Lion's Dangerous(Kings of the Jungle #1)(53)

"You really think that'll turn up something useful?" she asked as he parked in her driveway.

Jude cut the engine and faced her. "I think you're not the type to sit back and passively take it. Even if you can't respond directly, you can take steps to fight back. Make the list."

Sighing, she rubbed the back of her neck. "All right. I'll make the list."

"Good." He exited the vehicle and rounded the front to open her door. "Come on. I'll show you what I installed this morning."

"Before we go in, I need to tell you about my brother."

"Rhys? What about him?"

Lily paused, one foot on the pavement, and looked up at Jude. "How do you … ?"

Jude closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, they were apologetic. "I ran a cursory background check on you when we set up the initial security contract. The club had to be more thorough, sweetheart. And he showed up while I was installing everything this morning."

"I see." It shouldn't have bothered her that Jude knew about Rhys, but she was so damn ashamed of her role in the accident that had robbed her brother of his vitality.

Lily rubbed her eyes, and got out of the car. She started to turn away but Jude took her hand and stopped her from turning away. 

"Your brother is the only reason I'm leaving you here tonight. I thought he was going to take my head off when he found me here. As it was, the grilling he gave me put the Jungle's investigative powers to shame."

"He's why I didn't want security," she admitted quietly. "I've done enough damage without challenging his ability to defend his home."

Before he could ask the question she saw in his eyes, she tugged her hand free and started walking toward the house. When the porch light came on, she found herself tensing up, consumed with dread as she remembered what had been waiting for her the last time she got home after dark.

Jude came up behind her. The warm weight of his hand between her shoulder blades erased the tension. She wordlessly let them into the house, confused and just plain unsure about her feelings.

Thankfully, the security set-up was simple but thorough. It didn't take long for him to show her the location of cameras and motion-activated lights, and she'd always had a decent head for numbers so she quickly memorized the code to the keypad. They managed to keep the tour fairly business-like up until it was time for Jude to go.

"Well." They stood on the narrow porch, studying each other in the faint moonlight. Lily rubbed her forearms, trying to find the willpower to go back into the house and let him leave. She'd never been much of a detective but it seemed like her resolve had up and left the country with a really good fake I.D. to cover its tracks.

"You're going to have to be the one who makes the first move toward the car," she said, swaying in the circle of heat that radiated from him. This close, she couldn't smell anything except him, an intoxicating bouquet of man and beast, sweetened by the musk of passion.

"Lily." His smooth voice had gone rough. He bent his head until he could caress her ear with his warm breath and firm lips.

Shivering, she leaned into him until her breasts, unfettered beneath the worn cotton of his shirt, molded to the shape of his muscular chest. He felt like a perfect fit, the kind that didn't need alterations to make it work. Wherever else her head ways, in that moment, as his broad palm slid down her back to rest where her ass curved, she knew she'd never experience this again, not with any man alive on the planet.

The realization rocked her because she could have dismissed it as a product of his animal draw, but she knew it wasn't. Instinctively knew that except for the initial head-spinning electricity that had arced between them that first night in her shop, and that trick he'd performed with his tongue outside the Phoenix-and showing her his full lion form tonight-Jude had deliberately kept their relationship man-to-woman rather than shifter-to-human.

And she appreciated that, but it left her with nothing to hide behind. No foul play to hold onto in order to stop this long, long fall. Nothing to protect her from the L-word waiting at the bottom of the drop.

Homing in on her weakness, Jude drew her ear lobe between her teeth and bit gently. Her head fell back as her spine went liquid, melted by desire for him. She blinked up into his eyes and shivered at the heat in them.

"You have to stop," she managed, despite every cell in her body screaming for the exact opposite. Working her hands up between them, she overcame her weakness enough to push at his chest. It was unnecessary because he was already releasing her but she needed the momentum to force herself back.

Avoiding his gaze, she hugged herself and said, "I'll make a list of potential suspects and email it to you tonight."