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“Hey,” he murmured in her ear. “I’m all for this, but we should move to my bedroom. I want to take my time with you, undress you slowly, kiss every inch of you. Run my fingers, as well as my tongue, over every part of you.”
She shivered and nipped at his bottom lip. “Keep talking dirty to me and I’ll come right here.”
Well then.
He found it hard to speak, much less think straight. “Five minutes. Let’s go through the photos one more time. Then we’ll spend the night together.”
“You’re kidding, right?” She gave his hard cock, which was tenting his pants, an exaggerated look. “You’re as ready as I am. You can’t seriously want to make me wait another five minutes. Do you like torturing people?”
He chuckled. “I’ve been known to string things out to get what I want, but I would never do that to you.”
She blinked and he saw her puzzling out whether this was a confession or a tease. “Good to know.”
“I only want you to take a quick look at the photos, not at your dad this time. Please? You’ve got momentum going with your recall. I want to take advantage of that.
“And then you promise you’ll take advantage of me?”
He gently shifted her off his lap and set her into the other chair. It was the hardest thing he’d ever done, but he knew they were onto something and he needed to keep her focused in case this was about to break. “Oh, most definitely.”
Reluctantly, she put an elbow on the desk and propped her chin in her hand. “Threeminutes. That’s all you get.”
Surreptitiously, he adjusted his pants, trying to release the tight material around his cock. “You’re a taskmaster.”
She gave a seductive laugh. “Wait until I get you alone.”
Watching as he went through each picture, enlarging faces, she used her other hand to rub his thigh. Teasing him. He’d make sure she paid for that once he had her under him.
He was about to sayfuck it, and whisk her off to his room when she stopped his scrolling. “Wait. Go back.”
He did, returning to the previous image. “What is it?”
She pointed. “There. Can you zoom in on that guy?”
He did. The digital photo wasn’t the highest quality and became slightly pixelated because the man was in shadows. He tapped a couple keys. “Let me clear it up.”
The screen grew fuzzy, then snapped into sharper focus.
“No way.” She sat up and a look of horror crossed her face. “That’s him.”
“Who? Your attacker?”
She shook her head, her terrified eyes meeting his. “That’s the man with the scar.”
SEVENTEEN
The man in the photo had no visible facial disfigurements. “Are you sure?” Rory asked.
Amelia felt the familiar tug inside her.Am I? She’d forgotten so much. Her brain kept playing tricks on her. “I think so.” She stopped and gripped the edge of the desk. “No, I’m sure. That’s him.”
At his extended pause, she poked his arm. “You believe me, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. I’m just thinking.”
The past seemed to close in on her, her chest growing tight, her throat, thick with emotion, and if she were honest, fear.
“Look, I need to dig into all of this,” he said. “Start running facial rec on these people, find out the identities of everyone who was at that party, put everything into our software program. See what comes up.”
Oh no. He wasn’t getting out of their deal. All of that would take time, possibly days, and he would bury himself in it, just like he always did. She’d seen how he worked a problem, and while she admired his dedication and commitment, she wasn’t about to be put on the back burner while he disappeared into a hole. This was her puzzle to figure out. She might not possess the skills he had to uncover the truth, but she planned to be right beside him every step of the way.