Crime and Punishment 4: Burning Submission by Trista Ann Michaels Read Free Book Online Page B

the anguish he saw there nearly tore his heart.
    “How do I know you won’t do what he did?” she whispered.
    “What who did? Your college professor?”
    After a second’s hesitation, she nodded.
    “What happened, Jenn?” he asked again, hoping this time she would answer.
    She broke free of Josh’s grip and stumbled to the kitchen table. She dropped heavily into one of the chairs as though the weight of all her troubles forced her down. She reached out and began to fiddle with one of the napkins lying in front of her. Josh moved to take the seat across from her, sensing she needed a moment to gather her thoughts.
    “We started dating the fall of my third year at Harvard.” She bit her lip and looked up at him.
    He gave her a nod of encouragement. “Go on.”
    She stared back down at the napkin, her brow creased into a deep frown. “Did Linda tell you any of this?”
    “No, and you’re stalling, Jenn.”
    “Then how did you—?”
    “Jennifer,” he said firmly. “We’ll discuss how I found out after you tell me everything.” He leaned forward and put his hand over hers. “You’re in trouble, and I need to know why.”
    “You shouldn’t be here,” she whispered.
    “You’ve already said that, but I am, and I’m not leaving until I know you’re going to be okay.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I promised Linda. Now spill.”

Chapter Nine
    Jennifer wasn’t sure whether to hit him or hug him. His hand over hers felt warm and comforting, but there was also that underlying tingle that always seemed to accompany his touch. She stared down at their hands: her small one completely covered by his larger one.
    “Do you feel that?” she asked.
    His thumb softly brushed over the back of her hand. “Feel what?”
    “That tingle.”
    Josh kept rubbing his thumb over her hand, increasing the intensity of the current and warming her flesh. She brought her gaze back to his and wanted to just drown in his blue eyes, forget the world outside existed if only for a little while. She’d been so lonely, so alone.
    “What is it, Jenn?” he asked.
    She started to open her mouth and tell him she wanted him to hold her, to kiss her like he had last night, but she suddenly realized that wasn’t what he’d meant.
    “That tingle is me.” She pulled her hand away and grabbed the half-empty cup of coffee that had been sitting on the table. “This coffee is cold. Feel it.”
    She slid it toward him, and he dipped his finger in the liquid. “Yes, it’s cold, but what does—”
    She held up a finger as she pulled the cup back to her. She placed her hand over the cup and concentrated. Steam began to lift through her fingers as the liquid warmed. She removed her hand and slid the cup back to Josh, but she couldn’t look at him. She kept her gaze on his hand as he wrapped it around the now warm mug.
    “How did you do that?” he asked.
    He didn’t sound afraid or freaked out, so she risked a glance. Instead of revulsion, she saw curiosity in his eyes, but she still didn’t quite relax. Her professor boyfriend had been curious too, then excited, then…
    “I’ve been able to do it since I was little. I can pull the cool air away, and somehow the contents heat up. I can also pull the heat out, sometimes even freeze things solid.”
    Josh let go of the mug and folded his hands in front of him on the table. “So, the pot handles yesterday were hot; you just cooled them.”
    “Yeah, I had forgotten the pot holders.”
    “This is why you went into neurology?”
    She cleared her throat before answering. “Yes. As I got older, I realized I could do other things, such as manipulate the energy and electrical current that surround all of us. I spent most of my allowance as a kid buying lightbulbs to experiment with.”
    Josh’s lips twitched, but other than that, his expression didn’t change.
    “I thought that maybe it had something to do with the way my brain was wired. We only use a portion of it, so I thought it might be