If only she were the trusting kind. But, other than her father, she’d never really trusted anyone fully before.
When you had a lot to lose, trusting was a foolish mistake. Way too easy to get burned.
“Not much to say.” A shrug. He found me. I tried to be so careful and he found me. “He’s a shifter.”
I don’t want to run again.
“You’ve seen him?” From Antonio.
Careful. “I-I caught his scent once.”
Antonio just looked blank.
Jude’s fingers snaked down her arm and the heat burned through her shirt. “Shifters carry a distinct scent. It marks us.”
The cop sniffed. “I don’t smell a damn thing, well…those azaleas but—”
“It’s the way shifters recognize each other,” Jude told him. “Like to like.”
“Oh, shit.” Antonio’s eyes widened as he stared at Erin, his jaw dropping. “You’re a shifter?”
Way to go, hunter. “No, I most certainly am not. ” Her nostrils flared. “I just have very…acute senses.” That part was absolutely true. It felt good to be honest right then.
His gaze raked her. “You holding out on me again, ADA Jerome?”
Yes. “What I am or what I am not really isn’t the issue here.” No, the issue was the psychopath who’d painted blood on her wall. “We could have a victim out there, someone who needs help.”
“That’s why my crime scene gang is here. They’re the best.” Simple. “If the bastard left behind any clues, they’ll find ’em.”
“Good.” Erin realized she was leaning toward Jude. What? She snapped straight back up.
She was tired, that was it. Hell of a day. Even worse of a night. So she’d gotten tired and she’d sagged a bit. That was okay.
But the tight feeling in her gut, the fierce urge to turn and push against him, that was not okay.
She needed to get in bed. Needed to forget the blood and the fear.
But the idea of walking into that house again…“I loved this house,” she muttered, shoving back the hair that had fallen over the side of her face. There had been no ghosts in this house.
Until now.
Antonio frowned at her and after a moment of silence, he said, “So you’ve never seen the guy.” Ah, trying delicacy now.
“I can’t give you a description. Sorry. I wish that I could.” Her shoulders lifted then fell. “Male, big, strong.” She’d caught that much in the darkness. “But I can’t tell you a single thing about his face.” Not much help at all.
“You got all that from a scent?” Antonio scratched his chin. “One fine nose you got there, lady.”
He didn’t understand. Maybe the guy didn’t know as much about the Other world as she’d thought.
One of the crime scene techs walked out. She had four evidence bags in her hands. Antonio waited for her to pass them, then he leaned forward and said, “You’re gonna need protection.”
She was stronger than any human he’d send to protect her.
A human wouldn’t be strong enough to help her this time. She needed—
“She’s got protection.”
Jude’s words had her head jerking toward him. She stared into his eyes. So deep and wild. “She’s got protection,” he repeated, the words fierce.
Protection…but at what price?
She could sure use his power and strength, but—
But Jude was a danger to her, too. Every moment she spent with him, Erin could feel the thing inside her tensing.
Hungering.
Like to like.
Wasn’t that always the damn way?
“Maybe you should think about moving to a hotel room for the night. The team’s gonna be here for a long while longer,”
Antonio said.
“I-I will.” Great idea. The sooner she got out of there, the better.
Missed you.
Dammit. No.
She couldn’t let him do this to her. Not again.
The hotel room was small. The air conditioner buzzed with a steady whir of sound, and the bed, a queen that looked like a double, waited with perfectly smooth covers.
Jude scanned the room, hands on his hips. “You don’t have to stay here. You can come to my place and—”
“I’ll be fine here,” Erin said, her voice smooth as silk. No more fear. No worry. No anger.
Nothing.
The lady had frozen on him. Jude didn’t like that. Not one bit.
She tossed a small overnight bag onto the foot of the bed. “Thanks for bringing me over, but it really wasn’t necessary. I could have driven myself.”
“I wanted to bring you.” He’d wanted to make certain she was safe.
Blood on her walls. What kind of sick freak was after her?
And why was she so calm now? His fingers clenched. “Tony will send a unit around here, just in case.”
“Nothing else is going to happen tonight.” She kicked off her heels. Suddenly became two inches shorter.
The lady had nice feet. Red toenails. Kinda pretty.
“That’s not the way this guy works.”
She would know.
Erin lifted her hands above her head as she stretched and he really tried— for about three seconds anyway— not to look at her chest. But her br**sts stretched the front of the blouse and those buttons looked like they might pop at any moment.
Get a grip. The lust was gonna have to take a backseat for the time being.
Romeo from hell was stalking her. She didn’t need him jumping her then, too.
Her hair brushed over her shoulders. Such a dark, thick curtain.
Focus. “I can…stay here.” Hell, yeah. “Um, to keep an eye out in case—”
Her arms dropped and the stretching show ended. “Not necessary.” Clipped. She marched toward him, eyes glinting.
“Look, hunter, I appreciate all of your help.” Her steps halted, a foot away from him. Her head tilted up, just a bit. “I-I know I shouldn’t have called you. I don’t know why I did.”
He knew. Jude caught her hands, closing that space between them. “Don’t you?” Oh, yeah, she felt the connection, exactly like he did. The hard hunger. The need.
Her lips parted.
Jude wanted those lips. Wanted the soft body that pressed against him. The bed was so close. He could ruin those perfect covers real fast.
He took a breath, tasted her, and said, bluntly, “You need me, sweetheart.”
Jude watched the flare of her golden eyes. Flecks of emerald circled her pupils. So beautiful. He knew the protest was coming even before she sputtered, “Look, you—You might think you’re God’s gift to the ladies, but I don’t need—”