“It keeps people from freaking out. I got tired of the stares. It was easier to disguise them with brown contacts than to take the gasps of horror, like I was some sort of demon child from the Village of the Damned, able to melt small children with a single glare.”
“I understand. If I remember right, they matched my best cleary marble. I always thought they were cool, but it wasn’t something I could explain to my buddies. They would have kicked me out of the fort.”
“Thanks for that.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Let me get my purse and lock my car.”
Kade held the gate open and followed her into the driveway, enjoying the sway of her hips, but the sightseeing ended when he spotted a pickup truck parked across the street and watched a lanky man climb out and move in their direction.
“Oh, no!”
“What is it?” He refocused on Savannah.
“It’s gone! My purse is gone.” Disappointment choked her voice.
“You’re sure you didn’t take it into the yard?”
“Yes.”
He took her arm. “Let’s call the police. File a report. The sooner you cancel your credit cards, the better.”
“Hi. Are you the landlord?”
Kade glanced up at the man who’d walked across the street and now stood in the driveway next to them.
“No. I think you want Ms. Dawson.”
“If she owns this yellow house, then I guess I do.”
He didn’t like the way the man devoured Savannah with his gaze or the satisfied smile that followed.
“Ms. Dawson, I’m Todd Coleman, your new tenant.”
Savannah looked up at the jean-clad man addressing her and offering his hand. She shook it, momentarily forgetting her missing purse and key ring.
“Doctor Savannah Dawson. Pleased to meet you, but I don’t have a key. You’ll have to stop by the rental agency for that.”
“Done.” He pulled a key out of his pocket. “Picked it up this morning. This is a great place. I knew I had to have it the first time I saw it.”
“You’re planning to move in today?”
“Yeah.”
Kade felt caution sluice in his veins, but he couldn’t locate a source for the feeling. Savannah’s new tenant was slick, and he wasn’t sure that there wasn’t some jealousy mixed in with his concern.
“Great…Mr. Coleman, is it?” Kade eyed him tentatively.
“Yeah.”
“Any chance you saw someone around Ms. Dawson’s car in the last ten minutes?”
Kade gauged his reaction, but he had a poker face under a layer of tanned skin.
“As a matter of fact, I did see a guy hanging around. I think he was driving a red car…high-end. Why? What’s the problem?”
“Ms. Dawson’s purse has been stolen.”
“Damn. That’s tough.”
The reaction sounded genuine and Kade relaxed, letting go of his caution.
“I see you work for the fire department. Are you a fireman?” Coleman pointed at the insignia on the department vehicle parked in the driveway next door.
“I used to be.” Disappointment gelled in his veins. “I’m an arson investigator now.”
“That’s cool. You don’t get to race into burning buildings anymore, but you get to figure out who torched them?”
“Something like that.”
“I always wanted to get on with the department.”
“Really.” Kade studied Coleman’s frame. “You should look into it. The department can always use new recruits. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we need to call the police and file a report.”
“If you need me to tell the cops what I saw, you know where to find me.”
“I have a spare key at home. I’ll get my car out of the driveway later today,” Savannah said.
“No problem.” Todd Coleman turned toward the street.
Kade took Savannah’s elbow and walked her toward his house. He could feel Coleman’s eyes on his back, but he resisted the urge to turn around. Instead, he zoned on the feel of his fingers against her bare skin, absorbing the odd transfer of current from her body into his.
That’s when it hit him. He was walking normally. The pain in his hip had subsided.
She wasn’t only psychic—she was a living, breathing, pain annihilator.
HE BRUSHED HIS HAND across the pillow and closed his eyes, imagining her head on it, her hair fanned out in contrast against the crisp white linen.
Pulling in a deep breath, he honed in on her scent in the room, her room, a place he’d been many times…but never with her. Breaking in felt so wrong, but he knew where the spare key was.
He sobered, opened his eyes and tamped down the irritation flaring in his veins.
She would come to care for him. He already knew her secret. Coaxed it, fed it. Her affection couldn’t be far behind.
His heart drummed in his chest as he wandered into the bathroom, bent on somehow telling her, making her understand the flames were for her.
Then it would only be a matter of time before she recognized how much he wanted her. She would return his love. Lie in his arms until dawn penetrated the night….
Chapter Four
Savannah stared at the front of her house from the passenger seat of Kade’s vehicle.
It was late, dark, and she hadn’t bothered to turn on the porch light. A shiver rattled through her. Leaving her purse and keys unprotected in the car had been a stupid mistake. Who knew a lapse in judgment would leave her feeling so vulnerable.
“Let’s go inside. I’ll check it out, and we’ll wait for the locksmith to show up.”
She was glad Kade was with her. “Works for me, but I’m sure everything is fine. If he did use my key to get inside, he’d probably steal items he could pawn and be out of there before he got caught.”
“Probably.”
She didn’t like the note of uncertainty in his voice. She climbed out of the car and made her way up the front walkway with Kade next to her.
“I keep a spare key in the flower pot.” She bent over, fished the key out of the large terra-cotta pot, brimming with flowers, and dusted the potting soil off with her fingertips.
“Now that’s some kind of security.”
“This is a quiet neighborhood. This key is perfectly safe in that pot, and I refuse to believe differently.”
“Huh. A Pollyanna. Too bad the thieves only want to jerk on your pigtails, while they make off with your stuff.”
She slid the key into the knob, apprehension bunching her muscles as she glared at him in the dark. It wasn’t wrong to think the best of people, unless her vibes told her otherwise, but she’d have to be more careful in the future.
Her tension released with the decisive click of the lock. Turning the knob, she stepped into the foyer and pulled in a deep breath, but her relief was short-lived.
The air held an unfamiliar scent, a tangle of male cologne and sweat.
Pausing, she