Michael exhaled as he heard the bolts start to slide. He’d wondered if she would talk to him. He’d dug up what he could on the woman. Her parents were dead, and all leads to her brother seemed to end at brick walls. She was Chris’s only living relative. Jamie Jacobs had been nine when her brother vanished. Eleven when he returned. Now she was a principal at one of Portland’s poorest elementary schools. Fair and sensible was the description he’d heard. Her students loved her and the teachers raved about her. Her yard was perfect. The hedges perfectly trimmed and the trees properly pruned. The grass was cut short and the flowers in a neat border. He eyed the border. Purple flower, yellow flower, purple, yellow. All the way around. Why hadn’t she mixed it up a little? It looked…too perfect.
The door opened, and he turned back to face the woman.
Too perfect.
Eyes the color of pale green jade stared at him, fear and anxiety hovering behind them. Long black hair was caught back in a ponytail, with wavy sections escaping to frame her face. What a face. She reminded him of the old-time movie sirens. The ones who seized the screen with their noble aura the second they stepped on camera. The ones who played the roles of queens or empresses. Regal women. Like Sophia Loren…but with bright eyes. She was tall. Nearly as tall as he. He barely had to look down to meet her gaze, and he’d barely need to dip his head if he wanted…fuck. He blinked and watched wary shields abruptly cover the anxiety in her eyes. Her black tank showed off toned arms that either spent a lot of time in the gym or working in her yard. She was buff, an interesting mix of athlete and contessa.
Every well-rehearsed question in his brain evaporated.
Why hadn’t his elementary school principal looked like this?
Her chin lifted the slightest bit, and he recognized a familiar stubbornness. Lacey looked just like that when she was about to chew him out.
“What about the kids?” she snapped. “What did they find? Where was it? Did you—”
“Hang on.” He lifted his hands, unable to process the questions pouring from freaking gorgeous lips. “Can I come in?”
She clamped her mouth shut and blatantly assessed him from head to toe, like she was sizing him up for a round or two in a boxing ring. Her right hand slipped to her pocket, wrapping around something, and he watched the muscles flex in her forearm. What’d she have in there?
He took a half step back.
“Let me see that ID again. And your driver’s license.” Her voice was calmer but still held the punch of someone expecting to be obeyed. She must be a great principal.
He handed her the newspaper ID and dug in his pocket for his wallet. She snorted at the jam-packed piece of leather. He dug through the mess for thirty seconds.
Where the fuck was his license?
She reached out and deftly plucked the license from the stack of receipts and dog-eared business cards. Balancing both IDs in her left hand, she studied them carefully and then studied his face again. She handed them back, and he noticed her right hand slowly move from her pocket.
“Mind if I ask what you’ve got in your pocket?” He jerked his head at her hand as he fumbled to put his wallet in some semblance of order. She smiled and his heart skipped two beats. Christ! The woman was a knockout.
“Pepper spray,” she said coolly.
His hands froze. “Would you have used that on me?”
“Yes.” Another calm, regal smile. “If I’d needed to.”
“Am I safe now?” He eyed her wide lips. Now she was a movie queen packing a weapon. His stomach tightened. In a good way. In a fucking awesome way.
“Maybe.” Her fantastic eyes narrowed at him. “What exactly do you want from me?”
Twenty-four hours in my bed. No. Forty-eight hours.
Where the hell did that come from? He shook the thought out of his head.
“Just to talk.”
“Uh-huh. I’ve heard that before.” More suspicion darkened those green gems.
“No, seriously. I just want to—”
“I’m teasing.” Her lips quirked, and she stepped back to allow him into her home.
Michael blew out a breath. He was seriously off-kilter. “Don’t make me dance, princess,” he muttered and stepped into the royal lair.