Twice as Hot (52 page)

He
flicked me an are-you-kidding grin. “I had other things on my mind.”

“But
Sherridan hates him. What if he—”

“She
doesn’t hate me,” Cody said, all wickedness.

I
turned and gasped, a hand fluttering over my chest. I’d followed Rome and
apparently Cody had followed me. He stood in the kitchen entryway, shoulder
braced against the door frame. I needed to be more aware of my surroundings and
the people in them or I’d die of heart failure, I swear I would.

Suddenly
Sherridan raced around the corner, a single sock dangling from between her
fingers. She spotted me and ground to a halt. Her mouth fell open and her
cheeks burned bright red. A gasp escaped her, and it was the most beautiful
sound I’d ever heard.

I
moved toward her, but Rome grabbed my arm and held me back. My mind cleared as
I shook my head and stepped away from him. Okay, how had this happened? She’d
been so determined to resist Cody. And how long before he remembered his
three-dates rule and dumped her, hurting her deeply? “You’re going to pay for
this. I warned you.” I held out my hand and summoned a ball of fire.

He
jumped back, and Sherridan jumped in front of him, shaking her head at me
mutely.

“Uh,
Rome,” Cody said.

I
didn’t spin to look at him, and maybe I should have. Because two arms again
wrapped around my waist and Rome’s warm, minty breath trekked over my cheek, my
shoulder. His fingers curled around my wrist.

“Put
the fire out, baby.”

“I
want some answers, and he’s going to give them to me. Besides, he needs to know
there will be consequences for his actions.” I held firm, keeping the flames
front and center so Cody didn’t get any ideas about running. “How’d you manage
to…you know without her making a sound and entrancing you?”

“I
have filters. Got them years ago when I underwent some enhancements, just like
Rome.” His gaze roved to Sherridan, stayed for a moment, softening, increasing
my anger, then moved back to me. “She can talk to me.”

“Yeah,
well, I want to know how long you’re planning to stick around before moving on
to your next conquest. I also want to know if you remember the warning I gave
you.”

Biting
her lower lip, Sherridan looked down at her feet. She groaned in embarrassment
and it was a prettier sound than even the sigh. I tried to pull from Rome, had
to reach her, tell her I’d do anything she wanted, even kill Cody. Yes, kill
Cody. That was a fine plan. He might hurt her one day, and
that
I
couldn’t allow. She deserved rainbows and sunshine, roses and chocolate.

“Shit,”
Rome said.

“Double
shit,” Cody said, backing away.

I
lifted my free hand, already summoning another ball of fire. Cody was going to
roast, and I was going to laugh, and then I was going to comfort Sherridan.
Sweet, wonderful Sherridan.

Rome
tried to grab for the new ball, but I danced free of him and prepared to launch
at Cody.

“Stop,
Belle,” Sherridan said firmly. “Stop the fire.”

Immediately
I obeyed. My now-empty hands dropped to my sides. Anything she wanted, I would
do. Had to touch her, I had to touch her. She was my everything, my only reason
for living. I needed—

“I’m
sorry, baby,” Rome said on a sigh. He hefted me over his shoulder and started
down the hall.

I
struggled, hitting him, kicking him, biting him. I was wild, feral and more
determined than I’d ever been. He tossed me on the bed. The mattress bounced me
high in the air and I jackknifed to my knees when I landed. I was going to rip
him a new—

He
was on top of me in the next instant, a sharp sting piercing my shoulder.

“You
bastard!” I snarled, lethargy already beating through me. “She’s…You…What?”

“Part
of being your man is protecting you, even from yourself. I’d expect you to do
the same for me. See you in a few hours, Wonder Girl.”

My
entire world went black.

As
my eyelids fluttered open tiredly, I caught glimpses of Sherridan, tall, curvy
and gorgeous, who was standing over my bed and staring down at me.

“Hey,”
she said.

I
tried to focus on her, but there were too many colorful spots clouding my
vision. Red, yellow, orange.

“Thirsty?”

The
moment she asked, I could taste the cotton in my mouth. I nodded. Next thing I
knew, a straw was pressed to my lips. I gulped, the sweet, cool water wetting
my throat.

“That’s
enough.” The cup disappeared.

Not
enough, never enough. I moaned. But this time when I opened my eyes, I could
see more than a murky portrait. Her blond curls were piled on top of her head,
her blue eyes wide with concern.

“How
are you feeling?” she asked.

“Like
I need a nap.” My voice was nothing more than a croak.

She
chuckled softly. “That’s the drugs talking. But guess what? You have filters now,
right on schedule. The doctors didn’t even need to give you anesthesia since
you were already out.”

Eyes
widening, I reached up and patted my ears. They were a little sensitive, but
that was the only indication anything had been done to me. Well, that and the
fact that I no longer felt the need to throw myself at Sherridan every time she
opened her mouth. As my arm flopped back to my side, my IV tube rubbed my
chest, cool and jolting. My chest? I hurriedly looked down to make sure I was
dressed. I was. Though someone had removed my clothing and placed me in a
gaping hospital gown.

How
many times could a girl wake up in a hospital before raising the white flag?

I
relaxed against the bed and slowly grinned. “That’s a powerful ability you’ve
got there. Seriously, I was contemplating killing Cody so we could be a
couple.”

She
snorted, but she never stopped smiling. “We’d never make it romantically.
You’re too demanding in bed. ‘Harder, Rome. Now, Rome. Tie me up, Rome.’”

“Bitch,”
I muttered good-naturedly. It was nice to have my friend back. “You know you
wouldn’t be able to get enough of me.”

“I
like where this conversation is headed,” a male voice said from the doorway.

I
looked past Sherridan and spotted Rome in the doorway.

“Hey,
baby,” he said.

“Cat
Man.” A more welcome sight I’d never beheld. My heart even picked up speed, my
monitor announcing it for all the world to hear.

He
stalked to me and unceremoniously shoved me aside on the bed, where he plopped
down and cuddled me close. “Mad?”

As
if. “I’m grateful. I was walking toward Sherridan with every intention of
making out with her, so you did me a favor. She would have fallen in love with
me, and then where would we have been?”

“Now
I’m mad at
myself
for stopping you,” he grumbled, and we all laughed. Men!

Sherridan’s
humor died the quickest. She gripped the bed’s rails and leaned forward,
expression serious. “I want you to know that Cody visited me as often as he
could while I was locked up. He brought me food, water, blankets. Anything I
asked for, he snuck inside and gave me. And I know what you’re thinking. I was
mean to him after our rescue. But I was afraid he’d, you know, get bored and
dump me. That he’d only done those nice things to keep me calm. He didn’t. He
wanted more. He’s a good man, Belle.”

Now
my humor faded. “But will he stick around? I don’t want to see you hurt.
Because if he hurts you, I have to kill him and that will upset Rome.”

A
nurse entered, saw that I was awake and made a notation in a chart. The room
quieted. She approached me, unhooked my IV and informed me I was free to go at
any time.

When
she left, I remained in bed, meaning to grill Sherridan a bit more. But Cody
arrived, and the words vanished from my tongue. He walked straight over to
Sherridan and drew her into his embrace. She willingly fell into it.

“What
about Desert Gal?” I asked him, jaw clenched. “You two seemed pretty cozy when
you were hunting me and Rome down. Not to mention while you were locking up
Sherridan and Lexis.”

His
eyes narrowed at the insult. “That was an act, and I can’t believe you’d think
otherwise,” he said, and Sherridan was nodding as though she believed him.
“When Reese gave her your location, he forced my hand. I had to act or she
would have doubted my intent to join her team. She would have doubted my claim
of being sick of PSI and all the people who work there. So I took Lexis and
Sherridan. And yeah, I could have let them get away and told her it was an
accident, but that would have raised even more suspicions and we didn’t have
time for that.”

“Oh.”
I didn’t know what else to say.

“Desert
Gal is a disturbed woman with major daddy issues, and she needs help. I
pretended to give her that help, but I kept my hands to myself. In fact, I told
her I was gay. That way, I could keep her at a physical distance, as well as
let her think she was pretty enough to one day change my mind.”

I
folded my arms over my middle. “But you didn’t keep Sherridan and Lexis safe.”

His
shoulders slumped a little. “I know. But I did what I could. They’re alive,
aren’t they?”

“Yes.”

“Because
I gave them to Desert Gal, she trusted me with the locations of three other
compounds. We were able to raid them and pick up fourteen other innocents. Or
maybe scrims. Time will tell. But believe me, letting Sherri be taken nearly
killed me.”

When
Sherridan didn’t immediately cut him a new eye socket for calling her by the
hated nickname, I knew it was serious. My stomach twisted painfully.

“Besides,”
he added, “it’s not like I had much help making decisions. In the beginning of
this case, you were otherwise occupied. With Rome. With Memory Man. I knew
Desert Gal was my responsibility.” He was losing the shamed look and returning
to total irritation.

Rome
stiffened, ever ready to defend me.

“You’re
right,” I said, hoping to ease things. “You’re right. I wasn’t a lot of help to
you in that department.”

Cody
relaxed. Even offered, “Granted, you’re a lot more focused now.”

“Look
at you two, playing nice,” Sherridan said with a grin. “Don’t be too hard on
Cody, Belle. He did what he thought was right. And I had time to do some
serious thinking while Desert Wasp had me in that cage, and even more time
these past few days when I wasn’t allowed to speak at home, and you know what I
realized? Relationships eventually hurt, every damn one of them. Look at you
and Rome. I know Cody’s flighty and I know he’ll eventually get tired of me and
leave, but I’m willing to try for something with him while I’ve got the
chance.”

She
was right. She didn’t need the pain headed her way, but if she was willing to deal
with it, who was I to try and stop her? I would just have to be there to help
her pick up the pieces.

“Damn
it.” Cody threw up his arms. “Why does everyone think I’ll leave?”

“Your
dating history.” Sherridan shrugged. “Face it, you run like a track star at the
first sign of commitment.”

“You’ve
gone on more dates than I have.” He glowered down at her. “But maybe I’ve
changed.”

She
snorted. “Hardly.”

His
arms tightened around her. “You’re begging for a fight, woman.”

A
tremor sped the length of her spine and she whispered, “I think I proved last
night that I don’t beg for anything.”

His
pupils dilated, and his nostrils flared. “Challenge accepted.” He grabbed her
wrist and tugged her out of the room.

Not
once did she protest. No, she giggled.

I
lay there, stunned.

Rome
shook his head. “Dear God.”

“I
know. Are
we
that disgusting?”

He
smiled with self-deprecation. “Probably worse.”

We
shared a laugh. He squeezed my hand, love in his eyes, and I knew, as surely as
if I were psychic like Lexis, that we were going to make it. We belonged
together. Nothing, not even memory loss, my new and improved powers, or two
people determined to break us up once and for all, had been able to pull us
apart.

We
were forever.

The
day of my wedding arrived .

Finally
I’d picked out a dress and hadn’t burned it, managed to order invitations and
napkins without soaking them. I now stood in front of a full-length mirror,
gazing at myself. I wore a long ivory Grecian gown, with thin straps and silver
roses sewn into the fabric. My veil boasted the same silver roses and flowed
down my honey-colored curls (Sherridan had styled the thick mass for me, saying
it was the least she could do after all the times I’d blow-dried her hair at
fifty paces) and along my bare, slightly sun-kissed arms.

The
color in my cheeks was high and pink, and my hazel eyes were sparkling.