For a moment, their gazes locked. He saw concern in her eyes. He’d do anything to wipe that expression from her face and see her smile instead. There were so many things he wanted to see on her face: laughter, joy… he inhaled… arousal. He eased his torso across the divide between the two seats. She looked so vulnerable… so tempting.
The vampire in him was drawn to her blood. And the man was drawn to her beauty and the strength he’d sensed during their initial argument. She was no pushover—no damsel in distress. Far from it. She was the most fascinating woman he’d ever met. A woman with the most tempting lips…
Honking from behind him made him jerk back and let go of her hand.
Fuck!
What had he been about to do? He’d only met her less than an hour ago. And he wasn’t the kind of guy to paw at a woman just because she was hot. And, damn it, Lilo was hot! But that was besides the point. He wasn’t into one-night stands, hadn’t been in years. He liked to get to know a woman first, before becoming physical—though in his twenties he’d been the opposite. He’d been the wham-bam-thank-you-Ma’am type. But that had changed with age and his mounting responsibilities as Chief of Hybrid Security. Now he liked to take things slowly. So why the fuck had he leaned in as if to kiss her?
Get a grip, man!
He cleared his throat and turned right at the intersection, then pulled into a parking spot in front of the station. At this time of night, it was only moderately busy.
“Is this the station?” Lilo asked, her voice a touch hoarse.
Blake pointed to the entry, over which the words Police Station were illuminated.
~
As Blake got out of the car, Lilo fumbled with her seatbelt, trembling. She’d mumbled some idiotic question just to escape the silence that had descended between them after that car had honked at them to move.
Embarrassment burned in her cheeks even now. She’d held onto Blake’s hand, loving the feel of his gentle touch, when all he’d wanted was to comfort her. Instead, she’d leaned in as if drawn to him by some inexplicable force. She’d never believed in such a thing, never thought that she, of all people, could be drawn to somebody as if hypnotized. She, who didn’t trust men, because she’d been disappointed one too many times. But her body didn’t seem to remember those times when her trust had been shattered. Instead, her body yearned for the stranger who’d rescued her from the intruder. Maybe that was the reason for her inexplicable attraction: she felt grateful. Of course, the fact that Blake was the personification of her fictional hero, Morgan West, might have something to do with her momentary lapse in judgment. She would just have to ignore this tiny detail and try not to confuse him with her dashing bounty hunter anymore.
Lilo finally undid the seatbelt and took a deep breath. She could do this.
Before she could reach for the door handle, the door opened. She got out and nodded at Blake, who was holding the car door open for her. Clutching her handbag to her side she said, “Let’s do this.”
She avoided looking at him and walked up the steps leading to the double doors. She heard the car door close, followed by a beeping sound, indicating that Blake had locked the car. His footsteps were close behind her, and by the time she’d reached the entrance, he’d caught up to her and was holding the door open like a perfect gentleman. Not even Morgan West did that. She made a mental note to give her fictional hero better manners.
The station was busy. A few prostitutes sat on a bench, while several officers shuffled papers behind a high counter. In one corridor, a drunken man was being led away, while a well-dressed man argued with a police officer in a cubicle. From down the hall, somebody yelled for somebody else to be quiet. A female police officer stood at the counter with a receiver pressed between her ear and shoulder, scribbling onto a clipboard and simultaneously leafing through a stack of papers.
“Uh-huh,” she said into the phone while she waved at one of the prostitutes, motioning to a door on the left. The door opened a second later and a transvestite stalked out, grinning from one ear to the other. She turned toward the open plan area and blew air kisses to the working officers.
“Get out of here, Veronica,” one of them called out to her. “Or I’ll book you myself.”
With a laugh, the transvestite sauntered to the door and left.
“Be right there, Ma’am.”
Lilo’s head snapped to the female police officer behind the counter, who’d spoken, and nodded gratefully.
A police officer in plain clothes came around the corner and approached the counter. “No worries, Mandy, I’ll take that.”
Lilo took a step closer to the counter, Blake by her side, and gave a faint smile.
“I’m Detective Donnelly. How can I help you?”
Encouraged by the man’s friendly demeanor, Lilo sighed with relief. “I’m here to report my friend missing. And also a break-in at her apartment.”
He reached for a clipboard and a pen. “Alright then. Your name, please.”
“Lieselotte Schroeder.”
“I’ll need to see ID.”
She rummaged for it in her bag, while the police detective addressed Blake. “And you, sir, are you with the lady?”
“Yes.”