Free Racing the Hunter's Moon (Entangled Bliss) by Sally Clements Page A

never shared the truth of his background, the guilt he felt every day that he hadn’t been able to get his mother away from his father sooner. Once upon a time, he’d wanted to fight back, show the old man what it was like to suffer under the fists of another.
    But that would have made him and his father the same, so instead, he’d channeled his fury into law enforcement. Into standing up for women made weak by love of the wrong man.
    His history had seemed too deep, too personal to share with anyone before—but he had the feeling Betty might understand.
    She was getting under his skin. What would it be like to have more, to actually have a real relationship with her when this was all over?
    One thing at a time. Joe turned off the faucet and wrapped himself in a towel. Catching Charmers must be his entire focus; he couldn’t afford to jeopardize that by being distracted, no matter how compelling the distraction.
    …
    Tonight felt like a date. She’d luxuriated in the hot bath until her fingers and toes had turned pruney, couldn’t stop thinking over the day’s events. But instead of stressing over Charmers, her mind had been filled with thoughts of Joe.
    His voice. The way he didn’t talk much, but somehow made each word matter. When driving, his movements were economical, but sure. She’d never had to repeat a direction—they worked together like a finely tuned machine.
    A thread of attraction linked them. Tonight would be even more so, as they pretended to be a couple once again. Maybe Alice was right. Maybe she deserved to have a fling with him. It didn’t have to be forever—he had a life and a job to go back to once Charmers was in custody, but every time she thought of him, every moment in his company made it more difficult to resist him, and for the life of her, she couldn’t remember why she even should.
    Then she remembered. He only knew half the story. That she was determined to get Charmers. He didn’t know that she and Leonora had planned to bring him to justice by trapping him, catching him in the act. Taking things further without revealing the truth would be dishonest, and time to catch Charmers was running out. They had to wrap this operation up fast.
    She pulled open the wardrobe doors. The red silk chiffon, or the gold Azzedine Alaïa? She ran a hand down both and decided on the red. Cut daringly low with a sweetheart neckline and a swatch of fabric that curved over one shoulder, it was a shut-up-and-look-at-me dress. One she’d bought in a mad moment for far too much money because she hadn’t been able to resist it, but had never found an opportunity to wear. Luckily the bodice was discreetly lined, because it was cut too low to allow the wearing of a bra. She slipped it over her head, smoothed the expertly draped front, stepped into high gold stilettos, and turned to check the back view.
    The gold watch her mother had given her on her last birthday was next—and she checked the time as she fastened it. Three-quarters of an hour to go. Time enough to curl her hair and arrange it with the jeweled clasp she’d borrowed from Alice. And to go all-out with makeup for the first time in what seemed like forever.
    Yup, it sure feels like a date.
    When the knock came at the door forty minutes later, she was ready and waiting.
    The sight of Joe in the doorway stole her breath. Like her, he’d dressed up for the occasion. The slate-gray suit fitted perfectly, and he wore a snow-white shirt and a silver-gray silk tie. Freshly shaven, with his hair slicked back from his face to emphasize the sharp planes of his cheekbones and the blueness of his eyes, he made her heart race.
    His gaze swept her head to toe, then returned to her face. His pupils expanded, swallowing up the blue. “You look beautiful.” His voice was deep and husky. “Really beautiful.” For a moment, time stood still. The air seemed to thicken, to charge with words unsaid and dangerous emotion.
    Then he reached for her hand, and