Read Online Call Me Killer by Linda Barlow - Free Book Online Page A

just to irritate me, but she was out again in a couple minutes, her face all shining and clean. She came back into the living room and sat down at the far end of the sofa. Not winking or smiling at me now. Just looking at me with an indecipherable expression on her face.
    Her hair was in her eyes, as usual, but it looked silky. I wanted to stroke it. Fist a handful of it and drag her face close to mine. I noticed her lips for maybe the first time. Before I'd been struck by the whole effect of her smile, but now I saw her lips as an individual feature. They were wide and plump, the bottom one especially. Soft. Kissable.
    I didn’t know how to tell her I thought so, though. Or how such a statement would be received. Instead, I said, “Are you a germaphobe or something? This place hasn't been so clean in months.”
    “You're welcome.” She hesitated, and then said, “Why are you so damn touchy?”
    “Why are you so damn inquisitive?”
    “I'm just trying to help.”
    “I still can't figure out why.”
    She shrugged. “It must suck to have people think you’re a killer.”
    “Yeah, well, it’s not your business.”
    “I like puzzles.”
    “It could be less of a puzzle than you think.”
    She cocked her head, looking intrigued. “How so?”
    “Maybe I'm guilty. Have you considered that?”
    She made a gesture as if to flick the idea away. “Would I have come back if I thought you were guilty?”
    “Maybe you're not as smart as you think you are.”
    To my surprise, she nodded and said, “I'm not that smart about people. I mean, I don't have great people skills, as I'm sure you've noticed. I'm better with computers.”
    I snorted a laugh.
    “Computers are logical. People aren't.”
    “How logical is it to crash in the same house with a guy who maybe murdered his last girlfriend?”
    She was looking uncomfortable now. Even a little nervous. God, I'm such a dick. I was enjoying tormenting this cocky little stray who had flung herself, unwanted, into my life.
    “Well, I'm not your girlfriend.”
    “There is that. If I only murder my girlfriends, I guess you've got nothing to worry about.”
    Her looking so uncomfortable was getting me hard. Or maybe it was just her being here, all soft and vulnerable. I loved the thought of kick-ass hacker Rory being submissive to me. Was there any chance she could get into that? Should I make a move and find out?
    Fuck. She'd come back of her own accord. She'd cooked me dinner. Was she planning to sleep on the couch again tonight? Was she really that desperate for a place to stay, or did she maybe want me, too? Usually I could tell when a girl was hot for my cock, but Rory was still a mystery to me.
    Jeez. I was beginning to obsess about her. Which was crazy. We had hardly anything in common and we spent most of our time together bickering.
    “What's your deal, Rory? You know a lot about me now, but I don't know much about you. Who the hell are you, anyway?”
    She bristled. “I told you.”
    “So you're really a senior in college?”
    She shrugged, looking defiant, which made me doubt it.
    “What's your major?”
    “Math. And computer science.”
    Figures. She had to pick something I didn't know much about. I tried anyhow. “What kind of math?”
    She rolled her eyes as if to say, what the fuck would you know about it? “Applied. Algorithms, cryptography, stuff like that.”
    Okay, that was over my head. I'd been hoping to do well enough to get into some crappy law school someday, and that didn't require advanced math. As for cryptography, I guess that explained how she'd been able to break into my computer so easily. “What college?”
    She glared at me for a moment, hesitating. I didn't think she was going to answer. But at last she looked away and muttered, “MIT.”
    I'd thought I was beyond surprise, but this was a zinger. “M. I. Fucking T?”
    “Told you I was smart.” Smug.
    I tried to decide whether I believed this. Maybe it was time I looked her up on the