Page 5 of Training Rain
Rain took a deep breath and thought about how stupid men could be.
“Are you calling me stupid?”
She put the needle down and stepped away. He held the gauze over his bleeding wound and stared at her.
“Look, if we are going to be stuck here together, you have to stay out of my head. I don’t like it. Joshua told me not to block other agents within the Psi Alliance, but I don’t want you in my head.”
He didn’t say anything, but she felt his mind retreat. She didn’t block his powers, though she did erect her own protective walls around her mind. She couldn’t have him or anyone inside her head.
The wound only took three small stiches to close it up. Jess never made a sound, not when she cleaned the wound with antiseptic or during her tugging needle and thread through his tender skin.
When she was done, she put a bandage over it and taped it down. Instinctively, she rested her hand on his upper arm. The muscles bulged under her fingertips and the heat of energy rushing to the area sent tingles down her digits and pulsed in her nerves. Closing her eyes, Rain used her psi gifts to dull some of his pain and advance the healing process.
Her body shook as pain and surprise stung her arm. She’d felt the effects of her gifts many times. That was the price of helping another. She didn’t flinch away from it and then it passed.
When she opened her eyes, he was staring at her. Those eyes, which she had admired as being far too pretty for a man, were locked on hers. She wished she were more like Tessa Clark. The tall blonde could stare any man down. Tessa’s strength was the reason Rain had agreed to joining the Agency. She admired the other woman’s bravery.
Rain had never been in any kind of law enforcement, but when her mentor, Adianca, had insisted she take the psychic couple up on their offer to join the Alliance, she couldn’t say no. Adianca was a powerful medicine woman and spiritual guide. Joshua Lakeland and Tessa Clark were a formidable pair. Rain had to admit, though she was surprised by the offer, she had also been flattered by their interest in her. Still, she had her doubts as to the wisdom of their choice.
Her stomach knotted and she tried to move away. Jess gripped her chin and held her gaze. “What did you do?”
She tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip. “It’s difficult to explain.”
He released her chin, but the directness of his stare continued to hold her. “Try. I’m smarter than I look.”
The lights flickered again and Rain used it as an excuse to go to the kitchen and get a large electric lantern out of a lower cupboard. Just then, the lights went out. She placed the lantern on the small table near the couch.
She didn’t want to get too close to him, but it was cold and he was half naked. Plus his body was distracting her. Taking the blanket off the end of the couch, she draped it over his shoulders. “What are you doing here, Jess?”
In the light from the fireplace and the lantern, she could see his lips lift up in a smile. “My question first.”
She moved to the other end of the couch and sat down. Wishing the cabin and the furniture were bigger was not going to make it so. She’d have to deal with his closeness since the blizzard was going to keep him there for a while. “The best way I can explain it is that your body has natural chemicals to suppress pain and to heal itself. I can call those natural systems forward and increase their effectiveness.”
He smiled, and her heart pounded faster. “Now that wasn’t so hard to explain, was it?”
“What are you doing here in the middle of a blizzard?”
“Our fearless leaders sent me to train you.”
Her entire body heated. She was glad for her dark Native American skin and hoped he couldn’t tell she was blushing. “Train me in what?”
Jess’shead cocked to one side. His voice suddenly dripped with the Louisiana accent that was always hinted at. “To be an agent, but if you’d like training in some other skill, Rain, just let me know and I’ll be glad to help.”
Now she was sure he could see her blushing. “I mean, I can’t shoot lightning from my fingertips or make a chair fly across the room. I don’t read minds. What is it you’re going to teach me to do?”
“How about we start with not shooting through a door when you don’t know who’s on the other side of it?”
“I said I was sorry.” She couldn’t believe how completely lame that sounded. She’d shot him. He didn’t say anything. The tension was choking her and her cheeks were on fire. She got up and added a log to the fire.
Keeping her back to him helped calm her nerves. It was almost possible to breathe while she poked at the fire. “I’m probably not cut out for this kind of thing. It might be best if I just went back to the reservation and took over for Adianca.”
“Becoming an agent can get you killed. You saw that in Las Vegas. But is being a shaman what you want to do with your life?” It sounded as if he was really concerned with what she did or didn’t want.
Taking over for the aging medicine woman and spiritual guide on the reservation in Nevada had always seemed as if it was the natural course for her life. She had healing gifts and she could perform most of the rituals necessary to assist the people. Still, the idea of living out her life in such a small world had never really appealed to her. It was more of a debt requiring payment.
She remembered clearly the battle they’d both been in at the casino in Las Vegas in the summer. Jess had nearly been killed and a man named Trip had lost his life. If she hadn’t blocked Troth Banta from using his gathering skills, Jess and maybe more people would be dead. She had liked helping and she relished being part of something bigger than herself. During the battle she’d felt good. The rush of adrenaline suited her, but afterward she had also been terrified by everything she had done and seen.
She turned back to the couch. He had not gotten less good-looking in the last few minutes. Her heart pounded and her cheeks warmed as she looked at his rippled abs peeking out from under the blanket.
