Free Chaos Theory by Penelope Fletcher

“You don’t believe me.” His head
tilted down until it was level with hers, and his opticals slipped
down his nose.
    Kali caught herself before she took a startled step
back.
    Sapphire eyes peered at her with singular intensity then
changed colour. Now emerald eyes raked her down before sliding to
the side and focusing on the task. Blue’s lips curved. He pushed
the thick black frame up the bridge of his nose, and the glass
dimmed the strength of his stare.
    He turned his back to her.
    Kali placed a hand to her chest, blinking at the floor,
concerned her heart rate was spiking for no reason other than Blue
looked at her.
    Walking with slow measured steps to the line, he looked left
then right. He discharged two rounds. His aim was wide, and he hit
the target at the edge, scoring him twenty out of a possible
hundred, and missed the second shot altogether since the weapon
recoiled and jerked his hand as he fired.
    The shooter in the alley to their left had the same score; his
shot had hit the target in exactly the same place a nanosecond
before Blue had taken his shots.
    Kali leaned back on her heel and rubbed her neck. “He has no
technique, Blue,” she explained and came up beside him. Lifting up
onto her toes, she whispered into his ear. “You would have been
more successful if you’d copied the guy two lanes down to our
right.”
    She should be asking questions; like if he had seen her use
her ability. Maybe he didn’t know she could do it too, and he had
made an impulsive decision to show her his skill because she’d
noticed and asked about it.
    Caving to the delicious thought of getting closer, Kali moved
in front of Blue and threaded her fingers with those of his free
hand. His hands closed over hers, palms cool and dry. Again, his
long elegant fingers captured her attention. She wiggled her hand
from under his and placed it on top to guide his fingers around the
hilt.
    Satisfied, she lifted their arms. “You want a two handed grip,
and to bring the weapon eye-level.” The position forced him to move
closer to her. His broad chest pushed into her back as she lifted
their joined hands, and corrected how to position his arms as they
caged her in, his forearms resting on her shoulders.
    He was tall, and she liked that.
    “ By holding the pistol this way you’re afforded greater control
of the recoil,” she instructed. “So your second shot won’t go
wild.”
    Kali relaxed into the pseudo embrace, her temple resting
against his chin. He breathed heavy, and his warm rush of breath
blew across her skin. The shooting range smelt like limes from
decontamination, but he had a masculine spicy thing going on that
made her want to nuzzle.
    The scent curled around her, creating a cocoon of Blue she
felt utterly safe in.
    She nudged his foot with hers, and the backwards motion bumped
her ass into his groin. Kali expected him to jolt and move back. He
did jolt, but crowded closer until he was pressed into her from her
upper back to her butt.
    “ Um, you need to, ah….” Kali babbled as her body heated. “Your
foot needs to go, ah, go the other way.”
    As he moved the foot back, Blue’s gaze slid down. His focus
narrowed onto Kali’s profile. The bold sweep of her upturned nose
made him think her cute. Burning with want, his gaze lowered to her
graceful chin then even lower until he became fixated on the twin
swells under her tunic. The effect on his body was like being
bludgeoned on the head. Out of respect, he forced his eyes back to
her face, and stared at her lips instead, admiring the prettiest
dusky pink he’d ever seen.
    Kali missed the covetous looks Blue gave her since she was
concerned her heart worked at double its normal resting rate. Kali
thanked her stars he didn’t call her out. She didn’t have a
reasonable explanation for her behaviour other than he sniffed good
and felt nice. It would have been a pointless dance around the
obvious truth she was taking liberties with the lesson.
    There was