Authors: Cathy Perkins
The Professor (30 page)
Thursday morning
Mick stood in the telephone alcove in the hotel lobby. The receiver buzzed in his ear, but it screened his face—and gave him an excuse to lurk. From the niche, he could see both the elevator bank and the stairs descending from the mezzanine. Meg was staying in the Columbia hotel for both law enforcement’s convenience and her own protection. He heard footsteps on the stairs and glanced up.
Black leather pumps appeared on the stairs, connected to a slim pair of ankles. He watched with approval as a long length of leg followed the feet. A simple black skirt cut off the legs at mid-thigh. The fabric moved easily around hips that definitely belonged to a woman.
He ignored the heavy, black brogans and blue serge-clad legs on the far side of the stairs. He already didn’t think much of the escort. The cop should’ve considered that someone could be hidden in this recess.
He hadn’t seen Meg since a Newberry sheriff’s deputy pried her blanket-draped body out of his arms and took her away for questioning. Since then, it seemed like every cop in South Carolina except him had gotten a chance to ask her about the Professor.
Somebody at SLED apparently wanted him, and any potentially messy entanglements, kept far away from both Meg and the investigation wrap-up. The media—and other assorted lunatics—were going ballistic, angling for a chance at Meg. Hence, the armed escort this morning.
The black skirt nipped into a trim waist, circled by a simple leather belt. The blue silk blouse flowed upward over more curves he couldn’t wait to explore. A jacket hung over her far arm. Closer to him, her right hand skimmed the banister.
She’d be completely visible soon. He shifted, so he’d have an unobstructed view of her face. Finally, auburn curls appeared, dancing on her shoulders and around her face. Artful makeup covered the bruises left by Bradley’s blows, but he could see the bandage that started at the hollow of her throat.
She noticed his figure first. For just a second, she tensed. Then a brilliant smile erupted and something tightened inside his chest. He could feel the stupid, lovesick grin on his face. There wasn’t a thing he could—or wanted to—do about it.
In his peripheral vision, he saw the officer had belatedly noticed him. One arm came up, the other dropped reflexively to the holster on his gun belt. The cop said, “You need to step back, sir,” at the same time Meg cried, “Mick!”
She evaded the officer’s restraining hand and rushed down the last two steps. Mick caught her in his arms and held on tight. He’d been dreaming about this moment for days—holding her and never letting go.
She relaxed against him with a sigh of happiness and trust that threatened to break his self-control. He felt her heart beat, smelled soap and a subtle scent of citrus and relished the feel of her body against his.
“I’ve been waiting for this for days.” He loved the way she felt in his arms—a perfect fit. If he had any say in it, they’d fit perfectly into each other’s lives, as well.
“Thinking about you got me though a lot.” Her face angled to look up at him. “You know, life won’t be boring with you around.”
Tilting his head, he smiled into her eyes. “It’s gonna be a wild ride.”
He couldn’t wait to start.
Cathy Perkins draws inspiration for her character-driven mysteries from her experiences in the financial industry, where the people-watching can be more fascinating than the numbers. Her heroes and heroines untangle family and romantic relationships while embroiled in plots with enough twists to keep you reading late into the night. Born and raised in South Carolina, she can now be found in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, children and a 75-pound lap Lab.
Cathy is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers and Romance Writers of America’s Kiss of Death mystery/suspense chapter. Working with KOD, she served as a coordinator of the prestigious Daphne du Maurier contest. Her debut novel,
The Professor,
a Golden Heart Award finalist, will be released in January 2012.
She welcomes notes from her fans. You can reach her at the following places: www.facebook.com/cathyperkinsauthor; www.cperkinswrites.com and on Twitter @cperkinswrites.
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ISBN: 978-1-4268-9311-7
Copyright © 2012 by Catherine Perkins
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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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