Crime and Punishment 4: Burning Submission (7 page)

Josh apparently hadn’t noticed, or if he had, he didn’t say anything. She should probably answer his question. “Um, both, I suppose.”

“Good. You’re going to need your energy if we’re going to get those shelves done this morning.”

Yeah, and then maybe kissing later.

Her nipples hardened at the thought of his lips on hers. The light flickered again, and she rolled her eyes. This was going to be interesting.

Chapter Ten

Jennifer stepped back and studied the shelves and the trim molding that Josh had just nailed around the edges. It looked really good, and once the mantel was back in place, it would look even better.

Josh came to stand by her side. “Do you want to paint them white or stain them?” His proximity was playing havoc with her senses. It had been all morning, and she didn’t know what to do to stop it.

She raised her hand and rubbed at the back of her neck. “Um…”

“Staining them would go with the old feel of the house. Painting them white would brighten it up in here.”

She glanced sideways and stared at his profile. He hadn’t shaved this morning, and his jaw was covered in stubble. His lips were full, and she could well remember how soft they’d been against hers. Warmth began to spread over her flesh and pool in the center of her womb. She bit her lip and turned away. “Which would be easier?” she asked.

“Truthfully, they’re both about the same. If you paint, you’re going to have to prime first. If you stain, it will take at least two coats, depending on how dark you want it, plus a coat or two of polyurethane.”

“Let’s stain it to match the cabinets I have picked out for the kitchen.”

Josh gave a nod. “Okay. We need to clean it up in here as much as we can, get all the dust out. Then tomorrow we can make a run to the hardware store and pick out your colors. Do you know what you want to paint the walls?”

How could he keep his mind on the project? All she could think about was sex. God, it had been forever since she’d felt anything between her legs. Even her own hands. She didn’t dare do that where they’d held her captive. She’d always been watched. And she’d been so scared or drugged half out of her wits the whole time, sex hadn’t even entered her mind.

It was definitely on her mind now.

He turned, and his brow creased into a frown. “Earth to Jennifer? Are you with me over there?”

Her eyes widened, and a flush of heat bloomed in her cheeks. “Sorry. My mind was somewhere else.”

Like in her bedroom, Josh over her, fucking her. She swallowed and turned to look at the wall. “I was thinking maybe earth-tone colors. You know, deep beiges, greens, burgundy, or maybe a blue-gray.”

“Earth tones are good. That’s what I did my house in.”

She grinned. “That’s right. Linda showed me some of the pictures. How long did it take you?”

“A couple of years, but I was only working on it part-time. I traveled a lot with work.”

She rubbed her hands down her arms, brushing away some of the sawdust from when they’d sanded the shelves. “Will you go back to work once you’re healed?” she asked.

“To be honest, I don’t know. I’m a little tired of getting shot at, but I’m also afraid I would miss the thrill of the hunt.”

Jennifer smiled. “I guess it would be hard to give that up. Have you been shot before?”

He pointed to his chest. “Before this one?” She nodded, and he continued. “Yes. Twice before. Once in the thigh, and once in the arm.”

He rolled up his sleeve and showed her a small scar just below his shoulder.

“Where was the one in the thigh?” she asked, secretly hoping he would drop his pants and show her the scar.

“Are you trying to get me to take my pants off?” he teased.

Her cheeks flamed again, but she ignored it and snorted. “You wish.”

Josh chuckled and pointed to a spot just above and to the right of his knee. “It was here. Two months of rehab for that one, but I at least got full mobility back…and the criminal.”

“All so you could jump back in the fray. Sounds like you have a death wish.”

His lips twitched. “Nah, just an indestructability complex.”

She snickered. “I could see that. Are you hungry?”

A spark of lust ignited in his eyes, and Jennifer had a wicked image of her splayed out on the table, Josh’s face between her legs.

She harrumphed. “I meant for lunch, Romeo.”

Josh laughed. “What makes you think I had anything else in mind?”

She pointed at him and turned to leave the room. “I’m beginning to recognize that devilish spark in your eyes.”

She could feel Josh behind her as they walked down the hall toward the kitchen. She’d hoped he would’ve stayed in the living room. She needed a breather. His sex appeal, his promise this morning of a kiss, and his deep voice all sent her senses into a total tailspin. If she didn’t get some space between them soon, she would attack, rip his clothes off, and ride his cock like the sex-starved lunatic she was.

She turned on the water and let it run for a second to heat up before rinsing off her hands. “Sandwiches okay?” she asked.

“That’s fine.” Josh opened the fridge and grabbed a beer off the bottom shelf. “Maybe we should swing by the store later and pick up a few things. It’s looking a little bare in here.”

She turned to look at him just as he shut the fridge door. He tilted the beer bottle toward her. “Want one?”

“No,” she said with a firm shake of her head. The last thing she needed right now was alcohol.

Josh grinned wickedly as he brought the bottle to his lips. “Chicken,” he murmured.

The water quickly heated hotter than usual, burning her fingers. Had her growing desire for him done that? She jerked her hands out and turned off the faucet. She really needed to get herself under control before she did something stupid, like burn the damn house down. Was this what could be called a burning desire?

“My guess is,” she said as she dried off her hands, “that it’s best for a woman to have all her wits about her when you’re around.”

Josh chuckled. “I would never take advantage of a tipsy woman.”

“Uh-huh.”

He grinned. “I swear.”

Jennifer shook her head and pulled two plates from the cabinet, while Josh grabbed the bread and condiments from the fridge. “Do you want ham, turkey, or chicken?” he asked.

“Surprise me,” she said as she sat down.

Josh tossed the ham on the table. Jennifer jumped at the sound the plastic made as it landed against the wood. “Really? You’re just going to throw it?”

He gave one shoulder a shrug as he sat down. “I’m a guy. Surely you didn’t expect perfect manners.”

Jennifer could tell by the gleam in his eyes that he was teasing her. The slight twitch of his lips made the dimple in his cheek appear and then just as quickly disappear, only giving her a glimpse. The blue of his shirt set off the blue in his eyes. They reminded her of a beautiful fall sky, bright and…

Stop it, stop it, stop it.

God, her whole body hurt, she wanted him so bad. She really needed to get a grip.

IT WAS ALL Josh could do to keep from reaching across the table and touching her. All morning he’d caught her watching him with a hunger in her eyes that matched his own. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted her.

He was also curious about these abilities of hers. He’d worked with some pretty talented people at the agency, but none with skills like hers. He couldn’t wait to see what she could do with them, but he wanted her to trust him, so he wouldn’t rush or push.

She was beautiful and sweet, and he loved her teasing side that peeked out occasionally. He noticed the more comfortable she became with him, the more she teased. How could any man turn her over to people who would hurt her?

After lunch, they’d head outside and play with her powers. Although truthfully, he’d rather be playing with her. He’d love to bend her over this table, ram his cock inside her, and make her scream. He couldn’t remember when he’d ever been so damn hot for a woman.

It had to be the proximity and the sense that she was off-limits. Even though she’d stared at him like a hungry lioness, he doubted she would appreciate his sexual advances. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her.

But he could. Oh, he definitely could. He loved to see a little spark of fear in a woman’s eyes as he tied her to a bed. He would never hurt a woman, but he loved to keep them on their toes, making them wonder what wicked scenario he had up his sleeve. And he could spend hours sexually torturing this woman, bringing her to the edge of release but not letting her come, over and over, so when she finally did, she would explode into a thousand pieces. Preferably with his cock buried balls-deep inside her.

Damn, he wanted her so bad. He really needed to get a grip.

Chapter Eleven

Jennifer followed Josh to the backyard, wondering just what he wanted her to do. Had she made a mistake by telling him about her powers? He might not hand her over to the group that had her before, but he might to his own agency. Would they lock her away as well? Force her to do things she didn’t want to?

Josh handed her a small glass half-full of water. “Okay. Let’s see what you can do. Freeze this.”

She stared at the glass. “The water?”

She looked up and found Josh watching her with an amused expression and one eyebrow raised. “No, me,” he drawled in that deep, sexual timbre of his that never failed to make goose bumps appear along her skin.

Curling her lip, she replied, “Very funny.”

He grinned. “I’m here all week.” He waved his hand toward the glass. “Give it a shot.”

Sighing, she lifted the glass and stared at the water.

JOSH WATCHED AS she placed one hand over the top of the glass. Veins of ice began to move through the water before it froze completely. He’d never seen anything like that.

“Can you do it without touching it?” he asked.

She glanced up at him and frowned. “What do you mean?”

He grabbed the pitcher he’d set on the ground and poured another half glass of water. He held it up, but when she reached for it, he backed away. “Try it while I hold it.”

She shook her head. “That’s not a good idea.”

“Try it.”

“Josh—”

“Try it,” he said, this time more forcibly.

Jennifer rolled her eyes in frustration. “Are you always this bossy?”

“Yes.”

With a grin, he held it up. Her eyes narrowed in anger, but she didn’t reach for the glass. Instead, she focused her stare on the water. Cold wrapped around his fingers and his palm. Condensation built on the glass as a tingling moved through his lower arm and hand. He ignored it and tightened his fingers against the glass.

A burn singed his fingertips, like someone flash freezing part of his skin. He hissed and dropped the glass onto the ground, where it landed in a thick patch of grass.

“I told you,” Jennifer admonished. “If you’re touching whatever I’m manipulating, it will affect you too.”

Josh sighed and put his hands on his hips. Staring down at the glass, he wondered if maybe she was right, or could she focus more and only freeze the water?

He bent down and picked up the glass. “Let’s try it again.”

Jennifer slapped her thigh in frustration. “Oh, for the love… Josh! What if I hurt you?”

“Then you have my permission to kiss it and make it all better.”

“That’s not funny,” she snarled. “I killed those people. Don’t you get that?”

“Yes, I get it,” Josh snapped. “You killed them because you don’t yet know what you can do. It’s time you found out. The more you know about your abilities, the better you can control them.”

“What if I can’t?”

Josh set the glass on the ground and walked over to Jennifer. She looked scared to death, her eyes wide, her lips trembling. She was afraid of what she might do, maybe even of what she could do. But she needed to know.

He put his hands on her shoulders and rubbed gently up and down her arms. She sniffed back tears and looked at the ground. “Please don’t make me do this.”

“You
have
to do this, Jenn.” He cupped her cheeks and forced her face up so he could see her eyes. They were such a beautiful color, so deep and honest, and right now, so expressive. “It’s going to be okay, I promise.”

Why couldn’t he stand this close to her and not want to kiss her? It was just like last night. The pull was so hard to resist. In her gaze he saw desire, hunger, but also uncertainty. He wanted to rid her of that first. He wanted her to know she could trust him. She would have to trust him, especially if they had sex. The kind of sex he liked required trust.

Swallowing his growing lust, he forced himself to step away. He watched as she drew in a shaky breath and then gave a slight nod. “Fine.”

“Good.” He bent and picked up the glass. The water was still partially frozen, so he brought it up to her eye level and said, “Thaw it.”

She held up her hand, palm facing the glass. She bit her lip nervously, and Josh had a wicked desire to replace her teeth with his. “Concentrate on just the water, sweetheart.”

She scrunched her nose adorably. “It’s kind of hard to concentrate on
anything
when you call me sweetheart.”

His lips twitched. “Good to know.”

Jennifer suddenly dropped her hand. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What do you mean, ‘good to know’?”

He lifted an eyebrow. “What did
you
mean when you said it’s hard to concentrate on anything when I call you sweetheart?”

Her cheeks turned a very telling shade of pink. “Never mind.”

She lifted her hand back up and concentrated on the water. Josh fought a grin and tried not to just throw the glass aside, grab her by the arms, haul her against him, and kiss that sassy mouth till he had her mewling like a kitten.

Bracing himself against the possibility of an onslaught of heat she couldn’t control, Josh watched as the water melted, but the glass never heated up. “Very good,” he said. “I didn’t feel a thing.” He brought his gaze back to hers. “Now try to freeze it again.”

She curled her lip but turned her attention back to the glass. It took a few seconds longer, and Josh felt the coolness in the glass, but she was able to do it. As he stared at the glass, he wondered if she could freeze moving water. They would have to try that later. That would be a more advanced session.