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Mikayla closed and locked the door before turning to face him.
"Do you want a drink?" she asked.
Every nerve ending in her body was standing to attention now. The sheer act of walking, of feeling the silk of her skirt against her thighs, was becoming sexual. Geez, how had she managed to live this long without knowing the effect a man could have on her?
"I'm tired," she stated, though she didn't feel in the least tired at the moment. Excited. Filled with anticipation. But tired was running in last place. His gaze raked over her. She could feel the hunger in that look, a dark need that at once terrified her and made her breathless in anticipation.
It was all Nik could do to keep his hands off her. His palms itched with the need to stroke her silken flesh, to lay her beneath him, to fuck her until they were both sated, exhausted from satiation.
His cock throbbed with the need. Every nerve ending in his body throbbed for it. Standing before him, her amethyst eyes curious, hot, she made him burn inside for her. He wasn't here to fuck her, though. He was here to finish this. He'd already called Maddix. There was nothing to be found, no reason for her accusations other than the fact that she believed she had seen Maddix Nelson kill his foreman. The attack on her the night she and Nik met had been in response to her allegations against Nelson, the attacker striking in anger. Nothing else made sense. The graffiti on her shop window, all of it. She needed to step back, she had to let this go, and Nik had to leave.
Nik believed Maddix hadn't been there. His alibi was too solid. But Mikayla's belief in what she had seen went too deep.
There was nothing to tie either of them to anything suspicious, which meant the killer was still on the loose. He had nothing to fear, though, because the only person who saw him thought she had seen someone else.
67
She was no threat, and there was no reason for the killer to harm her. It was time for Nik to go.
"Why are you here this late, Nik?" She moved farther into the living room, her expression still and calm despite the arousal blazing in her eyes. Her long dark blond hair flowed down her back like a heavy cape. The image of a fairy came to mind once more. A fragile, innocent little fairy too good for the world she suddenly found herself within.
"I'm leaving." Hooking his thumbs in his belt, he fought the need to touch her. Surprise filled her eyes then. "Your job is over already? It was hardly worth renting a house for, was it?"
Confusion filled her voice, as well as disappointment.
"I managed to wrap things up faster than I expected," he told her, wondering at the tightening in his chest as she continued to watch him with such somber intensity.
"I see." She nodded slowly. "When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow evening."
She asked, still watching. "So why are you here tonight?" He almost grinned. She was smart as hell. She knew something wasn't quite right about the job he had claimed to have versus the fact that he was leaving so soon.
"I'm here because of what you saw, Mikayla." He tried to say the words gently, to lower his voice enough that she knew he wasn't there to hurt her. She flinched. Hell, so much for trying. "You're here because of Maddix?" Nik clenched his teeth for long seconds as he watched the feelings of betrayal fill her beautiful eyes.
"I've known Maddix for a while," Nik told her. "I'm confident enough in the man I know to believe he's innocent. I was here to check you out, to figure out why you would want to destroy Maddix by accusing him of murder."
Nik wasn't going to sugarcoat it. There was no gentle way to tell her. No easy way to break this to her or to keep her from hating him after he was gone. As she took a step back, almost in defense, her arms wrapped over her breasts, her face paling, causing her eyes to appear larger, darker than before. Pain swept across her features as moisture glistened in her eyes, proof that he was piercing at the heart of a woman who had been hurt too much in the past weeks.
"I see," she whispered, obviously fighting against the hurt and anger he could see building in her eyes. "The night at the club. The guy that attacked me. Did you know him, too?"
Nik's brows jerked down in a frown as he felt the ice he had built around him before coming here
beginning to crack.
"You think I'd have someone attack you, Mikayla?"
Her lips tightened in a mocking grin. "Sorry, how silly of me. You like doing your own dirty work, don't you? Do you get more satisfaction that way?" He couldn't blame her for her anger. He'd expected much worse than this. But he had to admit this silent pain tore at him more deeply than screaming accusations could have.
He could have walked away from the screaming. Walking away from this quiet pain was harder.
"I'd kill any man who tried to harm you," he told her. "I'd never hurt you, 68
Mikayla, not intentionally."
"What more does a liar deserve?" Her fingers clenched on her arms as she held on to herself. "Isn't that how you see it? I dared to lie about your precious Maddix. What more do I deserve?"
He shook his head, hating this. He hated this worse than he had ever hated anything in this life. Seeing the pain on her face tightened every muscle in his body and tore at his determination not to touch her.
