Page 44 of Critical Strike

Claire felt like her insides were being turned to pieces of ice. “You don’t want me? You don’t think of me that way?”

“Are you kidding?” He slid his hand down and yanked her hips against his. “Believe me, I want you. But you’ve been through enough. I don’t want you to feel pressured. I don’t want this to be something you’ll regret.”

The ice inside her began to fall. He did want her. He was just so protective, always had been.

She reached up and scraped her fingers gently down his jaw, loving the feel of the stubble growing there.

“I want you. There may end up being a lot of things I regret, but this is definitely not one of them.”

His brown eyes bored into hers. “Are you sure? I don’t expect anything. You don’t owe me any—”

She shut him up with a kiss. He probably still had another twenty minutes’ worth of protective alpha male speech to give her.

But she knew that she wanted him.

He took the hint and stopped trying to talk her out of what they both desperately wanted. Their lips fused together in a duel, a battle in which both of them won.

Then, as he kissed down her body, moving away the towel as he went, it chased away all the thoughts of Ballard and death and the inescapable mess she was in.

All she could feel was Luke.

Chapter Fourteen

Luke woke up the next morning groggy, which was unusual for him. His life had never been one where deep sleep and waking up disoriented were leisures he could afford.

But clarity came when he realized Claire was not in the bed beside him. A quick glance at the bathroom and around this small studio space confirmed his worst fears.

She was gone.

Damn it. His body was tired from yesterday’s trauma and then the three rounds of lovemaking with her last night. He hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her. And he wouldn’t trade a single second of it, except that it meant he hadn’t woken up when she decided to sneak off.

Khan.

He saw the note on the small table at the same time he saw Khan stretch out by the door.

His heart sank as he read her words.

Dear Luke,

I couldn’t stay. This was too dangerous for me to have involved you in—and now you’ve gotten hurt. I’m going to go to the police, tell them everything I know, and hope for the best. Maybe I can make them listen and give me a chance to prove my innocence. This lets me protect you for once. Please take care of Khan. I know you know how important he is to me. Thank you for last night. Thank you for everything, now and when we were kids.

Love,

Claire

Luke was already getting dressed, having to use one of the vet clinic polo shirts lying in a box since his was way too bloodied and he did not want to draw attention to himself. He grabbed Khan, knowing she’d never forgive him if something happened to the cat, and rushed out the door, praying he wasn’t too late to stop her.

There might come a time when her only option was to go to the police and hope they could find one who was on the up-and-up and would listen to her, but that wasn’t until they ran out of all their other options.

And it damn well wasn’t going to be because she wanted to protect him.

The closest precinct was about a mile away. Luke didn’t even bother trying to blend in with any sort of walk. There was no way he could blend in when carrying this giant cat anyway. He ran full out, ignoring the pain in his shoulder and the occasional cat claw hooked into his biceps. At least the cat wasn’t fighting him and trying to get away.

“Good boy.”

This thing really was more like a dog. Maybe he sensed his mistress was in trouble. “Not on my watch, buddy.” It was early enough on a Sunday morning that there weren’t many people out. All things considered, Luke made pretty good time. When he turned around the last corner that put the precinct in his sights, he let out a silent prayer.

Claire was standing just down the block from the station, pacing and talking to herself.Thank God.

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