Witness Seduction. Elle Kennedy

tasted incredible. Like coffee, cinnamon and heaven and he couldn’t get enough of her. He deepened the kiss, drowning in her scent. Damn it, he hadn’t known it would be so uncontrollable.

      A muffled thud sounded from outside. Marley must have heard it, too, because her eyelids fluttered open at the same time as his.

      And then she was out of his arms.

      His arms felt empty without her warm supple body in them, his mouth going dry when seconds before it had been moist from the tip of Marley’s tongue teasing his lips. Even as his body tried to recover from that unbelievable kiss, his brain went back to business, directing his line of vision to the now-empty yard. Relief coursed through him. AJ had managed The Great Escape.

      “I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

      “I…” She tucked an errant blond strand behind her ear. “It’s fine. Just unexpected.”

      Understatement of the year. What had he been thinking, kissing her? He’d wanted to distract her, and instead, he’d opened Pandora’s damn box, because now that he’d tasted Marley, he wanted nothing more than to do it again.

      Information. You just need information from her.

      Drawing in a breath, Caleb willed his desire away. “I should go,” he said.

      Something flickered in her eyes. Finally, she just nodded, and they stepped out of the kitchen. He saw her wringing her hands together as she walked. “So you’re a writer, huh?”

      He almost laughed. It seemed ridiculous making small talk now, after the explosive kiss they’d just shared. “Yeah, I’m, uh, working on my first novel.”

      “That’s cool.”

      When they reached the front hall, he glanced down at the two-by-fours on the floor, then the gutted closet. “You sure this isn’t a safety hazard?” he asked in a dry voice.

      She sighed. “My brother keeps promising to finish it, but he never seems to get around to it.”

      Caleb ran a hand through his hair, pausing near the front door. “I did some construction a few years back.”

      The admission came out of nowhere, but at least it wasn’t a lie, like his writer cover story. He had done a lot of construction before he joined the DEA.

      “I could help you with some of the renovations.” Gruffly, he added, “If you’d like.”

      Marley seemed to hesitate. “No, I couldn’t let you do that. You’re here to work on a novel.”

      “It’s really no trouble.” Damn, why was he insisting?

      Information.

      Right, it had nothing to do with her stunning face and endless supply of curves. He needed to find out what she knew about Grier. If she even knew anything. AJ thought she did, but Caleb wasn’t certain, not after he’d spent some time with her. Everything about Marley seemed so genuine, so refreshing. How did she do it, continue to smile and laugh and live her life after what Patrick Grier had done to her? Unless AJ was right, and she was still in contact with Grier, sticking by him, moving money around to help him escape….

      Caleb forcibly shoved all the negative thoughts from his brain and focused on Marley. She considered his offer for so long that he grew certain she would say no, thank you. But then she gave a tiny smile and nodded. “Well, my brother’s finishing the closet this week, but I could use some help with the painting,” she confessed.

      “Should I come by tomorrow?” Anticipation rose in his chest. He quickly banished it, trying to remind himself that he wasn’t seeing her for pleasure, but business.

      “Sure. Let’s see…I’m stuck with a graveyard shift tonight. I start at two—” she made a face “—and I’ll be home around eleven tomorrow morning. I’ll probably pass out for a while when I get back, so how about four?”

      “Sounds good.”

      Laughing, Marley opened the front door for him. “I’m not sure it’ll sound as good when I put you to work painting my kitchen.”

      He gave her a faint smile. “I look forward to it.”

      Stepping out onto the porch, he thanked her for the coffee. After the door closed behind him, he released a ragged breath. Lord, that kiss. It was a miracle he’d been able to finish the rest of the conversation.

      He could still taste her on his lips, and his current state of discomfort made walking next door difficult. He’d never been harder in his life, and if Marley were any other woman, it wouldn’t have stopped with one kiss. He felt it in the way she kissed him back and saw it in the disappointment clouding her eyes when they broke apart. If they were different people, he could’ve buried himself inside her and eased the ache in his groin. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t sleep with her.