It Takes a Killer Read Online Free

that might be why he chose to talk to her tonight.
    “So is there a reason you’ve asked me to coffee?” Hannah asked.  Her feet still hurt, but she resisted moving her weight from one foot to the other; she didn’t want to appear anxious in front of Dane.  His eyes dropped to her feet, as if knowing exactly what she was thinking.
    “I thought I told you,” he answered, flicking his gaze back up.
    “We both know you’re not the kind of man to do a good deed without expecting something in return.”  Hannah brought the black mug to her lips but didn’t drink.  Instead she inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent of the roast.  It was mixed with the chicken cooking nearby, as well as some kind of tomato sauce that sat on the burner in the centre of the room.  Hannah blinked slowly before brining her eyes to Dane’s.
    His brow had lowered, not so much that it was furrowed, but like he was no longer interested in smiling so enthusiastically.  Like a guard had dropped, and Hannah got a glimpse of the man beneath.  But it was too quick; she thought it might have been her imagination.  The shiver that ran through her entire body, that raised the hairs on her arms to their ends, wasn’t something that went unnoticed by either of them.  Hannah wet her lips.
    “Like I said,” Dane replied.  “Just thought you might want to have coffee with someone that isn’t afraid of you.”
    Hannah furrowed her brow.  “Nobody’s afraid of me.”
    “No?” Dane said.  “You can’t feel it?  Can’t see it?”
    Hannah took a drink of coffee.  For the past week she’d been feeling like all eyes were on her, because they were.  But she hadn’t thought it was because the town feared her.  What did they have to fear from her?  It wasn’t like she purposely went out to kill someone.  It was self-defence, exactly as the news reported, and exactly as the police reported.
    Dane set his own mug on the counter, whiter than the coat he wore.  The top two buttons were undone, giving Hannah a peek at the black tee shirt he wore.  He leaned closer to her and pressed his palm over the top of her mug, pushing it away from her lips.  His broad shoulders blocked her view of the rest of the kitchen, but even if she could see anything other than those clever grey eyes she wouldn’t want to.  There wasn’t any sign of stubble on Dane’s cheeks, his skin perfectly smooth as he leaned closer to her.
    “You’re right,” he said, his voice low.  Hannah felt his breath brush across her lips and on it she could taste the coffee.  She held her own breath out of instinct.  She felt like prey now.  “I’m not the kind of man to do a good deed without expecting something in return.”
    Dane leaned back and picked up his mug.  He took a drink before setting it back down with a satisfied sigh, and walked away.  The clattering dishes and clicking of stoves being turned on and off faded from Hannah’s mind as she listened to Dane’s footsteps.  They wrapped around her, making her skin flush and chest heave.
    Taking in a sudden breath, Hannah twisted her neck to see where Dane had gone, but he’d vanished out the front door.  The cup in her hands felt too heavy to hold and she put it down for fear of dropping it.  There was a warmth in her lower abdomen that was as pleasurable as it was torture.  Hannah leaned on the counter and tried to catch her breath.
    She wasn’t sure when she last felt like this.
     
    Hannah wanted to take the kitchen door to the alley after work.  She wanted to march past Dane to show that his charms had no affect on her, but her knees were so weak she wasn’t sure she could even get up off the chair in the break room let alone march .  All that strength she’d thought she had was swallowed up by hormones and desire.  And damn , did she have a desire at that moment.  It felt like she’d just lost a staring contest.  Her mother’s mantra of “you win some you lose some” wasn’t helping her