Page 17 of Point Blank

Serena scooped her phone from the counter and tried to sidle past him. He hooked his fingers in the crook of her elbow.

“Hold on. Where are you going? We need to wait for the kidnapper to call.”

She looked at him as if he’d said the stupidest thing possible. “I’m not waiting. Dani messaged me before the accident. She had a job planned. Whoever took her could have something to do with it.”

The sweater she wore, his sweater, prevented him from feeling her satiny skin on his palm, and the excess material swallowed up her slender build. Her hair, now dry, tickled his forearm.

“Who was the target?”

She huffed. “If I knew that, we wouldn’t be standing here. I need to get to her condo and look around. It won’t be hard for me to piece together what she was planning.”

“All right, fine. But let’s get something straight.” At the dropping of his tone, her eyes snapped to his. “I don’t want you leaving my side. First the accident and now this—we can’t forget someone is after you too.”

The color drained from her face and her arm fell from his hold. “Oh my god, what if they came for me first, and when I escaped, they went after Dani?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Why would they come after you?”

She brought her fist to her temple. “Think about it. How many people have I stolen from in the past? My face is on ads all over the city. Maybe someone wanted to get back at me.” She squeezed her eyes closed and then covered her forehead with her palm. “This is all my fault,” she whispered.

He cursed and wrapped his arms around her. Her scent floated to his nostrils for the fifth time that night, and it took all his control to push it away and not succumb to the burning urge to kiss her.

“It’s not your fault. For all we know, they came after you because of her. We need to stay focused.” He cupped the nape of her neck in his palm and tilted her head back so she was looking at him. “I’ll kill these motherfuckers for screwing with you.”

Her lips parted, and a pink blush inched up her throat.

“Let’s go, Milo.” Her words came out on a breath, lacking the urgency of the situation.

He nodded but winced, taking in her appearance again. “No offense, babe, but I think you should clean up a bit. If someone sees you like this it’ll raise a lot of red flags.”

Her lips pursed. “I know I look like shit, but we can’t afford to waste time.”

“We also don’t want anyone calling the cops because you look like you were circle beat.”

“Fine. Give me ten minutes.”

Milo made his way upstairs. The sound of splashing water warned him that Serena was still occupying the shower in the master bathroom. He drove his hand through his hair.

Don’t even think about it, Milo.

Exploring her slick, wet body in the shower was a fantasy he’d jerked off to more than once over the years. And she was there, right now, in his fucking shower.

Naked.

He had to get a hold of himself. Whatever embers still burned between Serena and him couldn’t be investigated. Not now, anyway. He’d be a grade-A asshole if he tried to bang her with her sister missing.

The water shut off and he spun around in the room. Fuck, what had he come up here for?

He crossed the room to his dresser and pulled out clean clothes. Sex wasn’t an option, but he could sure as hell have a shower and release some of the tension in his dick before they had to leave.

The lock clicked on the bathroom door, and it squeaked open.

Serena stepped out, her hair wrapped up in a towel and a matching one wrapped around her body. Water droplets glistened on her creamy skin, and her blue eyes looked damn near iridescent with her lashes and eyebrows damp.

“Uh, hey.” She hugged the towel closer to her body, even though it was secured between her breasts. She picked up her enormous bag from outside the bathroom. “I forgot this.”

Fierce desire roared through his brain, making him unable to hear her words properly. He cleared his throat and nodded. “When you’re done, I’m going to shower.”

She straightened. “Oh, well go ahead. I can get dressed in the other bathroom.”