Things weren’t easy. They were even more tense than before. With every hour that passed, with every moment her strength came back, the tension between them seemed to thicken.
You were my obsession.
It wasn’t exactly the tender declaration of love most girls longed to hear. But then, she wasn’t most girls.
Had Anthony thought his past would scare her? It hadn’t. It made her yearn for him even more.
He’s a survivor.
So was she. Dammit, so was she.
“You almost died.” His green eyes glittered with emotion. “From now on, I’m sticking to you.”
If she didn’t still have the headache from hell, she might be able to actually enjoy his company.
“They’re having a briefing down at the station,” she said. She might be sidelined by her injury, but she was keeping tabs on things. “Let’s go hear what they’ve got to say.” Even she could handle a trip to the station.
“They’ve got jack shit.” Disgust tightened his face. “All of those hours spent searching, and they turned up nothing.”
“Walker has help.” Just what she needed—a second serial killer in her town. “His partner could have helped him slip away from the swamp. He could be hiding him right now.”
Anthony thought the same thing, she saw it in his eyes. She pressed on. “Staying here isn’t doing any good. I’m stronger now.” Maybe he wouldn’t recognize it for the lie it was. “Let’s get to the station. Whoever Walker’s working with…if they killed J-Jenny”—she stumbled over her sister’s name—“if they’ve been working together for all of this time, then the partner should be someone who was in Walker’s life five years ago.”
Maybe the partner was even someone she’d interviewed as she prepared for the trial. She could have come face-to-face with her sister’s killer and not known it.
“We’ve got all the old interviews on file at my office. Names, addresses. We can contact those people. The cops might even walk right into the house where Walker is hiding.” Hope—it was all she had to hold on to at that point.
After a moment, Anthony gave a grim nod. “But you stay with me.”
“I will.” She was already dressed in pants and a top—he hadn’t helped her this time. She hadn’t needed his help, thankfully, because she sure hadn’t been up to handling his hot touch.
Lauren rose and headed toward the door.
“We will talk about it,” Anthony said.
His words stopped her. Not understanding, she glanced back at him, “We did plenty of talking.” Her soul was bare. What more did he want?
All your secrets. That was the answer in his hard stare.
She’d never given all to anyone. Wasn’t even sure if she could.
He reached into the nightstand, pulled out his gun, and holstered the weapon. Then, with his eyes holding hers, he closed the distance between them. “You talked plenty about the past, but you didn’t tell me a damn thing about what Walker did to you in that cabin.”
She hadn’t been able to think about it. She’d barely been holding herself together as it was. “I told Cadence.” The FBI agent had come to the hotel to interview her again. The other marshals had pulled Anthony away while they talked. She’d actually been glad he left. Baring her soul again in front of him would have been too painful. She tried to keep the emotion out of her voice. “Why bother with that nightmare twice?”
“Talking to me isn’t the same thing as giving witness testimony.” Anger burned in his words. “Dammit, I can help you.”
“When you catch Walker, you’ll help me plenty.”
She turned toward the door.
His fingers curled around her shoulder. “I see what you’re doing.”
Her heart was beating faster.
“What happened? Did I get too close? You’re trying to put the wall back up now?”
Yes. That wall was what helped her get through each and every day. She needed it to survive.
He turned her to face him. “I won’t go back to being on the outside.” He bent toward her. His lips were just in inch from hers. “I wanted you for too long. Too much. I came too f**king close to losing you.” His gaze searched hers. “Everything’s changed. Don’t you see that?”
He was all she could see.
Then his mouth was on hers. Not hard. Not demanding or taking.
Seducing.
She’d never been able to resist his seduction.
Her lips were parted, but he didn’t thrust his tongue past her lips. Not at first. He pressed his lips to hers, stealing her breath, giving her his. Her mouth opened more beneath the light touch.
Helpless. That was the way he made her feel.
His tongue lightly licked her lower lip, then it was pushing into her mouth. Her fingers locked around his shoulders, and Lauren found herself rising onto her toes.
Her body pressed along the length of his. His arousal thrust toward her, but still, he kept the kiss easy. Gentle.
His tongue was against hers, his arms surrounded her. He was all that she could feel, all that she could taste.
She wanted more. Harder. But his mouth was already pulling away even though a moan of protest slipped from her lips.
“I could never forget the way you taste,” he said.
Her lashes lifted. His eyes…she pulled in a quick breath…he looked hungry.
Not for food.
“Sin and sweetness, all twisted together. You f**king bring me to my knees.”
He wasn’t on his knees. She was the one who felt like her knees were wobbling.
“I will have you again.” A promise.
One she wanted fulfilled.
“The doctor wants to check you once more. If you get the all clear from Davis…if it’s safe for you…”
Her fingers pushed against his shoulders, forcing him back. “It will be.” It needed to be. Because she wanted, as desperately as he did.
The look in his eyes—the stark promise of pleasure and passion—it was exactly what she needed to wipe away the memory of fear and death.
It will be.
Pierce Hamilton wasn’t paying any attention to the case being presented before him. The witness was testifying, going on and on about an alibi that was probably crap, and all he could think was—
Lauren Chandler got away from the Bayou Butcher.
He’d woken to the headline today, screaming from the cover of the newspaper, and then the reporters from the local news had been too eager to blast the same story at him.