Free Lucas by D. B. Reynolds

attempt to alleviate the uncomfortable position. He kept his gaze steady as he wrapped his fingers around hers, catching the slight flair of concern in her eyes as she quickly rebalanced.
    “Lucas Donlon ,” he said smoothly, still grasping her hand. “And you’ve met my lieutenant, Nicholas. How can I help you, Special Agent?”
    Hunter immediately tried to take her hand back, but Lucas wasn’t ready to let her go, and she clearly wasn’t willing to force the issue by jerking her hand away from him. She was aware of him, though. A slight flush lit her cheeks, and it was more than just embarrassment or even anger. Her pupils were dilated, and her heartbeat had just kicked up a notch.
    He released her hand with a wink. She took a step back from the desk at once, putting distance between them. She didn’t wipe her hand on her pants leg, but he could tell she wanted to. Kathryn Hunter was clearly used to denying her more feminine urges. She probably had to, working where she did. But Lucas was a vampire lord. When he touched a woman, she knew she’d been touched, and, in this case, desired.
    And Kathryn Hunter didn’t like being reminded of that.
    * * * *
    Kathryn found herself staring. If everything she’d seen so far in the vampire’s headquarters had surprised her, Lucas Donlon himself was the final stunner. And that was the right word, too. Because he was one of the best looking men she’d ever seen. He had straight black hair that wasn’t long so much as it looked in need of a trim. It touched his collar in back and threatened to drop over his forehead in front. He didn’t bother to stand up, the ass, but lounged back in his chair like some sort of bad boy making a point. Still, she could see he’d be tall and well built. Not as thickly muscled as his bodyguard, or whatever Nicholas was, but his shoulders were wide and appeared well-muscled beneath the leather jacket he wore over a black T-shirt. She met his eyes briefly. They were hazel, she supposed, but the brown had so much gold in it, they almost defied classification. And they were scanning her from head to toe, lingering in all the inappropriate places. She waited until his perusal finally made it back to her face, then gave him her most frigid stare.
    He grinned in response, and some deeply buried feminine part of her shivered at the sight. Kathryn steeled herself against it.
    “Agent Hunter,” he said lazily, still not bothering to stand.
    Kathryn suppressed the urge to tighten her jaw in irritation. She leaned across the desk and offered her hand. “ Special Agent Kathryn Hunter,” she said, meeting his arrogant gaze.
    He remained seated, but his big hand closed over hers, his fingers hard and a little rough, as if he did more than sit behind this desk all night long. He stood then, uncoiling a tall, well-muscled body with a grace that only emphasized his looks and strength. Kathryn almost groaned. The black T-shirt was tucked into a pair of faded denims that showcased his flat belly and clung to his narrow hips like a lover’s caress.
    His standing unbalanced her, and she gripped his hand tightly before looking up and meeting his eyes for an awkward moment. She steadied quickly enough and tried to give his hand only a perfunctory shake, but he didn’t release her. Her heart slammed against her ribs, and she cursed her body’s instinctive reaction to his overwhelming masculinity.
    This shouldn’t be happening. Kathryn worked in a man’s world where women were still barely tolerated by too many. SAC Fielding was only one example of the misconceptions and resentment she faced all the time. She’d long ago come to grips with the fact that in order to succeed, she’d have to set aside her femininity and be simply one more agent, since she would never be one of the guys. She wore no makeup other than a touch of nearly clear lip gloss to keep her lips from drying out completely, and while she couldn’t bring herself to cut her long hair, she