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S he walked ahead of hi her keys from her purse She opened the door, and he followed her inside, where she turned on a light The room was neat and clean He walked over to the bathroo sheepishly, ducked down and looked under the bed

She turned on the television She wanted the noise, the illusion of company, he realized

"Great movie, From Here to Eternity," she co next to the bed

"Would you like so to drink? I don’t have a lot here--beer or white wine Soda, coffee, tea"

He could tell that she didn’t want him to leave She was afraid, but she didn’t want to admit it "Sure I’m not much for wine, so I’ll have a beer"

"Have a seat The sofa is coerator and looking relieved

He sat, and she brought over two beers and sat on the opposite end of the couch, facing hi shyly

Was it possible to envy a beer bottle because those lips had been around it? he wondered

"So…how did you end up working with Adam Harrison?" she asked

"Adam found me," Caleb said, then turned the subject to her "How did you lad you did--you wouldn’t trust me as far as you could throw me if it weren’t for Adam"

She flushed and looked down for a moment "Southerners," she said "We’re very hospitable, but that doesn’t mean we actually trust outsiders "

"I’inia"

"That’s awfully far north," she said "That’s where Ioutside Fredericksburg--I was there taking notes and sketching finds I ations had been hired to stop the weird things that were happening--tools disappearing, then reappearing, strange lights in the ht, stuff like that Even the newspapers had picked up on it and were joking thatAda all the trouble--no curses going on, just pranks But ets called in by the government--quietly--to…look into weird events"

Caleb ad network of people located all over the country He brings the right person in on the right case every time"

"Does he ever find that…the ru on?"

"Some of the people ork for hi with the…other side, I guess you’d call it And yes, soht call ESP, but that just stands for extrasensory perception Seeing is perception, touching…but scientists know the brain has e person utilizes, and I think that’s what ESP is, just utilizing those parts of the brain"

"What about you?"

"Me? I have a way ofa crime scene I’ic by relying on ic And the fact that we don’t utilize all our mental capacities, that makes sense to ht"

She was looking at hiht And she was standing so close

In the end, it roan, and he plucked the beer bottle out of her hand, set it on the side table alongside his own and pulled her into his are in," he said huskily, "but this bedrooiving her the chance to pull away

There were things he could say Inane assurances that he wouldn’t leave if she was afraid to be alone, even if they just sat and talked or watched TV, or just passed the tiether for lots of reasons, not all of they, the laws of attraction Whatever this was had begun to simmer the first time he had seen her, the first time he had heard her speak, the first ti his jaw, her eyes filled with curiosity and fascination The stroke of her fingers against his flesh felt like flickers of fire, and her eyes went sray with pure sensuality, and he leaned forward, into her, hesitated, his mouth just a breath away He watched her lips curve into a half smile as she waited At last he kissed her and found her lips everything he’d i her in his ar the essence of life and heat, and every drop of blood in hian to steah hier and desire He pulled her ain, as her lips surrendered fully to his and their tongues began to parry in exquisite exploration He felt the flesh of her neck and shoulders beneath his fingers, the teasing touch of her hair against his flesh Her arms curled around his neck, and she seeh

She pulled away and stood, looked at hiht

The faint glow frolow as she walked over to the bed and let her dress fall to the floor

He stood, too, stripping his shirt over his head as he strode over to her, then took her back into his arainst his chest, sent an infusion of fire streaking through hiht to his loins The scent of her perfume, the way it seemed to steaainst her neck, kissed the delicate flesh, and fought for control Their ain in a passionate kiss that went deep, that intis, and aroused and stoked the fire that was burning so high and fast between theers down her spine, cupped and cradled her buttocks, drew her closer still Her fingers scratched a path down his back, pressing, teasing, arousing Still fused together at the lips, they fell onto the bed, and, breathlessly, he rose above her

There were arose to his lips

Her words were all in her eyes Silver s

He wasn’t prone to flights of fantasy, especially where romance was concerned, but…suddenly it seemed as if he had known her forever, loved her forever Not just wanted her Wanting was basic biology Wanting could be eased by a stranger ould never be seen or even thought of again This was soive hi of intense connection, of suddenly, unbelievably, realizing that he loved someone he barely knew, that he needed to be with her and protect her against all dangers…