Seeking Evil (Looking Into The Mind Of A Killer Series) (15 page)

John flipped on the switch, flooding the room with light.
She
took
her
time examining the place, mostly because
she
needed
time
to recover
her control
.

“
Make yourself at home. There
’
s not much to see. Just the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom
’
s through there…and then the bedroom
,”
h
e added softly.

Anna's
gaze ricocheted to his. Nothing showed
on
his face. No emotion. Was it just
her
imagination? If so, how could
she
stay here, be close to him, and not be constantly overacting to everything John said or did.

“
I
’
m going to put the truck in the garage behind the house just as a precaution. You take the bedroom, I
’
ll use the sofa.
”

He disappeared before
she
could man
a
ge an answer. With him gone,
she
could breathe again.
Gemma
whimpered in
her
arms and
Anna
realized
she’
d been clutching her tight, almost to the point of cutting off air.

“
I
’
m sorry, baby. You want to stretch your legs?
”
Anna
sat
the dog
down at
her
feet and wandered through the tiny cabin with
Gemma
trailing
her
.

Furnished with
only
the bare necessities, the rustic cabin, though functional, was not meant to encourage long stays inside. It said a lot about the person who came here.
Anna
knew John was an outdoorsman at heart. He
’
d shared his love of the outdoors with
her
many times
in the past.
She could hear that t
he ocean was close, within walking distance of the cabin, allowing all sorts of outdoor activities. The cabin would be for eating and sleeping only.

Anna
dropped
her
bag on the bed and left the room. Best not to think about the times John had slept in this
same
bed. Would he have come here alone? Did he have a girlfriend? Did he ever think of
her
?

She scooped up
Gemma
again and went back to the
kitchen
where
a quick search of
the pantry
revealed i
t was remarkably well stocked. John had planned ahead. Had he expected the killer
’
s latest move?

“
Are you hungry?
”
She
hadn
’
t realized he
’
d returned until he spoke.
She saw him standing in the
doorway watching
her
.

Anna tried to remember
the last time
she’
d eaten anything
substantial
and couldn
’
t. John took
her
silence for consent. He came
up
behind
her
and gently pushed
her
into one of the chairs
then
took
Gemma
from
her
arms.
John
found a bowl and poured dog food into it. He
’
d thought about
her
dog as well.
Anna
refused to be swept away by his consideration.

He took out eggs and ham.
“
How does an omelet sound?
”

Her
stomach growled in appreciation and he grinned.
“
I
’
ll take that for a yes. I
’
d offer coffee, but I think you
’
ve probably had enough of that for one day. How about wine instead?
”

Alone in a remote cabin, with a man
she’
d shared a very intimate history with, wine was the last thing
she
needed.

“
It might help you relax,
”
h
e added when he correctly read
what she was thinking
.

John
took a bottle of white wine from the fridge and poured two glasses then handed
Anna
one
of them
.
She
watched him work in silence for a moment, then took the peppers from hi
s hand
and started to chop them. He smiled at
her
.

“
When do you want to look at the files?
”
She
was determined to keep the focus on the case.

“
Not tonight.
Y
ou have to be exhausted,
”
h
e added when
she
would have argued the point.
“
You
’
ve been through one hell of a twenty-four hours. We
’
ll start on them in the morning, after you
’
ve had a good night
’
s rest.
”

She
didn
’
t want to wait another minute, much less until tomorrow.
She
needed to find out
if there were any
clues
in them that
Aaron might have unknowingly
behind
.
“
John, this thing can
’
t wait that long.
”

“
It can and it will,
”
he insisted then glanced down at
her
.
“And w
hatever you think you
’
re going to find there, you can forget it.
There's nothing there.
”

Anna
couldn
’
t hold his gaze.
“
I don
’
t know what you
’
re talking about…
”

“
You do. You think that by getting a look at those files you
’
ll somehow gain some magical insight into Aaron
’
s mindset during those last
months
. I
’
m telling you it won
’
t. Don
’
t you think I
’
ve thought the same? There
’
s nothing
new
in the
m
, Anna. Whatever secrets Aaron had,
his reasons for shutting you and
me
out of his life, well,
he took them with him to the grave.
”

Anna
laid down the knife and faced him.
“
I can
’
t accept that. I won
’
t.
”

John
watched
her
carefully.
She
could almost feel the tension in him.
“
It
’
s true.
”

“
No, it
’
s not. He told you something, didn
’
t he? Deny it, John
.”

He couldn
’
t.

“
I thought not. What was my husband keeping from me? Dammit,
John,
I have a right to know.
”

He shoved the skillet off the burner and took
her
by
her
arms.
“Ex-husband and
I
’
m not having this conversation with you, Anna. I can
’
t.
”

Anna saw a crack in his resolve and
pressed on. John still wanted
her
.
It was there in the sultry shade of blue in his eyes. She
pushed closer.
“
Why can
’
t you? What are
you
keeping from me?
”

“
Dammit, Anna, don
’
t do this.
”

“
Then tell me the truth. Please,
for God's sake,
just tell me.
”
She
leaned in closer.
The
ir
bodies touching
now
.
Her
motives no longer clear.
His
resolve crumbling.

“
Just tell me.
”
He didn
’
t. Instead, he
dragged
her
closer, his eyes dark with anger. Desire.
She
had time for just a single ragged breath before his lips claimed
her and
history
-- their history --
repeated itself.

Chapter Ten

The heat. The passion
. The raw need
that was always there between
them
, even when
she
was trying to deny it,
roared
back to life
like a firestorm
.
N
othing else mattered b
ut
being in his arms. Touching him. Having him touch
her
.

He fingers tightened around
her
waist and
then he
put
her
a little away from him, searching
her
eyes. This was the man who made
her
feel so many unwelcome things. Anger. Hate.
Lust
.

“
Anna, I
’
m sorry. I didn
’
t mean for that—
”

She
shook
her
head.
She
didn
’
t want to hear his regrets.
She
touched
her
lips to his
and he
waver
ed
.
“
Make love to me, John. Please, I don
’
t want to think about tomorrow, or the past.
Of what lies in the future. I want this.
Make love to me now.
”

“Anna," he breathed in her name then reached for her. "
Oh my God, yes.
”
His lips claimed
hers once more.
Familiar. Strong. John.

H
e lifted
her
in his arms and carried
her
to the bedroom.

The only light in the room was from the moon outside. But it was enough to see the raw heat in his eyes.
The
same desire would be reflected in
hers
as well. It was always like this for
them
. Whatever happened
, no
matter how much
they
might disagree about other parts of
their
li
ves
, about Aaron
,
the
ir
yearning
for each other
hadn’t
faded.

John smiled down at
her
. He pulled
her
against him, his lips moving slowly over
hers
, creating a familiar need deep inside
of her
.
She
wanted
him. More than
she’
d ever
wanted
Aaron.