She lifted her head from his chest. Even in the darkness her green eyes sparkled. Instinctively, he cupped her face with one hand and tilted her chin up, gazing into her emeralds. The temptation to kiss her was overwhelming, but he knew he couldn’t allow himself such intimacy in the presence of Katie’s brother and the vampire who seemed to carry a torch for her.
“I know,” he said instead. “We’ll find her, Katie, I promise you. You can count on Striker’s intel. If he says that Forrester was seen in the area just recently, then it’s the truth.”
“I just hope we’re not too late.”
He brushed his hand over her hair, caressing the soft strands. “He’s not stupid enough to kill her. She’s his bargaining chip to get to you. She’s safe as long as he doesn’t have you.”
And by God, he’d move heaven and earth to make sure Forrester didn’t get his hands on Katie.
“Luther?”
“Yes?”
“About earlier,” she started, hesitating.
He glanced to the front of the SUV, but Blake was still on the phone and Wesley seemed to be concentrating on driving.
He lowered his face to Katie’s, bringing his mouth close to her ear. “We’ll talk about it later.”
She gave a slow shake of her head. “I just want you to know that I regret nothing.” She took a breath of air. “And that I wish we hadn’t gotten interrupted. I wanted you to—”
He stopped her by putting a finger over her lips. “Don’t. Maybe it was better that they stopped me.”
Because if he’d bitten her, he would have gotten even deeper into this, whatever this was. And he knew he couldn’t get involved. He couldn’t make a commitment. Not even to a woman like Katie. No matter how much he was drawn to her. He would only hurt her in the end, just like he’d hurt Vivian, and just like Vivian had hurt him.
Katie’s hand curled around his wrist. “You don’t mean that.”
He sighed. “Katie, you don’t know me. I’m not the man you think I am.” He motioned toward Blake. “If you’re looking for something, you’d be better off with a guy who’s decent and… well, nice. I’m none of those things.”
“Decent? What does that really mean? We look at people and think they are good and decent, but once we dig under the surface, we see what they’re really like.”
“Katie, I was in prison for twenty years, for a crime I committed, a crime against innocents. I’m not a choirboy.”
“You saved my life today, without even blinking an eye.”
He scoffed. “Yeah, after endangering it. What did you expect me to do? Let you die? I was responsible for you in there. I promised to keep you safe, and I didn’t keep my promise. That alone should tell you to stay away from me.”
“That’s honor, Luther. You acted out of honor, and that makes you good inside. And even now you’re with us, because you know it’s the right thing to do. You’re helping us find Isabelle even though you don’t have to.”
“I needed a ride into the city,” he deflected.
Katie chuckled. “I’m sure Striker would have given you a lift to the next town where you could have rented or bought a car.”
Luther closed his eyes and shook his head. “Can’t I win a single argument with you?”
“You can try,” she hedged, “but I’m very competitive.”
“You could have warned me about that earlier.”
“And spoil the surprise?” She lifted her face and pressed a quick kiss on his lips.
“Don’t do that,” he murmured, motioning toward the front of the SUV. But the brief contact had given him an appetite for more. “Or I’m gonna have to use mind control on you to make you behave.”
“Would you really do that?”
“Don’t test me,” he warned and slid his hand onto her thigh, squeezing it.
Her breath hitched, and he slid his hand higher. Even through her jeans he felt the heat that radiated from her sex, scorching his palm.
“Trust me, you don’t want me to embarrass you in front of your brother.”
“Okay,” she said breathlessly.
“Good girl.”
He withdrew his hand from her sex and took a deep breath. This woman was driving him crazy. He shouldn’t be drawn to her like this, shouldn’t allow himself to be caught up in her net, but he couldn’t help himself. Maybe if he hadn’t abstained from women during his time in prison, sex with Katie wouldn’t have had such a profound impact on him. But he couldn’t forget the few minutes of sheer and utter ecstasy he’d felt in her arms. And he wanted more, though he knew nothing good would come of it. He’d only hurt her, and in turn himself.