A Profiler's Case for Seduction(46)

“Then she must be a special woman,” Richard returned.

A special woman. Dora was that and more, but she’d told him both in actions and with words that she didn’t want a real, in-depth relationship at this point in her life.

Even knowing that, he had a swift desire to see her. Joseph had let him know she’d weathered the night all right and had gone to class this morning, despite the fact he’d already told himself it was time to start distancing himself from her. He was being pulled in too deep and didn’t want to get hurt, but he knew before the night was over he’d seek her out.

She might be a special woman and Richard had said that Mark was a special man, but at the moment he simply felt like a fool. He was unwilling to give up seeing a woman who had told him she had no place for him in her life.

He’d go back to Dallas and continue to be special...and alone.





Chapter 10



As evening fell Dora found herself restlessly pacing from the kitchen to the living room and back again. Would Mark stop by to see her tonight or wouldn’t he? Would the stalker from the night before once again show up to terrorize her?

Agent Larry Albright had called her earlier to let her know that they’d made arrangements with campus security to keep an eye out for her and had also arranged for hourly drive-bys throughout the night by the Vengeance Police Department.

She should be safe, but that didn’t stop the edginess that kept her from completely relaxing, the tension that rode her shoulders like a wild cowboy she couldn’t throw off.

By the time eight o’clock came and went she considered changing out of her jeans and sweater and into her nightgown. Before she could put the action to her thoughts, a soft knock sounded on her door and she peeked out the window to see Mark standing on her porch.

The tension fluttered out of her, replaced by a simmering excitement. She opened the door and he gave her the sexy grin that moved her, that thrilled her.

As he stepped inside she closed the door and immediately moved to stand against his body. She closed her eyes the instant his arms wrapped around her. “I wasn’t sure I’d see you tonight,” she said, her face nuzzled into the crook of his neck.

“It’s been a busy day,” he replied.

“Coffee?” she asked. “I already made it.”

“I’m good right here,” he said, not releasing her from his embrace. “But, coffee is probably a better idea for us.” He dropped his arms from around her and stepped back, his eyes midnight-blue. “I want to play by your rules, Dora, but when you let me hold you, it’s hard to remember the rules.”

“Maybe I’ve been reconsidering my rules,” she said, her voice surprisingly breathy to her own ears.

His eyes flared a bit but he remained in place and stuffed his hands in the pockets of the dark windbreaker with the bright yellow FBI letters on the back and front. “Several of the men searched Troy Young’s outbuildings today and found a pair of shoes that appear to have the same kind of soil as the place where the murdered men were buried. I doubt I’ll make it to homecoming.”

“Then I think maybe we should take advantage of what time you have left here in Vengeance,” she replied. She stepped closer to him once again, so close she could feel the warmth of his breath on her face, see the desire that darkened his eyes. “I want you, Mark. I know you won’t be here for much longer. I’m not looking for a forever, but I’d like one night with you, a sweet memory to hold tight to when you’re gone.”

“I swore to myself that I was going to stay away from you, that there was no point in continuing having coffee and conversation with you when I wanted so much more. I swore that I wasn’t going to be here tonight and yet here I am.” He pulled a hand from his pocket and raked it through his hair. “Dora, I don’t want to get in your way, to block the path you’ve set for yourself.”

She smiled and a confidence and strength she’d never felt before filled her up. “Nothing and nobody will block my path.” It was true. Only she could screw up her plans for her future—nobody else—and she had no intention of screwing up.

She placed a hand on his chest, where she could feel the strap of his shoulder holster but wanted to feel his heart. “One night, Mark. No promises necessary, no looking forward and no looking back. Just one night.”

He grabbed her to him, and before she could say another word, his mouth slashed down on hers, hot and hungry and filled with the desperate need of a man starved for her.