The Power of Three by Kate Pearce Page A

telepath and was now
drooling over another.
    Her mother would be proud.
    True to his word, he wasn’t long and soon
returned, a towel wrapped low around his hips.
    “ Do you want to go out for dinner, or
shall I cook you something?” he asked.
    She was too busy watching drops of water roll
down his chest and disappear into his towel to realize he’d asked
her something until he repeated it.
    Twice.
    “ Soreya?”
    Jerking to attention, she blinked. “You can
cook?”
    “ I love to cook.”
    She stared at him. “Why are you suddenly
being so nice?”
    He sighed. “Because I thought it was time one
of us made the effort, and it’s easier for me.”
    “ Why? Because with a word from you I
could be on the next shuttle back to Etrusca, and certain
death?”
    His gaze sharpened. “Do you really think I
could do that to a female, especially one with your extraordinary
talents?”
    She hunched a shoulder at him. “You think I’m
an idiot.”
    “ Why do you say that?” He took a silk
dressing gown off the bed and put it on.
    “ Because compared to you I am an idiot.”
    “ You have the potential to be one of
the most powerful telepaths in the universe. You just need to
believe it.”
    “ Huh.”
    His grin surprised her. “You sound just like
Esca.”
    “ Soldiers don’t deal with meershit
well.”
    “ It isn’t meershit, and I’ll explain
why as we eat.” He held the door open for her and she went past
him, aware of his scent and the damp ends of his hair. “Esca won’t
be back until later, and it’s Chase’s half day so we won’t be
disturbed.”
    * * *
    She fascinated him. Beneath her average looks
and well-toned soldier’s body lurked the mind of a telepathic
genius. Even though her shields were perfect, he could sense that
behind them lay unlimited power and a potential that made him crave
her like a drug. And it wasn’t just about what she could do for him
politically if she truly was their third. She called to him at a
visceral level. He wanted her naked, his cock buried deep in her.
He wanted Esca with them too so that they could give her everything
a female could ever want in bed, and then even more…
    “ What do you want me to do?”
    He checked back his first salacious answer,
which would have probably had her running out the door or
assaulting him, and pointed at the refrigerator. “How about some
wine? Do you like fish?”
    “ Sure.”
    He got her to sit up at the counter while he
prepared the fish and sauce and poured them both a glass of wine.
She watched his hands intently as he worked and kept up a steady
stream of conversation that surprised him. Had she decided to give
him a chance to get to know her? Did he want to? Something was
drawing him toward her, and he didn’t like it at all. He was
usually the one in control, the one with the superlative powers
that everyone else deferred to, but she could be so much
more...
    “ Esca said your father wasn’t
Etruscan.”
    “ No, he was a trader. My mother met him
when she worked at the space dock.” She shrugged. “She always told
me she fell in love with him at first sight.”
    “ Maybe they were fated to
mate.”
    “ Obviously not for life. The moment he
heard she was pregnant, he disappeared and never came
back.”
    “ That’s surprising. Usually, if a pair
bonds that fast they are mated
for life.”
    “ Not in this case.”
    “ I wonder who he was?” Ash swept the
chopped vegetables into the pan and stirred in the wine.
    “ Why does it matter?”
    “ Because they produced you.” He pointed
his spatula at her. “A telepathic marvel.”
    “ Or a genetic freak.” She blushed and
took a long slug of wine.
    “ Would you object if I tried to find
out more about your father?”
    She held up her glass in a mocking salute.
“Go ahead.”
    “ Thank you.”
    “ Will it make me more acceptable to
you?”
    He turned down the fish and swung around to
face her. “Do you care if it does? You already have Esca.”
    “ So do