Remember Jamie Baker (Jamie Baker #3)(39)

A low chuckle interrupted the show. All heads turned toward the sound, but I doubt any of the soldiers’ hearts sputtered the way mine did. When my eyes fell on Ryan, I changed my mind about the stinky gym. If this place was his usual haunt, I’d brave the stench every day in order to see him shirtless and sweaty the way he was now. Swoon.

Save a rather large scar on his right bicep that had me very curious, his body was flawless. Every muscle was perfectly defined, and a light coating of fine blond hair trailed down his abdomen. I’d never wanted to reach out and touch something so badly. It dawned on me that I probably had touched him before, and I was suddenly insanely jealous of my pre-amnesiac self.

By the time I was able to drag my lusting eyes up to his face, Ryan was watching me with a very satisfied smirk. I was completely drooling over his body, and I was so busted. Whatever. I wasn’t sorry. How could anyone attracted to men not appreciate the deliciousness standing in front of me?

“We never did figure out exactly how much you could lift,” Ryan said, “but you used to have to bench my truck when the back was filled with bricks for a good fifteen minutes before you broke a sweat.”

There was another moment of awed silence that was eventually broken by Major Wilks. “Well.” He blinked a few times as he searched for words. “I’ll have to speak to my engineers. Maybe they can design…something. For you.”

“Knock yourself out. I don’t really care. Working out isn’t really a priority for me. Though, if I’m going to run into more of those supersoldiers, a little self-defense training might be a good idea.”

“We can definitely help you with that.” Major Wilks shook himself from his stupor and started barking orders again. “Romeo! Smut! Hit the showers! Debriefing in ten.”

. . . . .

The debriefing room in ACE headquarters was nothing spectacular. It was a medium-size rectangular room with a large screen mounted at the front and a big rectangular conference table taking up most of the space. Those of us that were already together sat around a large, rectangular conference table waiting for the others to arrive.

I took a seat next to Ryan, and Tyson had been quick to snatch the open chair on my other side. Shortstop, Johnny G, and Smut all sat across from us grilling Ryan about my powers and what it was like to use them. Of course they all wanted to try it. I couldn’t tell if they wanted to try having superpowers, or if they were really more interested in the superkissing, which Ryan had ever-so-kindly spilled the beans about. I could have killed him. None of them had stopped staring at me since.

“Sounds like a party in here, y’all.”

I turned to the door just as Eyes entered the room with Abiodun and a very tall, broad man with sandy-blond hair, light-green eyes, and a five o’clock shadow. The man was wearing the same military fatigues as the rest of the group, but a well-worn Stetson hat rested on his head. This one was too easy. “Let me guess. You’re Texas.”

The cowboy’s eyes found mine, and his answering smile lit up his entire face. “Tex for short, Angel. Plucked straight from a cattle ranch in Amarillo.” He tipped his hat to me and winked as he and Abiodun took the empty seats next to Ryan. “Lovely to finally meet you, darlin’.”

His manners made me smile.

Shortstop leaned forward suddenly, his body bouncing with energy. “Hey guys, did you know Angel can share her powers with people?”

Both Tex and Eyes gaped at me. “All of them?” Eyes asked. “Even the lightning?”

I nodded. “Very short term, though. I can pass energy to people, which, in turn, supercharges them. The more superpowers they use, the faster they eat up the energy. With the lightning you’d have to be really pumped up and you might only get one good shot before you’re out of juice.”

“Still.” Eyes slowly shook his head back and forth. “That’s got to be very fun.”

“Not as fun as having her give them to us,” Johnny G said, winking my direction.

Smut took the honors of dropping the bomb on the newcomers. “She has to kiss you to give you her powers. Romeo calls it superkissing.”

Eyes blinked at me. “Is that true?”

I tipped my head back and glared at the ceiling. “I can,” I grumbled. “But I don’t have to anymore. I learned how to do it with just a touch.”

Smut leaned forward and a long, dark lock of hair fell free from its ponytail, framing his face and accentuating his square jaw. His rapt gaze flicked quickly back and forth between Ryan and me. “Does it feel like a normal kiss when you do it? Or is it, like, all supercharged?”

Ryan released this guttural moan that made me blush. “It’s totally supercharged,” he said. “It is the absolute hottest thing I’ve ever felt. Once you start, it’s really hard to stop because the energy sort of pulls you together all magnetic-like and makes you lose your head.”

The room fell silent, and every single ACE in the room gaped at me. I swear several of them were seconds away from drooling. Ugh. They were never going to let me live this down. Stupid Ryan and his big mouth. “It doesn’t matter what it feels like, because I am not superkissing any of your ugly mugs.”

All of their faces fell into pouts at the news, even Tyson’s. Shortstop slumped back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest as he mumbled, “Party pooper.” He scrunched up his nose and flicked his gaze to Ryan. “You’ve superkissed Romeo.”