Page 23 of Dark Terror
There had to be something different about her that he wasn’t computing. He picked up his phone and called his dad.
“What was the first thing about Mom that attracted you to her?” he said in greeting.
“Hello to you, too, Son.”
“Sorry. Hi, Dad.”
“This is the most interesting question you’ve asked since you were seven and wanted to know if you were a virgin.”
“I did not.”
“Yeah, you did. Wanted to know what a virgin was and if you were one. You spent way too much time with your cousin.”
Gabe laughed. “That sounds like something I would have heard from Doni. She told me all kinds of good stuff.”
“I don’t even want to know. So, your mother. It was her scent.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep. She smelled like cinnamon and apples. I thought for sure she was a foodie. Turned out it was her shampoo and she could take or leave food. By the time I learned that, though, I was a goner.”
This was why Gabe loved talking to his dad. Louis Calder had a way of making people smile, and Gabe was smiling. “Mom’s scent, huh?” Was that his attraction to Cara? He had a strong urge to go smell her.
“Well, she smelled like food, so what can I say? Why the question, Gabe? What does she smell like?”
“She who?”
“The woman we’re talking about.”
And this was a reason he didn’t always like talking to his dad. His father was entirely too perceptive. The woman he refused to admit they were talking about marched into his office, a determined glint in her eyes and a firm set to her lips.
“Gotta go, Dad.” In the second before he disconnected, he heard his dad chuckle. He set his phone on his desk, then walked to the front of it and perched on the edge. “Need something, Cara?”
She stopped a few feet from him, and he inhaled a deep breath, trying to catch her scent. He caught something that made him think of a field of spring wildflowers, with a hint of something erotic. And whatever that something was, it put naughty visions in his head… images of him tasting her from her mouth to her toes.
“Are you smelling me?”
“Pardon?” Damn it, he could feel the heat in his cheeks and knew he was blushing.
“You so are.” Grinning, she stepped up to his knees. “Here, I’ll make it easy for you.” She leaned her head and neck toward him. “Have at it.”
He laughed. How could he not? This woman was delightful. His first impression had been that she was shy, but he was learning that she didn’t have a shy bone in her body. Another thing he liked about her, and the likes were adding up.
Unable to resist, he sniffed her hair. “Nice.” And wasn’t that an understatement?
“It’s the shampoo. Lavender and ylang ylang.”
“Whatever that last thing is.”
“Look it up.” A sly smile curved her lips. “You’ll find that the two words used to describe ylang ylang are aphrodisiac and erotic.”
God help him. “Um, did you need something?”
“I’m here to help.”
“To help?” he stupidly said. She still wore the shorts she’d had on when he’d arrived at her house and she’d launched herself into his arms. His gaze slid down to the legs that went on forever. Was that it? Her legs? He’d always liked legs, and hers were amazing, for sure. He doubted he’d ever get tired of looking at them, but that wasn’t it. Too bad. Legs he could get over, even ones as sexy as hers.
“Find the killer.”
