Free Expert Witness: A Romantic Suspense Novel by Nicole Luckourt Page A

wearing on her.  
    “I usually watch the news or read a little then turn in for the night. If there’s something you’d like to watch, you’re welcome to change the station.” Her voice was groggy with sleep.
    “No, the news is fine.” He settled into the soft cushions on the back of the couch.  
    “Chase.” Her voice was almost a whisper.  
    “Yes?” He strained to hear what she was saying over the anchorwomen droning on about another heat wave approaching.
    “I’m really sorry about my reaction earlier. That’s not like me. It’s all just a lot to take in.”  
    Chase wrestled with how to respond. Earlier, he’d started to apologize when his gun had startled her, but then he’d caught himself. He would have his weapon wherever they were. As much as he wanted to shield her from all of this, that wouldn’t be smart. She needed to be aware of what was going on, not kept in the dark. Although the darkness would prevent her from seeing the demons around her, it would make her blind to the danger.  
    He tried the middle ground. “It is,” he said with a nod of understanding. “And I’ll try not to blindside you next time. That was my bad.”
    “Good idea,” she mumbled sleepily. “At least it was just dinner…” Her voice drifted off.  
    Despite the shaky start, he’d enjoyed their dinner together, far more than he usually did while on assignment. Her ingenuity and wit impressed him. He’d found himself intrigued as he’d listened to her describe her work. He hadn’t meant to get into his days with the patrol and certainly not the death notifications. That wasn’t like him at all. There was something about the compassion she’d shown when she’d identified with his obligation to act. She got it. And the connection made him want to tell her more. He needed to watch that.  
    “Yes, just part of the routine,” he assented.
    When she didn’t reply, he glanced over at her and discovered her sound asleep. She’d drawn her legs up around her and turned her head so it rested on the back of the chair. Although he could tell from her heavy respiration and peaceful expression that she was sleeping contently, the position she was in looked terribly uncomfortable. Not to mention, she was still dressed in her suit. Pushing himself up from the couch, he decided she’d thank him tomorrow if he woke her up now. Sleeping like that would lead to cramped muscles and maybe a pinched nerve.  
    “Jordan,” he said softly, not wanting to startle her.  
    No danger in that; she didn’t even stir.
    “Jordan, wake up,” he said a bit louder. He was rewarded with an unintelligible sound as she settled deeper into the chair. He jiggled her shoulder. Once again, he got no response. Oh well . At least she’s able to find sleep tonight.  
    He picked the remote control up and clicked the television off. As he went to turn the light off, he gazed back at his stunning new client. Her long soot-colored lashes were splayed across the top of her cheeks, and her chest rose and fell steadily. But he could still see the dark circles beneath her eyes. There was no way he could, in good conscience, let her spend the night in that chair.  
      “Oh, to hell with it,” he mumbled under his breath. Then he walked back over to her and scooped her up into his arms.  
    She murmured something he couldn’t decipher and settled in against his chest. The movement caught him off guard, and he inhaled deeply to steady his heart, which was now beating at an erratic pace. Instead of the calming effect he’d intended, the breath only intensified his feelings of restlessness as he took in her soft, feminine scent. She smelled like something sweet. And vanilla? Whatever it was, it didn’t help matters. Heat spread through his body. He hastily deduced the faster he got her into her bedroom, the better, so he made a beeline in that direction.  
    Although he hadn’t been in her room, he’d seen it at the end of the hall when