“It’s a sign of trying to be too strong for too long. It’s a sign of standing alone on a mountaintop with no one to have your back. But that’s not the case anymore, Audrey. I’d like to be there for you if you’re willing to let me in.”
It would be so easy to let Duke be her comfort right now. Was it smart?
The air shifted the minute her eyes met his. It crackled with a very different kind of tension. She dropped her gaze to those thick lips of his—lips that made hers burn to touch them again.
“All I need from you right now is a kiss,” she said, surprising herself. “Or is that off the table?”
“Do you think it’s a good idea?” he asked. “Because I’ve wanted to do just that far too long.” His gaze lingered on her lips and left a sizzling trail.
“No,” she admitted. “But that isn’t stopping me from wanting to do it anyway.”
The corners of his lips turned up in a sexy little grin full of mischief that weakened her knees. Just for a few minutes, she wanted to lean into his strong body. She wanted those muscled arms to wrap around her and that voice to promise everything would be all right. And she would believe it, too. Because the Duke she’d fallen for all those years ago wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.
“Well then, maybe we should test the waters a little bit,” he said. With that, he dipped his head down and kissed her so tenderly it robbed her of breath.
Audrey brought her hands up to Duke’s shoulders to anchor herself. It dawned on her that he might need this escape every bit as much as she did. And it occurred to her that Duke might be spending time with her to distract himself from the nightmare in his own life, his grandparents’ accident.
Shoving those thoughts far out of reach, Audrey slicked her tongue across Duke’s bottom lip. She gently bit down, capturing his full lip in her teeth before releasing him. The move elicited a guttural groan from somewhere deep inside him.
His hands came up to cup her face, positioning her mouth for better access. But first, he feathered kisses along her neck. Then her jawline. He moved to her ear where he tugged at the lobe.
Warmth coursed through her as heat pooled between her thighs.
Audrey dug her fingernails into Duke’s shoulders. He gave another groan against her lips. Her breath quickened, and her heart raced in perfect tempo with his. The memory of the last time they kissed was stamped in her memory. It was burned into her lips to the point no one had even come close to matching it since Duke.
And then he pulled back, resting his forehead against hers as he tried to catch his breath.
“Not one kiss has come close to yours,” she said low and under her breath. The fact she’d said those words out loud caught her off guard and caused her cheeks to flame.
“What am I supposed to do with that?” came his breathless response.
She had ideas, but this probably wasn’t the best time to share them. Or should she?
Chapter Fourteen
“You should go first in the shower,” Duke urged, needing to think about something besides the feel of her lips as they moved against his. Because they felt a lot like home.
He chalked the deep connection up to muscle memory. He’d loved intensely at sixteen. Age and experience had a way of taming him.
“There are two bathrooms,” Audrey said when she took a step away from him. She brought the back of her hand up to her mouth. “You can take the guest bathroom.” She motioned right as she moved away, flipping lights on. “Let’s make sure all the blinds are closed first.”
“Okay,” he agreed as she shivered, no doubt at the thought of having had someone invade her privacy.
The perp had been watching her from the woods, but if he worked alone—which was the current assumption since there was no proof otherwise—he’d also gotten close enough to leave tracks a foot from her foundation. The trail circled her home. He was responsible for unscrewing her light bulb on the porch enough to keep it from illuminating the dark. Did he intend to breach her home using the back door? Many criminals walked right through a door with an easy lock. If they had the kid’s cell phone or laptop, would his search history reveal he’d been learning how to pick locks?
Working without their usual tools, like access to records and the like, made the investigation more challenging. Since Duke had never shied away from a challenge, he wouldn’t let the current limits set him back by much. It might take longer, but there were other ways to explore.
Plus, they were continuing the search for facts mainly for Audrey’s peace of mind. That, and dotting every i and crossing every t in order to ensure there wasn’t someone out there working his way toward her.
The boot print versus tennis shoe bothered Duke. It was inconsistent with one person working alone. Could be nothing. Or it could be the key to unlocking a bigger case than they originally thought.
Either way, Audrey being able to sleep at night once he was gone was his main concern.
He made his way into the guest room. Audrey’s home had an open-concept living, dining and kitchen space with cathedral ceilings. A wood beam ran the length of the space. The island provided separation between the living and kitchen areas. Bar chairs rather than stools were pushed up to one side of the granite island. Hers was a kitchen of whites. White flooring. White cabinets. White granite countertops. Rather than leaving things feeling cold, she’d warmed the place up with green plants and candles.
The guest bathroom mirrored the rest of the house with light fixtures that weren’t the least bit sterile. He set his backpack down, pulled out his travel kit complete with a razor, shaving cream and toothbrush and set them on the counter.
A ten-minute shower was all he needed to feel human again. Also in his backpack was a change of clothing down to his boxer briefs. Changing into clean clothes was the closest thing to heaven. Duke brushed his teeth and changed inside of fifteen minutes, complete with a shave. He was the in-and-out type when it came to spending time in the bathroom.
In the kitchen, he located her pod-style coffee maker along with everything else he needed for a fresh cup within arm’s reach. They still planned to make the drive back to the hospital tonight. And even if they didn’t, sleep wouldn’t be an option. Not for him. He was too keyed up to think about any real shut-eye for several hours at a minimum.
As he took the first sip of coffee, Audrey appeared wearing yoga pants and a form-fitting cotton shirt. She had on tennis shoes and was carrying an overnight bag that she set down next to the granite island.
“Coffee?” he asked.
“Sure,” she said. “But let’s make these to go.”
Duke nodded. “I hope you don’t mind I helped myself.”
“Not at all,” she reassured him. “In fact, I meant to tell you to make yourself at home before I took my shower.”
He did his best not to stare at the droplet of water rolling down the silky skin of her sleek neck where her pulse thumped. Fixing another cup of coffee after locating two to-go mugs helped keep his mind focused where it needed to stay. He couldn’t go there with the whole having-feelings-for-Audrey again and end up getting his heart stomped on twice. Duke considered himself to be tough as nails when it came to most things, but his foolish heart didn’t cooperate. It was the one weak spot that could be shattered over and over again without ever learning its lesson. His brain had the job of constructing high enough walls to keep emotions from taking the wheel.
“Here you go,” he said as he handed over the to-go mug.
As their fingers grazed, an electrical current vibrated through his hand and up his arm straight to his heart. Great job keeping distance, dude.
They double-checked the window and door locks before heading out. The night was black as pitch as they made their way to his truck. He’d locked his doors so there was no worrying someone would jump at them from behind the seat. Locking his vehicle doors was a habit he’d picked up in the marshals service. He carried weapons in the trunk that he didn’t need used against him or anyone else by the dirtbags he was after.