The Talented Read Online Free Page B

in cold blood? How is that possible?”
    Kate narrowed her eyes and said, evenly, “You want to play it that way? That’s your story? Fine, just open your mind to me and prove that you’re telling the truth. Of course, you won’t, because you aren’t.”
    The wiser part of me knew that it was a bad idea, that I could not trust her inside my head. My ability was much stronger than hers, that was clear, but she seemed to know a lot about how to use it. Still, she seemed genuine, and I become an idiot around beautiful women. Even now, after everything, I noticed how good she looked in that dress, one strap now fallen down past her perfect shoulder along her delicately sculpted upper arm.
    “Fine,” I said, “I’ll open up to you. But if you try to harm or influence me I’ll retaliate and won’t hold back. Do you understand?”
    Her eyebrows raised in cautious surprise, “Okay. Go for it.”
    I brought forth the vault door image in my mind and opened the door slightly, just enough to allow her in. At first I felt her in my most outer thoughts tentatively probing, then she flooded in, throwing the door open wide. I gasped as all of me was laid bare before her, my fears, my dreams, my memories and my fantasies. She probed everything that I felt from the moment I saw her, saw herself through my eyes as I brought her up to my place and healed her mind. Kate felt the power I wielded in stopping the bullets, and most importantly, she knew that I had never killed another living thing in my life, and even now had no intention of killing her. It was embarrassing when she explored my attraction to her, loitering there for more than a few moments. Panic ran through me because I was helpless before her and was not able to regain control. She lingered for a moment, feeling over my psyche with a sensual, satisfied look on her face, and withdrew. It felt as if my legs turned to water from under me as the world turned black for the second time in one day.
     

 
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER THREE
    I woke up on the floor in the same spot where I fell. At least Kate had covered me with a blanket. My feet protruded out from under it and felt like ice. My senses were immediately assaulted with the mouth-watering smell of hickory-smoked bacon and fresh, hot coffee. Hunger gripped my stomach as I realized I had not eaten since lunch the previous day. I scraped myself off the floor and drifted into the kitchen to find Kate pouring herself a fresh cup of coffee wearing nothing but one of my favorite long t-shirts. The gray cotton fabric was thin but very soft. When she turned and saw me she smiled knowingly and said, “Good morning.”
    “Morning.” I pointed at the breakfast feast on the table, so hungry I could hardly think of anything else. ”I see you ordered breakfast.”
    “It was the least I could do after all I put you through.” She handed me a mug of hot, black coffee as we both sat at the table. “Here you go, just the way you like it.”
    I took the coffee and tasted it. Exactly the way I like it. And how exactly does she know that? I frowned and replied, “Thank you, I think.” I took a bite of bacon, which was possibly the best thing that had ever happened to me. “Um, about last night. How much of me did you, uh, explore? It felt like you went really…deep.”
    Kate leaned forward, “You have no idea. No man has ever shared himself so fully with me.” She laughed as my face blanched. “Seriously, I just probed your memories of last evening and checked to see if you were a killer. Nothing else. Needless to say, you passed the test, so please let me tell you how sorry I am about, you know, the gun thing.”
    “Oh, you mean the part when you tried to kill me, that gun thing?”
    “Adam, please hear me out, okay? I had good reason to be afraid, but in order for me to explain you need to know the whole story.”
    Reaching for a biscuit I replied, “This should be good.”
    Her eyes became serious, “Nothing good about