Djinn and Tonic Read Online Free PDF Page B

The problem is that I simply cannot get the truth to come out. All I can do is shake my head, as if that could dislodge the words that would allay his suspicions.
    “Leila, what happened at the bar?” There’s the question, direct and uncompromising.  
    I feel panic bolt through me. “I’m not really sure,” I say, feeling another lie burning the air between us. “It must have been a robbery, or something. It all happened so fast, and I didn’t really get a good look at whoever it was.”
    Carson is staring at me, and the suspicion and disappointment on his face are almost too much to take. “That’s bullshit, Leila. The doors were all locked and we were talking, and then the next thing I remember is…being hit on the back of the head? That’s the only thing that makes sense. The doctor told me my concussion was caused by blunt force trauma. Sometime later I wake up here, feeling as if a building had fallen on top of me. So don’t tell me it was a robbery, and don’t tell me you don’t know. You weren’t hurt, and you didn’t report a robbery. I know, I checked. So…you must have seen something . What the hell happened? You have to remember something.”  
    “Like a building fell on top of me…” Oh god, if only he knew how correct he is. But if he knew what happened in the bar, it’d only lead to more questions, none of which have easy answers.  
    “I don’t know what happened, Carson. I really don’t.” The lie is searing through me, and it’s all I can do to keep from either kissing him again or running from the room.
      “Okay, Leila. Fine. Whatever you say.” He lets it go for now and I’m thankful, but I’m also really scared. He’s not a man who will let this drop.  
    The silence between us is awkward and thick, freighted with a complex amalgam of desire and lies.
    “Listen, I…I should go,” I say. I have to get out of here. I have to get away from him, away from his sensual, accusing eyes, away from his lips that are drawing me in even now, away from his hands that I want to feel on my skin. Away from the truth that I know he seeks.
    He nods, releases my hands, grabs the remote for the TV. I stand up, my purse dangling from one hand. I’m not sure whether I should hug him or just walk away. I lean toward him and wrap my arms around him in a hug, cursing myself for the idiot I am. His arms snake around me and rest on my back, on the nape of my neck, and I like them there. Despite everything I’m enjoying the restrained strength in his touch. As I start to pull away Carson brushes an errant strand of hair away from my face and stares into my eyes, searching me once again. He sees the lies in my eyes as clearly as he sees the nose on my face. I also know he sees my desire, my confusion. I know he sees it all there, for it’s roiling just beneath the surface, and I’ve never been good at hiding my emotions. He kisses me, a quick, hard brush of the lips. There’s a familiarity about it, as if he always kisses me before we part.  
    I hate myself for loving how natural it feels.
    “So…was this our first date, then?” he asks, changing the subject, but somehow I know his real question is still poised on the tip of his tongue.
    “What? What do you mean?”  
    “I asked you out, remember? We were supposed to go out Tuesday, which is tomorrow. I think. But, I can’t exactly take you out tomorrow, so…” He trails off, hoping I’ll fill in the space.
    And I do: “How about we call this a visit, and then you can take me on a real date when you get out of here?”  
    Why did I just say that? The last thing I should be doing is going out on a date with Detective Carson Hale. If I had any sense I would shut this down right now.
    But…no. The reckless, impulsive, selfish part of me is telling me that I’ve already kissed him twice now, so I might as well go for broke by going on a date with him.
    “I’d like that,” he says, grinning like I’ve just made his day.
    “Me