“I…” She felt nervous for some reason. She could continue hiding or show this group of people what she could do. Hadn’t she come here just for that reason?
Making up her mind, she stood up and glanced around the room. She spotted an old upright piano in the corner of the room and walked over to it. Turning to look at the faces of the people watching her, she realized that if she showed them, there wouldn’t be any going back. She’d never exposed herself in such a way before, but she was tired of running. Tired of hiding who she was.
She bent down and picked up the corner of the piano and lifted it until the massive thing was above her head. She heard the gasps, then the claps, as she set it back down on the ground just as easily as she’d lifted it.
“Wow,” Jess said. “Okay, that is pretty cool. Super strength.”
“Is that all?” Liz asked, again with the slight smile. Tara narrowed her eyes at the woman. “I am an oracle,” she reminded Tara. “I’m the one…” Jess cleared her throat, causing Liz to glance over at her and nod. “Right, Jess and I saw your arrival in town.”
Tara glanced over at Colt, who was watching her closely.
She’d always believed that if she ever exposed her… talents, that she’d be an outcast. Shunned. Instead, Colt was looking at her as if she was the most beautiful thing in the world.
Like she was something he craved.
Walking over, she opened the back screen porch and stepped outside, much like Joe had done earlier.
Instead of disappearing in a flash, she rose up and hovered almost five feet above the well-manicured grass.
“You can fly!” Jess squealed with excitement.
Feeling mentally drained, she set back down on the ground and nodded. “For short bursts,” she admitted as she stepped back through the door. The power seemed to come and go. Sometimes she was stronger, other times not so much.
Everyone was looking at her as if she’d just won the lottery. Everyone except Colt, who was now frowning.
She didn’t know why it hit her so hard, seeing that disapproval on his face. But shortly after that, she excused herself to the bathroom.
Taking her time, she washed her face, cooled the skin on the back of her neck, and tried to control the urge to disappear once more. When she stepped outside, Colt was standing in the hallway, waiting for her.
“Who else knows?” he asked her in a serious tone.
“Knows?” She shook her head.
“What you can do,” he supplied.
“N-no one.” She thought back to the times she’d slipped up over the years but bit her tongue. “No one,” she said again. “Why?”
He glanced back down the hallway, where they could hear the group laughing at something. Then he took her hand and pulled her into a small office.
When he shut the door behind them, she stiffened.
“Where’s your family?” he asked, his eyes searching hers.
“I… don’t have any.” She felt her entire body tense. “Why?” She frowned, not understanding why it mattered so much to him.
“You have to have someone in your past that’s looking for you,” he said more to himself than to her.
“No.” She shook her head. “No one.” She felt her stomach roll at that thought.
He swiped his hand through his short dark hair as he started to pace the small space. God, the man could move. She lost track of everything else just watching his muscles bunch as he crossed his arms over his chest and considered her.
“What the hell am I supposed to do now?” he asked her.
“About?” she asked, not really understanding what he was talking about.
“You.”
Chapter 4
Facts were facts. How was he supposed to spy on someone so… special? It was obvious to him now that Tara was an asset. Someone with such great power could be used. Controlled. Studied.
Whoever his client was, they obviously wanted to exploit her. The question now was whether he was going to allow it?
He turned back to Tara and watched the look of concern flood her eyes as he assessed her.
There was no doubt that she was attractive. Sexy as hell, actually.
Seeing her lift that piano like it weighed no more than a feather had been, disturbingly, a huge turn-on. But watching her fly. That had just been downright hot.
He’d never witnessed anything like it before in his life. Well, okay, he’d just watched Jess and Joe do some pretty cool tricks too.
“Is there anything else you can do?” he asked her as he moved closer. He couldn’t help himself, he wanted to be next to her. To smell her soft sexy perfume, to see those green eyes of hers close up once more.
He had a quick thought about watching them change colors as he kissed her. Seeing how they’d shift and go dreamy when he entered her.
As if she could read his mind, her breath hitched, and she sucked in her bottom lip, biting it softly between her teeth. The move had him holding in a groan.
He hadn’t realized that his hand had moved up to her shoulder until she glanced down at it. He dropped it and took a step back.
“No,” she said, shaking her head and avoiding his eyes.
He’d worked long enough in the field to know when someone was lying to him. Whatever other powers she held, she wanted to keep them to herself for now.
He turned around and thought about the consequences of turning her in to the person who was paying him. Maybe he was jumping to conclusions too quickly? After all, he hadn’t checked in with his client in the last few days. He hadn’t told them that he’d found her again. What could it hurt to stall?
“Why? Why does it matter to you?” she asked him.
He glanced towards the doors when another burst of laughter sounded. “No reason.” He walked over to open the door. “We’d better get back out there.”
When Tara passed him this time, he heard her breath catch.
“What?” he asked softly.
She turned her face towards him. “Who are you?” she asked quietly.
“I told—” He stopped when she shook her head.
“You told them what you wanted them to hear.” Her eyes narrowed at him. “Who are you?”
“Colt,” he answered, unsure of what she was asking.
Her eyes ran over his face and locked with his, then she did something that shocked him. She reached up and ran a finger over his chin.
Thoughts of bending his head down and kissing her filled his mind. What would she taste like? How would her soft lips feel under his? Would she be full of passion, like he assumed?
As if she’d broken from a spell, she gasped, dropped her hand, and walked out of the room quickly. He followed her back out onto the covered porch and listened as the group continued to chat.
He had more questions but he didn’t want to come across as too nosy. Instead, he sat and watched the couples interact. Almost an hour after disappearing upstairs with her baby, Xtina returned downstairs to be filled in on the amazing things Tara could do.
Which of course was followed by requests for another show. This time when the piano was lifted, he was prepared, as he was when her feet lifted off the ground. What he hadn’t seen the first time he noticed now. The show seemed to drain Tara, making her look tired. When she sat back down beside him, she drank some tea and had some crackers and cheese and began to look better.