Page 65 of Night Moves
She opened her mouth to say no. Stopped. Let her emotions run free.
What was one kiss? Just one, and then she’d go back to her everyday existence.
That was what she wanted, right?
17
Natalie was going to say that she didn’t want a kiss from him, and Drake didn’t know how he was going to handle it. Sure, he didn’t want to get involved in anything long-term, but he sure wanted to kiss her.
She stepped off the treadmill and inched closer. “Please. I want to kiss you too.”
His mouth almost dropped open, but he caught himself and swooped in before she changed her mind. Her lips were warm and insistent, as if she’d been wanting this kiss for some time. He didn’t know when he first thought about kissing her, but it didn’t matter. It was all he wanted right now.
He circled his arms around her back and drew her closer. He couldn’t get carried away, but he did deepen the kiss. She matched his passion, clinging to his neck and sliding her fingers into his hair. Holding his head fast.
He was vaguely aware of his phone buzzing in his pocket but ignored it. Nothing was more important than her right now. The buzzing stopped. Then started again.
Okay, it had to be critical.
He broke off the kiss and took a long breath. “My phone. It’s ringing.”
She backed away with such speed it was as if she was embarrassed at her response. At the kiss. He sure wasn’t, not in the least. He liked her. A lot. She was everything he could want in a woman. So what if she wasn’t the outdoorsy type? But man, she brought up emotions in him that he hadn’t known existed.
She brushed a hand over her hair that he now knew was as soft as it looked as he grabbed his phone.
An alarm squealed from the back door just feet away from him.Gentry. Was Gentry trying to break in? To get to Natalie.
They were sitting ducks with a glass wall facing the hallway. The closet. He had to get her in the closet behind closed doors.
Now!
“What is it? What’s happening?” she cried out.
“A breach at the back door. Come on.” Drake grabbed her hand and tugged her into the storage closet. He joined her to call Pete to see if he’d seen an intruder on the security cameras and noted the missed calls were from him.
“We’ve had an attempted break-in,” Pete said, sounding out of breath. “But he didn’t breach the door. The building is still secure.”
“Where is he now?” he asked Pete.
“Gone. I saw him on the monitor messing with the fingerprint reader. I asked for him to identify himself over the intercom and scared him off. I couldn’t leave the front door unprotected so I couldn’t pursue him, but caught him on another camera taking off in his car.”
“Describe him.”
“He wore a Spider-Man mask, so all I can give you is his build. I’d say five-eleven about one-ninety. Caught a glimpse of his hands. Caucasian.”
“Fits Gentry’s build. Maybe he knew Natalie was here, and he was trying to get to her.” Drake didn’t like to think that was possible, but it was the most logical explanation. “Did you call it in?”
“Yeah. Got his plates. Vehicle’s a white Toyota Camry.”
“Can you get Nick to check out the print reader?” Nick was the Veritas Center’s computer expert.
“Already on his way down. So are Piper, Reed, and Hunter. Figured we could do with some extra eyes down here.”
Drake had never been more thankful for all the law enforcement officers living in the building. Piper, an FBI agent, was married to Nick, and Hunter, also an agent, was married to Maya, the toxicology and substances expert.
“I’m in the gym with Natalie. Will stay put until they clear the building, but I want security camera footage to review ASAP.”
“I’ll email it to you.”
