11th Hour Rose by Melissa Lynne Blue Read Free Book Online Page B

it.
    Desired? Lilly?
    Not hardly.
    And yet, gazing into her face he had no idea why he was still standing quite so close to her except that in this moment, in this place, with her he felt completely at home . A sense of home he had not known since childhood—before even his wife—flushed through his veins and he didn’t want to step away from her.
    *              *              *
    Lilly’s heart performed a little flip.
    He’d kissed her finger!
    His palms slid along the sensitive flesh of her hands and her skin tingled so acutely she scarcely remembered the sting of the burn. Her hand looked so tiny encased in his large calloused palms that she was mesmerized, unable to form a coherent thought much less words. She flicked her gaze upward and herheart stumbled and nearly stopped. Davy’s smoldering eyes roamed over hers. No one had smoldered over her before—at least not in quite some time, and certainly not with eyes more captivating. The crisp blue was so intense no words or color on the earth could be compared to describe it. Transfixed, Lilly stared up into his unwavering gaze surprised to find the staid, condescending wall ever present in his expression slipping away.
    He moved forward just a bit more, their fingers were still locked together, and he stroked a thumb across her smooth knuckles. Shivers tripped up and down her spine. His gaze went beyond smoldering now, it was ablaze, on fire. Excitement rippled through her as he leaned just a bit closer, so close in fact his breath breezed across her lips. If he leaned in any further he may actually kiss her.
    Kiss her!
    A small bubble of panic welled in her breast. If the fire and burning of his eyes could make the world around her fade and flicker into a nondescript haze, what would his lips do? He was so close now, just inches away, the heat of his body seared her, and the scent of his masculine cologne tickled her senses. The hint of whiskers shadowing his jaw line drew her gaze and she was feeling quite intoxicated. So intoxicated that she rejected all reason and swayed toward him, parting her lips in wanton invitation.
    “Something smells good in there.” A voice echoed through the hall. “Is dinner ready yet?”
    Lilly startled and jumped away. Davy too, quickly distanced himself, raking a hand through his wavy golden locks.
    “Just about, Papa,” Lilly called, her voice ringing a bit higher-pitched than normal. She whirled back toward the stove, lifting a wooden spoon to stir the soup. “Marshal Langston is going to join us.” She chanced a glance toward him.
    Davy cleared his throat and turned toward the kitchen door, appearing remarkably composed. “Well, uh, George, as long as I am here why don’t we start going over what we have and cancel the meeting at my office this evening.”
    “Sounds good to me.” Her father strode into the kitchen, taking his usual seat at the table. “Nice flowers,” he said. “Where’d they come from?”
    “Oh, uh, Davy brought them for… um…”
    “For Lilly’s birthday,” David finished for her.
    “Is that so?” Her father’s eyes widened in surprise before piercing the other man with a suspicious glare. “Are you of a mind to court my daughter, Langston? If so it’ll take more than wild flowers to impress me.”
    Alarm and dread washed over David’s face and he coughed, throwing Lilly a desperate glance.
    She took pity on him. “Come, Papa, he did not bring them to court me. You know better. Now, do you have any new leads or information about the murders?”
    “So far my deputies have turned up nothing.”
    Davy scraped a second chair back. “We haven’t found much either, but Lilly’s got some notes to go over. If there are any common patterns in the behavior of these women we’ll find it.”
    “I spoke with Lavinia about Susie today,” Lilly interjected. She quickly related her earlier conversation with her cousin as she dished up dinner and prepared to eat.
    The