Brenda Jackson - The Object of His Protection

I might as well come in since it doesnt appear that youre busy.

Charlene Anderson didnt need to look up to know who the deep, husky voice belonged to.

Drey St. John.

She did, however, glance over at the small heart-shaped ceramic clock sitting on her desk, the only part of her work area that wasnt buried under paperwork. Drey was early although his visit wasnt unexpected. He was a private investigator and she was a forensic scientist in Houstons coroners office. It wasnt unusual for him to drop by occasionally to harass her for forensic information that would help with the investigation of his current case.

If you think Im not busy, St. John, look again, she said, not taking her eyes off the document she was reading. Now get lost.

She knew he wouldnt go away. He never did. That didnt bother her since she had a weak spot for the rebel private investigator and actually looked forward to seeing him, although she would never admit such a thing to him. His visits were the only high point in her rather dull life. At twenty-seven, she was focused on work, and no matter how you looked at it, dead bodies didnt equate to great dates. Her social life was practically nonexistent, and of all things, she was still a virgin.

While attending Oklahoma State University, she had been too busy making the grades to get involved with anyone and had figured things would change once she finished school and got her career off the ground. She had been convinced, since she looked decent enough, that she would eventually meet some nice guy and get serious. That never happened. For her it always seemed to be all work and no play.

Dont you ever get tired of messing around with the dead?

She glanced up. Speaking of deadDrey was drop-dead gorgeous. Definitely a living-breathing specimen of a sexy male. Tall, dark and ultrahandsome. There was no doubt about the fact that at thirty-three he was every womans fantasy.

He had skin the color of creamy rich chocolate, and had dark hair and slanted dark eyes. All she knew about him was the tidbit shed overhead from a group of women discussing him one day at lunch. According to them, his mother was half Chinese. If that was the case, she had passed a strikingly exotic look on to her son. Charlene had also heard that his middle name of Longwei meant dragon strength in Chinese. The name suited him because of his well-defined muscular physique.

Not really, she finally said, taking her eyes off him and attempting to return her focus to the document in front of her. At least I dont have to worry about the dead giving me a hard time.

Yeah, I would imagine they wouldnt.

She didnt have to glance up to know he was no longer standing in the doorway but had come into her office. Her heart began beating twice as fast. The man had a way of getting to her. In addition to her erratic heartbeat, there was this unexplainable flush of heat that always overtook her whenever he was near, not to mention the way the air surrounding them always felt charged. He apparently didnt pick up on such vibes, nor did he notice she did. He was too busy trying to pump her for information.

When he halted before her desk, blocking her sunlight, she decided to glance up, but took a deep breath before doing so. And what got you out of bed so early this morning? she asked, and immediately she wished she hadnt when a vision of him getting out of bedhalf nakedfiltered through her mind. It was a nice vision but dangerous ground for her mind to tread on.

I need your help with something.