Dark Choices - I. T. Lucas Page 0,38

Marla on the cheek. “I had a great time with you.”

“Me too. Good luck.”

“Thank you.”

Fortunately, her home was as close to Kian’s as the one Richard was staying in, so if he ran, he could really make it in two minutes. The problem was that he didn’t have a speech ready, and he would have to wing it.

Since he was a damn good salesman, that wouldn’t have been a problem in any other situation, but when his life depended on it, it would have been better to be prepared. But Kian was not going to give him another chance, and he needed to make the best of it.

Breaking into a jog, Richard reached the side gate to the boss’s home on time, but then stood in front of it like an idiot, debating whether he should knock on the wooden door or just enter.

“Give it a push, Richard.” Kian’s gruff voice made him jump. “It’s open.”

He sucked in a breath, squared his shoulders, put a fake confident expression on his face, and pushed the wooden gate open.

“Thank you for agreeing to see me.” He walked to where Kian was sitting and offered him his hand.

Kian shook it, then motioned to the other lounger. “Take a seat.”

“Thank you.” Richard gingerly sat down on the edge, wishing that he had a bottle of beer or a glass of whiskey in hand for some liquid courage.

Pulling a box out of his pocket, Kian flipped the lid open. “Would you like a cigarillo?”

Except for the occasional joint, Richard didn’t smoke, and regrettably, Kian’s cigarillos were made of pure tobacco and not weed. Nevertheless, he pulled one out, took the lighter Kian handed him, and lit it up.

“Amanda told me that you wish to be induced one more time.” Kian puffed on his slim cigar. “By me.”

“If you are willing, I would be eternally grateful.”

Kian chuckled. “If it fails, which I’m pretty sure it will, you won’t remember me, or the need for gratitude.”

The guy was just being honest, but it sounded like a kick to the gut nonetheless. “I hope it works, but if it doesn’t, I still want to stay in the village. It’s the first place that feels like home to me.”

“Explain.”

“I’m not sure I can.” Richard took a puff and coughed. “I’m good at putting on a face and pretending to be one of the guys, but I never felt like I belonged anywhere. I thought that it was because of my paranormal talent. I was different, and no one believed what I could do. And when I proved it, they thought that I was a freak. If I wasn’t such a damn showoff, I could have kept it to myself and pretended to be just a normal dude, which would have made blending in easier, but I couldn’t help it.”

“How does your talent work? I understand that you are a touch telepath. Do you need to touch people or objects?”

“People. Well, mostly. Sometimes, when an object is imbued with strong feelings, I can feel a faint echo of that. It’s not very useful, so I don’t mention it. Not that touching people to get what they are feeling is all that useful either. It mainly works to get what chicks want.” He chuckled. “I would be totally clueless without that.”

“Does it work with immortal females as well?”

Richard nodded. “Same as with humans. Some are really creeped out by it, though. They are used to being immune to mental tricks, and when I tell them that they are not immune to me, they don’t like it. I have a feeling that Stella ditched me because of that. She was friendly and flirty until I mentioned my ability.”

It had taken him a while to figure that one out. She hadn’t left right after he’d bragged about his ability, so it hadn’t been clear. But when he thought back to that night, Richard had realized that she’d first avoided touching him, and then a few minutes later, she had walked away to talk to someone and had never returned.

The truth was that his ability was mediocre at best, and with immortals it was almost nonexistent. With Stella, he’d been just bragging to make himself look more desirable, but with Kian, he was negotiating for the rest of his life. Convincing the boss that he should allow him to stay justified a little exaggeration.

Or a lot.

Kian frowned. “Do you read thoughts? Or is it just emotions? And can you read immortal males as well?”

He