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He wanted to reach out and put his fingers over hers. For now, he controlled the impulse. “You keep letting those nails of yours bite into your palms, and you’ll make yourself bleed.”
They stopped twisting.
“It’s one of your few tells.” Did she realize it? “When you get scared, you sink your nails into your palms.” Truly curious, he asked, “What makes you feel better? Making those fists and hiding them from everyone? Or do you like the little bite of pain?” Beau watched her for a response. He wasn’t judging. Just asking. Because there had been something he didn’t know about Avalon.
You learn a lot from a distance. You learn so much more being up close and personal.
“I’m not into pain.” Instant.
“Too bad. With the right person, it can be just like pleasure.”
“Stop.” Her eyes flared.
“I’m not doing anything.” Yes, he was. They both knew it.
“You’re screwing with my head.”
Guilty. Only seemed fair, though, since she’d been screwing with his from day one.
“I’ve got to ask, do you always bust into police stations like that?”
“No.” Another true story. “Often, I bust out of them.”
Her breath heaved. “Can you be serious with me?”
“Oh, sweetheart, I am dead serious with you.”
She peered through the window. “Where are we even going?”
“Back to the hotel. You spent all your time digging up my secrets, and you didn’t get any rest. You can’t function on zero sleep. Not if we’re going to catch the bastard out there.” A pause. “That is why you came rushing after me, isn’t it? Because you want to team up with my awesome self to catch the bad guy? And not because, oh, you realize that you were desperate for me and wanted to fuck me here and now?”
“Beau.”
He settled more comfortably against the lush seat. His legs spread in front of him. His dick kept right on saluting her. “Yes?”
“I asked you to be serious. If this…this partnership is going to work?—”
“I am serious. I’m taking you back to the hotel. And we’ll catch the bad guy. We’ll get right to work on that after you’ve had some rest.”
Her lips pressed together. Her gaze swept over him.
Beau refused to tense even though he knew…Here it comes. When he’d first entered the interrogation room and gone to her, she’d flinched when he reached out to touch her. Fear had flickered in her gaze. Beau was definitely not a fan of fear in her eyes. In the interrogation room, she hadn’t stared at him like he was her hero.
Too bad.
She’d stared at him as if she’d realized he was something very, very different.
“How do I know I’m not looking straight at the bad guy?” Avalon did not pull the punch. The question was soft and husky and her gaze held his as—this time—she waited to see if he had a tell.
Once more, he smiled at her. “I am a bad guy. Don’t forget that. I am an absolute bastard to a whole lot of people in this world.” His smile slowly died away. “But not to you.”
“Because I’m your good thing?”
Yes.
“Bad guys stalk people.”
“Good guys protect people.”
