A Profiler's Case for Seduction - By Carla Cassidy Page 0,22

Anything new?”

He cupped his big hands around his coffee mug as if seeking warmth from whatever visions had momentarily captured his focus. “Absolutely nothing. I feel like we’re all running around like Keystone Cops and the perp is someplace nearby laughing at all of us and the useless effort.” He lifted his cup to his lips and then set it back down in its saucer. His frustration was evident in the rigid set of his shoulders, in the dark smoldering of his eyes.

“I just can’t buy into the theory that it was a gang of students who kidnapped Professor Grayson as a stupid stunt. If that were the case one of them would have talked by now. Somebody would drink too much beer and brag to a friend or tell somebody else, and that hasn’t been the case.”

“But why else would anyone want to hurt her? I mean, what’s the motive for what happened to her?” Dora popped a bite of cheesecake into her mouth as she continued to gaze at him.

“I have a feeling if we could figure out the answer to that then we’d be able to solve everything.” He smiled softly and reached across the table with his finger extended. She froze as he touched the side of her lips. “Cheesecake,” he murmured, and put his finger into his mouth.

Dora was so entranced she didn’t move, could scarcely breathe, and then his words flittered through to her consciousness. “Solve everything? Surely you don’t think the kidnapping and the murders are related?”

“Actually, I do. I don’t know how, but there’s no doubt in my mind that they are somehow related,” he replied.

“You can’t think that Melind...Professor Grayson had anything to do with those men’s deaths, do you?” She looked at him, horrified by the very thought.

He studied her for several long moments; once again his piercing gaze seeming to see inside her to her very soul. “We’re looking at all possibilities,” he answered after a long pause. “Now, take that little frown off your forehead. We’ll eventually figure it out and I’d much rather look at your beautiful smile.”

“Why, Agent Flynn, are you flirting with me?” she asked with a forced lightness.

He looked at her seriously and a slow grin spread across his lips. “Yes...yes, I believe I am.” He appeared exceedingly proud of himself as he tossed a hand through his hair, ruffling the muss into a new style of disarray.

Her fingers tingled with the desire to linger in the silky strands, to make order in the chaos, but she clenched her fork tightly instead. “Harmless flirting,” she said, and wondered if she was reminding him or warning herself not to take him too seriously.

“That’s the only kind there can be, right? I’m here to solve crimes and you’re here to get a degree.”

“And neither of us is interested in pursuing anything but a friendship,” she added.

“Neither of us is looking for a long-term relationship,” he countered, and something in the depths of his eyes made her think of the minty soap fragrance of him, of tangled sheets and soft, low moans. Temporary liaisons, that’s what he made her think about, and she didn’t want to go there.

“It would be foolish to start anything,” she said, gazing down at the last of her cheesecake as her cheeks filled with warmth.

“I’m sure you’re right,” he agreed easily.

Within minutes their check had arrived and she insisted on going Dutch, telling herself that if she paid her own way then this hadn’t been anything like a date at all.

“I’ll walk you to your car,” he said as they left the restaurant. His voice held a slight edge that made her think he believed she’d refuse his offer.

It had been such a nice evening and she didn’t want to ruin it by something so simple. Besides, he was just being a gentleman and what difference did it make if he saw her beat-up old vehicle?

He fell into step beside her. “I’ve enjoyed the night.”

She smiled up at him. “Me, too. I can’t remember when I last took the time to eat out other than the vending machines in the student lounge.”

“This was definitely better than a cold burger or pizza in the war room,” he agreed as they reached the driver side of her car.

“Thank you for the wonderful time,” she said.

He nodded and moved close...closer still, making it impossible for her to open her car door and escape from his heady scent, the inviting shine in his eyes. She saw