The Touch (2 page)

The artist interrupted and gestured to the
painting. “Five hundred.”

She could handle that. “I’ll take it.”

Tall, dark and annoying said, “Seven
fifty.”

“What?” Chandra jerked her attention back to
him. “I want that painting.”

With a shrug that told her, “Your loss,” he
said, “I’d like it delivered to my home.”

Temper flaring, Chandra ground her teeth as
she looked back to the artist. “Eight hundred.”

Something flashed in the artist’s eyes.
Almost as if sending a message to the tall man beside her. The
young man shrugged. “She was here first.”

“A thousand,” the arrogant ass said
easily.

The artist’s expression was unreadable and he
didn’t say a word as he looked back to Chandra.

Her shoulders slumped and her hands slipped
from her hips to her sides. Her stash couldn’t take that big of a
hit. Eight hundred had been more than pushing it. She sighed and
looked into the tall man’s dark eyes—eyes that made her shiver—even
if he was an ass.

Before she knew what he was doing, he took
one of her hands in his large grip and squeezed it as he said, “You
just cost me an extra five hundred.”

Shock at his touch rammed into Chandra, along
with flashes of his future—

Only this time the images included her.

Something that had never happened before when
she’d touched another person’s hand.

Scenes flashed rapid-fire through her mind,
one after another. Chandra saw the big man undressing her, touching
her, tasting her, then taking her to bed.

But…there were shadows. What did the shadows
mean?

There was a feeling of danger as well. Not
from this man, no. Not at all. With him a sense of security flooded
her that she had never felt with another person. The danger
definitely came from someplace else.

This time when she experienced the Touch,
pain didn’t shoot through her head as it always had when she had a
premonition. Also unusual, and to her amazement, she didn’t find
his touch unpleasant at all.

Just…disturbing.

In her vision she was in bed with this man, a
man she didn’t even know. What about the shadows? And the sense of
danger. Was she meant to help him, or warn him, about
something?

She didn’t understand what was happening to
her and she wondered if it had something to do with the microchip
she’d just taken

Something told her it did.

All this sped through her mind in just
seconds. Every bit of it came so fast, so hard that she felt as if
she was on the edge of losing consciousness.

“Ma’am?” The man’s deep voice shocked her
from the visions. She swayed and he caught her by placing his other
hand at the small of her back.

Chandra couldn’t manage to get anything out.
The images of the two of them having sex wouldn’t stop. She tried
to jerk her hand from his, but he wouldn’t let go. Her words came
out in a strangled rush. “Please. I’m fine.”

He frowned as she tugged again. This time he
released her, his fingers sliding away in a slow and sensual
movement that caused her knees to grow weak again.

She cleared her throat, but couldn’t look
away from his intriguing eyes. “Excuse me. I got a little
dizzy.”

The man smiled a sexy grin that reminded her
of his expression in her vision when he’d taken her. “Wade
Branson.”

Her heart pumped hard after experiencing such
intense visions and she found it difficult to breathe, much less
talk. “Chandra Singleton,” she managed to get out. What possessed
her to give him her name, she had no clue.

“Nice to meet you.” Wade reached for her hand
again, as if to shake it, but she shoved both hands into her
pockets.

She glanced at the painting, but the images
of the two of them continued to chase one another through her mind,
even as she looked back at him. “I’m not so sure it’s nice to meet
you.”

He laughed, a deep, husky sound that sent
another thrill through her and almost made her smile. He turned to
the artist. “Do you have more than one?”

The young man shook his head. “I only do
originals.” The artist took the painting from the easel and she
caught her breath. Would he notice the chip was gone?

Wade reached into the back pocket of his snug
jeans and pulled out a wallet. He flipped through it and withdrew a
bunch of bills, along with a coin with an unusual image on it. The
coin was so white a gold that it looked almost silver.

Wade counted out ten one hundred dollar bills
and handed them to the artist along with the coin, before stuffing
the rest of the cash and wallet into his back pocket. “When can it
be delivered?”

The young man didn’t hesitate, his eyes
focused on Wade’s. “The morning after the festival is over.
Monday.”

Chandra found herself frozen, unable to get
her legs to work and walk away as Wade gave the artist his address
for delivery of the painting. Strange, but it didn’t sound like his
place was anywhere in the Phoenix metro area.

The artist took the painting, wrote Wade’s
name and address on a receipt and handed it to him. The artist
wrote SOLD across his copy of the receipt taped it to the top of
the painting, then placed the painting behind several others that
were set to the side.

When he finished the transaction, Wade turned
to Chandra who still had her hands deep in her pockets, her lips
slightly parted. With the images of the two of them barreling
through her mind, she was still having difficulty breathing.

She’d gone without sex so long because of the
Touch. The thought of a night of passion with this man made her
almost blind with desire.

With another sensual smile, Wade said, “What
do you say to lunch together as my way of apology?”

Chandra swallowed, her heart taking a little
skip. “Apologize for…?”

“I know you wanted the painting.” He focused
intently on her, and she was mesmerized by his eyes. “Lunch—on
me.”

She took a deep breath. Despite what she had
just seen, despite the sense of shadows and danger, despite the
fact she didn’t believe fate could be changed, she said, “It’s
probably not a good idea for me to—for us to have lunch
together.”

He raised a brow, the corner of his mouth
almost quirking into a smile. “And that’s because…?”

Why isn’t it a good idea?
her
subconscious whispered. And she almost shouted out loud, “I’ll end
up with you in my bed and I don’t even know who you are and I sense
danger. What’s wrong with this picture?”

***

Wade waited as Chandra tried to think of some
reason not to go to lunch with him. “I—ah, I don’t even know
you.”

“You know my name, and the fact we have
something in common. We both appreciate works of art.” His eyes
never left hers and she wanted to melt all over again. “There’s no
better way to get to know one another than over a good meal,
Chandra.”

The way he said her name, slow and sensually,
about made her melt. He was close to her, so close she caught his
spicy scent. The way he made her feel just by being near her was
sending her senses into overdrive. Desire curled in her
belly—testimony to the fact that she wanted him. Or at least her
body did.

And the vision…

Fate is fate
, she reminded herself.
My visions always come true. There’s no changing the
future.

She was fated for at least one night of
pleasure with this man.

Chandra wasn’t so sure she minded this
particular vision at all, except for the danger part nagging at the
back of her mind. Yet, as she’d thought before, perhaps she was
supposed to help him with something?

She took a deep breath and forced the words
out before she could change her mind. “Okay. Lunch.”

#

Wade smiled at the fact the beautiful woman
had agreed to have lunch with him. The attraction he felt for her
had been instantaneous, a wild rush. It was unlike anything he’d
experienced before.

Yet something tugged at his consciousness.
Could she be another operative…for Psion? Had her interest in the
painting been more than mere coincidence?

Psion was a multi-million dollar
semiconductor corporation that the PIA more than suspected was
after the chip—the chip that would expose all known persons with
paranormal abilities. With that kind of information, there was no
telling what a mega-corporation could do.

The PIA suspected more people and governments
than Psion were interested in the chip. That kind of information
could be sold for one hell of a lot of money.

Keeping his hand on the small of her back,
Wade guided Chandra through the throng of people at the festival.
The transaction had gone smoothly enough. The woman had caused some
concern. Thank God she wasn’t wealthy. At least she didn’t appear
to be, or she’d have kept on bidding. She would never know that no
matter what, she could never outbid him.

Hair rose at the nape of Wade’s neck as they
worked their way through the crowd. His gut instinct from years of
covert operations and training kicked into gear, and his shadow
Senses were on full alert.

They were being watched.

Or could the sensation be caused by the woman
he was with?

He swept his gaze over the crowd, his fingers
barely on Chandra’s back, so that his hand was ready to reach for
his weapon if he needed it. Taller than the average man, he could
see over the heads of a good deal of the art festival’s
patrons.

Once they burst out of the festival’s crowd
and onto a calmer street, it was easier for him to keep an eye on
what or who may be following them. He wasn’t sure they were being
followed, but he hoped the transaction he’d made had escaped
notice.

“The Arizona Sports Pub?” Wade asked as they
walked along the street that had several eating establishments.

“Sure.” She looked up at him, uncertainty
still in her violet gaze. Violet eyes, a clear shade of amethyst,
were not common and he found them entrancing. What other mysteries
did this woman hold?

He took her into the most relaxing pub in
Tempe. It was a comfortable place to enjoy a decent meal, drink a
good beer, watch the Diamondbacks, Suns, Cardinals, or Coyotes and
enjoy the company of other sports nuts. It was larger, airier, more
colorful and definitely cleaner than the average bar.

The chatter in the pub was at a low hum.
Smells of nachos, hamburgers, fries and beer hung heavy in the
large room. Fans whirred overhead stirring Chandra’s hair about her
shoulders and ruffling his own.

Wade escorted her to a table in a corner
which had a semi-circular padded bench designed to fit perfectly
into that space. She eased onto the corner of the bench, and he
moved fairly close to her. Not close enough to make her
uncomfortable, but close enough that he could reach out to her if
he wanted to. She gave him a wary look that told him she wanted him
to keep his distance.

Or could it be something else? His gut
instincts and his shadow Senses were usually right on, but this
woman was throwing him completely off balance. He couldn’t get a
clear reading on her at all. Yet he wanted her with an intensity
bordering on desperation, and he had to grit his teeth against the
pressure in his snug jeans.

Cheers rocked the pub and Wade glanced up at
one of the flat screen monitors to see a replay of the Sun’s center
shooting a three-pointer.

He swung his gaze back to Chandra who was
studying her menu. He already knew what he was going to order and
watched her while he had the chance. Her hair flowed around her
shoulders and a thin chunk of hair slipped over one eye as she
looked down. Before he had the opportunity to brush it away, she
reached up and tucked the strands behind her ear.

She wore a penny charm at the end of a chain
around her neck. On one side was a rose-gold leaf, nearly the same
bright shiny color of her penny.

Throughout lunch, Wade found his palms
itching to touch Chandra. To run his fingers through her hair, to
trace the curve of her jaw and her full lips.

She kept her hands beneath the table, except
when drinking her water or eating her bacon double-cheese
hamburger. She had a good appetite, which was a sign she
comfortable with him, at least to a certain extent.

She was pretty. Not stunningly beautiful, and
not too thin. She had a figure that pleased him, and those violet
eyes held both innocence and knowing at the same time. Part of him
remained wary as he analyzed her speech, her movements.

During the meal they talked easily and he
felt as though he had known her for who knew how long. He learned
that she had a fair-sized family, all women. They were apparently
very close and Chandra’s eyes brightened when she talked about
them.

He told her of his brother, sister, and his
parents. He had a slew of aunts, uncles, and cousins, but they were
scattered all over the U.S.

After they talked about their families, she
brought the straw of her ice-water to her lips and asked, “What do
you do?” before taking a drink.

Wade rested one arm on the back of the bench.
“Law enforcement.”

She nearly choked on the sip of water she had
just taken and he took the opportunity to rub her back until she
finished coughing. Did his being in law enforcement have anything
to do with her sudden coughing fit?

When she had composed her features, she
looked directly at him. “I’m a publicity agent.”

He raised an eyebrow. “For what?”

Chandra shrugged. “A semiconductor company.
Psion.”

Wade went completely still. “Psion contracts
with the government.”

With a nod, she said, “Primarily.”

She turned her attention to her plate as she
played with one of her French fries. “What kind of law
enforcement?”