Page 25 of The Hitman and the Psychic

“I’ll bet that comes in handy.” Was that a hint of amusement?

My lips quirked up. “It sure does.” I ushered her through the door and into the hallway across from the stairs, resisting the temptation to hint that she could use it to come see me any time. “I usually take the stairs down to the next floor before I get on the elevator, but we’ll catch it here since no one else is around.” I locked the deadbolt on my door and stepped down the hall.

At this time of night, the building was empty except for the cleaning crew, and I had to use my key-card to call the elevator. After we got on, I used it inside to send the elevator down to the parking level.

Serenity stood beside me all the way down, tense and clutching her small purse. Was she nervous to be with me? I noticed her hands were bare, and my brows dipped. “How come you’re not wearing your gloves?”

She twitched before glancing my way. “They’re in my purse, but I thought I should leave them off until we get to the club. If something’s coming, I’d like to know beforehand.”

My brows shot up. It sounded like she’d taken my advice to heart, but was something else going on? “Did you have another vision about me?”

She shook her head. “No. But since someoneistrying to kill you, we can’t be too careful, right?”

“Uh… yeah, right.” I wanted to argue that no one was going to try to kill me on the way to the club, but I liked that she wasn’t wearing her gloves.

The elevator doors swished open and I stepped out. “We’ll take my car. It’s right next to the bike.”

“Sounds good.”

She followed me to my car, and I reached to open the passenger door for her, but she grabbed my arm to stop me.

“Wait. Let me touch it first.”

Surprised, I sent her a nod. “Have at it.”

She held her fingers to the door handle. After a couple of seconds, she glanced my way. “I guess it’s okay.”

“You guess?”

“I’m not getting anything dangerous. Like a bomb, or fire, or smoke… you know… that sort of thing?” Before I could comment, she pulled the door open and climbed inside.

Shaking my head, I hurried to the driver’s side and got in. She ran her fingers across the dashboard and steering wheel. I wanted to tell her she could do that to me, too, but I didn’t. Finished, she glanced my way and nodded. “Okay. We’re good to go.”

Embarrassingly, it hadn’t occurred to me that my car could be a death trap. At least she was sitting here with me, so that had to mean it was safe. With a shake of my head, I started the car and began the drive to the club.

A few minutes later, we pulled around back to my reserved spot and I opened the door to get out.

“Stone. Wait.”

“Again?” Sighing, I shut the door and turned toward her. “What?”

“I’d like to try something before we go in. Is it okay if I touch your hand for a minute? I just want to see if I get anything.”

A slow smile crept up my lips, but I tried to play it cool. “Sure.” Shrugging nonchalantly, I held my hand open. As she placed her hand in mine, sparks danced across my skin. Curling my fingers around hers, I waited for what came next. Would she have a vision? Would she gasp or pull away?

She closed her eyes and hardly twitched, holding my hand in a firm grip. Her fingers were warmer than I expected. Still, I studied her reaction. I expected her to cringe or pull away, even though I didn’t want that to happen.

She did neither. Instead, she stiffened and sucked in a breath. Swallowing, she let it out, and her face relaxed. A surge of color spread over her cheeks, and she gently rubbed her thumb across my hand spreading electricity over my whole body.

What was she seeing? Her lips parted, and her tongue darted out to moisten them. A sudden desire to swoop down and kiss those beautiful lips came over me, but I held back, waiting to see what she’d do next.

Finally, her eyes flew open. Her pupils were dilated, holding a dark desire that cut through my defenses. I was ready to lean over and kiss her, but she gasped and pulled her hand from my grip.

Clearing her throat, she whispered. “Uh… I didn’t see anything threatening, so we might as well go in.”

Her heaving chest told me she’d seen a lot more than she wanted to admit, and it involved me. Had she seen us kissing? Or making love? Heat rushed through me. From her flushed face, it was evident I was on the right track, and I leaned toward her, my voice low and husky. “Was it good?”

An even brighter blush colored her cheeks, and her eyes widened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Um, weshould go in.” With jerky movements, she opened the door and scrambled out of the car.

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