Harlequin Romantic Suspense April 2021 Karen Whiddon (best fiction books to read TXT) 📖

Trace moved in even closer and lowered his head. His lips brushed over hers in a soothing manner, and Connie immediately felt more at ease. The kiss was like a whisper over her mouth, but just as powerful, as if he’d slipped her some tongue.

“How do you feel now?” he crooned, still standing close enough for them to kiss again.

A smile spread across Connie’s face. “Better. Much better.”

“Good. Now let’s figure out what’s going on with the lights.”

“Do you think they found me?” Connie asked, but wasn’t sure she was ready for the answer.

“If they had, they probably would’ve revealed themselves by now. Give me your hand.” She grabbed hold tight enough to cause pain, but all he said was “Let’s look outside.”

With the light from his phone guiding their path, Trace carefully pulled her back to the living room and over to the window. The blinds were closed and he lifted one of the slats slightly and peeked out.

“Do you see anyone?” she asked.

“Damn, looks like there’s a power outage in the neighborhood. It’s darker than a cypress swamp out there.”

“You didn’t just allude to James Weldon Johnson, did you?” Connie asked in awe, stunned that he was familiar with “The Creation.”

Trace chuckled. “Not exactly, but why do you sound surprised? I do read, you know. And I happen to be a fan of Johnson’s work.”

The tension inside Connie started to ease. “Duly noted. Seems I learn something new about you every day.”

“Funny, I thought the same thing about you earlier.” Trace held on to her hand as they moved away from the window. “I’m looking forward to learning even more, but right now, we should probably light the candles that are on your mantel.”

“Good idea. I have more around the house, but that’ll be a good start. Can you shine your phone back into the kitchen so that I can get the lighter?”

For the next few minutes, Connie lit the candles in the living room, then went to the guest bathroom and lit the one on the vanity. She had two flashlights in the laundry room and brought them to the living room.

Once she was done setting out additional candles, Connie sat on the sofa next to Trace. Her main goal was to add more illumination to the space, but now, as she glanced around, the area appeared more romantic than intended.

“This is cool. All we need now is some music.” Within seconds, soft jazz flowed from his cell phone. “I would suggest I open a couple of windows, but it’s probably hotter outside than it is in here.”

“Crap, I forgot about the air conditioner. This would be a great time to have a generator.”

“Yeah, it would. I looked up the power company online, and according to their website, they know about the outage. A transformer blew in the area and they’re working on it, but the site doesn’t say how long it’ll take to fix.”

“I hope not long. I don’t want the stuff in my refrigerator or freezer to go bad. Nor do I want us to sweat to death.”

Trace slouched down on the sofa, then reached for her hand. “In the meantime, we might as well take advantage of this time.”

“Trace.” Connie pulled out of his hold and jabbed him in the ribs, which felt like hitting a brick wall. “If you’re talking about what I think you’re talking about, I’m not sleeping with you.”

“Dang, woman. Violent much?” He rubbed his side while his lips twitched, as he seemed to be trying to keep from laughing. “And get your head out of the gutter. I meant we could spend this time getting to know each other better, and I’m not talking sexually.”

Connie laughed. “Oh. What did you have in mind, then?”

CHAPTER 5

“When I suggested we play Twenty Questions, I didn’t mean that you’d be the only one to ask them,” Trace said on a laugh. “The object of the game is for you to ask me a question, then I ask you one. You’ve asked at least five back-to-back in the last ten minutes without giving me a chance to ask any.”

“Oh. Well, you need to jump in.” Connie shifted on the sofa, pulling her legs beneath her. “Each time you answered one of mine, you made me think of another one.”

Trace couldn’t have planned his visit better if he’d tried. Stopping by Connie’s place without calling ahead had been risky. Now he was glad he had taken the chance. He couldn’t remember when he’d last had such a nice evening. Working several assignments in a row for almost a month had limited his and Connie’s interactions, but tonight felt like they were making up for lost time.

More than anything, though, she seemed to be handling the day’s events better than he’d expected. Worrying about her being alone had driven him to come up with the plan of making cookies and dropping them off. Especially since he loved feeding her sweet tooth. Aside from the little freak-out moment she’d had when the power went out, she’d acted pretty normal and was handling herself well.

Do you think they found me?

Her question had taken him by surprise, but it let him know that the bank robbery wasn’t far from her mind. Though it was a reasonable question, it hadn’t been his first thought. Trace wasn’t sure how long it would take for the electricity to be restored, but he’d stick around for as long as she needed him.

As he watched her now, the flicker of flames from the candles bathed her copper skin in a combination of light and shadows. Connie was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever met, and the fact that she didn’t appear to know it made her that much more desirable.

He played with a long strand of her hair that framed her face and twirled it around his finger. He just wanted to touch her. When he’d kissed her earlier, he thought she would’ve reprimanded him. Instead, the feathery peck he