AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Of course," she said, and started to lead the way.
They'd almost reached the curtain that separated the private part of the store, when he realized she was hanging on to his hand as if she would never let go. He studied her and saw the faint tremors in her shoulders and the way she held her head so stiffly. She must have been terrified last night.
His chest tightened at the thought of what could have happened to her. The other sheriffs had had more detailed reports about their towns' murdered prostitutes. The killings had been brutal; all the young women had been beaten to death. He sent up a prayer of thanks that Megan had survived. He didn't care if they did run him out of town, he was going to make sure that criminal never hurt anyone again.
Megan walked into her office, then released his hand. She leaned against her desk. "I woke up sometime after midnight," she began calmly. She stared at a point over his left shoulder. "There was a noise. At first I thought you had-"
Suddenly, he grabbed her shoulders and hauled her hard against him. Before she could protest or even speak, he lowered his mouth to hers. It was wrong to kiss her. Hell, it was a disaster. But he didn't care. She was safe and alive and that was all he cared about.
He brushed his lips against hers, slowly, gently, not wanting to frighten her more. Megan stretched her arms up so that she could slip her fingers through his hair. Before he could think about deepening the kiss, she had parted her mouth. He swept his tongue inside and tasted her sweetness. She was as hot and willing as he remembered, meeting him more than halfway, pressing her hips against his, murmuring words of encouragement.
He cupped her face and kissed her cheeks, her nose, her eyelids. She was the most precious part of his life. "I love you," he murmured, not caring that she would use the words against him.
"Oh, Justin/' Megan rested her head on his shoulder and pressed her lips to his neck. "Believe me when I say I love you, too. For always. Later, we'll figure out the whys and hows. Later, I'll come up with a plan to convince you of the truth. But for now, for just this one minute, please, please, believe me."
He wanted to, more than he wanted to draw in his next breath. He would have given anything to trust her. But he couldn't.
He stroked her hair. "I'm glad you're safe."
"Damn you, Justin Kincaid, you're the most stubborn man in the world."
"Possibly," he admitted.
"Why won't you believe me?"
When she would have raised her head, he held her in place. He didn't want to look into her face and read her emotions. He didn't want her reading his. "Tell me what happened last night."
She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned against him. In a few, brief sentences, she explained about hearing the noise then finding the man trying to escape with Bonnie.
"Did you see his face?"
"No. He had something tied over the bottom part, and a hat pulled low. I saw his eyes. Not that well, it was dark and I didn't have a lamp with me. They were ..." She paused.
"What?" he prompted. "Anything you can tell me will help."
He felt her draw in a deep breath. "They were familiar, but don't ask me how... I don't know. There was something evil about him." She shuddered.
"It's all right, I'm here."
"I was so frightened. What if he'd gotten Bonnie? He inght have hurt her."
^The man probably would have killed her, but Megan dn't need to know that. "He didn't. You were very brave."
"I didn't feel brave. I just wanted her back. I knew he wouldn't let go of her, so I grabbed the poker and started hitting him."
Justin stared over her head toward the wall above her small desk. "How many times?"
"I'm not sure. Five, maybe six. Why does it matter?"
"Did you tat him hard?*'
"As hard as I could, on his arm and shoulder."
"Good. He'll have bruises there. We'll be able to prove it was him last night."
She straightened and pushed at his chest until she could stare at him. "You came back. Does that mean you've figured out who the killer is?"
He nodded slowly.
"And?" She waited expectantly.
He touched her hair, tnen brushed the back of his hand along her cheek. Soft, sleek skin, so warm and supple. He prayed losing her again would kill him because he didn't want to spend the rest of his life missing her.
