He held his hands up in surrender. "It's all right, Abby." His tone was soothing, but his eyes still showed panic.
And she wasn't ready to listen to any form of reason. She was too humiliated. Gah, if he'd heard everything she'd thought ...
She couldn't stand it. "It's not all right. How dare you not tell me about this. What kind of sicko are you? I can't believe you'd do that. It's so intrusive and ... and..." She couldn't think of a word bad enough to convey how very bad it was, and she was too angry to have full access to her vocabulary, anyway. "Have you been spying on me the whole time?"
Jess silently cursed as she continued to rant at him and snatch her clothes on. Damn, the woman was hotheaded. Not that he fully blamed her for it. He'd be pissed, too, if someone was traipsing in his mind.
Still ...
"Abby, listen to me. I can hear thoughts-"
"Little late now, bucko." The last word was said with such snapping venom, it oddly reminded him of a chicken clucking. She snatched her head up to pierce him with a look that really should have splintered him into pieces. Damn, someone should bottle that. It'd make entire armies drop arms. "I noticed. Thanks for volunteering that. Let me give you a Hero Award for your first confession. Big flippin' hairy doo dah..." Then she added an extremely sarcastic, "Woo. Hoo."
"But," he continued in what he hoped was a calming tone while he ignored her outburst and go-to-hell-and-roast-your-nuts glare. Now, that was what he deserved a Hero Award for. Took guts to face a woman this angry. "I don't. Not normally. Just every now and again, something comes through and pops into my head like your question. I don't know how it got past my defenses. Maybe 'cause I was in my zone and not thinking of anything other than how good you felt."
She covered herself with her jeans. "Like I believe that. How stupid do you think I am?"
"I don't think you're stupid at all." He was the rank idiot who'd opened his mouth when he should have kept it closed. His mama had always said 90% of intelligence was knowing when to shut up.
Other 10% was knowing when to nut up-which he was trying to do, but it wasn't easy.
She finally paused and locked gazes with him. That look paralyzed him because he knew if he so much as blinked wrong, it would set her off again, and that was the last thing he wanted.
Don't smile. Don't sweat. Don't do nothing.
Don't even breathe.
It was like watching a salivating bear you knew would either lumber past and go on its way ...
Or rip your arm off and beat you with it.
"How do I know you're not in my head right now?"
He ran various answers through his mind. 'Cause I said so. Nah, that'd get him bitch-slapped for sure. I wouldn't dare. Made him sound like a coward.
Think, Jess, think.
Finally he opted for the simple truth. "It's rude, and I wouldn't want anyone to do it to me, so I try hard not to do it to others. Honestly, it ain't my favorite power. You have no idea how sick people are, and I really don't want to know most days. The world can have their thoughts. I got enough of my own to deal with."
Abigail hesitated as she considered his words. For reasons that made no sense whatsoever, she believed him. Not to mention, what he said made a lot of sense. She wouldn't want to look into other people's minds and find out their psychoses and insecurities either.
And he hadn't said or done anything previously that led her to believe he had that ability. Her only clue had been that one snippet with him and the lawyer.
He'd been stressed then, too.
Okay, I'm going to trust him. But if she ever found him near her thoughts again without her permission ... It definitely wouldn't pay to be in his boots.
"Don't do it again," she warned.
"Trust me, I won't. At least not on purpose. Like I said, I can't always control it, but I do most of the time, and I will definitely be more on guard around you, especially any time you're going near the more tender parts of my body."
She didn't want to be amused by that last bit at all. Unfortunately, she was.
Even so, it didn't mean she had to let him know it.
Forcing herself to stay stern, she nodded. "Good. Now what other evil powers do you have that I should know about?"
"I can roll my tongue," he said proudly.