Chapter Ten
It had been a long week. Another fruitless, frustrating week of no clues and no leads in the two cases that haunted Daniel.
At the end of each day he dragged himself home and missed Angelique. The more he missed her, the more he realized the depths of his love for her. He loved her more than he’d ever loved anyone and the desire to build a life with her ached deep inside him.
But that wasn’t what she needed from him. She’d made it clear on numerous occasions that she had no desire for a romantic relationship. That’s what her lips said, but her touch told him something else, as did the glowing depths of her eyes when she gazed at him.
He believed she was in love with him, but Jason Webber had done such a number on her head…he had wounded her so badly, she refused to ever trust in love again. Could he get her to trust in him? Was it even possible that he could change her mind about love?
That was the question that burned bright inside him as he drove to her place on Saturday night. He couldn’t wait to see her again, to spend time in her company. The week of not seeing her had been agony.
Each day he and his team beat the streets in an effort to bring her the answer as to who had killed her mother and who was after her. Each failure to do so ripped at his heart and very soul. And tonight, as usual, he was coming to her empty-handed.
It had been a little over a month since Mystique’s murder. A month and they were no closer to solving the crime than they had been on the night she’d been found dead.
The most frustrating thing was they had two good suspects in Pierre and Charles, but there was no way to prove who was guilty and certainly not enough evidence to bring an indictment against either one of them.
It was another hot and sultry night as he got out of his car at the swamp’s entrance. He walked quickly down the narrow trails that would take him to her shanty.
He felt like a schoolboy getting ready to have a date with the most popular girl in the school. At the same time, he felt like a man getting ready to claim the woman he loved.
Of course, he didn’t intend to do that. The last thing he needed to do was tell her how very much he loved her. She wouldn’t want to hear such a thing from him. It was just so difficult for him to keep his love for her locked inside him.
Finally, he reached her place and knocked on the door. “Angelique, it’s me,” he called out.
She opened the door and smiled at him warmly. “Good evening, Chief LeCroix,” she said as she opened the door wide enough for him to enter.
“And good evening to you, Miss Santori,” he replied. She gestured toward the sofa, where he sat.
“Can I get you something to drink?” she asked. She looked absolutely gorgeous in a pair of jeans and a dark purple sleeveless blouse.
“No, I’m good,” he replied. He could smell the evocative scent that was specifically hers alone, the one that stirred him on so many levels.
She sank down next to him on the sofa. Her honey-hued eyes were warm as she gazed at him. “Daniel, I have to confess, I’ve really missed seeing you this week.”
“And I really missed seeing you,” he replied. “My evenings were quite lonely without you in them.”
“Mine, too.” She held his gaze for a long moment. Oh, it would be so easy for him to fall into the honey-depths of her eyes. His love for her simmered hot inside him, begging to be released.
He broke the eye contact and looked at a place just over her shoulder as he worked to get and keep his emotions under control. “Unfortunately, I come with no information for you again tonight.” He released a heavy sigh and looked at her once again.
“You can only do what you can do,” she replied.
“I know you and your sisters are disappointed by the lack of progress.”
“I am…we are,” she admitted. “But I also know it’s a complicated case and you can’t pull a rabbit out of a hat.”
“Although Pierre and Charles are on my radar, it’s possible another suspect might pop up,” he said. “I know there are people who saw your mother under the cover of darkness that we haven’t spoken to yet. But it’s tough to identify them.”
“I wish we would have found my mother’s book. That would have made identifying everyone so much easier,” she replied.
“It definitely would have been helpful,” he agreed.
“I know how hard you’re working on all this, Daniel.” Once again, her gaze held his, and the intensity there half stole his breath away.
She leaned toward him and her lips parted as if in an invitation for a kiss. He wanted to kiss her. He so wanted to take her lips with his, but he didn’t.
There was something in her gaze that told him a kiss would only be the beginning and it would lead to other things.
As much as he’d love to make love to her again, he wouldn’t.
With his deep feelings for her burning so bright, so hot inside him, he couldn’t do the casual thing with her anymore.
He refused to be just one of the men she took to bed on a whim.
Instead, he leaned back from her. “The plan is that we’ll keep digging and hopefully we’ll get the murderer behind bars. On another note, have you thought of anyone who might have a beef with you?”
“No, and believe me I’ve been thinking about it almost all the time,” she replied.
“Now, on a lighter note, I saw your new storefront. The sign is amazing, and it’s already causing quite a bit of a buzz in town,” he said.
She smiled, her pleasure obvious in her sparkling eyes. “Thanks. A buzz is a good thing, and things are moving right along. The interior has been painted and the shelving is all in place. I’ve been ordering some items for inventory and I’m starting to think about a grand opening.”
“Your mother would be so proud of you. I’m so proud of you,” he said. “I know how hard you’ve worked to make all this happen.”
“Thanks, that means a lot.”
“How soon before this grand opening of yours?” he asked.
“I’m thinking in a month or so. By then I should have everything in place for a successful opening.”
“That’s awesome, Angelique. We should plan a celebration on the night of the opening.”
She reached out and took his hand in hers. “We could have a little celebration tonight.” Her gaze was hot and the kind of celebration she had in mind was unmistakable.
He gazed at her for a long moment. “Angelique, I can’t make love to you anymore,” he finally said softly.
She tilted her head and looked at him in obvious curiosity. “Why not? Daniel, what’s going on? I know you want me. I see it in your eyes, and I want you.”
He drew in a deep breath. “Angelique, I can’t be your casual roll in the hay. I can’t be your casual anything. I… I can’t because I’m deeply, madly in love with you.” The words exploded out of him without his volition.
She stared at him, a look of horror on her features. “No, Daniel, you’re mistaken,” she finally said. “Take it back.”
“I can’t take it back,” he replied. “Angelique, I’m completely in love with you, and I think if you look deep in your heart, you’ll realize you’re in love with me, too.”
“I’m not. Don’t say that. You know I don’t do love.” She jumped up off the sofa and glared at him. “I warned you. I told you in a million different ways that I don’t want love or a relationship in my life.”
He got up from the sofa as well, his heart beating an uneven rhythm as he faced her. “Are you forever going to allow fear to dictate your life? Are you always going to allow Jason Webber to keep you a prisoner?”
Her cheeks flushed with color. “Men lie and they cheat.”
“No. Jason lied and cheated, but he isn’t all men.
” He reached out and placed his palms on either side of her beautiful face.
“I’m not Jason,” he exclaimed passionately.
“I don’t lie and I would never cheat. I love you, Angelique.
I want to marry you. I want you to be my wife and the mother of my children.
” He dropped his hands to his sides. “I want us to build a happy life together.”
“Stop it…please just stop it,” she said as tears filled her eyes. “I don’t want to hear any more. I don’t love you, Daniel. I don’t.”
Daniel drew in another deep breath and released it slowly. “I’m sorry, Angelique. I certainly don’t want to hurt you in any way. That’s the very last thing I wanted to do. I guess I’d hoped you…well, it doesn’t matter now.”
He shouldn’t have told her how he felt about her. He should have just kept it locked inside him until another time. He should have just kept his mouth shut. Now he feared that things were forever ruined between them.
“I’m sorry, Daniel. I’m so sorry I can’t be the woman you want or need,” she said.
“But, Angelique, you are that woman,” he protested. “You’re exactly what I want and need in my life.”
She shook her head. “I’m not, because I don’t intend to ever marry.”
He stared at her in frustration. “That’s a damned shame, Angelique. Because I’m the man who would have cherished you. I’m the man who would have loved you better than any other man on the face of the earth.”
There was nothing more he could say. He’d poured out his heart and soul to her, and it wasn’t enough. He wasn’t enough. The ball was now in her court, and she’d decided she didn’t want to play. His heart ached with a deep pain.
“I promise I won’t speak to you of this again,” he finally said.
“Thank you,” she replied softly.
“Now, I think it’s past time I leave.” He headed toward the front door and she walked just behind him. When he reached the door, he pulled it open and then turned back to her.
“I’ll be here next Saturday night if you still want me to make the check-ins,” he said.
“Next Saturday will be fine,” she replied stiffly.
“Then I’ll just say good night.”
“Good night, Daniel.”
With that, he walked out the door and into the darkness of the night. He’d really believed she was in love with him. He still believed she was in love with him. But he couldn’t break through her strong defenses. Or was it really possible that she didn’t love him?