Page 1 of Killer Attraction

CHAPTER ONE

AIDEN

Was there anything worse than being stuck at a social event you can’t leave? Except, maybe being stuck there alone when you don’t really know anyone.

When I agreed to come as my best friend’s plus one to her cousin’s wedding, I assumed she’d stick with me most of the time. And to her credit, she had. Right until a tall, gorgeous six-and-a-half-foot god came up and asked her to dance. Not that I could blame her, because if she hadn’t been interested, I might have tried my luck to see if the guy also played for my team.

But alas, Victoria seemed as enamored with the man as he was with her.

So, I found myself sitting at the bar, sipping top-shelf martinis that were going down way too smooth. If I didn’t stop soon, I’d definitely end up embarrassing myself. And that was the last thing I wanted to do, especially in front of Victoria’s family. She’d never let me live it down. And considering I had to put up with her at work, giving my partner ammunition she could use to get the entire precinct to tease me with was the last thing I wanted.

As I sipped my third—no, fourth—martini, I scanned the crowd that had considerably thinned since the evening had started. I knew some of Victoria’s family, since we had been partners for almost a decade. But most of them had already turned in for the night. Besides the bride and groom, Victoria, and Shelby, Victoria’s sister, there wasn’t anyone else who was still mingling that I knew.

By the way Victoria and her man were moving on the dance floor, it was obvious I was going back to the room by myself. With a sigh, I turned back on my stool to lean against the bar.

“Well, that didn’t sound very happy,” came a deep voice from my right.

I turned and saw a man in an impressive-looking, well-tailored charcoal suit. He grinned and let out a chuckle, no doubt at my expense. His deep chocolate eyes didn’t quite match the warmth in his voice, but they were still hypnotizing, and I found myself letting out a chuckle in return.

“Honestly, just wondering if I need to wait for my friend to tell me she’s ditching me or if I can ditch her first. But it doesn’t seem very gentlemanly to leave her alone.” Not that I would ever insinuate to Victoria that she was incapable of taking care of herself. She’d been a cop before me but my instinct would always be to look after and protect my partner, even in a social situation that consisted of a lot of her family members.

“So, not a girlfriend, then?” Tall, dark, and handsome asked, quirking up an eyebrow. I let out a full-bellied laugh that left him looking perplexed yet amused.

“Oh, god, no. Just a friend. We work together. I’m a hundred percent gay.” I felt my cheeks grow hot, unsure as to what prompted me to blurt out that declaration. Not that it was a secret. It hadn’t been in over twenty years, since I’d made no efforts to hide it once I had realized I’d rather kiss Barbara Sue Wright’s brother than her at the age of fifteen. But it wasn’t usually something I led with before I even exchanged names with a stranger. The tug of his lips at the information left me thinking maybe it hadn’t been such a bad thing though.

“Sorry,” I muttered, turning back to my drink. I was such an idiot. Not that I was overly worried, even if he did turn out to be homophobic prick. While I wasn’t the biggest guy, and he definitely had some muscle on me, I had almost a decade as a cop with more than my share of experience where I had to be able to handle myself in a fight.

“For what?” he asked, the puzzled expression clear on his face.

I shrugged. “It’s not usually something I just blurt out, especially to random men. Sometimes people get the wrong idea.” Despite my attempts to be nonchalant, the way he stared at me made me feel exposed and vulnerable, but I wasn’t sure if it was in a sexy way.

He continued to study me for another moment before he gave a slight nod and took a sip of his drink. “What about when the wrong idea is the right idea?”

My head snapped in his direction, sure I had misheard heard him.

“I’m sorry. What?” I felt like an idiot as the other man sat there and smirked at me.

“Nathan Turner,” the man said, extending his hand.

Flustered, I slid my hand into his, my eyes widening at the way I would have sworn literal sparks flew when we made contact.

“A-Aiden. Aiden Cooper,” I replied, tripping over my own name. I wasn’t sure what it was about this man, but he left me feeling tied up in knots. While I usually didn’t have much game when it came to flirting, there was something about Nathan Turner that left me feeling equally relaxed and on edge.

Or maybe it was just that I wanted him to put me on edge.

Over. And over. And over.

I shook my head, eradicating the stray thought.

“It’s nice to meet you, Aiden,” he rasped in that deep voice that turned my insides to jelly. “What do you say we live a little and get out of here?”

My eyes widened, and my breathing hitched. There was no way I’d heard right—that this gorgeous, put-together man wanted me. But the last thing I planned to do was let a man like him slip through my fingertips, even if it was only going to be for one night.

“Your room or mine?” I asked, barely able to recognize the sound of my own voice.

CHAPTER TWO

NATHAN

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