Detectives

TWENTY ONE

Allison didn't have much of an appetite, and she would have been fine with a couple of crackers, but she followed Jim's recommendation. As soon as she tasted the chowder, her appetite came back. It was absolutely delicious. She ate every bit of it, and when she was finished, she sipped hot tea while she watched Liam devour a second bowl of chowder. She had never met anyone like him before, and she'd certainly never been this attracted to any other man. She was beginning to feel she didn't have to be on her guard every second.

Though she tried, she couldn't stop thinking of how it would feel if he kissed her. She'd probably melt in his arms. The crazy idea made her smile. She was letting her imagination get out of hand, she decided. So, to take her mind off her silly fantasy, she turned her thoughts back to the serious issues in her life, not the least of which was the fact that she and her sister had been lied to for years.

As though reading her mind, Liam broke into her thoughts. "What happened today?"

His question caught her by surprise. "Why do you think something happened?" she asked.

"The look on your face when you opened the door. You were upset. You said you'd had an argument with your aunt and uncle."

"It was a bad day. That's all."

"Tell me," he said. He started to add, "You'll feel better," but caught himself in time. He had the feeling she'd get her back up. Or bolt. She was already sitting on the edge of her chair.

"Do you have any idea how bossy you are?"

"Yes, I do," he answered with a smile.

The dimple in his cheek was messing with her concentration. She wondered how he would react if she jumped across the table and kissed him. Probably put her in handcuffs and take her to the nearest mental ward.

"It's always stressful whenever I have to go back to Emerson," she told him, her voice hesitant.

"I would imagine so."

Just how much had he dug up researching her background? He sounded so understanding. Maybe it was his sympathetic tone or the tenderness she saw in his eyes that made her want to tell him everything. She paused for a second and then did exactly that. She didn't embellish; she simply explained what life had been like living with her relatives and how she had finally broken ties with them.

Her voice shook when she mentioned the life insurance policy. "Thinking about it makes me so angry." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "What do you do when you're angry and frustrated?"

"I like to hit."

"Hit?"

He nodded. "When I need to get rid of the anger, I look for a rugby game. It can get pretty brutal, which I love. I played a lot of rugby growing up, but if I can't find a game, I go to the nearest batting cages and hit baseballs until I wind down. Frustration is another matter."

"Oh? How do you get rid of frustration?"

The dimple was back. "Sex." He saw the instant blush and had to laugh again. "What do you do when you're frustrated?"

She couldn't bring herself to tell him that when her frustration grew, she wrote code. No, she couldn't tell him that because it was such a nerdy thing to admit.

"Same thing," she said with a straight face. She lowered her eyes and asked, "Tell me, Liam, are you frustrated now?"

He stared at her a long minute before answering, "You're playing with fire. It doesn't matter how frustrated I am. This is work and you're an asset. I don't have sex with assets."