tilting her sunglasses down to look at him over
the dark rims. Her long-lashed eyes were the color of baby rabbit fur.
Soft. Gray. Gentle. What in God’s name made her want to be in the field
48
Night Shadow
where every drop of softness, every atom of gentleness would be
smashed out of her in a heartbeat? Or worse, kil her.
“We’re not?”
“Not at this juncture in our investigation. No.”
“Isn’t this something you should have told me before we left Rio at the
freaking creak o’ daybreak?”
Staying in sunny Rio hadn’t been an option when he’d had a lightbulb
moment at five A.M. “You were half asleep when we drove to the airport.”
Half asleep, and damned sexy, al ruffled and heavy-eyed.
Maybe he should pul over, yank off his clothes and rol around in a snow
bank until his dick went back to normal and his hormones chilled out.
Sounded like an excel ent plan. Much better than the ice cold shower he’d
had earlier.
“My hearing was just fine,” Lexi assured him in that pithy tone that made
him want to haul her into his lap and kiss her until she shut up. “If we’re
not going to the Lab, where are we going?”
“Team is meeting us at a warehouse west of town.”
“I heard you giving the instructions before we left Rio,” she told him dryly.
“I thought that was just a meeting point.”
“I have a theory.”
She paused several seconds. “Okay. I’l bite.”
Fuck. Yeah—he wished. Tangos, blood, broken bones, anything but
thinking about her mouth and what he could do if she let him. “I’l fil you
in when I brief the rest of the team.”
“Hmm. Do you think we might visit the lab? Because I know things you
might want to know about it.”
The corner of his mouth tipped up in a lazy grin. “No. But if I think of
anything I don’t know, I’l be sure to ask.”
Her lips twitched. “Smart-ass.”
“Better than being a dumb-ass.”
Lexi snorted back a laugh and pulled her legs up on the seat, sitting cross-
legged as though it were comfortable.
“Do you do yoga?” The thought of her in some of those asanas was
enough to turn him on. He just liked the name Downward Facing Dog; it
conjured up al sorts of erotic images.
“Yeah, I do.” She gave him an enigmatic look that made Alex want to pull
the car to the side of the road and kiss her. Hard. And for a long time.
“Did you read my personnel file?”
“Absolutely not,” he said with just enough emphasis for verisimilitude. Hel
yes, he’d read it. Every damned word. Her parents currently lived in
Barrow, Alaska. As far north as they could manage and still be on the
continent. Their finances were a shambles. Yet somehow they’d managed
yet again to convince a bank, this time to back a mail-order cupcake
business. Cupcakes from Alaska? There might be a more stupid business
venture, but Alex couldn’t think of one off the top of his head.
They might have loved her as much as Lexi thought they did, but their
behavior indicated otherwise. They’d been selfish, irresponsible, and
oblivious to the lifestyle they’d forced on their only child.
49
Night Shadow
Lexi had gone to seventeen schools, a few steps ahead of collection
agencies and child protective services, before she completed high school
with straight As at age fifteen. Her academic record, and her photographic
memory, had earned her a scholarship to Stanford.
Humanities and Sciences had been her field, and she’d gobbled up the
courses in linguistics and philosophy, piling on letters after her name as if
she were hoarding them for an educational famine. In only five years,
she’d earned dual bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and history, a master’s
in English and linguistics, and a damn Ph.D. in linguistics with an
emphasis on French and Italian. Her dissertation on similarities in modern
comparative romance languages was presented in English, French, and
Italian.
At nineteen she’d taken her first lover, a
the dark rims. Her long-lashed eyes were the color of baby rabbit fur.
Soft. Gray. Gentle. What in God’s name made her want to be in the field
48
Night Shadow
where every drop of softness, every atom of gentleness would be
smashed out of her in a heartbeat? Or worse, kil her.
“We’re not?”
“Not at this juncture in our investigation. No.”
“Isn’t this something you should have told me before we left Rio at the
freaking creak o’ daybreak?”
Staying in sunny Rio hadn’t been an option when he’d had a lightbulb
moment at five A.M. “You were half asleep when we drove to the airport.”
Half asleep, and damned sexy, al ruffled and heavy-eyed.
Maybe he should pul over, yank off his clothes and rol around in a snow
bank until his dick went back to normal and his hormones chilled out.
Sounded like an excel ent plan. Much better than the ice cold shower he’d
had earlier.
“My hearing was just fine,” Lexi assured him in that pithy tone that made
him want to haul her into his lap and kiss her until she shut up. “If we’re
not going to the Lab, where are we going?”
“Team is meeting us at a warehouse west of town.”
“I heard you giving the instructions before we left Rio,” she told him dryly.
“I thought that was just a meeting point.”
“I have a theory.”
She paused several seconds. “Okay. I’l bite.”
Fuck. Yeah—he wished. Tangos, blood, broken bones, anything but
thinking about her mouth and what he could do if she let him. “I’l fil you
in when I brief the rest of the team.”
“Hmm. Do you think we might visit the lab? Because I know things you
might want to know about it.”
The corner of his mouth tipped up in a lazy grin. “No. But if I think of
anything I don’t know, I’l be sure to ask.”
Her lips twitched. “Smart-ass.”
“Better than being a dumb-ass.”
Lexi snorted back a laugh and pulled her legs up on the seat, sitting cross-
legged as though it were comfortable.
“Do you do yoga?” The thought of her in some of those asanas was
enough to turn him on. He just liked the name Downward Facing Dog; it
conjured up al sorts of erotic images.
“Yeah, I do.” She gave him an enigmatic look that made Alex want to pull
the car to the side of the road and kiss her. Hard. And for a long time.
“Did you read my personnel file?”
“Absolutely not,” he said with just enough emphasis for verisimilitude. Hel
yes, he’d read it. Every damned word. Her parents currently lived in
Barrow, Alaska. As far north as they could manage and still be on the
continent. Their finances were a shambles. Yet somehow they’d managed
yet again to convince a bank, this time to back a mail-order cupcake
business. Cupcakes from Alaska? There might be a more stupid business
venture, but Alex couldn’t think of one off the top of his head.
They might have loved her as much as Lexi thought they did, but their
behavior indicated otherwise. They’d been selfish, irresponsible, and
oblivious to the lifestyle they’d forced on their only child.
49
Night Shadow
Lexi had gone to seventeen schools, a few steps ahead of collection
agencies and child protective services, before she completed high school
with straight As at age fifteen. Her academic record, and her photographic
memory, had earned her a scholarship to Stanford.
Humanities and Sciences had been her field, and she’d gobbled up the
courses in linguistics and philosophy, piling on letters after her name as if
she were hoarding them for an educational famine. In only five years,
she’d earned dual bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and history, a master’s
in English and linguistics, and a damn Ph.D. in linguistics with an
emphasis on French and Italian. Her dissertation on similarities in modern
comparative romance languages was presented in English, French, and
Italian.
At nineteen she’d taken her first lover, a
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