Free Under His Spell by Jade Lee, Kathy Lyons

than R & D.”
    She sighed, fighting envy. “I was a star in high school ’cause it was easy and I was pretty. In the real world, I have to work hard. And no, I’m not likely to be fired anytime soon, despite my fears. Plus I have enough inthe bank to cover a year’s mortgage. But that could all change in a minute, and you know it.”
    He shook his head. “I think you undervalue yourself.”
    She started to laugh, but it came out more as a choked sob. “You don’t know anything about me.”
    He was silent a long time. Long enough that she brought her eyes back to his, then flickered away only to hop back again. Away and back, a couple times. But he never wavered. He was perfect in his silence and his steady regard, and in the end, she settled enough to hold his gaze.
    Finally, he spoke, his voice low and mesmerizing. “Let’s change that,” he said. “Let’s find out more about Nicky.”
    “You said you were going to hypnotize me.”
    “I said I’d help you figure out what happened and why.”
    She swallowed. “We already know—”
    “Hush,” he said with a tinge of impatience. “I’m the hypnotist. You’re the subject. Do you trust me? Can you relax your guard enough to answer my questions? Do as I ask?”
    She swallowed, anxiety making her hands clench. “I think so.”
    “Good. Now we’re going to pick a word. You can use that word whenever you want to end things. Just thinking that word will be enough to pull you out, but it’s better if you say it aloud.”
    “A safety word.”
    “Exactly. You’ll always be able to say it. You can stop things whenever you want. Just—”
    “Think the word. I mean, say it aloud.”
    He nodded. “So, any ideas what you want that word to be?”
    “Pistachio.”
    He tilted his head in surprise. “The nut?”
    “The ice cream.” Then she shrugged. “It’s the ice cream I had—”
    “Prom night. We went to the café and you ordered pistachio ice cream. I remember.”
    She smiled. “It…tastes like safety to me. I know that’s stupid, but that taste…it’s safe.”
    His expression softened. “That’s not stupid at all. In fact, I’m glad I made you feel safe that night.”
    She flushed and looked away. This was already uncomfortably intimate, and now she’d just confessed something she’d never told anyone before. But then, she’d told Jimmy a ton of things that night that she’d never told anyone before. And the memory made her squirm with nostalgic longing. Everything was so much clearer back in high school.
    “Um, can we get on with this?” she asked.
    “Sure. But you have to look at me.”
    She’d been gazing at the subtle texture in his gray carpet, but now her eyes pulled up to his chin. He had a firm chin with a shadow of a beard. It was kinda…rakish. Really sexy.
    He touched her cheek. She hadn’t even seen his hand move, but she felt the caress all the way to her toes. And just like that, her gaze was locked with his.
    “Just remember pistachio. Say it, and you’ll feel completely safe. You’ll be completely safe.”
    “Pistachio,” she whispered, and damn if it didn’t work. Just saying the word brought back the warmth of the café, the vinyl seats of the booth, the smell of coffee and burgers in the air. Jimmy sat across from her, theworld was on the outside and everything was perfect in that one moment of perfection. And if that weren’t weird enough already, her perfect café was sitting right smack-dab in the middle of her island of lusty delight. She knew she was a split second away from sand, sun and hot oil abandon.
    “Good,” he said, clearly oblivious to how totally turned on she’d suddenly gotten. “Let’s begin.” He reached behind her and clicked on a light. It was a lamp that he adjusted to form a spotlight onto his left arm. Then, before she could ask what he was doing, he sat back down and lifted a pocket watch. How totally traditional. She would have said the thought, but with a flick of his wrist,