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“A drive sounds nice,” he agreed as his eyes narrowed the slightest bit on her.
Then, he lifted his hand and extended it to her. As though he truly knew her, as though he wanted to touch her.
Lillian stared down at the calloused palm for no more than a second before she laid her hand in his and felt his fingers curl around hers.
Just as she had known. His hand was warm and strong. His fingers encased hers as he drew her from the shadowed corner and led her through the large room.
Few of the patrons paid any attention. After all, she was well-known to them, and she had been known to meet this man here for drinks before. She wasn’t an oddity, and she had stopped being a curiosity long ago.
Still, she couldn’t help but search the room from beneath lowered lashes. She could feel that itch at the back of her neck, that feeling, that certainty, that to someone, she was indeed worthy of interest.
“The night’s cool,” Black Jack commented as they neared the door. “Did you bring a jacket?”
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7
He glanced at her, his gaze raking over her bare shoulders as he took in the diminutive black dress she wore and flat strappy sandals.
“I’m
fine.”
The night was indeed cool, just as it had been earlier. Her jacket was still in her car, in the parking lot behind the bar. She hadn’t wanted to cover the dress. It was one of the most flattering articles of clothing she owned. Stopping just below her thighs, the short hem showed off her tanned le
gs while the snug material cupped her breasts.
She’d wanted him to look at her. She’d wanted him to see her as more than a courier, a source of information. She’d wanted him to see that she was a woman.
How vain, she told herself, as he opened the door and stepped out, drawing her behind him. Instantly, her heart nearly stopped in her chest as his strong arm circled her shoulders and drew her to him.
“The car’s parked in the side lot.” His voice was low as he bent to her. “Were you followed?”
Always on guard. Always aware that your life could end quickly if the slightest mistake were made. She had learned that lesson already, she didn’t need a reminder.
She shook her head. “Not as far as I could tell.”
She wasn’t an amateur, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t make a mistake. She was as certain as she could be, though, that she hadn’t brought danger with her.
She could feel the steady watchfulness that he carried like an invisible shield. It made her want to lean into him. She wanted to soften against him, feel both arms surrounding her, holding her to his warmth.
She was losing her edge perhaps. She couldn’t explain the hunger that assailed her, because it was so much more than simply a hunger for touch. Or perhaps it
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8
wasn’t. Perhaps it was just the touch she needed, human warmth to combat that chill that seemed to have taken hold inside her.
“The car should still be warm,” he stated as he pulled his keys from his jeans pocket and flicked the remote sensor.
Lillian remained silent as he drew her to the car, opened the passenger-side door, and helped her in. She watched as he closed the door, then loped around the front of the car to the driver’s side.
She should have insisted on using her own vehicle. If she were driving, she would have felt in control, or at least, a bit more in control than she was as his passenger.
“Any particular destination?” he asked as he closed his door and pushed the key into the ignition.
Lillian shook her head. “Just wherever.”
