I want to.
I stare at him, and he seems to understand my struggle. And like the dom he is, he takes over. He squeezes my hand lightly and places his free hand on my back. The music swells, and he sweeps me away.
Moving with him is as easy as breathing. I forget my steps and follow the slight pressure of his hands.
It helps that the other dancers make a wide circle around us. But then I realize most of the room is staring. Rex Roy is the main event, and I’m the stranger in his arms.
One tall, handsome man in a gray suit that matches his eyes watches us. There’s a tumbler of whiskey in his long, slim fingers, and he sips it, studying us like we’re animals on a safari. My eyes meet his, and I can’t look away from him, caught in his hawk-like stare.
Rex shrugs his shoulders, blocking the stranger’s gaze. “It’s all right, little bird,” he rumbles. His hand on my back is warm through the fabric of my dress. “I’ve got you.”
He eases me along, leading me into a turn so effortless it feels like floating. He holds me like I’m fragile. Like I’m precious. I’m the sole object of his intense focus, the dominance that saturates every muscle in his body. He planned this, and now he’s enjoying his victory.
And I relax. Gods help me; he makes it so easy to lose myself.
We end up in a corner of the ballroom by the orchestra. A signal from Rex and the conductor motions for the players to play more softly. Rex and I sway together.
“You look more beautiful in the dress than I imagined.”
“You shouldn’t have sent it.” I need to get a grip on this situation, of myself. I need to question him, break him down like the suspect I know he is.
He grins like he’s been caught stealing a cookie but that he can charm his way out of any trouble. The boyish look adds a dimension to his classically handsome face. It’s so mesmerizing I miss a step and almost trip.
He steadies me, the movement familiar from our scene at Club Empire. The consummate dom, caring for me. Planning ahead, unveiling his power slowly so I can lose myself in his control.
Gods, what am I doing? I need to focus.
Back at HQ, there are photos of the men he’s killed. He’s the dark shape caught by the security camera, the one in my visions. And my dreams.
“I know it was you.”
His expression changes. Every hint of the charming playboy slides away, and I’m staring at a chiseled face as cold and deadly as the barrel of a rifle. This is the real Rex Roy. The magnate who owns half the city. Because in this modern world, that’s how you accumulate power. He’s a businessman who’s made himself into a force to be reckoned with. A man you don’t cross.
And also a killer.
“Do you, Inara?”
I love my name on his lips, so I tell him, “It’s Detective Ramos.”
“It is?” His fingers caress mine. He’s still holding my hand, and his touch is everything. It’s everything I’ve wanted for so long.
I thrust his hand away and step back. We’re still inches apart, face to face, but I find my anger and center myself. I’ve sacrificed everything to hunt for justice.I can’t let him thwart me now.“I know you did it.”
He tilts his head. “Do you have proof?”
I refuse to let him put me off balance. If he’s ten steps ahead, he might have used his connections to get his hands on details of the case. He has the chief’s ear. But he might not know about the security tape footage. Or the way I clocked the similar rope patterns.
Or maybe he knows everything, and he knows I’ve got squat. Nothing to tie him to the case beyond a feeling in my gut.
“I will. And when I do. . .”
He laughs softly, and the sound makes my toes curl in my new, uncomfortable heels.
“I have no doubt you will do your best, Detective.” As soon as he says my title, I miss him saying my name. “I look forward to watching you work the case.”
So he is watching me. All those times I felt like someone was following me. . . I stiffen my spine. “I look forward to seeing you—” I catch myself before I saybehind bars. We’re at a charity ball, for Gods’ sake. To raise money for the NRPD. I can’t go screaming accusations at the host.
Not until I have evidence that he hunted and slaughtered two men.
