Storming His Heart (13 page)

She flushed and scooted out from under him. To her amusement, he sighed her name and closed his eyes.

That had to be a good sign.

Bemused at how much she wanted a possible future with the man, she reminded herself to be cautious and headed to the shower.

As she cleaned herself, she wondered about him. After their encounter in the safe house, she’d expected a few days of fun and hot sex. They had to be together, so why not make the most of it? Instead, he’d made excuses to stay away, and it hurt. For some odd reason, she’d thought he’d actually started to like her.

Then to wake up last night with his hands on her… She felt as if she’d finally come home. Sexually, they fit. And from what she’d seen of his house and his life, they shared so much more. A shared love of books, adventure movies, Southern-styled cooking, fitness, psychic abilities…the list went on.

They had their differences, of course. He was a neat freak and she a disorganized—according to him—slob. They worked for rival agencies. But the joy of being near a man she liked who didn’t obey her every command? Sheer magic. She kept telling herself to keep it cool. They didn’t have to marry, simply get to know one another better. Time enough for his heart to catch up to hers.

Because damn it all, she had a bad feeling she was falling in love. If any other man had avoided her for days then pounced on her for sex, she’d have shown him the door. With Rafe, she’d opened her arms. Now how to make sure she had a chance to see where this new relationship between them might go without scaring him off?

Despite Rafe’s obvious strengths, she had a feeling that pushing him too hard would scare him away. Playing it cool would not only confuse him, it’d keep him on his toes.

She lathered herself with soap, catching the citrus scent she associated with her lover. Just thinking the words warmed her, and she chuckled. Rafe wouldn’t find her so easy to ignore anymore. This time the hunter would become the hunted, and the poor guy had no idea.

An hour later, when Rafe came looking for her, he found her watching a talk show as she sipped her coffee. It took everything Storm had not to rush into his arms and give him a big, wet good morning kiss. But knowing that, one, it made little sense to feel so deeply for a man she hadn’t known for long, and two, he would push her away if she became too clingy, she remained seated.

“Hey, handsome. Coffee’s on the counter. I didn’t want to wake you. Hope the TV wasn’t too loud.”

“No.” He cleared his throat and came to stand by her. “You okay?”

She smiled up at him, pleased when his eyes darkened and fixed on her mouth. “Just fine. I feel boneless, if you want the truth.”

He smiled, and her heart shattered at his feet. Oh man, it was way too soon to be feeling the L-word.

“Good thing I didn’t know what you could do with that mouth when I had you tied up in Locklen’s study. We might never have left.”

She frowned. “You just had to bring that up, didn’t you?”

His smile widened. “I can’t wait to tie you up again.”

“Who said there’ll be an again? Maybe I’ve had my fill of Rafe Savage. You’re a little bossy, anybody ever tell you that?”

Rafe stared down at her with a look that seared her to her toes.

“Don’t even think about messing me up, Savage. I just took a shower. Stop. Right now.” She called on her power and gave it everything she had.

One hot, sweaty lovemaking session later, she straddled him on the couch and tried to get her breath back. Their clothes were scattered all over the floor.

“Beast.”

“But I’m a happy beast.”

“A bossy beast,” she muttered, wishing she could feel even a little mad for his domineering manner.

“Time for another shower, hmm?” Rafe laughed and carried her into the bathroom.

Later, they sat in his kitchen munching on toast and eggs and drinking coffee.

Storm considered him. “Something I just realized. You’re easy. Mr. Big, Bad and Sexy is a pushover when it comes to sex. Who knew?”

He flushed and shot her a frown. “Smartass. It’s you. Not my fault I lose it any time I’m within five feet of you. My dick’s been hard for days, and I’ve been pent up since you first started making trouble for me.”

Nice to know she hadn’t been the only one affected by their first meeting.

“Something else we need to discuss.”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve come in you without protection.”

The words hung in the air. Embarrassed but knowing they needed to talk about it, Storm concentrated on her coffee. “I’m on the Pill, and I haven’t had sex in so long before you I was practically a born-again virgin.”

He coughed but didn’t manage to stifle his laughter. “You sure aren’t virginal anymore.”

“Not since meeting you,” she agreed.

Chapter Nine

“You should know it’s been the same for me. I don’t date much, and when I do, I use protection. I’ve never been with a woman without it, actually.” As he said it, Rafe looked surprised.

They watched each other until the quiet grated on Storm’s nerves. “Aside from what I learned having sex and snooping through your house, I don’t know much about you.”

“What do you want to know?”

“I don’t know.” Everything. “Why do you work for Westlake, of all places?” She frowned and he grinned. “What exactly can you do with your mind besides annoy me? Because I still don’t know.”

“A tall order.”

“Rafe…”

“Relax. I have nothing to hide. I was a cop in Atlanta for a few years before I found Jurek Westlake, or rather, he found me. I wanted to work in a place where I wouldn’t have to hide my abilities, so I took the job he offered and haven’t looked back since.”

She thought there was more to it than that, but she didn’t want to stop him from sharing. “What all can you do?”

“I see glimpses of the future. I call the visions with concentration, but sometimes they hit me without warning. Like when I saw your hit and run.”

“That must have shaken you up.”

“You have no idea.” He finished his coffee and poured himself some more. “What about you? Do you do more than that mind control thing? I know all you Buchanans have psychic abilities. It’s a family thing, right?”

“Yeah. My mom and dad both have it. I can manipulate minds—well, most of them.” She wondered what made him so different. “My parents seem to be immune, but my brothers had to learn it. Mom and Dad taught them to shield themselves at an early age. From what I’ve been told, I was a terror as a toddler.”

He smiled. “But a cute terror, I’ll bet.” His eyes grew intense, and he gave her a look she couldn’t read. “So you work for your uncle as an investigator? Seems like a real family business.”

She shrugged. “Uncle Max started it on a smaller scale years ago. He likes helping people. I think if it wasn’t for the politics and hiding what he can really do, he’d have joined the police force like you did.”

He nodded. “I loved it, but it was hard. I could never explain why I knew certain things.”

“Yeah. So Max started his firm. My brothers and I worked independently for a while doing the same thing, then we thought we might as well join the team. I love working there.”

Rafe snorted. “I’ll bet. No rules, excitement, and hefty fees. Hell, half the things you people do are illegal.”

“Really? So finding you in Locklen’s office, breaking and entering, that was a fluke?”

He grinned. “Good point. Now, let’s not ruin our fragile peace with a discussion about whose firm is better.”

“Why? Because you’d lose?”

He chuckled but refused to answer her. “What do your parents think about what you do for a living?”

“They support me. They like all their kids working together. We manage to keep one another out of trouble most of the time. What about you? Do you have family? What do your parents think about you working for Westlake?”

The glow in his eyes faded. “My parents are dead.”

“I’m sorry.”

He blew out a breath. “They died fifteen years ago. They say time heals, but I still miss them, you know?”

“Yeah.” As close as Storm was to her family, she understood his pain.

“I don’t have brothers or sisters. No aunts or uncles. It’s just me.” He stopped and cleared his throat. “Anyway, I think they’d like me working for Jurek. I get to use my ability to help people. Hell, I became a cop just like my dad. My mom served too. She was a Marine.”

“No kidding?” She knew she would have liked his parents.

He smiled, and the warmth in the expression made her belly do flip-flops.

Oh man, I am falling so hard.

Rafe continued, “She liked ordering us guys in the family around. Both Mom and Dad lived to see me enter the Academy. But they didn’t see me pin on the badge.”

She couldn’t stop herself from asking, “What happened?”

“We all lived in Atlanta at the time. Made a family weekend of it and drove down to the stadium for a Braves game. I remember it was a really nice day,” he said softly, his eyes distant. “The Braves won seven to six in overtime. Everyone was crazy happy. And so were we. Then on the way home we ran out of gas.” He toyed with his fork. “Dad pulled into a rundown station to fill up and ran into a cliché. When he went inside to pay, he interrupted a robbery and got shot. My mom happened to go into the store with him when it happened. She didn’t make it out either. I caught the guy on his way out. Sheer dumb luck. He bumped into me in his haste to get away. I laid him out flat. But it was too late.”

“I’m so sorry, Rafe.”

He shrugged. “It happened a long time ago. And it’s not something I like to talk about.” He took the hand she’d unconsciously reached toward him.

“I’m sorry for bringing it up.”

He tightened his hand on hers. “Thanks for listening.”

“Thanks for sharing.” She wanted to tell him something personal but didn’t know what to say.

They watched each other in an awkward silence, and Storm wondered if he knew what he’d just admitted. Rafe was lonely, with only his work for company. The man needed her, no two ways about it. Just as much as she needed him. Worried he might see the caring in her eyes, she glanced down at their hands and tried to ignore her racing pulse.

“What about you?” he asked.

“Me?”

“What’s your family like?”

Storm thought about it. “Thorne’s a telepath, and he’s always trying to tell me what to do, verbally and otherwise,” she said dryly. “Luc’s like you. He has visions, but they’re rarely clear and he hates them. He’s the only one in the family who doesn’t like being psychic. I love it.”

“I can see that, control freak.”

She grinned. “Takes one to know one. Except for ruining my social life, being able to manage people makes me feel safer. I don’t worry that I’m going to get mugged if I walk down the wrong street late at night—not that I’d go into the seedy side of town in the dark. But I can pretty much take care of myself, and my family knows it.”

“Have them wrapped around your little finger, hmm?”

“I wish.” She liked holding hands with him, especially since he didn’t seem to want to let go anytime soon. “When I was little, for a few short months, I made my brothers do everything for me. Then my parents figured out what I was up to and put a stop to it. There are very few people immune to my ability.”

“Lucky me,” he said in a thick voice. His thumb grazed her hand, a soft caress she felt to her bones. There was nothing sensual about it, just a comforting trust that he was there.

“What about you? When did you have your first vision?”

“You’re just full of questions, aren’t you?”

“Come on, tell me.”

“Fine, but only because you’re cute when you beg. I think I was ten. I’d seen myself riding down the street on a red bike I’d been wanting but didn’t own, riding next to my friend who I hadn’t seen in over a year. The next day I received the bike and a surprise visit from my best friend who’d moved away for my birthday.

“I told my folks about it, but they weren’t surprised. Apparently they’d been expecting something like that to happen. My dad said every generation on his side possessed some form of clairvoyance. His wasn’t very strong. For him it came in odd phases. But seeing the future isn’t as reliable as you might think. After all, I couldn’t see what happened to my parents. And I’m never sure if acting on the visions changes my future into what it could be or what it should be.”

“I guess your gift really makes you wonder about destiny and fate, huh?”

Rafe studied her intently. “I don’t believe in destiny. I believe we’re in command of our own lives.”

“I have to agree that we’re in charge of our own destinies. I mean, you hear about stuff meant to be, soul mates and all that nonsense. But I’m not so sure I believe in that.”
I believe in
you
, Rafe. You’re mine, but that’s something you’re not ready to hear yet.

He frowned. “Why not? I saw those books you read. You must like the thought of happily ever after.”

Damn. Busted. She forced a smile. “But all that’s fiction. Heck, if it weren’t for my curse when it comes to dating, I might have married already and had kids. Most of the men I’ve gone out with would have made good husbands.”

He didn’t seem to like that. “Most of them, eh? What about me?”

“What about you?”

“Am I husband material?”

She pretended to consider him. “Well, you’re hell on wheels in the sack, no doubt.”

“Thanks.”

“How long has it been since your last girlfriend? You said you dated.”

“Dated, sure. But someone I’d call a girlfriend? Ah, a year or two.”

“Is it one year or two?”

He frowned. “Three.”

“
Three?
Wow. I’m thinking commitment issues. You’re what, thirty-five?” She knew darned well how old he was.

“Thirty-three,” he muttered.

“A girlfriend, but no fiancée in your past? Then you—”

“I was engaged.”

She stopped midsentence. “You were?”

“It didn’t work out.” Sensing she was losing him to a mood again when they’d just started to really connect, she tried to tease him out of it.

“Or did it?” She sniffed his neck, startling him. “Will I find perfume on you? That’s your secret, isn’t it?”