Start Me Up by Victoria Dahl Page B

girlfriends?”
    The idea of her father dating felt as bizarre now as it had two days ago. But maybe the stranger part of it was just how odd it seemed to her. “I honestly don’t know. I asked Joe about it, and he said my dad dated occasionally but there was never anyone serious. I had no idea he even dated. He kept it from me.” She laughed a little. “I’m beginning to think it’s weird that I can’t answer these questions, Ben.”
    “No,” he said immediately. “This is normal when a child—even an adult child—is answering questions about a parent. Believe me, it’s usually a bad sign if a kid knows too much. Your dad was your dad, and he kept his private life private. That’s just what he was supposed to do.”
    “Okay.” She felt tears welling, and nodded quickly.
    “The officers investigating at the time came up with the same information. As far as they could tell, there wasn’t a woman in his life. So you weren’t left out at all.”
    “Okay.” The tears finally spilled over. She tried to wave him off, but Ben was having none of it.
    He cursed and reached out to rest his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have dropped in and ruined your Sunday like this. I’m heading to Molly’s in thirty minutes. Why don’t you come with me?”
    Lori felt tempted for about five seconds. Then she remembered the lingerie Molly had picked up in Aspen the night before. “Um, no. I think I’ll just stay here and let you two have your evening. I’ve got invoices and…stuff.”
    He objected a few times, but Lori finally got him out the door and shut it tight behind him.
    She needed some ice cream. Or a drink.
    Probably both.

CHAPTER FIVE
    “I’ll take care of you,” Rafael whispered. Then she felt the scrape of his impossibly sharp teeth against the tender skin of her neck.
    “You can’t protect me from everything,” Jodi protested, breath catching somewhere between a gasp and a sob. His hands held her still, her naked back pressed against his chest, ass snug against his erection.
    “I can.” His surety vibrated over her skin, raising goose bumps. Finally, he loosed his grip and slid one hand down her arm to caress her hip. He teased her, stroking circles over her skin until his fingers found her sex and she cried his name like a prayer. And then his long, sharp teeth sank deep into her neck….
    L ORI SIGHED and tossed the book toward the end of her bed. She’d been flipping through the pages since she’d awoken at 5:00 a.m. Too early, but she couldn’t get back to sleep and even the best of the stories couldn’t hold her interest. She’d lived all of Monday as if she were moving through water, every movement taking more energy than it should. It looked as though Tuesday would be more of the same.
    Lori found herself wishing she could sink deeper into depression, deep enough that she could lie down and sleep for a good twelve hours. As it was, she seemed to be hovering between anxiety and the blues. Restless and lethargic at the same time. And seriously confused.
    Ben must be wrong about her father’s injury. She wanted him to be wrong. And all the reports weren’t in yet, so Lori could still hope.
    Her dad had been a good man, but he’d been rough-and-tumble. Sometimes, especially after her mother had left, he’d hit the town to get good and drunk. And he’d seen nothing wrong with throwing a few punches around if one of his drinking buddies pissed him off. Hell, his injury had happened at the now-defunct biker bar at the edge of town. Fistfights were part of the recreation. So he’d gotten punched and fallen against a stray rock, and whoever he’d been fighting with had taken off to save his own ass. The reconstructed scenario made total sense, and she’d never once doubted it.
    Until now.
    Damn Ben Lawson and his determination to run an organized police department. His persistent inquiries were working, at least on her. She’d spent hours lying in bed last night,