Free Relentless Seduction by Jillian Burns

head.
    A woman. In his bed. He’d never brought a woman up here. It was much easier to go to their place—usually a hotel room—so he could leave whenever he wanted. And never have to talk afterward.
    Damn, he shouldn’t have asked about her life. Now she thought she could question him. He could tell her he needed to finish that paperwork downstairs. But...“I grew up in New Orleans.”
    He found himself standing, making his way to the bed and leaning against the bedpost. “My first job was in a bar. O’Sullivan’s down on Picayune. Cleaning up, doing whatever.” He didn’t tell her he’d learned to make most drinks before he was fifteen. “Didn’t take me long to realize somebody like me’s not going to get anywhere working for other people.”
    Her gaze seemed to penetrate his protective shield. “People like you?”
    He gritted his teeth. She could stare with those big brown eyes all day. He sure as hell wasn’t going to spill his guts to this woman. “Let’s just say I’m no doctor.”
    “I’m really just a microbiologist.”
    “Oh, well. That’s different, then.”
    Her lips flattened. “So, why a vampire bar?”
    He shrugged and finished his coffee. “It’s a way to stand out. Tourists love it.” Despite the coffee, his body was screaming for rest. His mind must need sleep, also, or he would never have talked so much about himself. And Claire looked damned sexy lying there all curled up in his satin comforter. He pushed off the bedpost, crawled in beside her, gently removed her glasses and set them on the bedside table.
    Claire rolled to face him, reached over and ran her palm down his chest. Her hand felt soft and warm, soothing...
    That was the last thing he remembered until he woke from another nightmare about his pappy. The old man was yelling at him again, had the belt out, threatening like always to beat the crap out of him. But this time Pappy was raving about what a sad sack he was for letting Shadow get away.
    And Rafe woke up knowing he was right.

7
    C LAIRE WOKE FROM A profound sleep, smiled and stretched in the big soft bed with the silky sheets. She hadn’t slept this well since—
    Julia! The events of the past three days came slamming back, jolting her fully awake. She twisted and saw the empty space beside her.
    Rafe was gone.
    From the amount and angle of the light coming through the blinds, it was probably late afternoon. She listened, but heard no shower running. No music blaring from downstairs. Perhaps he was just finishing that paperwork he’d mentioned.
    She had things she needed to take care of also. She wanted to call Sergeant Mulroney and see if they’d had any leads on Shadow or the laptop. If Shadow pawned it, hopefully there’d be surveillance tape from the store.
    She found her purse, grabbed her cell and called, but the sergeant wasn’t at his desk. As it was Sunday, checking in with her office would have to wait until tomorrow. And she put off calling her parents, knowing she needed to share what information she had, but...she wanted a little while longer to bask in this blissfully sated feeling.
    As she stepped into the shower, she contemplated the astounding events of this morning. Aside from the fact that she’d never experienced orgasm before, she’d never—not ever, been told she was beautiful—parents didn’t count. Not in this way. Not in the way Rafe had said it. As if he meant it. As if he actually saw her as a person of beauty. And she’d certainly never felt such white-hot desire. She’d assumed it just wasn’t in her. She’d been blessed with a high I.Q. and that—she’d believed—meant sacrificing other things. Like passion.
    Half an hour later, feeling refreshed and in a clean change of clothes, she cautiously made her way downstairs. Her stomach was growling. Perhaps she could talk Rafe into going to the Café Du Monde with her and they could order beignets and café au lait.
    At the bottom of the stairs, the spikey-haired, shaved