had to touch her, so he reached out to skim his fingertips along her delicate jaw. But she pulled back so his skin just brushed hers. It was enough that he felt her heat. And he knew that if he ever really touched her, passion would burn between them, brighter and hotter than even those images that flashed through his mind. “I can give you pleasure….”
“You arrogant bastard,” she said. “You might be used to women falling at your feet. But I’m not a fan. You don’t impress me.”
“Has any man?” he wondered. Or had she spent her life as he had, searching for something, for someone, he hadn’t been able to find? Until now.
“My personal life is none of your damn business,” she told him.
“Do you have one?” he wondered. “The director told me you’ve been working this case for a long time, almost obsessively.” He narrowed his eyes, studying her face, wishing he could feel what she felt. But only his own emotions—his attraction and fascination with her—consumed him. And others’ emotions edged in: pain, frustration, anger and resentment. “Why does this case mean so much to you, Alaina?”
“Every case means a lot to me,” she said, but her voice lacked the strength of conviction.
“This case is personal to you,” he said. “Why? Was one of those women your mother? Sister? Aunt?” Or, as he suspected, her?
“No.”
“C’mon, Alaina, let me help you,” Trent urged her. “You’ve gone over those files so many times that I’m sure you’ve missed something. I can be your fresh eyes, your fresh perspective.”
“She doesn’t need you,” a deep voice informed him. The surly agent had returned. The cold water must have soothed away the burn of the hot coffee, for his fingers weren’t red anymore.
Yet Trent saw the red in his mind, as if he weren’t the only one with blood on his hands. Maybe he was just projecting, looking for someone else to blame for what he’d caused.
Vonner stated, “I’m her fresh eyes on this case.”
“You just recently got assigned to it?”
Vonner nodded. “Unless you’re willing to tell us who fed you the information from those files, you really have no reason to be here.” The guy’s dark gaze flicked to Alaina, as if staking his claim. “Why don’t you end your little field trip to the FBI and go back home, Baines?”
“I have every reason to be here.” And she stood right in front of him, her eyes narrowed with distrust. She was smart not to trust him when he didn’t even trust himself.
Vonner was right; Trent needed to leave. It was better if he returned to the oblivion in which he’d been living. No emotions, others’ or his own. No desires, like the passion that burned inside him for her.
As he met her gaze, he saw another woman, one with red hair and pale skin, standing naked before him, her lips curved into a smile of pure temptation. Her image superimposed over Alaina’s until the two became one, as if the soul of the red-haired woman lived inside Alaina’s beautiful face and body.
It had to be her….
She shivered, despite the turtleneck she wore beneath her dark suit jacket. She’d worn a high-necked sweater yesterday, too.
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