Free Touched by Lightning by Danica Avet

wouldn’t have seen the fine tremor that shook her hands, but he did and felt a pang of sympathy for her. It couldn’t be easy knowing you were in the presence of one of the most important people in the country. Any regular person would’ve been intimidated. This woman had broken into what was basically Joe’s house and then been soundly kissed by another member of the O.T..
    But then Joe did what she did best. She was herself.
    “Hi,” she chirped with all the cheer in her tall, voluptuous body, bouncing forward on her heels until she loomed over the shorter woman. “I thought I was gonna have to take the hose to you two.”
    On the bright side, his mystery woman didn’t look as though she’d faint anymore. However, if her face turned any redder, Brit thought he might need to get her a cool compress. Or a respirator. He glared at Joe, who didn’t look the least bit bothered by his silent reprimand.
    Joe leaned closer, not at all fazed by the wickedly sharp knives that could slash her throat at any moment. She cocked her head as she studied the woman, her long hair sweeping down in a golden fan before it settled along her shoulder.
    “You don’t feel the same as you did the other night,” she said thoughtfully, blue eyes narrowed on the woman before her. “You don’t feel as…wild. Who are you?”
    And wasn’t that the question of the hour?
     
    Gyda wasn’t sure who she felt more threatened by. Britton, the man who’d kissed her within an inch of her life, or Josephina, the Director of the Order of Themis. She recognized the woman from Sixteen’s memories of the Mendoza extermination. This time the woman wore a pink power suit with stiletto heels. She looked sophisticated and polished, but despite the color she wore, nothing about her appeared soft. Josephina Daly looked as though she could smash grimy little supes like Gyda without breaking a sweat.
    Despite the obvious danger staring her in the face in the guise of a pastel-wearing Amazon, Gyda’s gaze was drawn back to the tattooed man standing beside the tall woman. He’d kissed her. Fuck it, he’d damn near devoured her and she’d…liked it. A lot. Her panties were soaked and she knew her nipples had to be standing in sharp relief against her shirt. Arousal wasn’t something she’d experienced. She recognized it because of Sixteen’s memories, but she’d never expected to feel it herself. And she wasn’t sure if she liked it, because there was a severe loss of control involved. Control over herself, over her reactions, meant everything to her. Yet she’d just about given them to Britton on a silver platter. She’d ceded ground to him when he pressed for a deeper kiss, her curiosity and arousal overriding her good sense.
    The dark, hungry look in his eyes suggested she wasn’t the only one who’d nearly lost control tonight and that scared her more than anything, wiping nearly all traces of lingering arousal and awe. She didn’t need to be anywhere near a man who couldn’t control himself. Been there, done that and almost couldn’t find her way back. The hazy recollections threatened to overwhelm her then and there, the lingering shocks from Britton’s power doing little to stop them. Only knowing she couldn’t fall apart in front of these people kept her from doing something—anything to stop the memories from coming back.
    The woman speaking drew Gyda’s attention again, but with it came a slow pressure in her mind, as though someone was trying to pick at her shields. Heart slamming against her chest with fear and panic, Gyda shoved back with all her strength and the woman in pink staggered back a few steps, her hand coming up to touch her temple as though she’d just developed a severe headache.
    “Joe?” Britton asked without turning to look at her. “You okay?”
    Josephina—Joe, brought her other hand to her nose where a thin trail of blood seeped from one nostril. “Yeah, I’m okay,” she replied, although her eyes