Shadow of Perception by Kristine Mason

without any more leads, we wait.”
    Rachel cleared her throat and gained both he and Owen’s attention. “Now that the G.B. has been informed, don’t leave me hanging. What did Owen mean by Eden kicking your ass to the curb…again? And don’t you dare try to get out of telling me, because if you don’t, I’ll do some serious snooping, which means I won’t be able to worry about your case. You know how I get when I’m on a mission of discovery.”
    “You mean when you’re clearly being nosey,” Owen said with sarcasm.  
    “Hey, being nosey is what makes me excellent at my job.” She looked to him. “Well, Hud, gonna spill it?”
    Hudson glanced to Owen, then back to Rachel and shrugged. “I used Eden as bait to catch a serial rapist.”
    *
    “Bastard,” Eden muttered and tossed the throw pillow across the room. Hudson’s scent still lingered on her couch, though. She should light some candles to remove the enticing odor. But Fabio hated fire.
    She leaned into the sofa and reached for the remote, then decided she wasn’t in the mood to watch TV. Resting her head on the arm of the sofa, she closed her eyes and instead of denying herself the pleasure, she gave in and relished the comfort Hudson’s scent brought her. After not seeing him for over two years, then spending last night and most of today with him, she couldn’t help herself. Her body hummed with the memories of his touch.  
    But comfort wasn’t the right word. His lingering presence reminded her body of more than comfort, it reminded her of skin on skin, hot kisses, slow kisses, wet kisses. With sex suddenly on the brain, she almost regretted making him leave earlier. Actually, when he’d run his hands through her hair, brought their lips close together, and told her how he’d remembered how she’d felt, how she’d reacted to him, how she’d cried out his name as she came…
    She pressed her legs together and curled them to her chest. Making him leave had been a good decision. If she hadn’t, she’d probably end up with his scent on her body rather than the couch or throw pillow. Like him, she remembered everything, too. His touch, the way his hard muscles bunched beneath her hands as she gripped his chest and rode him. Yes, and the way she’d scream his name as she came.
    A wave of lust caused her face to heat, and the dull ache between her legs became a full throb. She still wanted him. Bad. Just for sex, of course.  
    “Of course,” she echoed out loud. Sex had never been an issue. In fact, the sex had been beyond excellent. Unfortunately, the sex had morphed her emotions beyond her comprehension. Before Hudson, she’d never been in love. Not that she’d been in love with him. She’d liked him a lot. A very strong like. But would she want to marry a man like him? Raise babies?  
    “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” she said, and launched off the couch. Fabio and Brutal both raised their heads, and stared at her as she paced.  
    “I never wanted to marry him,” she announced to her cat and dog. “And babies…I’ll leave that up to my sister. I mean, I’m lucky I can take care of you two. Right?”
    Not really expecting an answer from her animals, she stomped to the kitchen, then opened the fridge. Hudson was right. She didn’t have anything good to eat. As she was about to slam the door shut, she reached back inside and pulled out a beer.
    “Screw the calories,” she mumbled as she opened the beer and took a long swallow. The carbonation tickled her throat. She released a sigh, then took another sip, then another, and another until she drained the bottle.  
    “Damn, that was good.” She reached into the fridge and pulled out another beer. This time she decided not to chug it like a kid at a fraternity party, but savor the empty calories. As she sat on the couch though, slightly buzzed, surrounded by her animals and the scent of her former lover, she couldn’t help think that maybe she’d handled the Hudson situation all