Otherworldly Bad Boys: Three Complete Novels by V.J. Chambers Page B

she and I both go away.” He glared at Cole.
    Cole glanced at Avery and then turned his attention back to Dana. “Why’d you wash off your makeup?”
    God. He could tell that? Heat was rushing to her face. She was blushing.
    Avery gave her a funny look.
    She looked at Cole instead, locked into his dark eyes. She felt like he was burrowing inside her. Her clothes felt tight. Her skin felt damp.
    “I won’t say anything until he leaves,” said Cole.
    Dana couldn’t tear her gaze away from him. Without looking away, she whispered, “Brooks, why don’t you wait outside the door for me? I’ll knock if I need you.”
    “No way,” said Avery. He leaned across the table, putting himself in her view, breaking her eye contact with Cole. “I’m staying.”
    Cole laughed, a dark throaty sound. “Too bad. I was looking forward to talking to you. I missed you, Dana.”
    The response was on the tip of her tongue, begging to be said, but she didn’t dare let it out. I missed you too .
    She turned to Avery. “Ten minutes, okay? Give me ten minutes with him.”
    “I don’t like it, Gray.”
    “Please.” And she was afraid he could hear the raw desperation in her voice.
    Avery folded his arms over his chest. He stood up. “Ten minutes. I’m coming after you in ten minutes.” He looked at Cole. “I’ll be right outside the door.”
    “Noted,” said Cole, his lips curving into a satisfied smile.
    Avery walked across the room. He hesitated at the door. “Ten minutes.”
    Dana nodded.
    Then the door shut, and they were alone.
    Her hands lurched off her lap, across the table. And then she was touching him. His fingers were warm.
    “You ran from me, beautiful,” he said, caressing her knuckles.
    “You were trying to kill me.”
    “No.” His gaze was intense. “Not anymore. Not after what happened. You and I are connected now, don’t you see?”
    She snatched her hands back. “I don’t want to talk about it.” She wasn’t connected to him. She couldn’t be.
    “I can’t stop thinking about you, Dana. I think about you when I wake up. I think about you before I go to sleep. I—”
    “Stop.” She didn’t need to hear this. She needed to get the topic back to the reason she came. She needed to take control here. That was what Cole always robbed her of. Control. If she could direct the conversation, maybe she could stay on top of her feelings—her very strange, very disturbing feelings. She squared her shoulders, sucking in a deep breath. “So, what did you want to say about the rogues? How could you help?”
    “Don’t tell me you aren’t thinking about me too. I know—”
    “The rogues .”
    He sighed. “They’re connected. I’m surprised you didn’t see it. But maybe you weren’t looking.”
    “Connected? They live in different states. They have nothing in common.”
    He shook his head. “I know who they are.”
    “Say you do. What does it matter? They’re going to be locked up for doing it on purpose no matter what.”
    “Are you sure they did it on purpose?”
    “They admitted that.”
    “According to the news reports I saw, they admitted only that they knew how to control their wolves on a full moon.”
    Dana sat back in her chair. “If they could control themselves, and they didn’t control themselves, then it means they did it on purpose.”
    Cole raised his eyebrows. “Does it?”
    “Don’t play games with me. You either know something, or you don’t.”
    Cole’s voice dropped several octaves. “I needed to see you. I thought maybe you needed to see me too.”
    She felt the words like lightning, coursing through her, making her feel weak, but also lit up, awake. She wished she was touching him again. She wished the table wasn’t between them. She wished there was nothing between them. Nothing at all.
    Yes, I needed to see you. Yes, all I need is to see you. I need you, Cole. I need you. What have you done to me?
    She held his gaze, and she was sure he could see her response