LITMIR.BIZ

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grandmother had told her many things about her grandson Lucas. She’d mentioned that he was an expert skier, that he had once spent a year living in a cabin in the Arctic, that he was fluent in French, Italian and Russian, was skilled in at least four different forms of martial arts and that he never showed anyone his books until they were finished.

      She’d failed to mention that he could be intimidating.

      “She employed me to prepare your apartment for Christmas.”

      “And?”

      “And what? That’s it. What other reason could there have been?” She saw the sardonic gleam in his eyes. “Are you suggesting I broke in here so that I could meet you?”

      “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

      “Women do that?” Outrage mingled with fascination. Even she couldn’t imagine ever going to those lengths to find a man. “How exactly does that work? Once they get inside they leap on you and pin you down?”

      “You tell me.” He folded his arms and looked at her expectantly. “What plan did you cook up with my grandmother?”

      She laughed and then realized he wasn’t joking.

      “I’m good in the kitchen, but even I’ve never managed to ‘cook up’ a romance. I wonder what the recipe would be? One cup of hope mixed with a pinch of delusion?” She tilted her head to one side. “Not that I’m not one of those women who thinks a guy has to make the first move or anything, but I’ve never gone as far as breaking into a man’s apartment to get their attention. Do I look desperate, Mr. Blade?” In fact she was pretty desperate, but he had no way of knowing that unless he searched her purse and found her single lonely condom. She had hoped to give it a spectacular end to its so far uneventful life, but that was looking increasingly unlikely.

      “Desperate wears many faces.”

      “If I were to break into a man’s apartment with the intention of seducing him, do you really think I’d do it while wearing snow boots and a chunky sweater? I’m starting to understand why you need such a large apartment even though there’s only one of you. Your ego must take up a lot of space and need its own bathroom, but I forgive you for your arrogance because you’re rich and good-looking so you’re probably telling the truth about your past experience. However, the flaw in your reasoning is that you were supposed to be in Vermont.”

      His gaze held hers. “I’m not in Vermont.”

      “I know that now. I have bruises to prove it.”

      The police officer didn’t smile. “Do you believe that story, Lucas?”

      “Unfortunately, yes. It sounds exactly the sort of thing my grandmother would arrange.” He swore softly, his fluency earning him a look of respect from the hardened New York cop.

      “How do you want us to handle this?”

      “I don’t. I’m grateful for your speedy response, but I’ll take it from here. And if you could forget you ever saw me here, I’d be grateful for that, too.” He spoke with the quiet authority of someone who was rarely questioned and Eva watched in fascination as they all melted away.

      All except Albert, who stood as solid as a tree trunk in the doorway.

      Lucas looked at him expectantly. “Thank you for your concern, but I’ve got this.”

      “My concern is for Miss Eva.” Albert stood his ground and looked at Eva. “Perhaps you’d better come with me.”

      She was touched. “I’ll be fine, Albert, but thank you. I may be a little vertically challenged, but I’m deadly when I’m cornered. You don’t need to worry about me.”

      “If you change your mind, I’m on until midnight.” He glared at Lucas, his expression suggesting that he’d be keeping an eye on the situation. “I’ll check in with you before I leave.”

      “You’re really kind.”

      The door to the apartment closed.

      “You’re deadly when you’re cornered?” His dark drawl held a hint of humor. “Forgive me if I find that hard to believe.”

      “Don’t underestimate me, Mr. Blade. When I attack, you won’t see it coming. One minute you’ll be minding your own business, the next you’ll be on your back, helpless.”

      “Like I was a few moments ago?”

      She ignored his sarcasm. “That was different. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be here. I wasn’t ready. Next time I’ll be ready.”

      “Next time?”

      “Next time you leap on me and try to imprint me into your floor. It was like the Hollywood Walk of Fame only you were using my whole body, not just my hand. Your floor probably looks like a crime scene with the outline of my body right there.”

      Lucas studied her for a moment. “You seem to have a close relationship with the doorman of my building. Have you known him long?”

      “About ten minutes.”

      “Ten minutes and the guy is willing to defend you to the death? Do you have that effect on all men?”

      “Never the right men. Never the young, hot, eligible ones.” She changed the subject. “Why did the police not make an arrest?”

      “According to you, you weren’t committing a crime.”

      “I was talking about you. They should have cautioned you. You flattened me and scared the life out of me.” She remembered the way his body had felt against hers. She could still feel the hard pressure of his thigh, the warmth of his breath on her cheek and the heaviness.

      Her gaze met his. The way he was looking at her made her think he was remembering that moment, too.

      “You were creeping around my apartment. And if I’d wanted to kill you, you’d be dead by now.”

      “Is that supposed to be a comfort?” She rubbed her bruised ribs, reminding herself that however her imagination played with the facts, it hadn’t been a romantic encounter. Lucas Blade was looking at her with a hint of steel in his gaze. There was something about him that didn’t seem quite safe. “Do you assault everyone who enters you’re apartment?”

      “Only those who enter uninvited.”

      “I was invited! As you would have found out if you’d bothered to ask. And I would have thought a man with your expertise in crime would have been able to tell the difference between an innocent woman and a criminal.”

      He gave her a speculative look. “Criminals aren’t always so easy to identify. They don’t come with a twirling moustache and a label. You think you can recognize a bad guy just by looking at them?”

      “I’m pretty good at identifying ‘loser guy,’ and I definitely know ‘hot guy,’ so I’m confident ‘bad guy’ wouldn’t slide under my radar.”

      “No?” He stepped closer to her. “The ‘bad guys’ live among us, blending in. Often it’s the person you’d least suspect. The cabdriver, the lawyer,” he paused before saying, “the doorman.”

      Was he intentionally trying to scare her? “Your doorman, Albert, happens to be one of the nicest people I’ve ever met so if you’re trying to persuade me he has a criminal past I’m not going to believe you. In my experience most people are pretty decent.”

      “You don’t watch the news?”

      “The news presents only the bad side of humanity, Mr. Blade, and it does it on a global scale. It doesn’t report the millions of small, unreported acts of kindness that take place on a daily basis in communities. People help old ladies across the street, they bring their neighbors tea when they’re sick. You don’t hear about it because good news isn’t entertainment, even though it’s those deeds that hold society together.

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