FROM the moment he saw her, before he’d even seen her face, he knew he wanted her. Nothing else mattered.
She loitered in the shadows between two streetlamps, hiding in the darkness. For more than forty minutes, she’d stood there, staring at his house. Had she seen the CCTV cameras? Did she know she was being watched in return?
Did she even know what she stared at?
Come on, sweetheart…show me what you’re made of…
Like a curious little mouse at midnight, the young woman teetered out of the shadows and into full view of the security cameras. If he could have zoomed in, he would have.
“Well, well.” He studied the tall, lean woman with avid interest. He couldn’t see the color of her eyes but her short hair gleamed red beneath the streetlamp. He did notice how she wobbled over the pavement and up the steps to his front door.
Nerves and heels, he wondered, or drugs and alcohol?
His body shot to full alert, ready to fly into action if she decided to run rather than take the jump and knock on the door. He was ready to chase her if she made the wrong decision. She couldn’t be allowed to come this close and leave now that he’d found her.
As his attention remained on her, he reached for his phone and hit one on speed dial, just as she lifted her hand to the door. He watched her look around, like a deer sniffing for the scent of a predator.
“Paul,” he said when his call was answered. “Answer the main door. Make sure the woman standing there comes in. Get the forms filled out. I’ll want chance to read them before you bring her to me.”
“Straight to you, boss? You don’t want to—”
“I’ve put a claim on her, Paul. Just answer the door.”
“Yes, sir.”
He didn’t stop watching the screen until his mystery woman was safely inside his domain. He wasn’t all that sure he was willing to let her go once that door closed behind her.