Page 27 of Fast Kill

Drama wasn’t his thing. She hadn’t ever been like that to him before, so last night had really surprised him.

Crutches in hand, he gingerly walked to the front door of his townhouse, putting a fraction of weight on his bad leg with each step. Since the latest x-rays had shown only a partial hairline fracture in the patella, his doc and physio had both told him to start weight bearing a little at a time, more each day, and see how it went.

He pulled open the front door to find Taylor standing on his welcome mat in another of the fitted skirt suits she seemed to favor—this one a pale gray that hugged every feminine curve.

He loved them on her for two reasons. One, the sexy, sophisticated look of them. And two, because on her those form-fitting power suits radiated a professional self-assurance he found sexy as hell. Today she wore her light brown hair loose around her shoulders, and she held a white square box in one hand, the same kind she’d brought to Charlie and Jamie’s last night.

The smile she gave him was hesitant, and behind the lenses of her tortoise shell-framed glasses he noticed faint shadows beneath her eyes that suggested she hadn’t been sleeping well lately. “Hi,” she said, that soft, feminine voice a stark contrast to the steely persona she presented to the world.

“Hi,” he answered, keeping his tone neutral.

“Thanks for letting me come over.”

Oh yeah, he loved her drawl. “Sure. Come on in.” He turned sideways, balanced his weight on his good leg while he held the door open so she could pass by.

She waited until he’d locked up and crutched his way back toward the kitchen before holding up the box, a hopeful, slightly sheepish smile on her lips. Her pink, soft-looking lips. “I brought you something.”

She’d frozen him out and shut the door in his face last night, and now she’d come over with a gift. What the hell did that even mean? “You didn’t have to do that.”

She shrugged. “Go ahead, open it.” After setting it on the counter she stepped back and clasped her hands in front of her.

He opened it, aware of her hovering there, watching his reaction. It was some kind of pie with a graham cracker crust and a topping of smooth, melted dark chocolate.

Oh yeah.“You’re an angel,” he said, inhaling the delicious scent of peanut butter. His mouth started watering.

She let out a quiet laugh. “It’s a peanut butter mousse pie topped with bittersweet chocolate. I saw it and thought of you.”

He looked up at her, her thoughtfulness making him smile. “You remembered.”

“I did.” Her eyes twinkled behind her glasses.

Before now he’d thought her eyes were brown, but this close with the late afternoon light streaming in through the kitchen window, he could see they had a lot of green in them. Pretty eyes, with long, thick lashes surrounding them. Together with that skirt suit and glasses, she had a definite sexy librarian vibe going on.

He found it hot as hell. A total surprise, because he’d never been into that kind of look before.

Until now. Taylor had him redefining his entire definition of sexy without even trying.

He decided that her going to the trouble of bringing him pie was a good sign. “I’m totally diving into this bad boy. Want some? I’ll share.”

“I do, actually. It’s been a bitch of a day.”

“Yeah?” He eyed her as he reached behind him for the cupboard where he kept his dishes. She did look tired, and a little pale. Overworking herself, no doubt. Charlie had told him a few times now what a workaholic Taylor was. He understood that, because he was the same way with his job. “The investigation not going well?”

In the space of a heartbeat, her entire expression closed up. “You could say that.”

He waited a beat for her to continue, but she didn’t, so he got busy cutting two generous slices of pie. The chocolate topping gave way to the pressure of the knife, then slid easily through the smooth peanut butter layer before crunching into the graham crust. Heaven on a plate.

“You’re trying to make me fat,” she accused as she took her plate from him. “This is like, two helpings worth.”

“Nah, it’s protein-rich because of the peanut butter. And it sounds like you’re in need of some comfort food.” If she really was worried about her caloric intake, he could think of a few ideas of how she could burn the excess off. With him. Naked.

“That’s true.”

“Come on, let’s go sit and eat these things.”

“Let me take that.” She scooped up his plate and followed him into the living room.

He dropped back into his chair, took his plate with a grin and waited until she was seated on the sofa beside him and looking around. Decorating wasn’t his forte, and it showed.

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