Page 34 of Chasing Dreams
“What kind of a relationship you want, here.” He nipped her ear, and a soft sound of pleasure escaped her.
The air cooled her damp fevered lips. She ran her tongue over them. “What do you mean?”
“This is nice.” He held her head still and looked into her eyes. “But I won’t get involved. If you need a commitment, I’m not your man. If you want to share some good times and go your separate way afterward, that’s how it’ll be. But I won’t mislead you.”
She eased back, slightly embarrassed, more than slightly uncertain, and he allowed her the freedom, his hands sliding to her waist. “We kissed,” she said with a shaky laugh. “That’s not a lifetime commitment.”
“Okay. I want it straight between us. No misunderstandings.”
“No misunderstandings,” she agreed, the delicious glow he ignited merely a restless flame she would live with now. She couldn’t afford any complications interfering with her search for Jack. It was easy to see she could fall for Austin in a heartbeat, and he had no intention of reciprocating. She’d be wise to place her growing feelings for him out of the way and concentrate on the matter at hand.
After this, however, that would be no easy task.
She’d never before known the sense of rightness or the tender feelings she’d experienced in his arms. He made her feel alive and beautiful, he made her want to give, but need to take, all at once. And Shaine knew, just as she knew many things without positive proof, that this newly discovered longing wouldn’t be easy to forget or ignore.
Self-consciously, she pulled away from his easy embrace and faced the mountainside, folding her arms and holding her elbows. “Well, what next?” she asked finally. “How are you going to teach me?”
He tossed the last of his cold coffee over the porch rail and stood. “For the next few days we’ll go over these things we’ve talked about. How to use your experience with the Deets boy and the others as a guideline to direct your perception. I’ll ask you too many questions and make you crazy, forcing you to remember all the little details.”
“Whatever it takes,” she said, turning back to him.
“In a few days I’ll be getting mail in Gunnison. We’ll have to go down for it.”
“Okay. A job?”
“No.”
“May I ask what?”
“A package from a friend of mine.”
He still hadn’t told her anything, but she waited. If he wanted to, he would.
“He’s with the FBI.”
Shaine searched his rugged features, her interest piqued.
“I asked for files so you’d have something to practice on.”
Her heart leapt into her chest. “What kind of files?”
“Missing persons.”
“And he’s just sending you this stuff? Aren’t they confidential?”
“Families and detectives only seek my kind of help as a last resort, so by the time this stuff gets to my friend, it’s a desperate measure.” He ran a hand over his face. “This was what I did for years and years, Shaine. I’ve worked with the FBI on hundreds of cases. They’re eager to have a fresh lead or a new clue.”
She stared at him nervously. “What will we do with these files?”
He contemplated her once again. “Sit down a minute.”
“Why?”
“Just sit down. Am I the teacher? Sit down.”
She backed onto the chair and he crouched in front of her. Daisy joined them then, laying her snout on Shaine’s knee. Shaine petted her distractedly.
“I think you have the same ability I do,” he said gently. “We’re going to test it.”
