Page 22 of Legacy of Danger
He snorted, then froze in place.
A shadow flitted behind her car. A glint of ember red shone within the darkness of the shadow.
His headache spiked.
As she glanced up toward the diner, she pitched forward and her foot slid on the ice.
His power surged, and he jumped in her direction, nearly traveling through the glass storefront. At the last minute, he rested a fist on the window and sucked in air until the urge passed. She hung onto his truck handle but didn't hit the ground. He checked again. No shadow visible. Head aching, he vibrated in place but managed to stay put. What the actual hell was going on with his ability?
Entering the diner, she looked around and shot him a sheepish grin. "You didn't see that, right?"
"I saw nothing." He couldn't quite pull off the lie.
Damn it all if her reddening cheeks didn't made her green eyes sparkle.
Damn it all if her green eyes sparkling didn't make his stupid toes tingle.
Toes tingle?He must be hypoglycemic from the weight cut.
"So...?" she said.
"Yep. Let's." He caught the attention of a waitress, who waved them to an open booth.
Mariah paused to remove her wool coat, and he took it from her, hanging it on the hook next to their seats. The material gave off that minty scent he associated with Mariah, and he inhaled deeply, hoping she wouldn't notice.
He hung his coat as well and slid in across from her, wincing when his knee banged the center metal table post.
"Busy this morning?" he asked.
"Yes. Shelby's back to what I'm told is her snarky baseline."
The smile moved unused muscles on his face. "Good luck to us all, then. That's great."
Mariah nodded, then leaned back and stretched her shoulders; the knit fabric of her sweater briefly outlined her breasts. Christ, they were perfectly proportioned to her body. His tongue turned to sand. Time did a weird warp thing for a few seconds. Or was it minutes?
Finally, he figured out something to say. "Are you done with work now?"
"Barring natural disasters or other emergencies, I should be off for the rest of the day." Flicking a finger along the edge of the menu, she asked, "So, were you, uh, working on the ranch this morning?"
"Morning chores. You bet." And an hour's worth of sweating out some pounds before the chores. "So where are you from, Mariah?"Great intro, man. Way to dive right in there.
"Utah originally." Before he could ask another question, she said, "How about you? From Copper River?"
"Yeah. Born and raised here, along with my crazy brothers and sister."
A quick crease flitted across her forehead. "You've been gone for a while, right?"
"How did you know?"
She indicated in the general direction of the diner front door. "Small town."
Not good news. If she knew that he'd left, she might know why. "I've been gone for a little over a year. New York City."
"I've never been there. How do you like it?"
"It's a different world. Lots of suits, faster pace, folks climbing corporate ladders."
"You didn't answer the question."
