Note:

Thanks once again to everyone who has commented on the story. Writing a story that's not a one-shot is far outside of my comfort zone so seeing people enjoying it is definitely encouraging. I had thought about breaking this up into two different chapters but decided against it and am just posting this as a long update. I have a full-time job (and have a very demanding dog ;) ..) so it's hard for me to find a lot of time to sit down and write but if I can get another chapter out sometime this weekend I will try to do so. Hope you enjoy this one :)

Chapter 10

"You can't possibly consider me a suspect."

Dante lifted his lips in a humorless smile as he studied Michael Bennett. "Why not?"

"I've worked with Lulu for almost seven years now."

"So?"

Lulu's agent bristled. He'd already been in interview for forty-five minutes and so far Dante had gotten nowhere. His answers never varied, his body language remained consistent. He also waived his right to have a lawyer present.

"I'm the one who insisted the police get involved in the first place. I'm the one who kept trying to convince Lulu to cancel the tour. She's much more than just a client, Detective."

"That's exactly what I'm getting at. How much more?"

Bennett twisted his face in disgust and at least had the grace to look insulted. "Of course you would think that. I've got about 25 years on Lulu, which is also about as long as I've been very happily married to my wife. My whole family takes her out for dinner on her birthday every year. I think of Lulu like a member of the family."

So he had said at least three other times during the interview. Lucky was present for about the first half hour, each of them taking turns asking questions. Dante had continued with the questioning and Lucky had moved to observation. When they had asked for his whereabouts on the dates of all the murders, he had immediately asked if something else had happened to Lulu. He had also looked genuinely worried. But Dante came across a lot of suspects who were great actors over the years. Bennett claimed to still be in Chicago at the time of the first murder, then with family for the last two. Of course, Dante had just listed dates and time ranges with no mention of any murder, hoping for some kind of slip-up or mention of something that wasn't public knowledge, but he got nothing. During the debriefing Mac held this morning, they had all agreed they were going to do their damndest to keep the connection of Lulu's stalker and the multiple murders out of the press, who had been breathing hard enough down their backs as it was. Mac had also threatened severe disciplinary action for any leaks.

In the end, Dante had told Bennett he could leave but that he should be available for further questioning. He'd check out his alibis this afternoon and go from there.

They hadn't had much more luck with Rebecca Reynolds, Lulu's editor, either.

"Wait a minute," she had stopped them about twenty minutes in. "You don't think I could have possibly had anything to do with this, do you?"

"We're questioning everyone," Lucky had responded.

"Lulu had told me what was in those first few letters and I heard about that package she received. No offense, but I don't swing that way, detectives."

"And if that's true, one could also argue that there was nothing overtly sexual either," Lucky told her pointedly.

Rebecca raised her eyebrows. "Lingerie isn't sexual?"

"Not if the purpose is to demean or intimidate," Dante challenged.

Rebecca's shoulders sagged and she sighed. "Look, Lulu's a friend. I was a freelance editor when I worked on her first manuscript. When she got offered her publishing contract, they wanted her to use one on their in-house editors. Lulu refused to sign with them unless they hired me as part of the deal. I'm making a living now because of her. I owe her. I would never do anything to hurt her. You have to believe that."

"Who would want to hurt her?" Lucky asked.

"If I had any idea, I would have said something. Lulu's one of the nicest people I know. She's the last person that would deserve something like this to happen to her."

"What about anyone paying her any extra attention?" Dante questioned.

Rebecca shrugged. "We don't go out socially a lot. On the evenings of whatever days her books have been released we have a tradition of going out for drinks to celebrate. She almost always gets hit on by at least one guy. There's a couple of men in the office who have asked her out over the years."

Dante pushed aside his dislike of the idea of someone else hitting on Lulu. "What was her response?"

"She always turned them down."

Good, he thought to himself. "We're going to need the names of the men who asked her out."

"Fine."

"Is there anything else you can think of that will help us?" Lucky asked her.

Shaking her head, Rebecca wrote down a couple of names on the piece of paper Dante slid her way. "If I do, I will let you know. I hope you find whoever's doing this, detectives. But it's not me."

Dante wasn't expecting to have things wrapped up with a shiny fucking bow reading "Case Closed" after only the first couple of interviews but the frustration of no evidence combined with very few strong leads beat at him. He wanted to be able to give Lulu peace of mind but nothing about this case so far screamed easy. He was in progress of checking out Michael Bennett's and Rebecca Reynolds's alibis and had already contacted the names of the men Rebecca had provided. He had to leave messages with both of them. Reaching into his desk he grabbed a bottle of aspirin and popped two of them in his mouth. Damn headache felt like someone was pounding at his skull from the inside. He needed coffee. He headed over to the machine glancing down at his and Lucky's notes from the interviews…and ran into Lulu – literally. His eyes shot up, saw her stumble, and he automatically slid his free arm around her waist to hold her steady, the action bringing her closer to him. Her eyes widened a little bit.

"Shit. Sorry. I wasn't paying attention. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I really wasn't watching where I was going either."

Was it just him or did she sound a little short of breath? His eyes took in the sight of her, felt that same uncomfortable kick to the gut he had experienced all the other times he laid his eyes on her. He tried to convince himself it was just because he was worried about her. So maybe she was sexy as hell too, even dressed in something as simple as dark jeans and a purple top. But the logical part of his mind kept telling himself he couldn't afford to be distracted. That same logical part also knew it would be a losing battle. Had been since that moment she was pressed up against him responding to him in a way no other woman had even come close to. And if he was being honest, it went the other way too. He wanted her. Bad. The question was, what in the hell was he going to do about it?

"Um…You can let go of me now."

"I know." Dante smiled at her, but still didn't move his arm. She looked a little flustered but smiled back at him. He had a sudden thought that she could probably make him do anything by flashing that smile. And because that had him freaking out a little bit, he smoothly brought his arm back around to his side and stepped back.

"When's your interview?"

Lulu glanced down at her watch. "About five minutes."

"I have to follow up on some things but I know Lucky's planning on sitting in."

She seemed to study him. "Are you okay?"

"With you standing in front of me, how can I be anything but?" he said with a wink. "Good luck. I'll see you later."

He strode past without giving her a chance to respond, the words "losing battle" echoing in his mind.

Lulu glanced over at the clock. Just before midnight. She had been trying to fall asleep for over an hour now. She barely held it together with Mac, Lucky, and the two FBI agents who had questioned her. It should have been easier going over everything again but it ended up just feeling like she was reliving it for the entire two plus hours she spent answering their questions. She barely even touched any of her dinner, her gently rumbling stomach a reminder of that. Sighing, she got up to use the bathroom and then resisted the urge to walk out to the living room to see if Dante was there. He hadn't been before she headed to bed to try to get some sleep. Lucky had just said he was staying late to finish some reports and then had to make a trip back to his apartment to take care of a few things and that he had given him a key to make it easier. Maybe he just decided to sleep at his own place after all. And why should that disappoint her? She heard Lucky's bedroom door close about a half hour ago so she hoped at least he was getting some sleep.

No sooner had she sat on the edge of her bed when there was a soft knock at the halfway open door. She looked up and saw Dante peek his head in, felt her heart slam almost painfully hard against her rib cage.

"Hey. Heard you up."

All she could do was nod.

"You and me. Date on the couch in two minutes."

With that he was gone. She let out a slow breath.

Lord help her.

She walked into the living room, her bare feet sinking into the plush carpet. The couch was empty. She frowned and then jumped slightly when she heard Dante's voice to her left, watched as he walked out of the kitchen. He was wearing a pair of black lounge pants…and no shirt again damn it. Her eyes settled on his perfectly muscled, perfectly smooth chest, then down lower. Something dangerously close to longing settled in her stomach. She bit down on her lower lip and dragged her eyes up to meet his. The almost smug look on his face telling her he knew exactly what she was thinking…and exactly what he was doing to her. Okay, pull yourself together, she ordered herself. But then deciding to give him a little taste of his own medicine, she threw him what she hoped was a slow, sexy smile, letting the tip of her tongue touch her lower lip before she settled on the couch, tucking her bare legs beneath her, knowing the action caused her pajama shorts to run a little higher up her thighs.

"What's behind your back, Detective?"

His smile faltered a little and a wave a satisfaction ran through her at the noticeable rise and fall of his Adam's apple. He recovered quickly and brought his hands forward, a carton of ice cream in one hand and two spoons in the other.

"Lucky told me you had a rough time in interview."

She was the one who faltered this time. And cursed the little bit of melting her heart seemed to do. Damn it, she thought again. Just when she thought she had caught up with whatever game of underlying sexual tension they had been playing, he would do something sweet and disarm her completely.

He sat down close beside her on the couch. He pulled the lid off the ice cream and set it on the table, turned himself so he was facing her.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked holding out a spoon.

Taking it, she shook her head. "Not really."

They both dipped their spoons in at the same time, took a bite, and seemed to study each other. "When was the last time you actually slept through the night?"

"Probably a couple of months," Lulu shrugged.

"You should try some of the over-the-counter stuff. Even if it will help to just take the edge off. You'll make yourself sick if you don't get some good sleep consistently."

Lulu brought more ice cream to her lips, let it melt in her mouth slowly before it slid down her throat. "It's just been hard to feel…safe," she finished. "But it helps being back in Port Charles."

"You missed it."

"It's home," she said simply. "Always will be." She paused. "What about you? Do you miss Bensonhurst?"

Dante twirled his spoon around in the ice cream before meeting her eyes. "Port Charles is feeling more like home every day."

Why she should feel ridiculously pleased by that, she didn't know.

Time passed in easy conversation. She asked more about Bensonhurst, he asked about her books. When they had finished off the ice cream, Lulu set the empty carton down on the table. She studied the tattoos on each of his arms and his chest and gestured to them with her hand.

"Any special meaning?"

He explained how he came up with a couple of the designs, how the bull represented the Taurus symbol.

"I like them."

"I think you just like looking at my body," he grinned.

She felt her cheeks heat a little but she grinned back. "There is that."

"Anytime you want to look, sweetheart, all you have to do is ask. Touching is also allowed. In fact," his voice lowered. "I just may beg for it."

She laughed even though a wave of liquid heat having nothing to do with humor flowed through her. Why did she have the feeling that when all was said and done, she would be the one begging for it?

She couldn't stifle the yawn the crept out.

"Ouch," he said on a laugh but his tone was teasing.

"Sorry," she said apologetically.

He reached out, gently touched her hair. "Go get some sleep, Lulu."

She sighed. "Underneath all the flirting and innuendos, you really are kind of a gentleman, aren't you?"

He gave her an odd look she couldn't discern and she threw him one last smile before standing up. She had turned her back to start walking to her room when his voice stopped her.

"Lulu."

She turned around to face him. He had stood up and was headed towards her. She had no warning. He grabbed her hand and tugged her forward until she practically crashed against his chest. His lips descended and captured hers, his tongue gaining easy entrance into her mouth. He let go of her hand so he could bring his up and cup the back of her head, urging her deeper into the kiss and demanding a response. His other hand slid around to her back, then down to settle on her ass. He squeezed and she moaned. Instantly, she felt herself grow wet. Helplessly, she gripped his upper arms for support.

He pulled back suddenly. Her eyes fluttered open, struggled to focus.

"I'm not a gentleman in everything, Lulu." His voice was low with a note of huskiness…and warning.

God, she hoped not.

Dante watched in satisfaction as Lulu stared at him with a dazed expression on her face. Her hands had dropped to her sides and she was breathing hard. Just like his cock was straining painfully hard through his pants. It gave another jerk when she lifted her fingers to touch her mouth for a fleeting instant. He fought back a groan. He had to get inside her…soon. One small taste of her was not enough.

Expecting her to retreat, he was more than caught off guard when instead she virtually launched herself at him, grabbing his face with her hands and pulling his mouth back down on top of hers, their lips molding together. He did groan then, could feel the stab of her nipples against his chest even through her tank top. He wanted them in his mouth. She nipped at his lower lip and then sucked his tongue into her mouth. Jesus. No doubt who was in charge of this one.

It was she who pulled back suddenly now, stepped away from him. They both took a moment to struggle for breath.

"Good," Lulu finally said, turning on her heels and walking away. He stared after her until she disappeared from view, hearing the door to her bedroom door close.

He sank down onto the couch. What. The. Hell?

Battle lost.