The Naughty Angel Returns (Naughty Angels In Love) (11 page)

“I like that you're dedicated to your work and that you have a murky past,” she said, biting her lip. “I'm not exactly pure as the driven snow myself.”

“Sugar, I wouldn't have you any other way. Like we said earlier, the past doesn't matter.” His words seemed to relieve her, and she leaned against him. He held on tight, still joined intimately with her.

Crispin's arousal level was banked but still high as he drove back to his cabin fifteen minutes later. He wasn't quite sure what had happened to him, but in one short night she'd managed to wrap herself around his heart. A glance to the side showed her hands trembling as she fastened the last button on her dress, and he was lost in fantasy.

The mingled scents of her perfume and cherries tempted him to pull off into the bushes and go for seconds. But for what he planned—handcuffs and whipped cream—he needed a bed. He'd never eat a cherry again without thinking about making love to her. Knowing it would probably shock her if he stopped and took her, he kept on driving, replaying in his mind the moment her sweet lips had closed over his cock. He stifled a groan as his hard-on jump-started back into rampant. She was worth the pain. Just imagining Haley in his bed, her hair spread out on his pillow, her lips parted in ecstasy as he took her, made him crazy.

“You planning to take me to bed, stud?” she asked playfully.

“Hell yes,” he said with a grin. There were a few other goodies they'd picked up at Indiscretions he'd like to use on her. He'd rub the cinnamon massage oil all over her and take his time licking it off. The windows of his cabin were dark as he drove up the driveway. His arousal simmered as he pulled into the parking space behind his cabin, turned off the engine, and turned to look at her in the moonlight. God, she was beautiful. Crispin reached out to cup her soft cheek, and she leaned into his caress, her eyes shining.

“We're home—”

He bent to kiss her, cutting off her words, and she melted in his arms, going all fluid on him. He groaned as she pressed against him, his body throbbing in response, and pulled away before he made love to her right there. He had to make it inside so they'd have privacy, and he could pleasure her properly. Jerking his driver's-side door open, he got out and sprinted around to open hers. She was sitting there motionless, watching him, a dazed look in her eyes.

He tugged her out and into his arms and groaned as she pressed against him, instantly turning him hard. He had to get her inside, now. “Come on, sugar. It's time for bed.”

* * * * *

Haley heard the urgency in Crispin's voice and smiled up at him. He was just as turned on as she was, maybe more. A fine tremor went through her as he wrapped a possessive arm around her waist and urged her up the stairs to the porch. She watched him gazing at his peaceful cabin, anticipating the night before them. But as they approached the door, an uneasy feeling made her shiver. What the hell was wrong with her? The Feds had Chad in custody, and she didn't feel Trevor's toxic vibes.

“Something wrong?” Crispin asked, gazing over at her.

She shrugged. “I don't know; it's just an edgy feeling. Maybe the stress is getting to me.”

He pulled out his key to open the cabin's front door. “Don't worry, Haley. I'm here for you.”

She felt his warm protectiveness but couldn't help shivering.

Then he stuck the key in the lock and jerked his hand back. “What the fuck?”

She sucked in a deep breath as she felt the jolt of evil energy go through him and into her. Her head throbbed as Trevor's toxic spores messed with her head. “You're feeling his aura,” she said with a horrified gasp.

He stiffened beside her and caught her as she slumped against him. “My God, are you okay, sugar?”

After a moment she managed to straighten up and stand on her own feet. “I'll be fine.” She met his worried gaze and cringed. Was he going to think she was crazy?

“Do you feel this sensation every time you come in contact with…?”

“The killer,” she filled in feeling her heart sink. “Yeah, I'm afraid so.” Then she took in the grim recognition in his eyes. “You feel it too now.”

He gave her a rueful smile. “It must be rubbing off on me. Or maybe you're bringing out my psychic side like you wanted to.”

“That would be wonderful,” she said with a brave smile. “What now?” she asked. “If you feel it, you know that Chad's a creep but not the killer.”

“You wait in the car while I check things out.”

“And leave you to face him alone?” she said, shaking her head. “I don't think so.”

“Humor me,” he said, giving her an implacable look.

She rolled her eyes as she gazed at the immovable hunk. It pleased her that he was so protective of her, but…

He pulled his gun out of the holster at his side. “Sugar, I'm not unarmed. I can take care of myself.”

He nodded and turned to open the door. At the touch of his hand, it swung open on its own, already unlocked. “Fuck,” he said.

She went on alert; she'd felt the sting too. Something evil had been here.

“Stay back. I'm going in,” he said, holding his gun at his side.

“Not without me, you aren't,” she said, giving him a defiant look. She was darned if she'd let him do something so risky by himself. The firm gaze he fixed her with made her hesitate. “Don't think you can pull one of your macho Dom acts on me this time.”

He reached out to gently stroke her cheek. “I don't want to worry about you and whoever's in there. The best way you can protect me is to obey me in this. If anything goes wrong, get in the car and get out of here.”

She wavered, wondering if he was right. It seemed to mean a lot to him that she believed in him, and the spores Trevor had left had begun to disperse. It probably meant he had fled the scene like the coward he was. “Fine,” she said, backing away.

“Good girl.” He smiled and headed into the house disappearing inside. “Fuck it all,” he muttered.

At his curse, she followed him into the cottage and let out a gasp when she saw the mess. Someone had completely vandalized the place, tossing things around, ripping slashes in sofa cushions. She saw Crispin standing by his office and hurried up to him. She peeked past him to see his office trashed, his computer smashed, and files still smoldering in the trash can. She let out a horrified gasp, and Crispin turned to look at her.

“You don't listen very well, do you?”

“I'm so sorry I brought you all this trouble,” she said, appalled.

How much of his work had been ruined? She knew he'd been working on a true-crime book. Was it all lost?

There was a
thud
behind them, and they both turned. Haley gasped as another book fell off the shelf. Crispin pulled her into his arms. “How did that happen?” Haley asked, awed. The dark aura hung over her head like a storm cloud.

“Come on. We're out of here,” he said.

“I'll help you clean up,” she said, feeling frozen.

“No. I'll call Harry once we're in the clear and get a team over here. In the meantime, it's not safe to stay here anymore.”

Crispin rushed Haley out of the cottage and into the car. He felt tense, confused, and strangely engulfed by an evil force. What the hell was that? Whoever had done this could still be nearby, and he wasn't taking any chances with his woman. Tonight he was going to make her tell him her secrets, and then he'd tell her a few more of his own. He drove the twenty miles to the Hyatt, silent as he held her close to him, lost in his own thoughts. When he pulled up to the lobby, she gave him a startled look.

“We're going to a hotel?” she asked, biting her lip.

He interpreted her worried look in a heartbeat. She probably thought he couldn't afford it. Or maybe she felt funny about checking in without luggage. Neither argument was going to sway him. “Trust me on this, Haley. They've got good security, and that's what we need while we work.” The “we work” line made her smile, and his tension eased down a notch. She didn't have to know that he meant to keep her out of the line of fire from now on.

“I do trust you,” she said, reaching out to touch his hand.

“Good,” he said, giving her hand a squeeze before getting out of the vehicle. Keeping an eye out for trouble, he walked around the pickup and opened her door. He urged her out of the truck and into the hotel lobby so fast, she let out a little gasp of surprise, but he kept moving. Keeping her safe was his top priority. When they neared the desk, he placed her between himself and a potted palm tree. The frown she gave him made a smile tug at his lips. So she was pissed. At least she was alive.

“We don't have any luggage!” she grumbled under her breath. “He's going to think we're here for an affair.”

“And he'd be right,” he said, noticing the stiff-lipped clerk's raised eyebrow. If the man thought they were only there for a little fling, it served his purposes. “All work and no play… You know what they say about that. Come on, sugar. Lighten up.”

Chapter Nine

Haley bit her lip when Harry stormed into the hotel suite ten minutes later with two junior agents in tow. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at them and realized the one on the left had been part of their security detail. “Long time no see,” she said to him, and he had the grace to flush.

“Sorry, ma'am,” he said.

Eeek. Being ma'amed made her feel like an old crone. She took pity on the young agent and gave him a half smile. “It's okay. You weren't to know.”

“Good girl,” Crispin said, stroking her arm.

She heard his soothing tone and looked around the room, taking in the younger agent's worried eyes and Harry's wary cop's eyes, then sighed. They all thought she was a hysterical female. “I'm okay, so you can all stop looking at me like I'm going to have the vapors,” she said firmly.

Harry made a gesture, and the two younger agents left the room. Then he turned to look at Haley and Crispin. “Okay, you two. Tell me what happened.”

Crispin stiffened. “As you know, we went to Kiera and Jaden's baby shower this evening.”

“You ought to remember; we had a protective detail then,” Haley grumbled.

“Easy, sugar,” Crispin said, pulling her into his arms. “It wasn't his fault.”

Haley leaned against him and felt her tension abate as he held her. She looked at Harry's grim expression and regretted her harsh words.

Crispin sighed. “Anyway, when we came home, we found the cottage trashed and got the hell out of there. The rest you know.”

Harry frowned. “So you think this was the work of the killer.”

“I don't think it. I know it. I felt him,” Crispin said with a wry smile, quoting Haley's earlier statement.

Haley smiled from the shelter of Crispin's arms. He was actually starting to believe. She wanted to shout it from the rooftops.

Harry scowled at him. “Cut that shit out. You're no psychic.”

Haley disengaged herself from Crispin's arms. “How do you know that, Agent Holmes? Crispin and I happen to have a deep, harmonic relationship. We both get a little bit from each other.” She met Harry's doubtful look with a confident one of her own.

“Shit.” Harry shook his head. “I can see that I'm outnumbered here.”

Haley smiled as the gruff FBI agent gave them the benefit of the doubt.

“What about my cottage?” Crispin cut in. “Did you find any clues?”

“It's too soon to tell,” Harry shrugged. “We're thinking that it was a bunch of kids. There have been similar break-ins in the neighborhood.”

Haley glared back at him because the agent was missing the point. She knew Trevor wouldn't leave fingerprints; he always wore gloves. And he'd been smart to trash the place and make the cops think it was teens. “Would kids deliberately destroy Crispin's work?” she asked and was glad to see them both give her a thoughtful look. Finally they were listening. “I don't think so, gentlemen.”

“This break-in and the earlier attack at Indiscretions don't fit the serial killer's MO,” Harry said with a frown.

She looked at him and could sense his lingering doubts. “It could be that the serial killer is escalating, getting sloppy—a sign that he's spiraling out of control. I've read that kind of thing can happen.”

Crispin reached out to touch her hand. “Easy, sugar. We're not going to let anything happen to you, and Harry's going to track down all the leads,” he said firmly, glancing at Harry.

“Right,” Harry said.

Shit, they weren't going to listen to her. She knew Trevor in all his black heart and soul. Somehow the bastard has realized that she was with Crispin, and it pushed him over the edge. Maybe Trevor had a psychic edge and had figured out who she was. If so, he knew what a threat she was to him. “
Could he suddenly develop psychic power
?” she messaged to Max.

“
We all have intuition, which is psychic energy
,” Max responded promptly, as if he were keeping close watch over her. “
Sometimes humans tune into that energy after a lifetime of not knowing it was there
.”

Haley was used to Max's non
-answers that she had to interpret. Still, it was frustrating. “
Trevor is an evil soul. Even evil souls can have psychic powers
?”