Free Mind Sweeper by AE Jones

disbelief.
    “Listen, trust means a lot to me. I’ve never tried to use my power on either of them.”
    He held up his hands. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m sorry.”
    I shook my head. “You didn’t. To be honest, I’ve wondered before if I would be able to do it. My gut tells me Jean Luc is a definite no. Misha is questionable. But he’s more powerful than he lets on.”
    At Misha’s name, Dalton opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated before continuing. “How did you end up here?”
    “Well, if you think high school was interesting, you should have seen me in college. Living in a dorm with thousands of eighteen-year-olds was a touch overwhelming. I lasted six months and then took off on my own.”
    “To do what?”
    I chuckled. “Let’s just say I was a bit naïve back then. I thought I’d go out and find a fulfilling, well-paid profession without any discernable skills or a college education. Eighteen months later, I was trying to cheat Vegas casinos out of money.”
    His eyes widened. “By yourself?”
    I hesitated, choosing my words carefully. “I had some help from a friend.” He didn’t need to know about Jack and my stupid belief that he loved me and not what my power could do for his bank account.
    “Did you get caught?”
    “A casino security guard figured out what was going on. He arrested me and started to interrogate me. I tried to erase his memory, but he just laughed. He was a vamp. Of course I had no idea that the supernatural even existed back then. Instead of turning me over to the police, he called Nicholas, who offered me a job using my skills for what he called ‘a good cause.’ At first I thought he was propositioning me, but he was serious. I’ve been working for the BSR ever since.”
    “What happened to your friend?”
    “We parted company.” More like he ran for it the minute I got caught.
    Dalton paused for a moment as if he wanted to ask me more about Jack, and I held my breath.
    “What’s the deal with Nicholas? I haven’t even spoken to him yet.”
    I started breathing again. “Before we talk about him, I’m going to make some coffee. You have to have coffee with this tiramisu.”
    He grinned for a moment. “If tiramisu is an orgasm, what’s the coffee?”
    “Foreplay.”
    He dropped his forehead on his palm, chuckling and shaking his head. “Jesus. You’re something.”
    “Let’s have the dessert in the living room. I’ll bring in the coffee.”
    He collected two plates, forks and the dessert box and turned toward the living room.
    “Don’t start without me,” I called.
    He glanced back over his shoulder, his turquoise eyes locking on me. “You have nothing to worry about.”
    I gulped and pulled the filters and coffee out of the cupboard. Get it in check, girl. Had I not just been talking about snake-in-the-grass Jack, and now I was drooling over another man?
    I stuffed the filter into the top of the coffee maker and dumped in two scoops. What had happened to Operation Get Rid of Dalton and too many men in the lifeboat ? Carrying the carafe to the sink, I filled it with water and poured it into the coffee maker. A little bit of wine and compassionate blue eyes and I was a blithering idiot. Deep breath in. You are in control of the situation. Remember that. Deep breath out.
    I walked into the living room with two mugs of coffee and a new attitude, my chastity belt snapped firmly back in place, until he smiled at me. My blithering self rushed back in full force.
    I set the coffee down and cleared my throat, refusing to make eye contact for a second.
    “Are you okay, Kyle?”
    “Yeah, I was just trying to remember what you had asked about in the kitchen.”
    “Nicholas?”
    I took another deep breath and was able to rein in my libido. “Right. He’s our boss. To be honest, I don’t know much about him personally. He offered me work, and I did some minor jobs for him until he hooked me up with the team here in Cleveland, and I met