Page 50 of Not This Time

"Rachel?" he whispered, his breath hot on her cheek.

She felt shivers down her spine. How long had it been since she'd spent time with a handsome man?

Her love life was an abysmal thing. How could a trained hunter, with her experience, fail to ever bag a proper man?

She'd never been good at choosing men...

But she could feel her skin tingling, could feel her breath coming in short puffs.

She found that she didn't want to throat punch him. How romantic, she thought.

She wanted to know what those lips tasted like. What those...

She trailed off, trying to push aside the thoughts.

He exhaled once more, and whispered, "It isn't nice to stare."

And then he brushed past her, winking as he did.

He was chuckling to himself as he moved out into the hall.

She stood stiff, hands at her side. She gaped after him, stunned.

"What the hell was that?" she finally managed to splutter out.

"Revenge!" he called over his shoulder. "Now I know you think I'm handsome!"

"Do not!" she retorted.

"Do to!" he shot back, still sauntering away down the hall with a casual, cocksure gait. "I have that effect on women." He turned back and wriggled his eyebrows.

She glared, pointed a finger. "I should’ve throat punched you."

"But you didn't. So now I know. You think I'mpurrrrty." He grinned. "Makes us even."

"How the hell does it make us even?" she snapped.

"You caught me at a vulnerable moment," he retorted, "and now I caught you. Makes us even. So we heading back to the motel or not?"

She just glared after him. He smirked again, and continued towards the stairs.

Rachel stood there, her heart still beating fast from the unexpected encounter with Ethan. She knew she shouldn't let her guard down around him, but she couldn't help the attraction she felt towards him. It had been areallylong time since she'd last been with someone.

Taking a deep breath, she shook her head and tried to clear her mind. She had work to do, and she couldn't let her personal feelings get in the way of her investigation. She grabbed the files and headed towards the stairs, her mind racing with all the possible connections between the Clarks and Candace.

Mostly, she wanted to forget the embarrassment in the doorway. She should've pulled away. Should've slapped him.

Because she hadn't... he was right. He'd read it. She thought he waspretty.

She scowled, stomping down the stairs two at a time. She redirected her irritation, focusing once more on the case.

Tomorrow, she'd go speak with Silas Clark.

His reputation preceded him, but none of that mattered if he was a murderer.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

As the first light of morning painted the horizon in hues of orange and pink, Rachel felt an uneasy knot tighten in her stomach. She gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white as she navigated the dusty roads leading to the Clark ranch. Beside her, Ethan kept his eyes on the tablet, scrolling through Silas Clark's records.

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