Read Online Running Hot by Jayne Ann Krentz - Free Book Online

here.” He put the car in gear and drove out of the parking lot.
    She contemplated her initial impressions of Luther Malone. They could be summed up in three potent words: Powerful, controlled, fascinating. Okay, there was a fourth word that came to mind: exciting. There was something indefinably electric in the atmosphere, at least on her side of the car. At various times in her life she had found other men attractive but she had never experienced anything quite like this fluttery little rush of sensual anticipation. It stirred all her senses in unusual and interesting ways.
    Power was always interesting; power that was ruled by the kind of exquisite control that Luther wielded was especially intriguing, at least to her. One glance at his aura had told her that he was no level eight— more like a level ten or higher. Obviously he’d managed to keep that little fact out of the files. She couldn’t hold it against him. She’d faked her own ranking, too. Powerful talents were slapped with the label “exotic” within the Society. The term did not convey admiration or respect. At best, other sensitives tended to view strong sensitives of any kind with a degree of caution. At worst, they avoided them. Power might be interesting but it could also be dangerous.
    The photo on Luther’s new driver’s license had not lied. He was as hard-looking in person as he was in the picture. His eyes were brown, too, as advertised. But it was an almost feral shade of amber. It made her think of dark jungles and forbidden passions. Not that she’d had much experience with either.
    “I love the air here,” she announced, inhaling deeply. “It’s intoxicating. Makes me want to put my head out the window like a dog.”
    “Hawaii has that effect on a lot of people.” He glanced at her, his eyes unreadable behind his dark glasses. “How are you doing without the gloves?”
    The question annoyed her. She looked briefly at her hands, neatly folded in her lap, and then raised her chin.
    “I told you, I can deal with it.”
    “You’re sure? I noticed that you kept your hands under your raincoat on your lap for most of the flight.”
    “I would not have taken this assignment if I thought I couldn’t handle it.”
    “Sorry.”
    “No, you’re not.” She wrinkled her nose. “You’re fretting. I’m making you nervous.”
    “Maybe I’m just curious?”
    “You’re fretting,” she repeated evenly. “I suppose I can’t blame you for your lack of confidence but try looking at this situation from my perspective.”
    “Which is?”
    She raised her brows. “I’ve got a bodyguard who isn’t comfortable carrying a gun and needs a cane to get around.”
    “Fallon told you about the gun thing?”
    “Yes.”
    He meditated on that for a long moment and then nodded once. “You know, you’re right. From your perspective, those facts would not at first glance appear to be reassuring.”
    “Luckily for me,” she said coolly, “I took a second glance.”
    “At my aura,” he said. It wasn’t a question.
    “I’m an aura talent. That’s what I do.”
    To her surprise, he smiled faintly. “What did you see that was reassuring?”
    She sat back in the seat and concentrated on savoring the wonderful air.
    “I saw a lot of sheer bullheaded determination,” she said.
    “Bullheaded determination is a good quality?”
    “It means you’ll do whatever you need to do to complete this mission. What’s more, you know your own power and how to control it. You feel confident about your talent so I do, too.”
    She saw a lot more than that but she was not prepared to go into details. Some things you just did not talk about on a first date. The thought made her smile.
    Luther was silent for a moment, processing what she had said. Then his hands tightened on the steering wheel. “You can see things like determination in an aura?” he asked, half curious, half disbelieving.
    She turned her head to look at him. “Didn’t Mr. Jones tell you