Page 26 of Haunted

Watching intently for any signs of distress, I slowly palmed the side of her neck, using my thumb to tip her chin up slightly. The moment our mouths touched; sparks didn’t simply fly: they exploded into scorching hot flames of desire while the world I once knew crumbled into nonexistence.

Twice, I brushed my lips against hers before licking across the seam. She opened without hesitation, tilting her head to the side. My hand slid up her neck, cradling her cheek as our tongues met in a slow sensual dance of tasting and exploring. We groaned in unison, the sound reverberating straight down to my dick which was plastered so firmly against my zipper there’d be marks.

I could have kissed her forever. Maybe I would have if the slamming of a car door off in the distance hadn’t interrupted our heated embrace.

“Thank you for tonight. I had a wonderful time.”

“So did I.”

Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her close. She relaxed her head on my chest and let out a deep sigh. Unfortunately, I ruined the moment with my next words.

“I’d like you to seriously consider my friend's offer of a place to stay.”

She tensed before pushing away from me, those incredible green eyes glaring daggers so sharp I could feel where they’d cut. “I’m not a charity case, Keaton.”

“That’s not what this is about and you know it. Lanie knows you mean something to me, regardless of how new this thing is between us. My entire team has a vested interest in seeing me happy because, apparently, I’ve become less of an asshole since meeting you, and nothing would make me happier than knowing you’re safe and secure.”

“I mean something to you?”

“Undeniably.”

“And you aren’t an asshole.”

“Yeah, baby. I am.” I chuckled.

“Can I think about it?”

“Sure. So long as those thoughts end with you sleeping in a bed rather than your car.”

“Bossy.” She rolled her eyes.

“I’d say I’m sorry, but I’d be lying.”

“All the victims were roughly the same age—early to mid-twenties—and they all had dark hair.” Noah’s voice cut through my daydream. He’d set up a dry-erase board next to our victim board earlier and was using it to map out his profile. “Other than the fact they were all traveling alone, do we have any other common denominators?”

“We’ve been hyperfocused on researchingourmissing women, but this bastard’s been at it for a while. He’s been practicing for years.” Lanie opened the file in front of her, holding up a couple sheets of paper between her fingers. “Theautopsy and crime scene reports are here, however, there isn’t any in-depth background info beyond employment records. How did the investigators think they were going to solve the murders? On a wing and a prayer?”

“Shit.” I snagged the rest of the case files off her desk—the ones referencing the initial seven women—and flipped through them. “She’s right.”

“Incompetence at its finest,” Koen grumbled.

“You said ‘he,’ Lanie. What makes you so sure our perp is male?” Noah raised his brow.

By this point, we’d abandoned our respective desks to gather around the conference table. There were times when Noah and I worked separately from Lanie and Koen, however, more often than not we combined forces. After we’d rearranged the furniture in the office one too many times, Waverly had the large wooden table brought in.

“I can’t see a woman being this vicious,” she replied.

“Don’t you remember Shelby?” Koen shivered. “That girl was twisted with a capital T.”

“She was an odd duck,” Lanie muttered. “I still don’t see why you ever dated her.”

“Double D’s,” he smirked.

“If you’re done, can we get back on topic?”

A hint of irritation leaked through his usually unflappable tone, as Noah scowled at the two of them from across the table. They either ignored him or didn’t care because they continued to go back and forth discussing Koen’s poor choice in women.

We’d been knee-deep in serial killer bullshit for hours so when their discussion veered left into kinkytown, I knew we all needed a break. Thankfully, a vibrated text alert came through my Apple Watch, putting a smile on my face and an idea in my head.

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