Page 37 of When He Defends

“Forget it.” He tugged the coat from her fingers. “I can handle some dirt, Emerson.”

“Oh, so I’m Emerson again, huh? Thought I was Dr. Marlowe. Seemed odd, I have to say, considering all of the times you chided me for calling youGrayson.”

“Grayson was my father’s fucking name. I don’t particularly like it.”

She blinked.

“So, what’s happening here? Do I stand in the doorway all night or are you going to invite me inside?”

He’d followed her home. Trailed her up the stairs to her second-floor condo. Seen her to the door. And now he wanted inside. Emerson cocked her head to the right. “If you come in, will you give me truth or lies?”

“Emerson, Emerson, Emerson. Did you just call me a liar?”

“No, I asked if you would give me truth or lies. It’s a straightforward question. One you didn’t answer.” She held her ground. “If you come in, do you intend to kiss me again?” A second question that deserved an answer.

Gray rocked forward, then caught himself. He shoved the coat under one arm. “You know what? It’s probably a better idea for me to head out. I’ll brief you at 0600 with the others.” He turned away.

“Gray?”

“Yeah, Emerson?” Gray glanced over his shoulder.

She would not admit that she loved the way he said her name. The deep rumble and roll. The slightly rough edge. Fine, she would admit toherselfthat she loved the way he said her name. She would not admit that fact to anyone else. “Get your ass inside.”

He flashed his smile.

Lethal.

She backed up. “Do you use that smile to your advantage often? Flashing it when you want to be charming or extra sexy in order to get what you want?”

He quirked a brow even as he entered her place and shut the door behind him. He tossed the coat onto her entrance table. “I think you just said I was both charming and sexy. Thank you. That should work well for our cover.” His gaze darted around her place. “Huh. Not what I expected.”

She wasn’t going to be distracted. “The cover thing was for real? We have a new case? One where we’ll be working undercover?”As lovers?

“You requested to work with me because you wanted more field experience, yes?”

She’d requested to work with him because Gray understood killers extremely well. The man was a legend. Also a hard ass. And a sexy distraction. Plus, a million other things that she had not fully expected. “Yes.” A cautious response.

“Then consider your wish granted. You’re about to get a crash course in field work.”

Um, good?

He studied her critically. “You are great at profiling.”

“Thanks for noticing,” she muttered.

“I figure you’d like to have a shot at profiling on the spot, seeing potential suspects up close, and zeroing in on a target in real time.”

Okay, he was dead serious. Excitement pulsed in their veins. “So thereisa real cover.”

“Real. And dangerous.”

She thought about exactly what he’d said before regarding the case. “Whyare we going to pretend to be a couple?”

“Because there is a killer targeting couples. They are his prey of choice. Three couples are dead so far. Two honeymooners. One couple celebrating their tenth anniversary. Guess someone just doesn’t like love.” His mouth tightened. “We’re going to find that someone. We’re going to be his next victims. And we’re going to turn the tables and stop him. There. Done. Easy.”

There seemed to be nothing easy about the plan from where she was standing. “When did you find out about this case?”

“Yesterday. Cassius brought it to my attention.”