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UP IN FLAMES 25
With that, there was a distinctive click and Alaric was gone. She slowly placed the phone back on her desk. “Who was that?” Anita asked. She debated lying, but decided not to. Might as well get it out there now. “Alaric Harper.” She replied,Anita nearly came out of her seat. “As in, the Detective…. Detective Alaric Harper, right?”She nodded as she stood. “You know he's the one in charge of Christopher's case,"“I see.” Anita stood, her green eyes twinkling. “So what were you doing talking about lunch plans with him?”The way Anita said “him” made her uneasy. She headed for the door. “He's been helping me out…You know, with the car trouble, the notes and the cameras in my apartment.”“But that doesn’t explain lunch or dinner or why your face was red through the whole call.” Anita ducked her, blocking the exit. “Are you seeing Alaric?”Vanessa laughed. “No. We’re friends.” The word sounded lame even to her ears.“Are you telling me the truth?”Her brows pinched. “Yes. I’m telling yo
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“Hell no. I’m already itching to get back to her, so I’m sure as hell not going to spend half the night away just in case she gets sicker.”“Then you should be home.”Paul glanced at him. “Like I said, she threatened to kick my ass. You know how she gets.”Alaric laughed. Emily was a tiny thing, but he wouldn’t put it past her to make good on her threat. “You should pick her up some ginger ale and crackers.”“Yes, Mom.”Alaric flipped him off as he kicked his leg off the coffee table and leaned back. His thoughts wandered to the phone call he’d made to Vanessa earlier and a small grin pulled at his lips. He’d flustered the unflusterable and didn’t that fill him with a ridiculous amount of smugness? He really shouldn’t be messing with her, considering the situation she was in, but he just couldn’t help himself.His own phone sat like a stone on the arm of the sofa. He hadn’t expected Vanessa to call him, even if she’d said that she would. It wasn’t like her, but damn if he wasn’t secon
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Someone wanted to scare Vanessa badly enough to send her running, something he doubted she did often, and he’d succeeded. The woman looked like her legs would give out on her at any moment. The urge to take her into his arms hit him hard. He wanted to hold her. More than that, he wanted to protect her. That sudden need went beyond his job, but he resisted. Something told him that she would most likely react like a wild animal cornered if he did pull her into an embrace.“Come on,” he said quietly. Taking her arm in a gentle grasp, he led her into the living room so she could sit.His partner's brows nearly reached his hair as he watched Alaric guide a quiet Vanessa to the edge of the couch. She tucked her hands between her knees, but he could still see them trembling.A feeling of helplessness assaulted him, a sensation he wasn’t used to at all. Alaric knew how to protect people. He made a living doing it, but so far, he’d done a piss-poor job of doing so.Turning to Paul, he curled h
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A wry grin appeared, barely reaching her eyes. “That’s what they say.”He slid closer, using his knee to slide between hers. The position was intimate, noted by her when her eyes flew back to his. She pulled her hands again and this time he let her go, but he didn’t move away. He knew he was crowding her.“I’m sorry.” She started to rise. “I shouldn’t be bothering you with this—any of this. You only agreed to look into the names I’d given you. You're just doing your job. I can go to a hotel until, well, this blows over. I should—”“No,” he said, his muscles tensing, prepared to tackle her if necessary.She froze and her eyes widened behind her glasses. The haunted look was still there. “No?”“Right now, it’s not safe for you to go back to that hotel.” He almost smiled when her eyes widened. “And this stalker also knows where you’re staying and took it out on your apartment.”Folding her arms over her chest, she lifted her chin a fraction of an inch. “Then what am I supposed to do if I
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A sensual thrill sent chill bumps across her skin. He looked at her like he wanted to devour her. She tried not to like the feeling that brought forth in her—the crazy rush of excitement and anticipation—but it pooled low in her belly nonetheless.“You should wear your hair down more often,” he said.Vanessa blinked slowly. “What?”“Your hair,” he repeated as he leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms as he spread his legs. With his eyes all hot and the small grin full of lazy arrogance, he really was quite stunning. The picture of masculine beauty. “You’re an attractive woman, but with your hair down and those glasses off, you really are quite beautiful.”As his words sank in, she snorted. She knew she didn’t look like she face-planted an ugly branch, but beautiful? Yeah, that was not the case. If anything, Vanessa was exceptionally plain with her dark hair and eyes. “Beautiful? Removing my glasses and letting my hair down isn’t a drastic makeover.”“If I say you’re beautiful
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His lips swept over hers once more as she placed her hands on his chest, prepared to push him away, but then he nipped at her lower lip. A tiny bite that brought forth a wave of tight lust that seemed to come out of nowhere. He nibbled at the corner of her lip as he pulled her against him, trapping her hands between them.Good Lord, he kissed like a man starving for a taste. Working at the tight seam of her lips, he pressed forward, demanding that she open up to him.She couldn’t help her reaction to the kiss, no matter how badly she wished she wasn’t affected by it. She wanted to remain aloof to the sensual assault, to remain in complete control of herself, but a longing rose deep inside her, spreading like wildfire.Her lips parted on a sigh, and Alaric delved inside, slowly probing the recesses of her mouth. He tasted of whiskey and something richer, deeper. The kiss deepened, and instead of pushing him away, her hands fisted in the shirt he wore, holding him in place. He kissed he
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“Though I hate to admit it, you never know. Christopher must have kept a lot of secrets. That’s probably the reason he had his own bank accounts and why I was surprised that he emptied our joint one. Clearly, he needed money for something. But what specifically, I have no idea.”“Even more reason to find out.”Since Alaric might be the only person she could trust right now, she decided to ask for his help. “I’d like to go through his papers in his home office. Once we’re finished doing that here, I’d like to check out his office downtown.”“I think that’s a great idea,” Alaric replied. “I wouldn’t mention this to Chloe Davis just yet. It might be better if you surprised her.”Since she hadn’t yet reached a decision about whether or not to trust Christopher's campaign manager and assistant, she nodded. “Agreed. Do you mind coming with me and helping me look? You might see something I miss.”“Of course not. When do you want to start?”“We can go now. I need something to keep me busy and
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Alaric handed Vanessa the document, watching as she read it. She didn’t react, at least not in any outward fashion. She simply flipped to the second page and then the third, before starting over and reading the entire thing again.“It’s dated before I married him,” she finally said, as if the date explained everything. “Though I have no idea who Chris might be.”“You don’t know a Christine or maybe a Crystal?” he asked, figuring he might as well probe a bit deeper. “Did you know Christopher was seriously involved with someone right before your marriage?”Meeting his gaze, she slowly shook her head. “No. Christopher never mentioned anything about a Chris. At all. But then again, he and I never really discussed our previous relationships.” “Is it possible Christopher and Chris might have been married previously?”Vanessa appeared shell-shocked. “It’s possible, I guess. Anything is possible at this point.” She shook her head.“I’ll need to ask Chloe,” Vanessa continued. “She’s been with
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