Page 6 of Training Rain
“I have no idea what I want. I’ve never really known. Did you know you wanted to be a government agent?”
“Is there any food in the cabin?”
“I made some stew earlier. Would that do?”
“That would be wonderful. I’m starving. It took me twice as long to get here because of the storm.”
Happy to have a distraction, Rain went to the stove and ladled some stew into a bowl.
When she returned he took a bite and grinned. “Delicious.”
“Thanks. I’m glad you like it.”
After a few more mouthfuls, he said, “I was recruited into the Psi Agency when I was a boy. I didn’t have a choice. My parents were resistant but poor and thought it would be a good opportunity for me to get out of the small town and use my gifts to do some good.”
“Do you see them?”
If it was possible, his smile became even brighter and she felt a bit weak-kneed. “Whenever I can.”
“That’s nice.”
“Do you want to work for the Alliance, Rain?”
“Adianca said it’s my destiny.”
His frown was no less attractive than his grin. What was wrong with her?
“Destiny is a funny thing. You can follow it or it can follow you.”
“I don’t know what that means.” Knowing what she wanted had never been one of her strengths.
He watched her a bit too closely for longer than was comfortable. With a quick shrug, he changed the subject. “For tonight, it means I’m going to find something to fix that front door with and then I’m going to sleep. You should get some rest too. We can talk about destiny and desire in the morning.”
He bundled up and went outside into the blizzard.
In spite of his advice, Rain waited, watching for him out the window, but all she saw was a white-out of snow. Talking about her desire with Jess hardly seemed like a good idea. She’d ordered him out of her head for many reasons including the way seeing him made her feel.
Ten minutes later, he was pounding on the door with a hammer and nails.
Once he’d managed to cover the mess she’d made of the door, he dropped the hammer and a few nails on the floor near the inside of the door. “There was some wood and tools in the shed.”
Within minutes, Jess had stripped down to his long underwear.
Rain’s heart pounded and her body trembled at the sight of him stripping without any regard for the fact that she was standing in the room watching him.
He slid down onto the couch and put his feet up. His long, lean form stretched the length of the sofa. Never taking his gaze from her, she had to shake herself loose from the spell.
She rushed toward the bedroom. With the power off, the bedroom was freezing and if she kept the door closed it would stay that way. If the electricity remained off, in the morning she would try to start the generator she’d seen out back.
On her way to the bedroom a thought struck her and she stopped in her tracks. “I don’t like the idea of going to sleep and having you invade my dreams.”
“I can sense your emotional state, and if you let me in, I could probably get more, but telepathy is not really my thing. Even if it was, I wouldn’t invade your privacy without an invitation.”
“But you heard me earlier.”
“You were thinking very loudly.”
“Was I?”
