Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

there.’
    She burst through the bathroom door, much as Joseph had burst in earlier. She found him sitting in the same position on the bed, a grim expression on his face.
    ‘Joseph, he knew. The gas man knew.’
    Joseph’s gaze shot over to meet hers. ‘What?’
    ‘The gas man knew where Beckett’s cabin was. What if we could find him? Track him down? We could find the cabin. Find Beckett. Save Heather?’ She ended the last on a note of question because he’d come to his feet, his gaze burningly intense.
    She looked down at herself and felt her heart sink. Naked. She was stark naked. Everywhere. Reflex had her folding her arms over her breasts, but he was crossing the room, purpose in every step. Carefully he closed his hands over her wrists, tugging until she let go of the iron hold she had on herself.
    He held her arms out, his eyes fixed on her body, a flush rising up his unshaven cheeks. His chest rose and fell with rapid breaths as he looked his fill.
    Finally he glanced up. Met her eyes and she saw . . . greed. Reverence. Want.
    ‘Promise me,’ he rasped. Cleared his throat and started again. ‘Promise me that you won’t hide from me anymore. Because I like what I see. Very, very much.’ His voice had dipped low, like a caress, and she shivered. ‘Promise me.’
    She swallowed, unable to look away from his face. Unembarrassed now, despite the fact that he was fully clothed while she wore not a stitch. ‘All right.’
    He stepped closer, pressing his lips to the side of her neck while guiding one of her hands to his trousers. He was fully erect and very ready. ‘Do you have any doubt that I’m telling you the truth?’ He undulated against her hand, and she shivered again.
    ‘No. I think you’ve proved your case very well.’
    He kissed his way from her neck to her shoulder. ‘If I didn’t have a meeting in five minutes, I’d have you up against the wall, your legs wrapped around my waist and I’d be inside you, making you moan.’
    She moaned anyway, making him smile as he pulled away, leaving her trembling. ‘You’re beautiful, Daphne.’
    ‘So are you.’
    There was a knock on the door of his room and he cursed softly. ‘Damn early birds.’ He kissed the tip of her nose and took a giant step back. ‘Come next door when you’re ready.’
    The knock was repeated, harder this time, and Joseph shook his head hard.
    ‘Damn. How am I going to concentrate?’ He leaned toward the open adjoining door. ‘I’m coming. Keep your pants on.’ He winked at her. ‘That goes double for you until later.’ Adjusting himself, he walked stiffly, muttering under his breath.
    Daphne blinked, disoriented. Then she remembered why she’d burst out of the bathroom stark naked. ‘Joseph, wait.’
    He looked over his shoulder, brows furrowed. ‘Don’t tease me, please.’
    ‘I’m not. Joseph, listen. The gas man knew where Beckett’s cabin was. He went there every quarter to fill the tank. What if we could find him?’
    He blinked. ‘Could we, after all this time?’
    ‘I don’t know, but it’s better than what we’ve got so far.’
    He nodded once. ‘Get dressed and meet me on my side. We’ll figure it out.’
    When the door closed behind him, Daphne exhaled slowly. Whoa . Her body felt tight, needy. Greedy. But she had priorities. Find the cabin. Find Heather. Find and punish Beckett and Doug, whoever the hell he is .
    And then . . . A delicious shiver ran down her back, making her skin tingle. She went back into the bathroom and studied her reflection. Her eyes were bright, her cheeks rosy. All shadows from the nightmare were gone.
    ‘I think you just found a cure for panic attacks, sugar,’ she murmured to herself, smiling at the notion.
    Now she was late, though, and needed to hurry with her makeup and clothes. Rather than pick through the makeup bag Maggie had included when she’d packed her overnight suitcase, Daphne dumped its contents on the bathroom countertop, creating a small mountain of lipstics, eyeliners, and compacts of blush.
    Then she froze, staring. An antique silver compact sat on top of the pile. The compact had been at the bottom of her makeup drawer in her bathroom at the farm. In Maggie’s haste to get her packed and on the road to Ford, she’d scooped the contents of the entire drawer into the bag.
    Daphne had almost forgotten she’d left the compact there. She always almost forgot – until she needed it again. Or more accurately, until she needed