Fallen For You (Killer Next Door #1) Read online

  “Thanks, Roger,” she said, hoping to end the conversation quickly. “I came home for a quick second to do something and then I’m off again.”

  “Oh, do you have special plans?”

  Damn, he’s nosy. “Yes, I have a lunch date,” she said, hoping she was sending a clear message.

  “I thought you said last night you didn’t have a boyfriend,” he said in a somber tone. Was he fishing for information?

  “Well, we’re getting to know each other. I’ll see you later. I don’t want to be late.” With that, she closed her apartment door, leaving him standing there with a furrowed brow.

  ***

  Kate pulled into the parking lot at Seaport Village with a few minutes to spare. Parking in front of the Harbor House, she checked her makeup and reapplied her lipstick. Why did she feel so nervous? He’s just a man. He’s just a man. But Neil was older, sophisticated, confident, and smoking hot. She didn’t know how long she’d be able to resist him.

  She got out of her car and made her way up the cobblestone pathway to the very elegant Harbor House restaurant. The entire front of the restaurant was floor-to-ceiling windows. The soft music playing in the background had a calming effect, slowing her frantic heartbeat just a tad. She was warmly welcomed by a young, pretty hostess who seemed to be expecting her. As she followed the hostess, she took in the view of the San Diego Bay. Despite the fact that looking at the ocean usually soothed her spirit, her heart was still beating wildly and her mouth was dry.

  Neil had already been seated at a table. As she approached, he stood to greet her. Taking her hand, he sweetly kissed her on the cheek. The touch of his lips sent a tingle down below. How does he do that? She found herself blushing and the hostess let out an exasperated breath.

  “Enjoy your lunch,” the hostess said as she walked away. Obviously, she wasn’t the only woman Neil had an effect on.

  “It’s wonderful to see you. You look beautiful,” he said in a seductive voice. Neil saying she was beautiful brought a smile to her face.

  “Thank you. It’s good to see you too,” she said, feeling a little overwhelmed by his presence. He looked heavenly in his gray pinstriped suit and crisp white shirt. The suit brought out the green in his eyes. She had a quick vision of taking his tie off and unbuttoning his shirt slowly, running her hands over his chest, feeling his muscular physique. Neil’s voice brought her back to the present.

  “I was able to get us a table with a view. But I must say you’re giving the San Diego Bay a run for its money. You look absolutely stunning. This dress is very flattering on you,” he said, kissing the back of her hand while raising one eyebrow. He put her hand on the table and kept his hand over hers. She felt her heart rate accelerate with his fiery touch. “Have you been here before?”

  Ignoring his flattery, she answered, “Yes, Seaport Village is so quaint and it has a bath shop I love. But I haven’t eaten at this restaurant before. What’s good on the menu?”

  “The macadamia halibut and the swordfish are my favorites.”

  “Mm. Both sound delicious,” she said with a shy smile. She knew Neil would be tastier than anything on the menu. She blushed at her own thoughts.

  Neil picked up her hand and kissed each of her knuckles. “Not as delicious as you,” he said, his lascivious stare drenching her core all over again. What am I going to do with these two hot guys? I need to bring spare panties on my dates.

  Kate picked up her glass of cold water and guzzled down about half of it. “Wow, is it warm in here or is it me?” she said, feeling a slight twinge of perspiration.

  “No, I think it’s you, Kate,” he said, looking crisp and cool. She knew by his expression he could tell she was a bundle of nerves and he was enjoying every minute of it.

  “How was class today?”

  “It was good. I ended up making a new friend,” she said with a coy tone. It was time to turn the tables on him and make him sweat a little.

  “That’s great. Who’s your new friend?”

  “His name’s Mark and he wants us to be study partners,” she said, waiting for his reaction.

  “Ah, a male study partner. You know what he wants to study, right?” he asked, taking a sip of his water.

  As if on cue, the waiter walked up to take their order. This was perfect. Neil could stew with this idea for a moment.

  “Good afternoon. Have you two dined with us before?”

  “I have,” Neil said with annoyance in his voice.

  “Very good, sir. Then you’re acquainted with our outstanding menu. Are you ready to order, or do you need a few minutes?”

  Neil looked at Kate and she shook her head. “We need a few more minutes,” he said politely.

  “No problem. Do you know what you’d like to drink?”

  “I’ll have an iced tea,” Kate said, looking up at the waiter.

  “I’ll have the same,” Neil said.

  “Excellent.” The waiter hurried away to get their drinks.

  After the waiter was out of earshot, Neil’s intense gaze turned toward her. “You have someone who wants to be your study partner. What is this Mark guy like? Devastatingly handsome or unfortunately homely?” Neil’s face was stone-cold serious.

  “He leans more toward the devastatingly handsome side. In fact, I’d say he’s almost as handsome as you, Mr. Statton,” she said, looking up coquettishly through her long, dark lashes. She was enjoying seeing him fret a little.

  He unexpectedly grabbed her chair and pulled her close to him. Her mouth fell open a little with his sudden movement. In a low voice, he said, “I have to tell you I’m the jealous type and I go after what I want.”

  “And what is it that you want?” she asked flirtatiously.

  “My mind’s set on you,” he said, kissing her cheek.

  His words startled and intrigued her simultaneously. She didn’t know how to respond to his overture. But it made her want him more than she expected.

  The waiter appeared with their beverages, releasing her from Neil’s blazing eyes. “Are you ready to order?” he asked.

  Kate nodded. “I’ll have the macadamia nut halibut,” she managed to squeak out, even though she hadn’t really perused the menu because Neil was so distracting, but he had recommended it.

  “Very good, miss. And for you, sir?”

  “The swordfish sounds good to me today,” he said.

  She decided to take control of the conversation again. “How’s your day going? Are you working on any interesting cases?”

  Neil smiled a knowing smile. He seemed to see through her deflection tactic. “Every day’s interesting at work. We’re representing a client who’s been charged with embezzlement, but he’s innocent. Another client I’m defending is accused of fraud. It’s never a dull moment. As a corporate attorney, I have all kinds of cases.”

  “Sounds like you sometimes work with interesting characters.”

  “Well, everyone deserves the right to be represented in court,” he said, running his hands through his black hair.

  “So, do you win most of your cases?”

  “I haven’t lost one yet.”

  “To what do you attribute your winning streak?”

  “I’m a tenacious man. I don’t surrender. I’m determined to win at everything I do,” he said, staring deeply into her eyes with a passionate fire that made her lips part. If his plan was to win her over, it was working. She’d already begun to feel connected to him heart, mind, body, and soul.

  The waiter arrived with their food, leaving Neil’s seductive words to linger in the air.

  “Can I get you anything else?” he asked graciously.

  “No, thanks. I think we have everything we need.” Neil dismissed him with a wave of his hand. The waiter turned away, getting Neil’s hint.

  “This looks scrumptious. Thanks for the recommendation,” she said before taking a bite. She was enjoying her titillating conversation with him and was beginning to feel he was better suited for her than Mark. He alr
eady had his career and was established. She found that to be very attractive. Plus, he was the most gorgeous man she’d ever laid eyes upon.

  “So, tell me, counselor, you said you win all of your cases, but have you had any embarrassing moments in the courtroom?” She always liked asking people about embarrassing moments because she had her own funny embarrassing story.

  “I’ve been fortunate to not have had any humiliating moments in the courtroom, but I’ll tell you about my most humiliating moment from high school. It was my senior year and my mom gave me a navy monogrammed sweater for Christmas. Back then, I went by my first name, Peter. I decided to go by Neil when I entered college. Anyway, my initials on the sweater were PNS. I didn’t think anything of it when I put on my sweater and wore it to school the day we came back from Christmas vacation. Also, you need to know I went to an all-boys Catholic high school. So, I’m walking down the hall going to my first class and I hear, ‘Hey, penis. What’s up, dick? Yo, penis head. Hey cocksucker.’ I looked around to see who they were talking to. Then I realized they were talking to me, making fun of my initials. I headed to the bathroom to take my sweater off. I was so grateful I had another shirt underneath.”

  Kate chuckled at the thought of the sweater. “Oh, my God. Too funny! It must have been terrible.”

  “Yeah, for the rest of the year, they called me penis or variations of the word. Needless to say, I never wore my PNS sweater again. When I told my mom, she said the boys were jealous. Jealous of what, I’ll never know. No guy wants initials forming the word penis.”

  “Well, that’s an embarrassing story, but I think I have it beat.”

  “Oh, really? Do tell.”

  “It was my twenty-first birthday and I went out to the Elephant Bar with my boyfriend, my friends, and their boyfriends. There must have been twelve of us. Naturally, I wore my favorite outfit at the time, a white jumpsuit that zipped up the entire front. I didn’t think it would be a problem, until I had to use the restroom. It’d been trashed by everyone who had been partying all night. The floor was sticky and wet. The smell of urine filled the air. It was so disgusting. I didn’t want to chance my sleeves touching the floor and getting wet. I also couldn’t sit on the toilet seat due to its condition. I was so distracted by my disgusting surroundings I didn’t unzip my jumpsuit down all the way, and when I squatted over the toilet, I heard a rip. I had broken the zipper. It was a mortifying experience. So I was basically exposed all the way down to my panties. I didn’t have a jacket with me to cover myself. I had to try to keep my jumpsuit together with my hands. When I left the bathroom, I found my boyfriend immediately and told him to take me home, but for some unknown reason, his car wouldn’t start and we had to wait for a tow truck. It was the most humiliating experience of my life. Of course, I didn’t find it funny at the time. Now it makes me smile to think life’s so full of unpredictable moments,” she said, laughing and shaking her head.

  “I agree, you’ve topped my penis sweater story,” Neil said, resting his head against his hand, a huge smile plastered on his face. The more she talked, the more captivated he seemed by her.

  They finished their meal and Neil took her hand, placed it on his leg, covering it with his. Kate let out a soft moan. Feeling his hard thigh beneath her hand made her think of something else that could be hard. Another part of his body she’d like to explore with her hands. Being so close to him sent her mind to places that caused her cheeks to turn crimson.

  The waiter returned with the dessert menu. “Did you two love birds save room for dessert?” he asked with a big grin. It was to be expected with their close proximity to each other he’d assume they were a couple.

  “Do you want dessert?” Neil asked her.

  “Actually, I’m really full. Do you have time for us to walk around? Maybe we could get an ice cream later.”

  “Yes, I do have time and ice cream sounds perfect.”

  They strolled hand in hand along the bay. The water shimmered as the sunlight hit it. A cool breeze made the palm trees sway. It was a typical sensational San Diego day.

  “I love coming here. It’s such a gorgeous day. Thanks for suggesting Seaport Village for our date,” she said, looking up at Neil.

  “My pleasure. This is the best way to do lunch,” he said, pulling her hand up to his soft lips.

  The touch of his lips on her hand made her want to grab his head and kiss him, but she didn’t want to come across as eager.

  “Are there any stores you want to go into?”

  “I was planning on visiting Sinfulicious before leaving. I’m a bath lover and they have the best bath products.”

  “Well, lead the way. I’ll go with you.”

  “If you need to get back to work, I’ll understand. You don’t need to go with me.”

  “I want to. I want to know what pleases you, your likes and dislikes,” he said with a passionate gaze.

  His statement made her knees wobble. All she could do was stare up at him wantonly. She had no retort for his directness, but let out a deep sigh and stuttered, “The store’s around the corner.”

  They walked in silence to the store. His statement about wanting to please her had created electricity between them. Words were rendered unnecessary. Upon entering, he’d understand why she liked this store. It was a veritable potpourri for the senses.

  “So, how does this work? You pick the scents you like and they mix it up for you?”

  “That’s exactly how it works. I already have my favorite. They have me on file, so I tell them my name and what products I want. They make it up in these bowls,” she said, motioning to the stainless steel bowls behind the counter. She took two jars of bath salts off the shelf and a container of body scrub. She walked up to the sales girl and told her what she wanted. The sales girl pulled her name up in the computer and went to get the oils needed to mix into the products she’d selected.

  “So, what scents do you put together?”

  “I love the combination of jasmine, blackberry, and sage. It’s very soothing.”

  The girl mixing up the salts lifted up a spoonful and asked, “Would you like to smell it? See if it’s right?” They both inhaled the scent.

  Kate let out a soft moan when she smelled the salts.

  “I see what you mean. The combination’s intoxicating.” Neil grabbed two more containers of bath salts off of the shelf. “I’ll have the same thing she’s having,” he said.

  “Do you love to take baths as well?” she asked.

  “Not particularly.”

  “Then why are you buying the bath salts?”

  “They’re for when you come over. I thought you might find my bathtub appealing. It’s big enough for two.”

  “Oh…I see…so you’re expecting me to come to your place and take a bath?” she asked a little breathlessly.

  Neil gripped her around the waist and pulled her into his body. “Being a lawyer, I fully intend to convince you to come to my place,” he whispered into her ear. “Taking a bath would be an added bonus, my beauty.”

  His body pressed against hers, along with his words, was practically her undoing. Words failed her. She wanted to go home with him right then and investigate way more than his bathtub. Her mind surrendered to thoughts of being naked with him in his bed. The image of him licking, sucking, and biting various parts of her body made her let out another soft moan she knew he heard. So much for being coy.

  The sales girl interrupted by asking if they wanted anything else. She looked flush from watching them. Neil took his wallet out of his pants pocket without letting Kate go and gave his credit card to the clerk. She tried to pull away to get her wallet out of her purse, but he wouldn’t let go of her.

  “I’ve got it. It’s on me,” he said against her hair. “Did you want anything else?”

  “Just…a…you…I mean, no. That’s…that’s it.” Her breathing had become ragged. He let go of her as the sales lady handed him their bags.

  He carried their bags out of the s
tore and then glanced at his watch. “Unfortunately, I have to get back to work. I really enjoyed our lunch today.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Where are you parked?”

  “I’m parked right in front of the restaurant.”

  They walked in the direction of her car. After she unlocked the door, he put her bag on the backseat and shut the door. She hadn’t opened her door yet. Part of her wanted to launch herself at him, but the other part wanted to make him wait to kiss her. She decided making him wait a little longer would be good for him.

  “Thank you so much for lunch and the bath salts,” she said, opening her car door and using it as a barrier between them.

  Neil smiled like he knew what she was doing. She could tell by his expression he appreciated the challenge.

  “You’re most welcome, Kate. I’m looking forward to our dinner tomorrow night. We’ll have to make sure we save room for dessert,” he said, raising an eyebrow. Kate had a feeling she wouldn’t need a fork for the kind of dessert he was talking about.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Kate ran errands after her lunch date with Neil. Finally getting home around five o’clock, she climbed the stairs, which made her heart rate quicken after her interaction with Roger last night and earlier that day. Reaching the top of the landing, she decided she was too tired and not in the mood to socialize. Thankfully, Roger wasn’t the one who greeted her. Instead, it was his girlfriend. She was a pretty, petite Asian woman with shoulder-length black hair. Her smile was gracious, warm, and inviting.

  “Hi, I’m Rose,” she said, stretching out her hand. “You must be one of Roger’s new neighbors.”

  “Yes, my best friend, Charlie, and I moved in a couple of weeks ago. I’m Kate. It’s great to meet you. Roger has told me all about you,” she said, a sense of relief flooding her body now that Rose was real. Things were less complicated for her with Roger having a girlfriend. Maybe his strange behavior was overprotectiveness. Maybe he viewed her like a little sister.