Witness Seduction

She extended a dainty hand, pointing at the bright red bird feeder hanging from the largest branch on the elm. “I made it myself,” she added. “The sparrows love it.”

Panic rose up Caleb’s spine, mostly because he could now see one of AJ’s black biker boots camouflaged in the leaves. “I should go,” he burst out.

She wrinkled her brow. “Oh. Okay.”

“That phone call,” he said in an attempt to explain his abrupt exclamation. “I’m a writer, and my agent reminded me I need to revise a few chapters. So, uh, yeah, I should go do that.”

Moving away from the patio door, Marley nodded. “I’ll walk you—” She tripped over one of the paint cans on the floor, letting out an unladylike curse as she stumbled forward.

Snapping to action, Caleb reached out to steady her.

And regretted it the second his palms made contact with her hips. Her tank top had ridden up, and he was touching skin. Bare, warm skin, so soft that he hissed in a breath.

“I…” Marley’s voice drifted and her mouth fell open when she caught sight of the obvious desire in his eyes.

He could do nothing to hide the swift response. Her flesh felt like heaven under his hands, and that sweet scent wafting into his nose was far too intoxicating.

He coughed ever so slightly. “You all right?”

She nodded wordlessly, then glanced down at his hands, which were still on her waist. God help him, but he couldn’t seem to let her go.

And she wasn’t complaining. Rather, she shifted so they were face to face. Her liquid brown eyes searched his. “I’m…a klutz,” she murmured without breaking the eye contact.

Caleb swallowed, his mouth in desperate need of moisture, his lips in desperate need of her. Before he could stop himself, he moved his hand over her hip in a fleeting caress. An unsteady breath slid out of her throat.

Insanity. This was freaking insanity, and he was helpless to stop it. He’d been watching Marley Kincaid for seven days, watching and yearning and fighting the arousal he knew he shouldn’t be feeling.

But he couldn’t fight it now. Not when she was this close.

As his pulse drummed in his ears, he finally gave up. Screw it. Kissing her was wrong on so many levels, but at this point he didn’t care. He wanted her so badly his bones ached.

So he took her.

4

MARLEY LET OUT a little gasp as he captured her mouth with his, but the second their lips met, she melted in his arms. He thrust his fingers into her hair, angling her head for better access, while he slid his other hand to her waist and drew her body to his.

She made a gentle, keening sound against his mouth, and then lifted her arms to his shoulders, pulling him closer. Her lips parted, her tongue darted out to toy with his and Caleb nearly keeled over from the jolt of desire that shot through him.

She tasted incredible. Like coffee, cinnamon and heaven and he couldn’t get enough of her. He deepened the kiss, drowning in her scent. Damn it, he hadn’t known it would be so uncontrollable.

A muffled thud sounded from outside. Marley must have heard it, too, because her eyelids fluttered open at the same time as his.

And then she was out of his arms.

His arms felt empty without her warm supple body in them, his mouth going dry when seconds before it had been moist from the tip of Marley’s tongue teasing his lips. Even as his body tried to recover from that unbelievable kiss, his brain went back to business, directing his line of vision to the now-empty yard. Relief coursed through him. AJ had managed The Great Escape.

“I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

“I…” She tucked an errant blond strand behind her ear. “It’s fine. Just unexpected.”

Understatement of the year. What had he been thinking, kissing her? He’d wanted to distract her, and instead, he’d opened Pandora’s damn box, because now that he’d tasted Marley, he wanted nothing more than to do it again.

Information. You just need information from her.

Drawing in a breath, Caleb willed his desire away. “I should go,” he said.

Something flickered in her eyes. Finally, she just nodded, and they stepped out of the kitchen. He saw her wringing her hands together as she walked. “So you’re a writer, huh?”

He almost laughed. It seemed ridiculous making small talk now, after the explosive kiss they’d just shared. “Yeah, I’m, uh, working on my first novel.”

“That’s cool.”

When they reached the front hall, he glanced down at the two-by-fours on the floor, then the gutted closet. “You sure this isn’t a safety hazard?” he asked in a dry voice.

She sighed. “My brother keeps promising to finish it, but he never seems to get around to it.”

Caleb ran a hand through his hair, pausing near the front door. “I did some construction a few years back.”

The admission came out of nowhere, but at least it wasn’t a lie, like his writer cover story. He had done a lot of construction before he joined the DEA.

“I could help you with some of the renovations.” Gruffly, he added, “If you’d like.”

Marley seemed to hesitate. “No, I couldn’t let you do that. You’re here to work on a novel.”

“It’s really no trouble.” Damn, why was he insisting?

Information.

Right, it had nothing to do with her stunning face and endless supply of curves. He needed to find out what she knew about Grier. If she even knew anything. AJ thought she did, but Caleb wasn’t certain, not after he’d spent some time with her. Everything about Marley seemed so genuine, so refreshing. How did she do it, continue to smile and laugh and live her life after what Patrick Grier had done to her? Unless AJ was right, and she was still in contact with Grier, sticking by him, moving money around to help him escape….

Caleb forcibly shoved all the negative thoughts from his brain and focused on Marley. She considered his offer for so long that he grew certain she would say no, thank you. But then she gave a tiny smile and nodded. “Well, my brother’s finishing the closet this week, but I could use some help with the painting,” she confessed.

“Should I come by tomorrow?” Anticipation rose in his chest. He quickly banished it, trying to remind himself that he wasn’t seeing her for pleasure, but business.

“Sure. Let’s see…I’m stuck with a graveyard shift tonight. I start at two—” she made a face “—and I’ll be home around eleven tomorrow morning. I’ll probably pass out for a while when I get back, so how about four?”

“Sounds good.”

Laughing, Marley opened the front door for him. “I’m not sure it’ll sound as good when I put you to work painting my kitchen.”

He gave her a faint smile. “I look forward to it.”

Stepping out onto the porch, he thanked her for the coffee. After the door closed behind him, he released a ragged breath. Lord, that kiss. It was a miracle he’d been able to finish the rest of the conversation.

He could still taste her on his lips, and his current state of discomfort made walking next door difficult. He’d never been harder in his life, and if Marley were any other woman, it wouldn’t have stopped with one kiss. He felt it in the way she kissed him back and saw it in the disappointment clouding her eyes when they broke apart. If they were different people, he could’ve buried himself inside her and eased the ache in his groin. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t sleep with her.