CHAPTER TEN
LUCAS
Lucas hurried to the door. When he’d gotten the call from Victor the night before, telling him that the sexy detective was coming to his home, he immediately called his assistant to let her know that he wouldn’t be in the office.
Lucas had come in contact with plenty of beautiful women over the years, but the thought of seeing Bella Devereaux had made him hop out of bed like a kid on Christmas morning. For the life of him, Lucas couldn’t understand why he got so excited about the prospect of spending time with her. He checked the hall mirror and fixed his hair.
“You’re behaving like a fucking teenager,” Lucas muttered out loud to himself. He opened the door and peered out at Bella.
Damn, she’s hot!
Even dressed in standard attire, consisting of blue jeans and a T-shirt, she was extraordinary. Her ink-black hair was pulled into a ponytail, and her exquisite skin reminded Lucas of a Caribbean sunset. He was fighting an inner battle to stay focused on Bella’s face because the sight of her nipples stretching the thin fabric of her form-fitting T-shirt made his cock push against his zipper.
“Good morning, Detective.”
“Good morning. I need to have a word with your houseguest.”
Lucas wasn’t convinced by Bella’s dispassionate tone. The fire in her eyes and her body language was betraying her. She could pretend to be uninterested, but Lucas knew the truth. Bella Devereaux wanted him maybe just as bad as he wanted her…maybe evenmore.
Lucas grinned and stepped out of her path, allowing her entrance to his apartment.
“Come on in. Rosemary will be up soon.”
Bella seemed surprised that Rosemary was still asleep, but Lucas wasn’t. Rosemary had been through a lot. She was physically and emotionally drained.
“She normally gets up around eleven,” Lucas offered. “Come. Follow me. I’ll pour you some coffee.”
“No, thank you. I’m fine.” Bella stood close to the door as if she was afraid to step further into Lucas’ domain.
Lucas chuckled at her reluctance. The woman was definitely stubborn. Lucas placed his hand on the small of her back and nudged her gently in the direction of his kitchen. “Come on, Bella. I’m not gonna bite.”
Lucas could sense Bella’s hesitation as he led her toward the kitchen. Once inside, he directed her to the island and walked over to the coffee maker. He grabbed a cup from the cupboard and turned to Bella.
“How do you take it?”
“Black,” was her simple response.
For now, maybe.
Lucas filled her cup with coffee and turned to Bella with a smirk. “You should try a littlecream. I bet you’d like it.”
The corners of Bella’s mouth reluctantly curled into a smile. It was actually the first time that he’d seen her smile. As her face softened, it had an indescribable effect on him.
Lucas filled his own cup and joined Bella. He handed her the cup of black coffee and sat on a stool across from her. He watched curiously as she sipped, wondering why she was dead set against seeing him socially. He wondered if she truly wasn’t attracted to him or if she only dated black men. Lucas could only hope that she was open to diversity, especially when it came to relationships.
“Why won’t you have dinner with me?” Lucas was done with wondering.
Bella blinked up at him, obviously not expecting such a question to be thrown at her. “What?”
“You heard me, Bella Devereaux. I asked why won’t you have dinner with me.”
Bella placed her cup on the countertop and pressed her palms flat on the table. “Lucas, I’ve told you already. I’m not interested in going out with you.”
“Why?”
Bella recoiled slightly. Maybe she thought that her stating her lack of interest would be the end of their conversation. She was wrong. “Why?” she parroted.
She was stalling, and it amused Lucas. “Why?” he repeated in a cool tone.
