So what if the pasta stained the damn floor? It wouldn’t be any worse than all the blood I’d washed out of my father’s clothes over the years. At that cheery thought, my power pulsed again, and more plates flew off the countertops, even though I was nowhere near them. Salad, breadsticks, and a carafe of wine joined the Chicken Marsala on the floor.
But I didn’t care. For once in my life, I was going to do what I wanted to. And right now, I didn’t feel like cleaning up.
I left the growing mess on the kitchen floor and headed for my room, determined to take a hot bath and fall into an oblivious sleep. Maybe tomorrow I’d feel more like my clean-freak self. Maybe tomorrow I could pretend everything was all right again—and not falling to pieces around me.
My bathroom branched off my bedroom and was almost as large. It featured a shower, along with a long counter topped with mirrors, and an old-fashioned, claw-foot tub resting on four, angel-head feet. I didn’t have quite the selection of assorted body oils and exotic bath scents Debonair did, but there were more than enough to meet my needs.
I ran myself a tub full of rose-scented bubbles and sank down into the steaming water. I sighed, long and loud, and rested my head on a folded towel I’d placed on the rim. I was still sore and bruised from my run-in with Hangman and all the bumps and falls I’d taken in the past week. Not to mention my fight with Grandfather. It was one we’d had many, many times before, but it always left me feeling drained and upset and worn out. I closed my eyes and sank a little farther into the water.
POP!
Debonair appeared on the edge of the bathtub, and I couldn’t stop myself from shrieking. My power flared, and somehow, despite my towel, I banged my head against the side of the porcelain. Pain shot up the back of my skull, and my eyes rattled around in their sockets.
“Bella! Are you all right?” Debonair asked, helping me sit up.
I touched the back of my head. A bump the size of a golf ball had already formed, throbbing with every breath I took. “I’ll be fine. Eventually.”
Debonair’s hot gaze was on me. I realized he was staring at my breasts, which had been exposed when I’d sat up. I scooted back down into the tub and scooped mounds of bubbles around me. Debonair looked amused by my attempts to hide my nakedness.
“What?” I snapped. “You’d do the same thing if the situation were reversed.”
Debonair picked up a handful of bubbles and blew them off his leather glove. “Actually, I wouldn’t. I’d be trying to figure out how to get you to join me in the tub.”
I thought of what we could do in the tub together, and it didn’t involve a rubber ducky. Well, not the traditional kind.
“You shouldn’t hide your body, Bella,” he continued. “It’s quite beautiful.”
His words pleased me, but I still slid a little lower into the water. Me being naked anywhere near Debonair was not good. Even being in the same room with him was pushing it.
“You probably think all women are beautiful—even your grandmother.”
“Everyone is beautiful in her own right. But in your case, my interest is a little more devious than it would be in my grandmother.” His eyes glowed.
I swallowed hard, trying to ignore a sudden surge that rippled through my body. “How is your grandmother, by the way?”
He frowned in confusion. “She’s fine. Why do you ask?”
Because she left in such a hurry. That’s what I wanted to say, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to confront Debonair about his real identity as Devlin Dash. Not yet. Not until I had more proof from Carmen and Lulu. There was still a small chance I was wrong, and I was too sensible to take the risk.
We sat there in silence. I kept sneaking peeks at Debonair’s face, comparing it to my memory of Devlin’s. It almost certainly had to be him. Same dark hair. Same nice cheekbones. Same straight nose. I couldn’t tell about the eyes, though. Not with Devlin’s thick glasses on his face. Who would have thought glasses would have been that good of a disguise?
“Well, I suppose I should be on my way. I’ll leave you to your bath.” He turned to go.
“Wait!”
I didn’t want him to go. He was a superhero who’d kept his real identity from me, who’d lied to me. I should hate him, but I didn’t. I just…couldn’t. No matter how hard I tried to pretend otherwise, I was attracted to Devlin Debonair Dash. More than I’d been attracted to anyone in a long, long time. Even if he was a damn superhero.
Debonair turned to face me. “Did you want something, Bella?”
I want you. I bit back the words. I didn’t need to get myself in deeper with the handsome thief. But I didn’t want to be sensible tonight. Didn’t want to play it safe or sane. I wanted to be kissed and held and loved, even if it was by a man whose motives I didn’t understand and probably never would.
“No,” I said. “But why are you leaving? You just popped in a minute ago.”
He stared at me. “Because if I don’t go now, I’m going to try to seduce you. And you said before you don’t want that. I might be a cad on occasion, but I try to respect a lady’s wishes. Every now and then anyway.”
Sure, that’s what I said when I was alone and could think and be sensible about things. I wasn’t so sure that’s what I wanted when I was face-to-face with the most handsome man I’d ever seen—and slept with. So I made a snap decision. One I was probably going to regret in the morning. But I was sure as hell going to enjoy it now. After the day I’d had, I deserved it.
“So, seduce me,” I said, rising to my feet. “Who knows? I just might enjoy it.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Don’t tempt me, Bella.” Debonair’s voice was rough and raw with need.
“Me? Tempt you? I’d never dream of doing such a thing.”
I stepped out of the tub and moved closer to him, water and bubbles sliding off my body and making another mess on the floor. The rate I was going, the whole house would be a disaster area by morning.
“Besides,” I continued. “You’re the one who knows all about seduction. Not me.”
His gaze moved up and down my body, searing me with its heat. But he made no move to touch me. Seconds ticked by. Neither one of us so much as twitched. I barely breathed.
Debonair closed his eyes and dropped his head. Well, so much for my grand plan. Obviously, I wasn’t quite the mistress of seduction I thought I was. Maybe I should get some pointers from the folks in the Slaves for Superhero Sex club. I started to turn away and cover myself with a towel. But, with a low, hoarse growl, Debonair gathered me into his arms and crushed his mouth to mine.
The smell of smoky roses washed over me, and I sighed with pleasure. Debonair pulled me tighter, driving his tongue deep into my mouth before retreating and licking my lips. He pressed kisses to my eyelids, my cheeks, my neck. His gloves disappeared with a snap of his fingers, and his hands covered my breasts. They swelled and tightened in response.
“Do you want me, Bella? Do you burn for me like I burn for you?” he whispered against my breastbone, licking his way down my body.
I writhed against him. Lost in the sensations he stirred up inside me. Urged on by the relentless pressure mounting deep between my thighs.
The feel of his leather suit against my skin drove me crazy with need. My hands clawed at it, and I wished I had the power to teleport it away with my mind. I wanted to touch him. All of him. Feel his hard body pressed up against my own. Feel him moving inside me. Just like he had before.
My power surged, and somehow, the fabric of his suit ripped, right over the scarlet rose on his chest. I didn’t care. I slid my hand inside the leather, stroking the coarse hair on his solid chest. Debonair shoved aside the bottles of lotions and shampoo on the counter, then picked me up and set me there.
I hooked my leg over his thigh, drawing him closer. He slid his fingers down my damp body, tangling them in the curls at the junction of my thighs. Then—
Someone knocked on the door.
“Bella? Are you okay?”
Bobby’s voice floated through the thick wood. “I thought I heard something fall.”
Debonair kept right on with his exploration of my body, even though my grandfather was standing less than two feet away from us. His mouth teased my nipple while his nimble fingers danced across my outer folds. My entire body quivered. Pleasure rippled through me, and I had to focus on answering my grandfather.
“I’m fine,” I rasped out, tangling my fingers in Debonair’s dark hair. “I just knocked over a couple of shampoo bottles.”
“It sounded like a louder bang that that,” Bobby said. “And I heard some noises coming from the kitchen earlier. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. I’ll be coming out soon,” I promised, panting for air.
“Well, all right. I’m going to bed. Call me if you need me.”
Muffled footsteps moved away from the door. At least, I thought that’s what I heard. It was sort of hard to concentrate with Debonair stroking me. I caught his head in my hands and drew his lips up to mine again. Debonair responded by slipping his fingers farther inside me, even as his teeth raked across my lower lip.
I cried out my release in his mouth. But Debonair wasn’t satisfied. He kept right on stroking me, until I burned for him once more. Again and again he moved me, until I wasn’t sure where I left off and he began. Finally, though, the last shudder of pleasure cascaded through my body. I slumped against his shoulder and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Well, Bella. If that’s how you’re going to respond, I think I’ll let you seduce me more often,” Debonair said in a playful, teasing tone. His eyes sparkled in the faint light.
All I could do was just look at him, still too drunk with passion and afterglow to respond. Sometimes, it felt absolutely wonderful to be completely senseless. He pressed a kiss to my temple, then grabbed a towel from a nearby rack and wrapped it around my body.
“Now, go put on some clothes. And be sure to get a heavy jacket.”
“Why?” I asked, not wanting to move away from him.
He pulled back and smiled. “Because, Bella, I’m taking you out for a night on the town—Debonair style.”
*
Twenty minutes later, a heavy, gray fisherman’s sweater covered my body, along with a pair of jeans and black boots with a low, sensible heel. I slid my arms into my favorite black, wool pea coat and pulled a pair of fleece-lined gloves onto my hands. Debonair leaned against my dresser, nodding his approval.
“You should be warm enough in that,” he said.
“I don’t understand,” I said. “Why are you doing this? Why do you want to take me out?”
“Because, Bella, I want to spend time with you.”
He sounded sincere, but I still had a hard time believing him. He was Debonair. He could have just about any woman in Bigtime he desired. I couldn’t quite believe he wanted me, with my horrible hair and thunder thighs. Or that he was actually Devlin Dash under all that blue-black leather.
“But didn’t you already get what you wanted the other night when we slept together?”
He smiled. “Of course, I did. Didn’t you? If it wasn’t satisfying enough, maybe we can try something different next time. Like maybe handcuffs? Or whips and chains? You never did tell me the answer to that question.”
I couldn’t stop from blushing.
“Now, come on.” Debonair opened his arms wide.
I hesitated. This was not a good idea on so many levels.
“Please?” he asked, his voice quiet.
But I’d broken so many of my own rules the past few days. What was one more?
So, I stepped into his embrace and inhaled, letting his sweet, smoky scent fill my lungs.
“Now, just try to relax,” Debonair murmured, gathering me close. “Teleporting can be a bit disorienting. We won’t go far until you’re more comfortable with it.”
POP!
The world dropped away. There was blackness. Wind rushed against my face, further tangling my already snarled hair. The smell of damp, turned earth filled my nose. And then—
POP!
The world righted itself, and I blinked. We stood in the orchard in the backyard underneath the pear tree where I’d had my picnic earlier today.
“Amazing,” I said. “I wish I could get where I wanted to go so easily. It’d save me a ton of gas money.”
Debonair laughed. The sound warmed me, despite the frosty chill in the air.
“How does your power work?” I asked, for once curious about a superhero. “Can you just teleport anywhere you want?”
Debonair shook his head. “No, I can only teleport to places I’ve been before. And I can only teleport objects I’ve seen before. Plus, I have to know their exact location when I want to teleport them to me or to some other place. Otherwise, I would have been able to bring you back to the island when you sailed out into the bay. Or find you once you were in the custody of the Fearless Five.”
“I see.”
“So, are you ready to try something a bit more challenging?” he asked, smiling. “And fun?”
I nodded and stepped back into his arms.
POP!
Colors and lights dazzled my eyes. People laughed. Kids lets out squeals of joy and excitement. Music trilled in the night air. And then—
POP!
We landed on the main carousel at Paradise Park. I sat on a carved white horse, gliding up and down while Debonair perched on a black mount beside me.
“Look!”
“Over there!”
“It’s Debonair!”
Our sudden appearance caused quite a stir among the other riders, especially the women. More than a few fanned themselves with their purses, even though it couldn’t have been more than thirty degrees outside. One even managed to unhook her bra, write her phone number on it, and toss it his way—in under a minute. Debonair didn’t pick up the bit of pink lace, but I couldn’t keep from snorting. He gave me a satisfied smirk.
“Wait here. I’ll be back in a minute,” he said.
He bowed with a flourish, and then—
POP!
POP!
POP!
Debonair teleported all around the carousel, poofing onto every available seat. Everyone clapped and cheered at his antics. I laughed too, completely captivated by him.
The ride slowed, and Debonair teleported back to my side, standing up on the black horse and commanding everyone’s attention.
“And now, ladies and gentlemen, I must bid you good night.”
People groaned, especially the women.
Debonair raised his finger. “But…I am going to leave you something to remember me by.”
Debonair pointed through the crowd toward a popcorn stand. A skinny man with a big nose stood inside the booth, handing out bags of the steamy, buttery confection to his customers. The vendor turned to reach for another bag, but it disappeared from sight. So did the rest of his wares. The man turned round and round in confusion while the bags reappeared on the carousel, one for each person on the ride.
“All right!”
“Free popcorn!”
“Debonair rules!”
This time, the kids sounded the cheers, even as they stuffed kernels into their mouths. Debonair took my hand, and we teleported away to the other side of the park. A fountain populated by stone nymphs gurgled beside us.
“That was really great of you,” I said, still laughing. “Although I bet the popcorn guy’s not too happy that all his bags disappeared.”
“Don’t worry,” Debonair replied. “When the vendor checks his cash register tonight, he’ll find a note with a couple extra hundreds in it for his trouble.”
“You mean to tell me that Debonair, superthief extraordinaire, actually pays for what he steals?”
He smiled. “Sometimes.”
I thought back to the painting he’d stolen from Berkley. I opened my mouth to ask him about it, but Debonair took my hands in his.
“Now, let’s take a tour of the rest
of Bigtime. My Bigtime.”
We teleported all over the city. Laurel Park. Quicke’s. The public library. The mostly rebuilt observatory.
The cloudless sky sported a heavy blanket of stars. The bright pinpricks reminded me of a mound of sequins on one of Fiona’s dresses, surrounded by oceans of black, velvet fabric. A full moon bathed everything in a hazy glow, softening the glare from the neon signs of the downtown businesses. Every part of the city twinkled now, just after midnight. It was so beautiful that, for once, I didn’t even mind all the superheroes we ran into. And there were plenty.
Granny Cane pummeled some mugger in Laurel Park. Wynter chowed down on a couple of burgers at Quicke’s. And we passed Black Samba so many times I lost count. Didn’t she have anything better to do than ride bus tops around town all night long? Evidently not.
But Swifte was the worst of the bunch. He lounged downtown near Jasper’s brownstone when we landed there. Even though the street was dark, I could still see Swifte. His shimmering white costume announced his presence a mile away. I’d once asked Fiona if she’d designed the garment, but she strenuously denied it, claiming men should never, ever wear white. Still, I wondered. It looked exactly like the sort of over-the-top outfit she’d create.
Debonair waved to Swifte, and then we popped over to the top of The Chronicle. Debonair looked down and pointed. A second later, Swifte skidded to a stop in the street below. He did the same thing a minute later when we landed on The Exposé’s skyscraper.
“Is he following us?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s sort of a game we play.” Debonair grinned. “We’re always arguing over who’s power is better and faster—his superspeed or my teleportation.”
It seemed like a silly thing to argue about to me, but then again, I’d never professed to understand superheroes.
Debonair wrapped his arms around me. “Let’s give him a run for his money, shall we?”
POP!
POP!
POP!
We teleported to other places, so fast I barely registered where we were before we were off again. Oodles o’ Stuff. The front steps of the art museum. The marina. But instead of being frightened or disoriented, I found the experience exhilarating. And just fun. There was something so free and wonderful about being able to go wherever you wanted, whenever you wanted. And it didn’t hurt matters that my luck decided not to bother me. Oh, the static was still around me, but I didn’t feel any disasters coming on.