looked up, meeting his gaze, and for a moment he saw how lost in thought she was. Her expression relaxed almost immediately. The easy smile she gave him would make most men think she didn’t have a care in the world. He knew better.
He understood how time-consuming and difficult it would be to balance keeping grades up along with working enough hours to survive and pay bills. Even though he only spent two years and got his associate’s degree before entering the police academy, he remembered the all-nighters studying for exams. He’d also helped his sister finish her college degree and respected the hell out of her for sticking it out. There was more than drive and confidence in those bright eyes that took him on without blinking. Perry saw interest. Whether it be simply that he was the apparent guardian of a teenager Kylie was interested in or something else, something erotic and enticing, he didn’t want to speculate.
He waited until Kylie approached them. “Did you learn everything from my niece that you needed to know?” he asked, keeping his voice quiet and pleasant sounding.
Dani glared at him and then stomped up the stairs.
“Your niece is a wonderful young lady.” Kylie held his gaze for only a moment and then followed Dani up the stairs. “I’m sure there is so much I could learn from her.”
“Oh, really.” He opted to follow a few paces behind.
The view was mouthwatering. That short dress Kylie wore showed off slender legs all the way up to her thighs. If her dress were less than an inch shorter, he’d have one hell of an ass shot. As it was, he found himself wondering what kind of underwear she wore underneath it.
“What else is there you hope to learn from her?” he asked, once he and Kylie hit the main floor.
“As much as she’ll share with me.”
“About what?” He glanced ahead as Dani pushed open the glass doors and disappeared outside.
“About being a teenager.” Kylie didn’t elaborate.
Perry held the door open for her and searched the dark parking lot until he spotted Dani heading for his Jeep. He pulled out his keys and pushed the button, causing his Jeep to beep and unlock. Dani didn’t flinch at the sound but reached his Jeep, pulled open the passenger door, and plopped down inside.
“How many other teenagers are you interrogating?”
Kylie paused at the curb and turned to look up at him. “Is there some law you’re concerned that I might be breaking?”
“I have a feeling you would know if there was.”
“You think so?”
“If you’re doing your job right, yes.” He searched her face and was impressed that nothing changed in her expression.
Kylie laughed softly and then ran her fingers over her blond hair, brushing a strand behind her ear. “There are days when writing a thesis feels like a job. I’ll leave Dani alone if it bothers you that I’m talking to her,” she offered. Her lips curved into a small smile, one that he swore appeared victorious. “But you’ll have to explain to her why I’m not seeking her out anymore.”
“And what if I told her the sensuality seeping from you might be more than I want her exposed to at her age.”
Kylie’s smile didn’t fade. “I have no doubts she’d give you an earful regarding her opinion on that matter.”
Chapter 4
Kylie suggested she would leave Dani alone but never actually agreed to do it. Perry didn’t take her up on the offer. Therefore, she wasn’t harassing the teenager. Dani agreed to meet her after school. Kylie was anxious to talk with her. Especially after spending the day surfing from profile to profile, matching kids she’d met so far with comments she found online. She glanced down at her handwritten notes and then back at the main door to the library. Dani would be arriving any minute.
“Crap,” she hissed when the library doors opened and Perry sauntered inside.
He was damn near the sexiest cop she’d ever laid eyes on. There was a badass look about him, and a dangerous glint in his eyes when he studied her. Every inch of her screamed caution whenever he graced her with that intense stare of his, and it wasn’t because he might blow her cover. It was more because she could so easily fantasize blowing him.
Which was insane. Perry was a cop. Whoever their online predator was, more than likely he was a police officer, or at least worked at the Judicial Center in order to have access to the computers there. With as little evidence as she had right now, Perry could be her perp.
He paused at the entrance, scanning his surroundings. The look on his face was confident, as if he knew all he saw was his domain, his world to command. His dark eyes moved over her, and every inch of her heated to dangerous levels. No way could she allow herself to react to him like this. Young lives were at stake. Until she confirmed his innocence, he was a suspect. She had to look at him as such.
Kylie closed her notebook and slid it under the books she’d pulled from the stacks. She stared at the cover of the romance novel she’d thought about checking out, but the cover barely registered on her. She didn’t need to look up to know he approached. So much sex appeal, such raw, unleashed male ego and confidence, made the air sizzle as he walked to her table.
“Working on your thesis?” His deep voice caressed her body and forced her heart to pound faster in her chest.
“Taking a break.” It would be hard to convince anyone she was studying with the books that were spread out in front of her.
“What do you do in your downtime?” Perry pulled the chair out next to her and sat, his long legs stretching out under the table.
She pulled her feet under her seat, knowing if he touched her in any way it would be even harder to stay focused. Perry had danger written all over him.
“I don’t have a lot of spare time.” She studied his face, the well-defined cheekbones and long, straight nose. His skin was blemish free, although she noticed a small scar that was on the side of his jawbone. He’d recently shaven and she guessed a day or so without a razor and a dark shadow would cover that small scar. His black, thick lashes matched the color of his hair, and he looked at her face, piercing her with green eyes that had flecks of brown in them. “Is this what you do in your downtime?” she countered.
Those green eyes darkened while she watched. Anger, fascination, maybe confrontation. She wasn’t sure what emotion she triggered with her question.
“I’m not on downtime,” he drawled. His facial expression didn’t change but remained hard, unreadable. It was those eyes, though, intense, deep, challenging.
She could drown in that heated gaze if she wasn’t careful. “Is that so?” She matched his lazy voice inflection and leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other under the table, and focused on her pen, stroking the side of it with her thumb. “Am I part of some dangerous investigation?”
When she looked up at him, intentionally trying to sound amused, she caught him looking at her pen. He took his time returning his attention to her face, as if everywhere he directed his attention was intentional. Most cops used their uniforms and their badges to boost up the dominating persona they liked to present to the world. This man didn’t need a uniform. She assumed he was packing something somewhere, but there weren’t any obvious signs that he carried a gun. Overall, Lt. Perry Flynn used his body as his deadliest weapon, and she imagined it had gotten him far in investigations in the past.
“You tell me.” He rested his arms on the table and leaned forward, allowing her to see the brown in his eyes grow until there was hardly any green left. His eyes could go from an attractive green to a dangerous dark shade that sent shivers down her spine. The longer he stared, the darker they grew. “Convince me the only reason you’re spending so much time with my niece is school-related and not for possibly a more personal reason. You can write this thesis of yours on the opinions of one child?”
“Hardly,” she grumbled, sighing intentionally. She would have to play him carefully. She saw that. His assets
