Page 35 of Murder at Rescue Ridge

Nikki blinked up at him as he gently pressed an antibiotic ointment-covered bandage against her cuts. He started with her face, then moved to her arms.

“Trust me, you don’t want to see my feet,” she said before standing. “At least let me wash the dirt off them.”

He nodded before leading her to the bathroom, where he set out a washcloth and a fresh towel. “Do you need anything else?”

They stood close enough for him to see the way her eyes glittered with what looked a helluva lot like need.

“I should be good,” she said in barely more than a whisper. The sensual quality she tried to cover up in her tone sent fire racing through him and stirred a place deep in his chest. His gaze lowered to those perfect heart-shaped lips of hers. Pink was his new favorite color. Her tongue slicked across her bottom lip, leaving a silky trail that mesmerized him. He blinked, trying to break the distraction. It didn’t work.

“I would very much like to kiss you, Nikki,” he said. “With your permission, of course.”

“What took you so long to ask?”

She pushed up on her tiptoes, barely able to reach his lips. He met her halfway, pressing a tender kiss to those gorgeous lips. He brought his hand up to cup her chin in order to position her mouth for better access. Mini explosions fired all through his chest the second their lips made contact. But that was nothing compared to the fires that lit when she teased his tongue inside her mouth.

Conrad had never felt so much heat and promise in one kiss before.Game changerwere the words that managed to cut through the fog that was Nikki.

When she brought her arms up to loop around his neck, her full breasts brushed against his chest. Bombs detonated as he released a slow moan against her mouth. As the kisses intensified, his heart rate shot through the roof. It wasn’t the only thing rising as his blood flew south.

Nikki broke apart first, her gaze glittery with desire. Desire for him. It was sexy as hell.

“That shouldn’t have happened,” he said.

She blinked a couple of times, confused. “Why not?”

“What will folks think?” he asked. Reality was a bucket of ice water. “I’m accused of murdering your father.”

“Maybe it’ll sew a seed of doubt,” she reasoned. “Maybe they’ll think you must be innocent if the victim’s daughter is involved with you.”

Should he point out all the holes? Like, it might make folks think he’d seduced her so she’d be on his side. Or it might make it look like she hadn’t loved her father.

Like it or not, perception was important.

Conrad wanted to go with the attraction. See where it would take them. He’d never experienced anything this electric in his life. If a kiss caused his body to light up, what would making love feel like?

It was time for a reality check.

“I could end up in jail, Nikki. What good would it do either one of us to kid ourselves into thinking anything happening between us might be temporary.” There was no way he would try to drag her into a relationship while he served time. It wouldn’t be fair to her.

“If I’ve learned anything in the past few days, it’s that when a chance at happiness presents itself, you take it,” she argued. Her logic made it difficult not to ask the question that had been burning in the back of his mind a few minutes ago. Could he take her clothes off right there and make love to her? Because the thought of burying himself inside her would change his entire outlook on what love was supposed to be.

Love? They barely knew each other despite the fact his heart wanted to argue the opposite. Emotions were always heightened in life and death situations. Hadn’t he read somewhere that nothing made people want to procreate more than facing death?

Perhaps his heart was trying to trick him into believing they were kindred souls because she fit him in a way no one else ever had. Conrad had dated his fair share of women. Some had been more interesting than others. Lately, he’d found himself checking the time before the chips and salsa made it to the table. Being with someone who couldn’t hold their own in a conversation bored him to tears. Not being much of a talker, it was even that much more surprising.

Nikki, on the other hand, was different. She was intelligent and strong-willed, not to mention the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. There was something else about her that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, like they were two broken souls whose pieces fit together.

“Under normal circumstances,” he finally said when he realized she was still waiting for a response, “I’d agree. But a murder charge is a serious threat to my freedom, and I’d only hurt you if we started something now.”

She stood her ground, staring at him like she was daring him not to fall for her. Under different conditions, she was exactly the kind of person he could see himself going the distance with.

“All I was talking about was sex, Conrad. You’re delusional if you think I want anything from you besides that smokin’ hot body.” With that, she ushered him out of the bathroom, and closed the door behind him.

He couldn’t decide if he should laugh or be insulted. She’d told him that he was nothing more than sex to her, a lie based on the flash in her eyes that said she wasn’t being truthful. But she’d also called himsmokin’ hot. Nikki was the only person he’d encountered who could insult him and make him walk on air in the same breath.

For a split second, he considered knocking on the door to ask her to explain and argue that she wasn’t the one-night-stand type. The look in her eyes said she expected commitment.

Right?

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