against him.

How did a girl do that, though?

If it involved rejecting Rome ’s touch and not getting naked, then no, I couldn’t do it. I had to know what it felt like to make love with this man. I’d always had a strong fantasy life. This time, however, I needed the real thing. After the way I’d exploded for him, I knew that everything else I’d ever experienced would pale in comparison to Rome.

He’d given me an orgasm while we were dressed, for God’s sake, not a single stitch of clothing removed. A first for me.

“Belle,” he suddenly called, breaking into my thoughts. His deep, rough tone made me shiver with remembrance. “You okay out there?”

“Yeah.” I pushed to my feet. “I’m coming in.”

“Lexis phoned. She’s with your dad and he’s doing great. He even tried to hit on her.”

That was my dad, I thought as relief flooded me. I hadn’t realized how deep my worry was until just that moment. I wished I could have talked to him, but it was enough for now that my dad was alive and well, with no bad guys lurking around him.