didnât sound all that much in control. He didnât sound like a detective, asking cool questions. He sounded almost, almost, like a jealous husband.
Not the smartest thing, she knew, but it turned her on. It really turned her on, the way he was on the verge of losing control. Nordstrom was a master of appearances, of control, always outwardly cool, outwardly composed, but nowâher nipples pricked in excitement and even though it wasnât the moment, her body didnât care.
After being so scared, her hormones were raging, she was on overdrive, over-sensitized. The place between her legs clenched with wanting. The adrenaline coursing through her veins seemed to have summoned other hormones into play, and she was aching everywhere. She wanted to be touched. Held.
Suddenly sexual frustration and fear needed some outlet, and she trembled with the need for release.
Seething with another kind of tumultuous energy, Cody set her coat on the bed, opened his chest of drawers, and yanked out a folded white shirt. Immediately he brought it to her, lowering his voice as he offered it for her to wear. âDid you see his face?â
âHe was wearing some kind of hood,â she murmured, cradling his shirt to her chest, trying not to think of how good it smelled.
Cody glanced over at the window and restlessly plunged a hand through his blond hair. He wiped the back of his mouth and then yanked open the closet door, inspecting for differences inside.
âPerp was hiding here when you came in?â
She nodded.
He traced the steps to the bed, the exact same steps the man had taken. She didnât know how he knew, but she was glad she didnât have to explain the events that had transpired here, word for word.
âWas there a struggle?â he inquired, his brows furrowed. God, he was so handsome when he was all business.
Megan tried to remember what happened but only recalled the hands, the stench, the blackness that had enveloped her. She was still breathing loudly, and for the first time, she realized, so was Cody. The discovery brought a fresh pang of longing to her heart.
Sheâd imagined how they would sound, their breaths, as they made love.
Now she wanted to die when she realized sheâd never find out.
This had been such a bad idea. She was such a needy, foolish little slut, she wanted to whack herself with a stick.
When sheâd been tied on the bed, afraid, and had seen Cody, a little part of her had still gotten aroused. For a nanosecond, she hadnât wanted him to set her free. Sheâd wanted him to take her. Like that. Caught and trapped, take her, all of her.
But he didnât. He hadnât.
He was so obsessed with protecting her, he never would, which was the saddest thing of all.
Cody sighed and came over. âTell me what happened, Meg.â
His delicious scent teased her nostrils as he dropped down beside her and it made her want to erase that horrible name from her skin, made her want to forget the past hour entirely.
She furiously scraped the first I, but Cody caught her hands, stilling their movements. Her lashes rose, and their gazes held. He squeezed her fingers in reassurance, and the exquisite contact made her shiver with need. Solid. Warm. That was what his touch felt like. What Iâve always wanted.
She surveyed his expression, but there was no lust in his eyes, only anger. âDonât scrape it off yetââ He urged her into his shirt and his face hardened, his jaw tightened as he explained, âEvidence.â
He gazed at her stomach with indecipherable eyes, but when he lifted his hand to trace her chin with the pad of his thumb, the touch was sensual. Lush. Sexual.
As the adrenaline left her body, something else arrived in its stead, something hot and wanting.
She caught her breath as he lowered his hand and, with that same callused thumb, grazed his brotherâs name on her navel.
âIs it tender, does it