Visions of Fire and Ice (The Petiri) Read Free Page B

to scream in a crowd.
    No .
    The word echoed inside her head, and she straightened her shoulders. She would not be a victim. She’d been there, lived that life, and had had more than enough of it. Anger burned hot inside her, sizzling through her cells and into her hands.
    Her palms stretched on the cool countertop. Steam rose in tiny tendrils from beneath her fingers. She lifted her hand, dismayed at the burn marks she’d left behind. She needed to get control of her talent.
    “Come on, beauty,” he said again. “Let’s have a little fun.”
    Irritation ignited into fury. Her hands trembled with the urge to set fire to his clothes, or maybe to that too pretty brown hair. But there were people around. Using her gift in public could get her in big trouble, especially in a foreign country.
    “This is your last warning. Back off.”
    He pressed closer in answer. “How ’bout just one kiss? Hmm?”
    Tamara cursed beneath her breath. Then, again, maybe the time had come for this bastard to get what he wanted. She shoved back just enough to force him to step away and then spun around to face him, a fake smile plastered on her face. All the while, she reached deep inside her mind, dragging the heat sizzling in her blood upward, pushing and pulling it, wrapping it into a tight package in her body. “Just one kiss,” she agreed.
    He gave a sloppy, drunken grin.
    With a quick motion, she grabbed his head, her hands on either cheek, and drew his face to hers. With her lips pressed to his, she waited until he opened for her. With surgical precision, she thrust heat from her body into his. Through his mouth and into his lungs. He struggled, his eyes widening in shock at the sudden influx of heat. Her hands sizzled against the cooler flesh of his cheeks, and she knew she’d left her mark.
    His hands grappled until he found her shoulders, and he shoved her back.
    She released him, widening her eyes. “What’s wrong? I thought you wanted a kiss.”
    The man stumbled backwards, a hand rubbing over his reddened lips, the other touching the red handprint she’d left on his face. His eyes were wide with confusion. “What are you?”
    “I don’t understand?” Tamara tried to tamp down the sudden satisfaction threatening to explode into a grin. She shouldn’t have enjoyed his lesson quite so much, but, damn it, he’d asked for it.
    He backed further, bouncing off the crowd like a pinball off bumpers. He turned to run from her. He dropped his hands, displaying the blisters now forming upon his lips.
    She stifled a sigh in disgust at her actions. Reality always intruded. She could have hurt him seriously. True, most of the energy she’d used came from her lips and fingers, not in her breath, but if she’d pushed in too much heat, she could have killed him.
    “Honey, are you alright?” An elderly woman stood next to her, concern written in her features.
    Tamara jerked her attention off the man who’d accosted her. “I’m fine, thank you.” She snatched her bottles of water and hurried to the outside deck.
    What have I done?
    * * * *
    A whisper of power fluttered in Ramose’s mind. Like butterfly wings, energy brushed softly against his flesh, teasing just out of reach. He turned, his eyes searching the origin of the power. A woman stormed from the foyer to the observation deck. Anger burned from her in a nearly visible shower of sparks. She looked young, not much older than fifteen earth years, but instinct told him she was older. Much older.
    She dropped into a chair beside a young couple, slamming three bottles of water onto the table. Even in profile, he could tell her mouth was tense, her brow furrowed.
    The other woman looked equally young, though a diamond wedding ring set glittered on her left hand. The man beside her appeared older, in his late twenties, his blonde hair matching that of his wife. The fingers of one hand linked with hers, his thumb caressing her hand.
    The young wife brushed blonde hair from her