Darkest Caress by Cross Kaylea Page B

to get this deal done so fast?”
    A muscle clenched in his jaw. “You’ll get your commission.”
    The thought of all that money should have taken the edge off her temper, but it didn’t. Part of her didn’t even want it, on principle. “I have no idea how in hell you got the kind of funding to pay for this place up front. What is it you do exactly? Are you some kind of arms dealer or drug lord the law hasn’t caught up to yet?”
    “It’s not like that.” His jaw tightened.
    She raised an accusatory brow. “No? Then how is it? Tell me—I’m dying to know. Because on top of all of this, since I met you my life has become a roller coaster and I’m perpetually horny. I have every right to be upset!”
    Rather than rise to the anger in her tone, Daegan remained irritatingly calm. “I told you, I’m a business man and a military contractor. A legitimate one.”
    A shiver sped up her spine. He seemed sincere, but she couldn’t discount the dangerous vibe that clung to him. He’d done time in the military. Was trained to kill. She swallowed. “And what about arranging all of this so fast?” She waved a hand around to encompass the estate, the move.
    He exhaled slowly. “Sometimes I can predict things. I get flashes of images, things that are about to happen.”
    “Uh-huh,” she replied. “Like when a real estate deal will close and how far in advance you have to book moving and installation services.” Her tone dripped with annoyance.
    “In this case, yes.”
    If he was playing some sort of elaborate prank on her, she’d kill him. Pure and simple. “Did you do something to make all this happen? Put a spell on someone? Change the time continuum, what?”
    “I can use mental persuasion on most people. Like a mental push.”
    “Have you done that to me?” she asked, horrified.
    “No. Never, I swear.”
    God, she’d lost it to even be thinking those things were possible. She ran her hands over her face, trying to decide if she should seek professional help. Medication at the very least.
    “You’re not crazy, Liv.”
    She jerked her head up. “Did you just read my mind?”
    “No,” he said, holding up his hands. “I could see it in your face.”
    Yeah, well, could he see that she was an inch from bawling too? She’d be damned if she’d let that happen again. “Did you know we were going to meet before I showed you the property?”
    “No. Meeting you was as much a surprise for me as it was for you.”
    “I highly doubt that.” Her voice was bitter, full of anger. She despised that she couldn’t help it. “I hate feeling like this—this isn’t me. I’m a nice person. A calm person. I have a quiet, normal life and I like it that way.” Sure, besides Catherine she didn’t have a lot of friends and she got lonely sometimes, but she’d been thinking about getting a dog to fix that. “Everything was fine. Then you come along and bang , it’s all chaos.”
    She shook her head, letting him see the torment inside her. “I don’t know what to think, what to believe right now. I’m not even close to ready to face something like this. I can hardly process what happened last night, let alone everything else.” Daegan shook his head and reached out a hand, but she flinched, jerked back. “Don’t touch me. I can’t think straight when you touch me.”
    “All right.” His voice was rife with frustration but he dropped his hand.
    She resented feeling so angry and out of control. Hated speaking to him that way. “My whole life I’ve struggled to fit in. I’ve never felt like I belonged anywhere, and just when I’m starting to make peace with what I have, you show up and blow it all to hell in less than a day.”
    “I’m sorry. I know it’s been hard. But there’s a reason for all those things you just described.”
    Cold seeped into her, despite the warmth of the sun on her bare shoulders. “Like what?”
    “We don’t have many close relationships, especially with mortals, because