Her earlier assessment of tall and gorgeous was woefully inadequate. Standing inches beneath the strong jawline that seemed to be chiseled from granite, Erin guessed he was at least six three. Gorgeous scarcely described the body that also had been hewn from solid rock. Black cotton strained against sinewy biceps and a flat waist.

From a distance, the planes of his face had seemed handsome. Up close, the sweep of lines and hollows, the straight, prominent nose, irises the color of storms composed a starkly beautiful man. Scattered impressions coalesced into a singular notion.

Danger, she thought dimly.

The truth of it seared through her with every breath. Though Gabriel had only touched her waist, she could feel him. Everywhere.

It was too much.

“I have to go. I’m sorry,” Erin apologized hastily as she turned to leave.

“You sure?” The heated question demanded a response. What she wanted, to stay or to go, was impossible to fathom. Her only lucid thought was of heat and strength. Both alarmed her. Enticed her. “I can’t—”

“Gabriel?” Genevieve skidded to a halt beside them. “Oh,” she said with some astonishment when she saw who was with him. “Gabe, what’s going on here?”

His eyes still on Erin’s, Gabriel answered quietly, “The professor bumped into me. She’s in a hurry.”

Genevieve looked at her brother and her shy friend. “Then you should probably stop asking her questions.” She shook her head. “He’s never been able to mind his own business,” she explained.

Reluctantly, Gabriel stepped back and broke eye contact with Erin. He turned to Genevieve. “Is Erin a friend of yours, Gennie?”

Genevieve scowled at the use of her nickname in public but decided to ignore it. “Erin, may I present my big brother, Gabriel Moss? Gabriel, this is Dr. Erin Abbott, criminal psychologist extraordinaire. Remember, I told you she took Dr. Fifer’s place when she went on maternity leave. We were lucky to find her on such short notice.”

“I caught part of her class. Fascinating.” Normally, he’d pretend disinterest until he knew more about her. “Why murderers, Dr. Abbott?”

“What?”

“You study the minds of madmen and killers. What attracted you to the subject?” Gabriel responded.

“I don’t know,” she answered with a shrug. “Curiosity.”

“Stop prying, Gabe. There’s no mystery here,” Genevieve said. Turning to her colleague, she wondered what she’d missed. Unlike her brother, she fervently believed a person’s secrets were her own. Erin wouldn’t tell, anyway. After months of trying, Genevieve had gotten no closer to her. “Sorry again, Erin. It’s an occupational hazard of his.”

Erin felt a frisson of warning along her spine. If Gabriel hadn’t been holding her hand, she would have bolted. “Occupational hazard?”

“Didn’t I tell you?” Genevieve proudly beamed at her brother. “Gabe is a reporter. Newly the founder and editor of the Bayou Ledger.”