Lorie O - Strong, Sleek and Sinful

Yet something else he’d have to wait until tomorrow to accomplish.

Hyped up and frustrated, Perry dropped his file on his desk and headed back out his door. He didn’t make a habit of using sex to release adrenaline, but he wanted to see Kylie again. Somehow he needed to convince her to quit trying to play private detective. Kylie wasn’t a teenager, but she was young. He wouldn’t have her sniffing around crime scenes any longer out of mere curiosity.

Taking the exit to Kylie’s house, Perry slowed at the first intersection as another car went through it, heading westbound. He scowled at the green hybrid, squinting in the dark at the license plate. “Where are you going at this hour, sweetheart?” he whispered, turning to follow Kylie.

He kept his distance, trailing her as she stayed off the interstate and took one of the main streets into a commercial district.

“Late-night munchies?” he mused, glancing at the clock on his dash. It was barely ten, definitely not too late to order delivery. Did she intentionally not want to be home if he stopped by again?

He contemplated the possibility that she might intentionally avoid him. There were several reasons that came to mind why she might, but one he couldn’t get his head to wrap around was lack of interest. Kylie was on fire when she returned his kiss earlier. In fact, if he’d pressed matters when he’d been there earlier, he probably could have fucked her.

Maybe he wasn’t a pro with women, but he knew interest when he saw it, and felt it. Yet here she was, several cars in front of him, out on the town when she knew he was coming back over. Was she heading out to interview another teenager? It was a school night, and rather late. But possibly someone had given Kylie consent to do an interview and she needed to jump on the opportunity to do so.

He slowed when she switched lanes and signaled right before she turned into one of the shopping malls. Several cars were between them and he searched for her car when he pulled in a minute later.

The only store still open here was the donut shop and of course the bowling alley. Kylie had pulled into a stall on the far side of the parking lot, away from the floodlights that lit up the parking lot, and turned off her headlights.

“A rather odd place to meet someone for an interview,” he said out loud, and scowled in the darkness when he slowed, not wanting her to spot him.

Perry pulled into a stall in the middle of the parking lot and turned off his car. Then getting out, he walked slowly past the few parked cars. At this hour, on a Monday night, business was slow and the few cars in the lot were parked in front of the donut shop or the bowling alley.

“Why aren’t you getting out of your car?” he asked, frowning when she remained shielded by the darkness in the far corner of the parking lot.

A black Suburban came at him with its brights on and Perry squinted, looking down but quickly returning his attention to Kylie as soon as the car passed. When Kylie still didn’t get out of her car, he crossed over to the bowling alley, deciding he would make it look as though he were entering through the main doors to see if she’d spotted him and that kept her from getting out.

At the doors, he pulled one of them open, immediately hit with the noise from inside, but then turned, standing just inside, and watched the Suburban circle the lot and slow, not parking but not leaving the lot, either.

Perry stepped back outside. Kylie continued sitting in her car. From this distance he couldn’t tell whether her car was running or not. She’d engulfed herself in the darkest part of the lot.

The whole thing didn’t sit well with him. He watched the Suburban start to accelerate, heading toward Kylie’s car. Was she meeting someone here?

Something tightened inside his gut. Maybe he didn’t know her really well, but his protector’s instincts kicked in big-time. Kylie didn’t strike him as a stupid woman. But if she was sitting over there in the dark, waiting to meet someone in a public parking lot, it might be smart to make his presence known.

Not to mention, she didn’t tell him no thanks when he said he’d be back over. Whatever she was doing, he bet she didn’t have it planned when he was over there earlier. An impromptu meeting in a dark parking lot meant something was up.

Kylie wasn’t stupid enough to meet someone off the Internet, was she? She was a single, gorgeous, intelligent woman. Perry knew there were people who met and formed relationships from the Internet. It wasn’t as if he’d tried starting anything with her. But that kiss they’d shared earlier clearly showed mutual interest. If Kylie was the kind of woman who would come on to one man and then prance off with another, Perry would find out right now.

Perry glanced across the parking lot. Kylie’s car hadn’t moved. In the darkness, he couldn’t tell from this angle whether she was still in her car or not. That damn Suburban pulled around the parking lot, circling it like some fucking bird of prey. It turned at the end of the row of stalls, flashing its brights on Kylie’s car. She still sat in the driver’s seat.

The Suburban stopped, its lights remaining on Kylie until she raised her hand over her eyes. Perry took advantage of her being blinded and walked along the sidewalk that ran the length of the bowling alley. The floodlight above him hummed loudly and another car came along the back side of the bowling alley.

“Do I know you?” Perry met gazes with the driver in a small Honda, who slowed as he hesitated, trying to decide whether to turn into the parking lot or head straight.

The driver looked away from Perry first and put a cell phone to his ear. Perry returned his attention to Kylie, who now looked down at her lap. Her soft blonde hair fluttered around her face, and he guessed she continued avoiding the bright lights, which remained trained on her.

He stopped at the end of the parking lot and the Honda turned into the lot, driving past him toward the front of the bowling alley. Perry focused his attention on the Suburban driver. The man behind the wheel appeared to be watching Kylie, who for whatever reason sat like a sitting duck in her car.

Whatever the scenario playing out in front of him was, Perry didn’t like it. Worse yet, standing and watching, unsure what he witnessed, bugged the crap out of him. The driver of the Suburban was being more than rude simply sitting there blinding Kylie. Perry wished he had a flashlight so he could return the treatment. Studying the man for a moment, Perry noted the strong profile of a Caucasian man, his relaxed expression proof of the narrow-minded attitude of someone who thought nothing of anyone other than himself. More than likely some prick waiting for his kid to come out and indifferent to the fact that he blinded Kylie while she was playing sitting duck.

Perry glanced back down the parking lot, noting the parked cars, his own sitting halfway down the lot, and the Honda that had turned the corner moments ago, now pulled into a stall not too far down. That driver cut his lights but also didn’t get out. Perry didn’t have time to focus on everyone’s agenda tonight. He returned his attention to Kylie.

As he stepped off the sidewalk, Kylie opened her car door. At the same time the black Suburban started toward her.

“What?” Perry grunted, scowling at the back of the Suburban when it approached Kylie.

Was she here to meet the man in the Suburban? And if so, did she sit there docilely while he checked her out with his high beams to see if she met his criteria? Like any man would be disappointed with a woman like Kylie.

Perry took in the tag number, XLS519, Johnson County tags. But his attention shifted back to Kylie when she closed her car door and stepped away from her car. The Suburban headed toward her, and Perry picked up his pace. He was about to bust her party wide open.