Witness Seduction. Elle Kennedy
the chances? Her friend had been babbling about tall, dark, handsome strangers sweeping Marley off her feet, and all of a sudden, a tall, dark, handsome stranger shows up and sweeps her off her feet. Literally.
“Can I let you go now?” he asked, a tad brusquely.
Her laughter finally trailed off. She nodded, and he set her down. Her legs were still quite shaky after her brush with possible death, but her brain seemed to have forgotten about her roof gymnastics—it was too busy analyzing the beautiful man standing in front of her.
He had that chiseled kind of face you expected to see on a movie screen, lines and angles put together to create a rugged landscape, vivid eyes the color of the Pacific Ocean. A pair of faded jeans clung to his long legs and taut behind, while a navy-blue T-shirt emphasized a broad chest and delicious set of rippled abs.
No doubt about it, this was one ridiculously gorgeous man.
Her heart did a few somersaults. “Thanks for catching me,” she said.
“No problem.” He took a step backward, looking like he couldn’t wait to get out of here. “Be more careful next time, all right?” Another step. “I’ll see you around.”
“Wait, who did you say you were again?”
“I’m Caleb Ford.” His blue eyes flickering with weariness, he extended his hand. “I’m renting the house next door to yours.” As if to confirm it, he gestured to the redbrick side wall of the Strathorn house.
Since he was sticking his hand out at her, she had no choice but to shake it. The moment they touched, warmth suffused her palm, followed by a spark of awareness. Gosh, this guy was attractive. The messy black hair, the serious blue eyes, the drool-worthy bod. And his hand felt good on hers. Too good.
She quickly snatched it away, leery of the awareness sliding around in her body. Fine, so this guy was incredibly handsome, but he was also a total stranger. And the Strathorns hadn’t told her they were renting their place out for the summer. She knew they were in Europe—they’d asked her to pick up their mail. So why hadn’t they mentioned someone named Caleb Ford would be staying in their house?
“How do you know the Strathorns?”
Her voice held a note of suspicion, which she didn’t attempt to hide. Since her experience with Patrick, she was far more careful about handing out her trust to strangers.
“Through a mutual friend. I heard they were going to Europe for a few months, so my friend arranged for me to rent this place while they’re gone.”
“Oh, that’s convenient.” She casually pushed a strand of blond hair off her forehead. Her ponytail had pretty much come apart after her near fall, and unruly blond waves kept getting in her eyes. “Isn’t Stan and Debbie’s house terrific? They have a lot of antiques in there.”
Caleb arched one dark brow. “Stu and Debbie, you mean.”
“Right, Stu, I don’t know why I said Stan.” She felt a little flustered, especially when a knowing glint filled his eyes. He knew exactly what she’d tried to do, but hey, at least he’d passed the test. So why was he still all fidgety?
“When did you say you moved in?” she asked, watching him carefully.
“I didn’t. But it’s been a week.”
A week? And she hadn’t seen him even once? She tried to rein in her misgivings. Okay, so maybe he didn’t leave the house a lot. He could be one of those hermit types who liked being alone indoors.
“And you’re here for the summer?” she said, trying to sound casual.
“Yep.”
“On vacation?” she pressed.
“Work-related, actually.”
For Pete’s sake, getting answers from this man was like pulling teeth. She paused for a second, trying to concoct a way to draw some more details out of him, when a flash of red caught her eye. She glanced down, surprised to see an angry-looking scrape on her upper arm. She must have cut herself when she’d grabbed for the ledge, or maybe on her way down into Caleb’s arms.
“Shoot, I should get this cleaned up,” she said.
“Do you need any help?”
His voice was so full of reluctance she almost felt insulted. Jeez, was the thought of spending even a few more minutes with her that unappealing?
She frowned. “I’m a nurse, I can take care of it. But thanks.”
Caleb slung his hands in the pockets of his jeans, shifting awkwardly. “You better go in and get that taken care of. Are you sure you didn’t hurt yourself anywhere else?”
She examined her arms and legs, then flexed her back, wincing when a jolt of pain sliced up her left shoulder. “I think I pulled a muscle,” she answered, “but it’s nothing some yoga can’t fix this evening.”
Caleb coughed abruptly.
“Are you okay?” she asked, wrinkling her brow.
“Yeah, I’m, uh, fine.” He began to inch away again. Lord, the way this guy acted, it was as if she was carrying the Ebola virus or something. “I really do have to go. Take care of yourself, uh…?”
“Marley,” she supplied.
“Marley,” he echoed. He lifted his hand, giving a stilted wave and a brisk nod, and then hurried off with long, smooth strides.
She watched as he walked away, shaking her head to herself. He disappeared around the side of the house and a few moments later, she heard the Strathorns’ front door shut.
Okay. Well, that was kind of weird. He was probably telling the truth, and really was renting the house next door, but maybe she ought to call the number Debbie had left for her just to make sure Caleb Ford was who he said he was. He’d been acting a little odd for her liking.
Yeah, she definitely should call, she decided as she bent down to take care of the ladder. She pushed it to the wall, leaning it length-wise against the house, then glanced down at her arm, which was beginning to ooze blood.
With a sigh, she headed into the house, making a mental note to contact Debbie Strathorn as soon as possible. Caleb Ford might be drop-dead gorgeous, but he was still a stranger.
And these days, Marley’s guard went on high alert when it came to sexy men who made her heart skip a beat.
A girl couldn’t be too cautious, after all.
“SO…WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?”
Caleb nearly tripped over his own feet at the sound of AJ’s voice. He’d expected to find the master bedroom empty, but AJ was casually sitting at the desk, sipping from a tall Starbucks cup.
With his military-style buzz cut, tattooed arms and black leather jacket, Adam James Callaghan looked like the type of guy Caleb would be slapping handcuffs on and dragging to jail.
But AJ was a damn good agent, a bit of a legend around the Drug Enforcement Agency. He’d spent three years undercover with a Colombian drug cartel, which was how he’d gotten all the tattoos. Had to prove himself, show he was one of them, AJ had told Caleb. He’d also managed to gather enough evidence to take down the entire organization. But now he was stateside, assigned as Caleb’s new partner.
Caleb walked over to the desk and peered at the monitors, instantly spotting Marley in the kitchen. She was pulling a first-aid kit out of the cupboard under the sink.
“What was what about?” he asked, absently reaching for one of the steaming cups sitting in the cardboard tray on the desk.
AJ shot him a look loaded with disbelief. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. I come back from a coffee run to find—”
“You came in from the back, right?” Caleb cut in.
“Yes,