Page 17 of Locked In Ice

It was nearing two a.m.The woman had helped apprehend not one but two asshole perps that day.She’d nearly been assaulted in an alley.

She’d had to endure countless hours of questions with the cops, both with the Bass case and with that Royce prick.

She should be dead on her feet.Instead, she seemed to shine with energy.He’d heard about people who lit up a room when they entered it.Ophelia seemed to light up the whole damn world.

At nearly two a.m.

“Youareobservant.Getting you all hunter ready is gonna be a breeze.”She turned and propped her shoulder against her hotel room door.They were alone in the hallway.He’d stopped next to room four-oh-eight.She was beside four-ten.“When did you make this wonderful conclusion?Were you suspicious when you arrived at the hotel and saw me waiting in the lobby for you?”

They’d separated at the police station.She’d driven away in a sporty Jeep.He’d returned to his hotel, figuring he’d meet up with her the next day.But then he’d pulled up short when he found her standing in the hotel’s lobby admiring the chandelier that glittered overhead.

“Or perhaps you figured things out when we rode up the elevator together?Youwerevery silent on the elevator ride.”

Because he hadn’t known where the hell to start with her.How about…Don’t ever be bait for some creep like that again.Seeing his hands on you made me want to rip the fucker apart.Or maybe something like…If any sonofabitch ever tries to hurt you like that again, I will make him scream for mercy.

No, both of those had seemed wrong.

Wrong.That word seemed to echo in his mind.So much seemed wrong these days.He seemed wrong.His emotions were wrong.The darkness within him—wrong.

And that night, when Ophelia had been on the dance floor and that bastard Royce had put his hands on her…

Wrong.

Lane had wanted to break every finger that touched her.He knew that wasn’t normal.He’d slid so far away from normal that he didn’t know how to ever get back.He felt like a predator all the time.The darkness inside wasn’t easing.It was just getting stronger.Thicker.

“Or was it when the elevator stopped on the fourth floor and I got off with you?Did you get suspicious then?”Her warm and sensual voice seemed to cover him.Lightly teasing.Completely captivating.

He gripped the keycard too tightly in his hand.“Don’t play with me.”This was not the time.Too late.Too much adrenaline.Too much hell.He needed to go inside his room.Shut the door.

Get his control back.

“Okay, fine.I’ll confess.You’ve got me.I wasn’t originally staying in this hotel.But I learned from Memphis that you were, so when I left the police station, I decided a move was in order.I convinced the sweet guy at the check-in desk that we were lovers, so I needed a connecting room in order to properly surprise you.”

Lovers.He blinked.

Her smile stretched a little wider.“Surprised?”

Not the right word.

“I travel pretty lightly so switching hotels was easy for me.”She patted the overnight bag that was currently slung over one delicate shoulder.After waiting a beat, her pink tongue slid over her lower lip.“Generally, conversations work best when two people exchange words.Otherwise, you’ll just have one person—me—talking to herself.”

Yes, he should say something.But when he tried, a growl came out.

She nodded.“That’s progress.”Then her left hand reached out and squeezed his arm.“Thanks for having my back tonight.Not too bad for our first at bat.”

He looked down at her hand.A cold rage had engulfed him ever since he’d first learned about Royce and what the other man had done.But when Ophelia touched him, Lane could feel heat spreading through his body.Something finally combatting the cold.

“If we’re going to work together, I have to know I can count on you.”She didn’t let him go.“I threw you into the deep end, and you didn’t sink.You were exactly where I needed you to be.That’s important.”

She should stop touching him.He didn’t tell her that, though.Instead, his eyes lifted to meet hers.“What would sinking have looked like?”

“Oh, you know, you blowing things.Storming across the dance floor.Punching the jerk and breaking his jaw because we both hate the predator that he is.”A pause.“Blowing things would have looked like you not waiting for the cops to arrive and taking justice into your own hands.Or us not stopping Derek when he wanted to keep kicking Royce until the man was nothing more than a bloody pulp.”All said in her breezy voice like she was just talking about the weather.

She wasn’t talking about the weather.She was talking about pain and punishment and the slippery slope of darkness that could engulf a person.“Who the hell are you?”he breathed.Because she talked about darkness like it was an old, trusted friend even as she smiled the sunniest smile he’d ever seen.

“I’m Ophelia Raine, your new partner.You must be really exhausted if you’ve forgotten that.”Her hand fell away.“Get some rest.We’ll chat tomorrow.’

“Ophelia.”In a flash, he’d caught her wrist.Mostly because he needed to see—

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