I’m still in the experimental stages.”
He struggled for a normal breath. “Okay, Doctor. As experiments go, how was this one?”
She rested her chin on his shoulder and sighed. “For a baseline kiss, it was very nice.”
He chuckled. “What does that mean?”
“A scientist would never form an opinion on just one experiment. First I have to set up criteria, than do a baseline test. After that, I compare all future results with the first.”
“Maybe tomorrow I could take you to dinner and I’ll see if I can improve on that baseline.”
She doubted that would be possible, but hey, she would settle for just repeating the results. Her body still tingled.
“I’d like that. And I’ll try not to fall asleep on you again.”
“If you’re going to fall asleep, I’d definitely like it to be on me,” he muttered against her ear.
She sucked in a deep breath. “I think you’re trying to get me flustered.”
* * * *
Erik slowly loosened his hold on her. He wanted to get her a hell of a lot more than flustered. He wanted her hot and bothered, but not while standing in the cold and not with her house wired like a public address system. But mostly, not while she was the prime suspect in a federal investigation. Damn. What was he thinking?
That was the problem. He wasn’t thinking. He let another part of his anatomy rule his actions. A reoccurring problem in her presence, it seemed. While he’d let down his guard once before, he’d never lost his head. He needed to get out of there before his professional ethics lost another round to his hormones.
“Tomorrow, Tori.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead and jumped the two steps to the stone walk.
She wrapped her arms around her waist. “Where’s your car?”
“Around the corner.”
“I’ll walk with you.”
“No,” he said sharply and then grinned. “A gentleman always sees a lady safely inside the house.”
“And they say chivalry is a thing of the past.”
Her soft laughter resurrected the heart he’d thought dead. She affected more than his libido; she touched his emotions. Hell. The woman posed a bigger danger to his peace of mind than he’d realized.
“Get inside. It’s cold.”
She waved and stepped through the door.
He sprinted to the corner and then turned back to make sure she’d stayed put. The light shone on an empty porch. Shoving his hands deep in his pockets, he continued towards the van. It promised to be a long, cold night. He was in no mood to spend the next eight hours in cramped quarters with his comedian of a partner listening to snide innuendoes.
Instead of rounding the corner, he continued down the main street at a brisk pace. He needed to work off a heap of sexual frustration, not to mention a hard-on so damned uncomfortable he doubted an ice bath would help. He knew better than to let his judgment get clouded with lust, but Victoria affected him in a way he couldn’t control.
He needed to keep his guard up, especially after his near-fatal case. And he’d thought he knew women so well. Once he’d caught the sexy drug smuggler in the act, she’d agreed to turn state’s evidence against her accomplices to save her own ass. He never expected her to blow her chance at freedom. Apparently she wasn’t too happy with Erik for what she deemed his duplicity. Hell hath no fury. He ended up with a bullet hole. She got twenty-five to life. He couldn’t afford to get caught off guard again with Victoria .
After covering a four-block radius around the neighborhood, he returned to his waiting partner.
“What happened?” Daniels asked when Erik finally climbed inside.
“What do you mean?”
“You left the house fifteen minutes ago. What were you doing until now?”
“Checking out the area.” After losing my objectivity and my common sense. “Did you find out anything more?”
“Yeah. No other passenger left Flight 516 wearing the flower. And I turned up six Steven Jansens in the Northeast area, none of
He struggled for a normal breath. “Okay, Doctor. As experiments go, how was this one?”
She rested her chin on his shoulder and sighed. “For a baseline kiss, it was very nice.”
He chuckled. “What does that mean?”
“A scientist would never form an opinion on just one experiment. First I have to set up criteria, than do a baseline test. After that, I compare all future results with the first.”
“Maybe tomorrow I could take you to dinner and I’ll see if I can improve on that baseline.”
She doubted that would be possible, but hey, she would settle for just repeating the results. Her body still tingled.
“I’d like that. And I’ll try not to fall asleep on you again.”
“If you’re going to fall asleep, I’d definitely like it to be on me,” he muttered against her ear.
She sucked in a deep breath. “I think you’re trying to get me flustered.”
* * * *
Erik slowly loosened his hold on her. He wanted to get her a hell of a lot more than flustered. He wanted her hot and bothered, but not while standing in the cold and not with her house wired like a public address system. But mostly, not while she was the prime suspect in a federal investigation. Damn. What was he thinking?
That was the problem. He wasn’t thinking. He let another part of his anatomy rule his actions. A reoccurring problem in her presence, it seemed. While he’d let down his guard once before, he’d never lost his head. He needed to get out of there before his professional ethics lost another round to his hormones.
“Tomorrow, Tori.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead and jumped the two steps to the stone walk.
She wrapped her arms around her waist. “Where’s your car?”
“Around the corner.”
“I’ll walk with you.”
“No,” he said sharply and then grinned. “A gentleman always sees a lady safely inside the house.”
“And they say chivalry is a thing of the past.”
Her soft laughter resurrected the heart he’d thought dead. She affected more than his libido; she touched his emotions. Hell. The woman posed a bigger danger to his peace of mind than he’d realized.
“Get inside. It’s cold.”
She waved and stepped through the door.
He sprinted to the corner and then turned back to make sure she’d stayed put. The light shone on an empty porch. Shoving his hands deep in his pockets, he continued towards the van. It promised to be a long, cold night. He was in no mood to spend the next eight hours in cramped quarters with his comedian of a partner listening to snide innuendoes.
Instead of rounding the corner, he continued down the main street at a brisk pace. He needed to work off a heap of sexual frustration, not to mention a hard-on so damned uncomfortable he doubted an ice bath would help. He knew better than to let his judgment get clouded with lust, but Victoria affected him in a way he couldn’t control.
He needed to keep his guard up, especially after his near-fatal case. And he’d thought he knew women so well. Once he’d caught the sexy drug smuggler in the act, she’d agreed to turn state’s evidence against her accomplices to save her own ass. He never expected her to blow her chance at freedom. Apparently she wasn’t too happy with Erik for what she deemed his duplicity. Hell hath no fury. He ended up with a bullet hole. She got twenty-five to life. He couldn’t afford to get caught off guard again with Victoria .
After covering a four-block radius around the neighborhood, he returned to his waiting partner.
“What happened?” Daniels asked when Erik finally climbed inside.
“What do you mean?”
“You left the house fifteen minutes ago. What were you doing until now?”
“Checking out the area.” After losing my objectivity and my common sense. “Did you find out anything more?”
“Yeah. No other passenger left Flight 516 wearing the flower. And I turned up six Steven Jansens in the Northeast area, none of
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