Page 34 of Luke, The Profiler

“This isn’t a joke, Eden.”

“Mm, it kind of is.” As relieved as any death row inmate who’d landed a temporary reprieve, I sat down where he’d set clamshells of delectable-looking sushi, Japanese beer and wooden chopsticks. If given enough time, Luke would probably find out all my horrific secrets. But since he was clueless for the moment, I was going to enjoy myself. “I wonder what I’d find if I Googled your real name, Lucien.”

My personal monster sat next to me with a huff and pulled his clamshell box and chopsticks to him. “I’m sure you already know the meaning of the name.”

“Elegant light.”

“How is it you know the meanings behind every name? What’s the point of it?”

“Don’t be silly, I don’t knoweveryname,” I corrected, seesawing my hand before delicately plucking up a perfectly created piece of California roll. It was almost too beautiful to eat, but I’d make the sacrifice. “I’d be willing to bet I know only a couple thousand. Maybe three.”

“Yeah, and that’s not weird at all,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Did your father make you learn all those name meanings the same way he made you enter a bunch of junior shooting competitions?”

Just the memory of those competitions made me break out in a sweat, and I had to take my time swallowing so I wouldn’t choke. “I actually started memorizing names when I was very little, long before HEG was even a thought in my dad’s head. I did it on my own because I’d noticed that people enjoyed knowing how their names made them unique and special. I wanted everyone I met to feel happy about themselves. And you have to admit, it’s a great icebreaker.”

“An icebreaker that relaxes a person’s guard, while at the same time focuses people more on themselves than on you.”

“If you say so. Is there soy sauce?”

He rummaged around in the sack before tossing a handful of packets onto the table. “Forcing yourself to memorize thousands of names at a very young age isn’t normal behavior, Eden.”

“I also read the dictionary. I finally got to the end of it around the age of seven. Riveting read.”

“You should have been playing jump rope or dolls or having tea parties with teddy bears, or whatever the hell it is that little girls do.”

“Annnd he’s back, Mr. Misogyny himself,” I drawled, plucking up a bit of avocado that had fallen out of its roll.Mm. “For your information, little girls like me wind up on local target- and skeet-shooting teams, as well as having tea parties with their teddy bears. My childhood was probably as normal as yours. Though that might not be saying much,” I added, polishing off the California roll with relish. “Considering your last-century, Norman Rockwell-idyllic views of what a little girl’s childhood should be, it’s clear you didn’t have that much interaction with girls your age when you were growing up. Were you an only child? And home-schooled?”

“Okay, that’s it.” With quick, precise movements, he closed his clamshell of food and pushed away from the table. “Come on, get up. We’re going on a little trip.”

I stared at him as he got to his feet. “Where?”

“I’m going to prove to you I’m not a misogynist. I’m taking you to meet my mother.”

Chapter Nine

Overwhelmed

Luke

It finally happened. I’d lost my damn mind.

The burn-out rate for profilers wasn’t pretty, but until this case I’d always managed to come away from my missions fresh as a daisy. Taking a walk through the sewage minds of terrorists, kidnappers, hitmen, thieves and stalkers was my idea of a good time, because I fucking loved outsmarting them. But this case had me in a twist.

No.

That wasn’t quite right.

Edenhad me in a twist.

Lunatic that I was, when she started trying to run circles around me, confident in her abilities to tie me in knots, I just wanted to reach out and turn her over my knee for being the naughty girl she was. I wanted to pull down her clothes until her slim little ass was exposed, and then I wanted to turn it apple-red with the spanking she deserved. And then I wanted to make that naughty girl moan like a fucking porn star while my cock got so hard it’d feel like it would break the hell off if I didn’t get it inside her.

Goddamn, I needed to fuck her.

But first, I had some truths to share with her, in the hope that it might inspire a little truth-sharing on her part.

Nothing wrong with a man hoping to have it all.

“Don’t forget that I have to be back in my office at three for a Zoom meeting with a client,” the object of my multiple obsessions sounded off from the passenger’s seat. I glanced over at her as she watched the scenery slide by her window with those stunning cat-green eyes, her blonde hair pulled back in a prim knot at her nape. “I have bills to pay, especially PSI’s.”

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