“I only have two hands, Blake.” Garrett handed him one of the paper cups before facing the woman again. “Besides, I thought you said you didn’t need a man to take care of you.”
Zoe raised one of her brows. “I don’tneed a man to take care of me. Just would’ve been nice to have been asked, that’s all. The coffee in this place tastes like battery acid.”
Chuckling at the pair’s usual banter, Garrett looked at him and asked, “You gonna go see Eden, or do you want me to go get her?”
“I’ll go.”
Alex sat his cup on the table and headed for the door. As he walked down the first set of stairs, he considered kicking her ass out and telling her to go back home. Not that she’d listen.
The fact that she was here could only mean one thing. She was going to help with the case.
Gut churning, he made his way through the secured gate and down to the station’s lobby. His dick twitched behind his denim crotch when he spotted her.
Standing just inside the entrance, Eden nervously clutched a small, beige purse in her hands. Dressed in a grey pencil skirt, white blouse, and red heels, she was a vision. She also looked like she’d rather be anywhere else in the world but here.
“Eden,” Alex said her name to get her attention.
Her long, dark hair fell over her shoulder as her head swiveled around at the sound of his voice. She smiled and his heart thumped again but for a different reason.
She always could light up a room.
“Hi.”
“Hey.”
Standing in front of her now, Alex shoved his hands into his jeans to keep from pulling her to him. Time and place and all that.
“I take it you decided to accept Murphy’s offer?”
God, he wished she’d say no. That she was just in the neighborhood and decided to pop in for a quick visit. However, Alex knew that wasn’t the case.
“It wasn’t really an offer, but yes. I’m going to see if I can help.”
He closed his eyes. Eden may have discovered his true feelings for her when he was at her house yesterday, but that didn’t give him any sort of control over the decisions she made. Still, he had to give it one more try.
“I don’t want you to get hurt again.”
“I know.” She gave him a small smile. “But, we’ve discussed this already. That was a very rare incident. Nothing like that had ever happened before, and it hasn’t happened since.”
Taking his hands from his pockets, Alex took a step closer. “Because you stopped.”
“The intentional work, yes, but other than my gift, I’m just like anyone else. I occasionally brush against people on the sidewalk or at the grocery store. Most of the time, it’s nothing, but once in a while, I get a flash of hatred or anger that affects me.”
“Not the same as connecting with a sadistic killer, Eden.”
“I’m aware of that.” Her gorgeous eyes stared up into his. “Like I told you yesterday, I’ve been practicing my control, so the visions don’t affect me so strongly.”
“You seemed pretty affected when you touched me.”
“That was…different.” She blushed, making him question exactly what it was she’d seen. “Look.” Eden stepped closer. “I’ve given it a lot of thought, Alex. Trust me. But something is telling me I have to do this. ThatI’msupposed to be the one to help catch this guy.”
Alex stared down at her a few seconds more before huffing out a breath. “Fine. But the minute it becomes too much for you, you’re done.”
One corner of her mouth curled up in a sexy-as-fuck smirk. “Is that an order, Detective?”
“Damn straight, it is.”
Fuck not having a say in what she did. As far as he was concerned Eden was already his. His to love, and his to protect.
