Thoughts of getting him naked and running her hands over the muscles she could see through his T-shirt had her body reacting quickly.
“Okay,” she practically purred.
His eyes moved to her lips briefly, but then he took another step back.
“Since it appears that this park isn’t that crowded, how about you give me another sample of what you can do?” he asked, and her mind snapped to attention.
“Don’t trust your own eyes?” she asked.
“Let’s just say I wasn’t really paying close enough attention.” His sly smile had her laughing.
“You just think it’s hot,” she teased.
“Hell, yes, but…” His smile slipped slightly. “Humor me?” he asked.
She shrugged and, after glancing around to ensure that they were alone on the pathway, she lifted a giant log that had fallen on the side of the path. When the dirt and bugs dropped to the ground, she set it back down and stood back as he walked over to it. She smirked when he bent down and tried to lift the massive thing.
“Okay, so it wasn’t a trick,” he said with a slight frown.
Her eyebrows shot up. “You thought…” She shook her head.
“What? You can’t blame me. I mean, I couldn’t have tried to pick up the piano with a room full of people watching. I would have…” He shook his head.
“Looked weak if you couldn’t pick it up?” she suggested, getting a chuckle from him.
“Hell, yes, but that’s not the point.” He nodded. “You know, you could have had wires on,” he said with a smirk.
“I’ll do one better.” She walked up to him, wrapped her arms around him, and watched as his eyes moved to her lips again. This time, when she pressed her lips to his, she waited until she felt him lose himself in the kiss before lifting off the ground.
She felt the moment he realized what she’d done. His arms wrapped around her tighter as he pulled away from the kiss.
“What!” he said, glancing down. The pathway was now more than fifteen feet below them. They were still deep under the cover of the trees, but now instead of the leaves being below them, they were among them.
The branches of a large oak that sat by the trail were now easily within arm’s reach.
“Whoa,” he said, laughing. She smiled. “I figure this was an easier way of convincing you.” She started drifting back down towards the trail.
“How do you control it?” he asked as their feet touched the ground.
“I just… think it,” she said with a shrug.
“That simple?” He dropped his hands away from her and glanced back up to where they had just been.
“Yes,” she said, following his gaze. “It’s a good thing I’m not afraid of heights.”
“So, you what? Just lifted me or did you cause me to fly too?” he asked, looking a little put off.
She couldn’t help it, she laughed. “I didn’t mean to damage your male ego,” she said when she was done.
He chuckled. “Honey, for a trip like that, you can damage me anytime.” He reached over and easily took her hand again. “Just next time, give me a little warning.”
She smiled the entire way back down the trail. No man had ever been so… casual about her gifts before, so accepting. Then again, after the fiasco with Rob, she’d kept what she could do to herself.
The moment she’d seen the video of herself lifting heavy weights at the gym that Rob had put online, she’d felt sick to her stomach. She was sure that at any moment, government agents were going to find her and take her away to some secret lab. After all, she knew from that moment on that she wasn’t normal. Couldn’t be. Not with all the other things she could do. The things she wasn’t ready to tell anyone else about just yet.
“How about the pizza joint in town?” he asked her.
“Sure, sounds good.” She watched the scenery go by outside the truck window. “What about you?” She glanced over at him. “You’ve done your research and found out what there is to know about me, so how about you shed some light on yourself?”
“Sure,” he said with a shrug. “I was born the second son in a family of three. My oldest brother Colin, named after my father, runs the family business back in Seattle.”
“Which is?” she asked.
“A bakery,” he said with a smile.
“Tell me you can bake,” she said.
He chuckled. “I don’t mean to brag, but my cinnamon rolls would put Jess’s to shame.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “Of course, you’ll have to prove it to me.”
He chuckled. “I accept the challenge.”
“What about Colin Sr.?” she asked.
His smile instantly fell away. “Died when I was thirteen in a car accident, along with my sister, Carrie.”
“I’m so sorry.” She reached out to touch his hand.
“Dad had just dropped me off at school and was taking Carrie out to the high school when a young mother with three kids of her own plowed right into them. Her blood alcohol was almost twice the legal limit. She and her children survived. My sister and dad didn’t.”
She was silent for a moment. Now she knew why he had been so understanding when she’d mentioned the loss of her family. Half of his had been taken from him as well.
“My mom and brother took over the bakery. After I graduated, I enlisted in the army. I spent a few years traveling the world, shooting at things.” He shrugged. “Then I came back and started this as a side gig while I helped out my family,” he finished as he parked in front of the pizzeria.
“You followed me from Seattle?” she asked with a frown. She’d moved around so much in the past few months, she had to think back to when she’d ended back up in Seattle. Thinking back, she realized it had been a little over a month ago.
“Yeah.” He nodded and started to get out.
“Colt, that was over a month ago.” She shook her head, thinking about all of the places she’d been. Everything she’d done since she’d left the state.
He shrugged. “My client was insistent that I not lose track of you.”
“Why?” She frowned. “I mean, I get it if they happened to see me fly.” She waved her hand in a fluttering motion. “Or lift something heavy. Though I’ve been very careful not to do any of that in a public setting. But why pay you whatever it is they are paying you to follow me across the country?”
He shrugged. “I don’t argue with money.” He jumped out and rushed over to help her out of the truck. She’d never had a man open her car door for her before. The move did something to her insides, especially when he took her hand and held it as they walked into the pizzeria.
Could she afford to let someone like him close to her? She’d spent so much time protecting herself against outsiders that it was going to be hard to open herself up to him. Or to anyone, for that matter.
Still, there was that strange pull she felt towards him. As if they’d done this all before. She couldn’t explain why she trusted him even though she’d only just met him.
As they were seated, she thought back to how wonderful it had felt showing off her abilities to the others the night before. How freeing it had felt. She’d been liberated and didn’t want to go back to hiding in the shadows. But she knew she had to keep herself and her powers in check. Outside of the small circle of people last night, she doubted anyone would be so accepting of what she could do.