Page 7 of Blood Money

Even though she could no longer see him, Alex continued staring at Lt. Frye’s open door, hoping to catch another glimpse of Gray’s broad shoulders. Tonight had the makings of a very special first date, and it had been more than seven years since she’d had feelings this strong for anyone.

Another man’s deep chuckle snapped her out of her reverie. Gray’s partner, Detective Dominick Carew, stood in front of her desk, his blue eyes twinkling. “You guys are so hot for each other, it’s comical.”

“Are we that obvious?”

“And then some.” He grinned, and while Alex had eyes only for Gray, the lady-killer charm oozing from Dom’s pores was a palpable thing. “Be good to him. He deserves it.” Dom headed back to his desk.

Now it was Alex’s turn to laugh and shake her head. She didn’t care who saw them mooning over each other. Enough time had passed, and she was more than ready to take that long, perilous walk without a lifeline or a safety net. She needed to move on. After what she’d been through at the hands of another man—the pain and suffering, then running and hiding—she deserved it.

Gray held the door open for Alex as she stepped inside La Rosa, a quaint Italian café near Soho. When he helped her out of her coat, his fingers brushed the back of her neck, shoulders, and arms, sending a flush of sensuous warmth through her entire body. While he carried her coat to the coat check desk, she took stock of the restaurant’s warm, inviting interior.

Antique crystal chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, and the walls were painted tastefully in a faux finish designed to mimic marble. Floor-to-ceiling red velvet drapery curtained off sections of the large room for intimacy. Tucked away in one of the rear corners was a small dance floor where an elderly couple swayed gently to the romantic Italian opera playing from overhead speakers.

Alex hadn’t even known this place existed and wondered how she could have missed such a little gem. She gave herself a mental smack. The reason for that was obvious.

You don’t have money to go out to eat, especially in such a nice restaurant.

With her tight budget, those days were a thing of the past.

“Do you like it?” Gray asked as he came up behind her, the scent of his cologne a tantalizing mix of spice and musk.

“I love it, and it smells heavenly.” She took a deep breath, savoring not only Gray’s scent, but garlic and spices drifting through the air.

“Table for two?” The hostess, a very pretty brunette woman in a tight black dress, stood near Gray. Closer than she needed to be, in Alex’s opinion. If she was any closer, her breasts would be kissing his lapels.

“We have a reservation,” Gray said. “Yates.”

Alex appreciated the fact that while the woman gave him a not too discreet once-over, he didn’t seem to notice. Or he didn’t care to.

“Your table is ready.” The hostess flashed him a brilliant smile with an obvious come-hither look in her eyes. “Follow me, please.”

As they followed the hostess deeper into the restaurant, Gray put his hand at the small of Alex’s back and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “My father took my mother here for their first date. I couldn’t think of a better place for ours.”

Touched as she was at Gray’s sentimental selection of the restaurant, she nearly giggled as the hostess repeatedly glanced over her shoulder to see if he was watching her tightly clad, prominently sashaying buttocks. She also couldn’t help but notice that virtually every woman in the place—waitresses and patrons—cast an appreciative eye at Gray as they walked past. Not that she could blame them. With his tall, dark good looks, a woman would have to be dead not to notice the man.

When they reached a small table tucked away in a corner, Gray held out Alex’s chair. The hostess hovered solicitously at his side, holding two menus and a wine list. After they sat, she gave one menu to Alex and the other to Gray, along with the wine list. “If there’s anything you need,” she pointedly said to Gray, “please don’t hesitate to ask. My name is Melinda.”

“Thank you, Melinda,” Gray answered politely as he stared directly into Alex’s eyes, a slight tug at the corners of his mouth. When Melinda departed, he rolled his eyes. “I thought she’d never leave.”

“I feel so unwanted.” Alex put her hand to her chest, feigning indignation. “She has eyes only for you. Along with every other woman in this restaurant, in case you didn’t notice.”

“And in case you didn’t notice,” Gray said as he flipped open the wine list, “every man in the place was drooling over you. They’re all jealous as hell because you’re my date, not theirs.”

“That is so not true.” Alex opened the menu, suddenly embarrassed. She’d never liked being the focus of attention. Unless it was Gray’s attention. “Nobody even looked at me, and I prefer it that way.”

Gray set down the wine list and seemed to study her for a moment. “That’s one of the many things I like about you. You’re completely oblivious of how incredibly beautiful you are. And if you don’t want to be noticed, you’d better stop wearing that dress.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Closing the menu, she glanced down at her dress. She’d put it on especially for him this morning and— He thinks I’m beautiful?

“Nothing’s wrong with the dress.” Laughing, he shook his head. “That’s my point. It’s perfect, and I love purple.”

Alex rested the menu on the table and let her hands fall to her lap. She fiddled with the hem of her dress, uncomfortable for a moment from the sudden heat in his eyes. She wasn’t accustomed to that, either. Having a man’s complete attention. But that heat slowly began melting something inside her that had been frozen for years. And it felt sinfully good.

Releasing the hem of her dress, she let out a steady breath. “Well, okay, then. I love that you love purple.”

He smiled broadly, and that simmering heat flickered something else to life that she’d kept buried beneath years of pain, fear, and hardship.

Desire.