Her Mother's Killer (26 page)

Authors: Melissa Schroeder

BOOK: Her Mother's Killer

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“Oh, nothing. Just that I have a feeling about you and a certain secretary.”

He was back to scowling again. “Don’t call her that. She throws a fit if you don’t call her an administrative assistant.”

“Well, I still think—”

The sound of a car pulling into her drive cut her off and she stood to look out the window. When she saw Duncan and his angry expression, she was sure Jed had stopped by to talk to him.

“What?” Chase asked. He joined her at the window and whistled. “Man, he looks pissed.”

Duncan
jumped out of his truck and walked determinedly to her porch. He threw his brother’s car a dirty look before pounding up the steps. Without knocking, he opened the door and stepped into her living room.

Before she could say a word, Chase eased his arm around her shoulders. She looked at him as if he were insane but he just winked.

“Hey, Duncan. How’s everything going?”

She studied him, her gaze eating him up. It’d been less than two days, but it felt like a lifetime since she’d last seen him, held him. He was dressed in his uniform, the tan cotton material emphasized his physique.

God, he’s gorgeous.
Even now, when she was pissed at him, she felt the sexual tug, the yearning.

His color was heightened because of his anger, but she could tell the past couple of days had been hard on him. He just looked tired, from the bags beneath his eyes, to his posture.

“What the hell are you doing here, Chase?”

“Mom asked me to stop by and then Thea begged me to eat lunch with her.” He squeezed her shoulders when he told that lie. His smile broadened.

“Leave.”

“Excuse me?” Chase asked.

“Get out of this freaking house before I beat the shit out of you.”

Chase laughed. “Okay.” He turned to Thea. “Now, if he gives you any problems, you let me know.”

When they were alone, she shifted nervously from foot to foot. Now that she had him here, she didn’t know what to do, what to say.

“You want to explain to me what that was all about?” His voice was deadly soft.

She crossed her arms, trying to hide her shaking hands. “No.”

“No?”

“Yeah, no.”

“What do you mean no?”

“I think it’s a pretty simple word, Duncan. Even a dumbass, small-town cop can figure it out.”

A vein throbbed at his temple and a stain of red spread from his neck to his face. She had to fight the smile threatening to emerge.

“Really. So less than a week after you’re attacked, you’re entertaining men in your home?”

“Entertaining men?” She chuckled. “You make it sound like I opened a brothel.”

“Stop kidding around. Tell me now what the hell my brother was doing here.”

“Exactly what he said. Having lunch.”

She gathered the dishes and took them to the sink. Silently, he seethed behind her. She knew she confused him and she was glad, the butthead. He actually thought he could walk away from her.

“What did you mean by that little message you sent through your brother?”

Slowly, she turned and leaned against the counter. “You’ve seen him? I haven’t talked to him for over twenty-four hours. Said he had left something at Gwen’s and then called and said he was busy.”

His eyes narrowed. “What did you mean by that message?”

“Just what I said.”

“Do you care to explain yourself to me? I figured you’d be heading out of town as soon as you could.” Bitterness dripped from his words.

Surprise held her tongue still. Surely he knew she was staying here. She searched her memory and realized she hadn’t told him her plans. Of course, if the idiot thought she’d leave him after what they shared, he deserved to worry.

“Well, gonna be kind of hard to run my business from somewhere else.”

“Business?”

“Yeah. I’m thinking about opening a shop, maybe just catering…haven’t decided yet.”

“You can’t stay here.”

“Excuse me?”

“I cannot live my life in this town if you are here. I can’t stand by while you date other men.” The anguish in his voice tore at her. It was the first emotion, outside of anger, he had shown her since Chris’ suicide. It hurt, ached, to see him in pain, but it gave her hope.

“And why would that bother you?” She had to know; he had to say it.

He abruptly turned and gave her his back. He placed both of his hands on his hips and sighed.

“You have to ask?” His voice was so quiet she almost didn’t hear the question.

“I have to hear it, Duncan.”

He spun around, pain deepened the lines around his mouth. The big hulk of a man looked so vulnerable. She wanted to reach out and pull him into her arms. But if she did, they’d never get past this. They’d never be able to move on.

“I love you. You know I do. I just can’t…”

“You can’t what?”

“How can you live your life with a man who is related to the one who killed your parents? Aren’t you afraid of what is in our blood?”

Understanding and love filled her heart. She should have known the man thought he was doing this for her own good.

“Duncan. That’s just silly. There is no link and no one in your family has had this tendency before, have they?” A tiny bit of hope flared in his eyes as he shook his head. “Maybe this was a result of something that happened to him. Or maybe it really was love at one time, but his obsession twisted it.”

“But…” He swallowed visibly. “You would—”

“Of course I would. I plan on staying in Crocker for the rest of my life. Something had always been missing in my life since I left here. I love to cook. But I am not a big city kind of girl. I hate the traffic and I like to know all the gossip.” She smiled as tears gathered in her eyes. “I want to stay here with you.”

He didn’t say a word. Just stepped forward and grabbed her. He pulled her into his arms, his warmth seeping through her clothes. His scent surrounded her, all masculine, wind-blown man. Joy filled her heart, warming her from within. Her whole body tingled with anticipation.

“And you have to marry me, Duncan. My brother will throw a fit if we just live together.”

He eased back, a cocky grin on his face that sent a rush of heat through her body. God, she loved this man.

“Well, of course.” He lifted her into his arms. “And, then I’ll have a talk with Chase about showing up here uninvited. I’m really getting sick of that.”

As he laid her on the bed, love and joy filled his heart knowing she was truly his. “You can’t go back on your word now, Thea.”

“No.” She ignored the tears of happiness that spilled out of her eyes and down her cheeks. “No way. You’re mine.”

“I like the idea of being owned, especially by you.”

She laughed, then pulled him onto the bed. It was the last coherent thought either of them had for hours.

About Melissa Schroeder

From an early age,
Melissa loved to read. First, it was the books her mother read to her including her two favorites,
Winnie the Pooh
and the
Beatrix Potter
books. She cut her preteen teeth on
Trixie Belden
and read and reviewed
To Kill a Mockingbird
in middle school. It wasn’t until she was in college that she tried to write her first stories, which were full of angst and pain, and really not that fun to read or write. After trying several different genres, she found romance in a Linda Howard book.

S
ince the publication of her first book in 2004, Melissa has had close to fifty romances published. She writes in genres from historical suspense to modern day erotic romance to futuristics and paranormals. Included in those releases is the bestselling
Harmless series
. In 2011, Melissa branched out into self-publishing with

A Little Harmless Submission

and the popular military spinoff,
Infatuation: A Little Harmless Military Romance
. Along the way she has garnered an epic nomination, a multitude of reviewer’s recommended reads, over five Capa nods from TRS, three nominations for AAD Bookies and regularly tops the best seller lists on

Amazon
and
Barnes & Noble
.

Since she spent her childhood as a military brat, Melissa swore never to marry military. But, as we all know, Fate has her way with mortals. She is married to an AF major and is raising her own brats, both human and canine. She spends her days giving in to her addiction to

Twitter
, counting down the days until her hubby retires, and cursing
the military for always sticking them in a location that is filled with bugs big enough to eat her children.

You can connect with Mel all over the web: 

Or email her at: [email protected]

Other Books by Melissa Schroeder

Harmless

A Little Harmless Sex