A Profiler's Case for Seduction - By Carla Cassidy Page 0,1

his marriage two years before and kept him from actively parenting his three-year-old daughter, Grace.

His heart clenched tight at thoughts of his daughter, with her mop of dark curly hair and bright blue eyes. Of all the things good that he’d done in his life, Grace was at the top of the list. The last thing he wanted to do was in any way taint her with the darkness that sometimes gripped his soul.

He jumped as a hand touched his arm. He blinked, tearing his thoughts from his daughter to the woman seated next to him. Long brown hair framed a pretty face with large gray eyes. She was older than the usual student, perhaps in her late thirties, and as she smiled at him a hint of unexpected warmth whispered through him. She had a beautiful smile.

She had a laptop open and held several pieces of paper and a pen toward him. “For taking notes,” she whispered, and then smiled again.

Rather than explain to her that he wasn’t here to take notes on the lecture, suddenly aware of the faint scent of wildflowers that drifted from her, he took the pen and paper and whispered a quick thank-you.

As he turned his attention back to Melinda he tried to stay focused on her, but his fellow classmate had definitely broken his concentration.

How long had it been since he’d noticed the beauty of a woman’s smile? How many years had it been since he’d paid any attention to the fragrance emanating from a particular female? Far too long.

Probably a wife and mother returning to college with her children in school or half-grown, he thought. But a quick glance showed him an unadorned ring finger on her left hand.

Maybe divorced and trying to find herself, get a career going after a few years of marriage. Mark admired anyone who sought education no matter what their age or their circumstances.

He frowned and tried to stay focused on the reason he was sitting here. He shouldn’t be so acutely aware of the woman next to him, frantically typing on her laptop as if attempting to memorialize every word of the lecture.

It vaguely irritated him that, suddenly, his concentration was divided between the outrageously gorgeous professor commanding the room and the quiet beauty seated next to him.

There was a small group of students at the front of the theater who appeared to be hanging on to every word that fell out of Melinda’s mouth. Groupies, he guessed.

Melinda’s power and beauty would automatically draw a band of devout followers, but now with the news of her recent kidnapping and beatings, she had risen in stature to rock-star celebrity.

Victim or killer?

He wouldn’t discover the answer to that question just by sitting here, and he felt a sudden need to escape from the scent of wildflowers and the two women who were sparring for attention inside his head.

He slid out of his chair and eased out the door and into the hallway that would take him outside the building and into the fresh September air.

Once outside he drew in a deep breath and sat on a nearby concrete bench beneath a large leafy tree. It was only then that he realized he still held the paper and pen that the woman seated next to him had handed him.

He settled back against the bench. The lecture would only last an hour. He didn’t mind waiting until the woman emerged from the building to give her back her pen.

The Darby College campus was a mix of brick-and-glass buildings amid a plethora of trees and meticulous landscaping.

Mondays were busy on the campus, and the students wore colorful clothing that competed with the autumn leaves on the trees popping with shades of orange and red.

September 25. It was hard to believe that it would soon be a month since Melinda’s “kidnapping.” Rumor had it that she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, but nothing of that condition had been evident in her today. She’d given off the aura of strength and control despite the cast on her arm and her willowy figure.

He twirled the pen between his fingers and fell into thoughts of the case. The news of the kidnapping of the esteemed Melinda Grayson had rocked the small town, but shock had shuddered through Vengeance over the three murdered men who’d been uncovered by a geology class that was exploring a nearby area for minerals.

Lost. He quickly became lost inside his head as he thought of all the intricacies of the