The Sheik's Beautiful Intruder (The Friendship Series) (19 page)

And then her eyes traveled lower, her gaze skimming along his flat stomach and lean hips…and even lower she noticed that his thigh muscles actually showed through the jeans he was wearing. 

“Oh my,” she whispered.

Debbie bumped into her and looked up as she steamed some coffee. “Are you okay, Hannah?” she asked. 

Hannah blinked.  Then blinked again, willing her eyes to move away from the Adonis that was walking towards her. 

She desperately wanted a few minutes to get her mind back under her own control, but the giant man with the great arms was suddenly standing in front of her, leaning against the counter and those muscles were even closer!  She felt her mouth go dry and, darn it, she actually reached up to make sure her tongue wasn’t hanging out of her mouth. 

All of that was before he spoke!  “I need to speak to the manager,” his deep, sexy voice said, his crystal blue eyes staring right into her own boring brown ones. 

He was tall!  Goodness was he tall!  And gorgeous!  His sandy blond hair was cut short and he had just the barest hint of darker stubble on a jaw that looked like it was carved out of granite.  His nose had obviously been broken, more than once she suspected, because of the slightest bump on the bridge of his nose.  But that didn’t detract from his appeal.  Nope, not one little bit.  In fact, that bump had her stomach turning flip flops even as she wiped her hands down her apron. 

“Um…I’m Hannah.”  She stammered out a few more ridiculous and uninformative responses before she closed her eyes and shook her head.  “I’m sorry.  I’m the owner,” she explained and took a deep breath.  Opening her eyes again, she forced herself to be professional.  Police officers came in here all the time.  This one might be bigger.  And hotter.  And more muscular.  Okay, so he was buff in ways that was boggling her mind.  But that was no excuse to act like a bumbling idiot. 

And then the man smiled.  Every muscle in her body just changed over to mush with that smile, and Hannah gripped the edge of the counter, not wanting to fall down and make an even bigger fool of herself. 

“Hello, Hannah the Owner.  I’m Detective Sam Jeffers.  Can I have a few words with you?” he asked. 

Darn it, he was polite too!  Couldn’t he be rude and obnoxious? 

“What’s going on?” she asked, wiping her hands once more down the front of her apron.  She didn’t think there was anything on her hands any longer, other than her ridiculously sweaty palms because she was acting like a high school geek confronted by her long time crush. 

Mr. Extra-Tall Police Officer shifted his head slightly, indicating they should move towards the back of the store.  “It’s better if we talk in private.  Is there some place we can go where we won’t disturb your customers?”

Hannah thought about her tiny office in the back, then discarded that idea.  This man’s shoulders were wider than her whole office.  She was already acting like a fool out here where there was more room.  There was no way she’d be able to think properly if she were in a closed, confined space with this man. 

“Um…we can go out back,” she suggested and started moving in that direction. 

As soon as she was around the counter, he stopped her with a touch to her arm.  “What about an office?” he suggested.

Hannah looked down at the man’s hands and stupidly noticed that he had the sexiest hands.  His fingers were long and his nails clean.  Not manicured, but masculine with that light sprinkling of dark blond hair on the top. 

She closed her eyes, then forced them to pop right back open because the image in her head, of his broad, muscular chest with the same sprinkling of dark blond hair, popped into her mind.  “Um…Yes.  The storeroom,” she finally offered.

She turned her back when that blond eyebrow went up over one of those all-seeing blue eyes and she fisted her hands at her sides, wondering why she was reacting so intensely from just the man’s presence.  Hadn’t her experience with Horrible Henry gotten her over men?  For life?! 

She shook her head again and carefully put one foot in front of the other, hoping she wouldn’t fall on her face.

Sam watched the cute brunette walk towards the back of the coffee shop, his eyes immediately noting her perfectly round, adorable butt in the loose jeans.  She needed tighter jeans, he thought as his eyes scanned the rest of her.  Tiny waist, long legs but she was short.  Too short, he told himself.  He was six feet, three inches tall and preferred women that could at least reach his shoulder.  He hated stooping when he wanted to kiss a woman.  But he might make an exception for this one.  A butt that perfect deserved to be exception worthy. 

He noticed that they skipped by a tiny office with the oddest desk inside, then the woman pushed open a door marked “Employees Only”.  Inside the smell of coffee was even stronger. 

“What can I do for you officer?” she asked as she turned around in the small space.  Crossing her arms over her chest, she looked up at him, noticing how nice his lips were.  Funny, she’d never thought about a man’s lips before.  But this guy had nice ones.  Thin, strong.  Compressed in what she guessed was irritation because she was probably acting rude. 

“Do you know the…” Sam hesitated, trying to think of a kind term for the homeless in their area, “local residents without a permanent residence?” he finally finished, coming up with the most politically correct term for the homeless population he could think of. 

He was trying to be nice, to be good, but his mind was already moving away from the most pertinent issue, the investigation he was overseeing, and wondering how long her hair was.  It looked to be thick and curly, with a touch of red in the brown tresses.  But he didn’t know if it was shoulder length or longer because it was all scrunched up on top of her head in some sort of messy bun.  His fingers actually ached to pull that elastic band out of her hair and discover the texture.  Mentally chiding himself, he firmly told himself that he preferred blonds to brunettes. 

“Do you mean the homeless people around here?” she clarified, her pretty brown eyes confused.

Sam was lost in those brown eyes so it took him a long moment before he remembered to nod his head to confirm. 

“Um…yes, I’m very aware of them.  They’re mostly men but they aren’t a problem.  They’re all very kind, very considerate.  Why?  Did one of them say something?”

Sam sighed, not sure how to tell her about the man in her back alley.  He was reminded of his sisters and mothers, how they took even the smallest problem and made it into a huge drama.  He didn’t want to hurt her, but he couldn’t lie either.  She was bound to hear about the man at some point.  Better she hear about it from him so he could help her through any concerns she had. 

“I’m sorry to tell you, but one of the men, we don’t know the name yet, died of a drug overdose in your alley.”  He waited, his body tense for the burst of horror and tears that were sure to quickly follow.  He started to become uncomfortable when the lady simply stared back at him with those soft, confused, brown eyes. 

Hanna couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  First of all…dead?  Nope.  That simply didn’t happen in her life.  Horrible, lying, obnoxious ex-husband?  Yeah, checked that box and moved on.  But dead? 

“How do you know he’s dead?” she asked, then instantly realized what a stupid question that was.  “Okay, forget I asked that.”  She lowered her head, sifting through the thousands of questions that were going through her mind.  Looking back up at him, she asked, “How did he die?  A drug overdose?  I don’t know of any homeless people in this area who do drugs.  Although some appear a bit muddled.”

Sam’s eyebrow had gone up with the original question and stayed there during her next.  “Trust me, it was a drug overdose.”

She shook her head.  “I’ve never seen any of them using anything.  They might not be the sharpest knives in the drawer, but they are just mixed up in the head, confused, you know?  They don’t do drugs.”

Sam tried to keep the amusement out of his features at her naiveté.  She might be cute and sexy as hell, but she wasn’t really aware of what happens on the street at night.  “There was a needle sticking out of his arm.  We’re assuming heroine, but the lab will test it.”

Hannah bit her lower lip, unaware of the tension in her shoulders.  “That just doesn’t make sense,” she thought. “Can I see him?”

That eyebrow went up again.  “You want to see the dead person?”

She cringed visibly.  “Well, no.  I don’t
want
to see him.  But I can probably help identify him.  I know most of the guys around here.”  She waited a moment but when the cynicism was still there, she huffed a bit impatiently.  “Look, I talk to them.  I give them coffee each morning.  They’re very sweet gentleman and one lady.  I’m sure some of the homeless do drugs, but that’s not a fair assumption of all of them.  I know most people just overlook the people on the streets, but the ones that hang out in this area aren’t rude or drug addicts.  They’re just kind, mixed up people who need mental health assistance but either can’t or won’t get it.”  When he still looked at her strangely, she started to get mad.  “Look bucko!  You might be big and gorgeous, and yes, I’m sure that there are homeless people out there who resort to drugs to get through the day, but not the ones that come by my store!”  And she poked him in the middle of his chest, hurting her finger because there wasn’t any give on that area.  It was rock, solid muscle. 

She stopped and froze, looking up at him as if she couldn’t believe what she’d just said.  But the smile of victory on his handsome face told her she really had just said what she’d thought she’d said.  “Forget I mentioned that first part.  Just take me to see the body.  If he’s from around here, I can probably help you identify him and tell you what I know,” she said with her cheeks turning red from embarrassment.  She stepped back as far as the boxes would allow, feeling silly and childish. 

Sam liked her, he thought as he stared down at her for a shocked moment.  He really liked her!  The spunk and fire she’d shown was a massive turn on and he wanted nothing more than to push her back against those boxes and kiss her, to see if the pink lips – that she was currently mauling with her teeth – were as soft and tender as they looked.

“We’ll identify the body,” he said, much more gently this time.  “But thank you for the offer to help.”  He didn’t want to take her out to the back of her alley, not wanting her to break down when she saw her first dead person.  He preferred seeing her like this, all warm and soft and sexy.  If he took her out back, she’d be screaming and crying, horrified and he’d have to stay with her at night because she wouldn’t be able to sleep. 

Actually, that wasn’t such a bad idea.  He liked the thought of spending the night, especially when she threw herself into his arms after having a bad nightmare. 

“I can do it faster,” she countered.  When he continued to look down at her as if he weren’t going to budge for the next century, she raised her hands, palms up as she implored him to let her help.  “Look, I can also tell you things about him that you might not know.  Things that could be important.” 

Despite the idea of holding her in his arms after her nightmare, Sam still didn’t think it was a good idea.  Civilians really didn’t know how to handle the sight of a dead person.  But she was right.  If she knew the guy, the faster they could identify him, the faster they could wrap this up.  And the faster he could take her out to dinner. 

“Okay.  Let’s go,” he said, against his better judgment. 

For more, watch for news about Intimate Desires on
www.ElizabethLennox.com
!  Expected release in May 2014!

List of Elizabeth Lennox Books

The Texas Tycoon’s Temptation

The Royal Cordova Trilogy

Escaping a Royal Wedding

The Man’s Outrageous Demands

Mistress To The Prince

The Attracelli Family Series

Never Dare A Tycoon

Falling For The Boss

Risky Negotiations

Proposal To Love

Love's Not Terrifying

Romantic Acquisition

The Billionaire's Terms: Prison Or Passion

The Sheik's Love Child

The Sheik's Unfinished Business

The Greek Tycoon's Lover

The Sheik's Sensuous Trap

The Greek's Baby Bargain

The Italian's Bedroom Deal

The Billionaire's Gamble

The Tycoon's Seduction Plan

The Sheik's Rebellious Mistress

The Sheik's Missing Bride

Blackmailed By The Billionaire

The Billionaire's Runaway Bride

The Billionaire's Elusive Lover

The Intimate, Intricate Rescue

The Sisterhood Trilogy

The Sheik's Virgin Lover

The Billionaire's Impulsive Lover

The Russian's Tender Lover

The Billionaire's Gentle Rescue

The Tycoon's Toddler Surprise

The Tycoon's Tender Triumph

Friends Forever Series

The Sheik's Mysterious Mistress

The Duke's Willful Wife

The Tycoon's Marriage Exchange

The Sheik's Secret Twins

The Russian's Furious Fiancée

The Tycoon's Misunderstood Bride

Love By Accident Series

The Sheik's Pregnant Lover

The Sheik's Furious Bride

The Duke's Runaway Princess

The Russian's Pregnant Mistress

The Lovers Exchange Series

The Earl's Outrageous Lover

The Tycoon's Resistant Lover

The Sheik's Reluctant Lover

The Spanish Tycoon's Temptress

The Berutelli Escape

Resisting The Tycoon's Seduction

The Billionaire’s Secretive Enchantress

The Billionaire’s Pregnant Lover

The Sheik’s Rediscovered Lover

The Tycoon’s Defiant Southern Belle