Positively Criminal (7 page)

Her hands quieted and the blush from her cheeks traveled down her neck and settled on her chest just above her breasts.

“You really just want to talk?” she asked quietly.

Hell no
. He really wanted to forget about talking altogether and spread her out on the counter – naked, her whole body covered in that cock-hardening blush.

“Yes, promise.”

She slid her hands out from under his and turned to the opposite cabinet. “You want to know about Bri.” She set creamer and sugar on the counter, and then placed a filter in the basket of the coffee maker.

“Not necessarily.”

Once the coffee pot began to perk, she leaned her elbows on the counter opposite him, granting him a bird’s eye view of those magnificent breasts in the process.
Damn
.

“Yes you do.”

Mace found himself cautious; the woman was entirely too intelligent. He’d have to tread lightly. “Well, I’m thinking that Bri is a big part of your life and to know more about you, Bri’s story has something to do with it.”

A sweet smile split her lips. “Bri and I are very good friends.”

“I’d like for us to be too.”

“Bri has mentioned you a time or two, but we talk about Detective Rawlings a lot.”

He cocked his head to one side. “I don’t doubt it. Those two have been dodging each other for quite some time. You know how they met, don’t you?”

“I’ve heard.”

“Stubborn. Both of them.”

“I’ve also heard you were suspended during their introduction.”

“Uh, yeah,” he mumbled. “Not one of my better decisions.”

She giggled and his cock swelled. “I found it amusing.”

“Think you might work that experience into a plot?”

“Maybe.” She smiled before she turned to grab the coffee pot. “You’d be surprised how many everyday experiences can make a plot exciting.”

“What made you decide to write bestselling novels, anyway?”

“Well, I decided to write while I was in college.” She poured coffee into his mug then returned the pot back to the warmer. “The bestselling part came much later.”

“Bri claims no one writes as well as you.”

“Bri is prejudiced.”

“You two are close.”

“Very. We met our freshman year of college and have remained friends since.”

“Why didn’t you choose psychiatry?”

“Writing has always been my passion. I still practice psychiatry, just not on real people. I use my characters instead.”

“Why do you suppose Bri chose to dance?”

“Bri is very talented, Mace, and also very independent. Rather than rely on others for her success, she chose to use those talents to further her education. The rest is apparent. She’s a very accomplished psychiatrist in the area of women’s violence.”

“Do you know why she’s still dancing at the
Glove
?”

“Why don’t you ask her?”

“I have but she’s very directly told me to mind my own business.”

“Then she doesn’t want you to know.”

“But you know the reason.”

“That’s not what I said. I simply told you to ask her.”

“You’re a pretty good psychiatrist yourself, Dara.”

“Why? Because you’re trying to interrogate me and I won’t go along?”

“Touche.’“ He lifted his mug and took a drink of the steaming liquid. “Can we make a deal?”

“Depends.”

He reached into his shirt pocket and then handed her a business card. “If Bri gives you any indication she’s in any kind of trouble, call me.”

“You think she’s in trouble?”

“I didn’t say that, Dr. Hamilton.” He smirked as he reached to tuck a wayward tendril of hair behind her ear. “I just asked that you call me if
you
think there might be a problem.”

“I guess I could do that.”

“I’ve kept you up long enough.” He drained the remaining coffee from his mug and stood. “Thanks for the coffee.”

She walked around the bar to stand opposite him and his cock twitched. “You’re welcome.”

He turned and headed for the door before things got way out of control. “And remember,” he said as he unlocked the door and opened it, “call me, any day, any time.”

“I’ve got your number, Detective.”

“Mace.”

Another sweet smile moved her lips. “Mace.”

Standing just inside the rear exit from the Sunlight Hotel, Bri sighed as the sun crept lower in the summer sky. For at least the third time since she left the privacy of an anonymous room, with a securely locked and bolted door, she tossed a cautious glance over her shoulder just before she squeezed her keys in her palm stepped outside. The forceful beat of jungle drums echoed in her chest and caused her palms to moisten as she worked hard to walk gracefully to her car rather than kick off her shoes and sprint. Damn nerves. Normally a rendezvous such as this would be a piece of cake; she’d done it several times now without difficulty or guilt.

Until Jake and his domineering self got involved.

Good Heavenly Grief
! If Jake caught wind of her business here, he’d blow a gasket. She gave her bracelet a quick spin as she closed the distance, finally relieved when her hand rested on the door handle. She drew several deep breaths to slow her heartbeat as she pressed the remote to unlock the car doors and then paused when a shadow danced across the driver’s side window.

Bri froze at the silhouette in the reflection and swallowed her panic as she inched a tube attached to her key ring near her fingertips. Although enveloped by incredible fear, she couldn’t stop the equally incredible anger.
Men
! She told Ryan this was a bad idea. Mentally, she issued a few more choice words to Ryan and his plan, her rant stopped only by the voice behind her.

“Funny seeing you here.”

Bri spun around, pepper spray aimed and ready to blind her target.

“Gee-zus, Bri.” Before her finger pressed the trigger, Jake maneuvered the vial from her grasp in one smooth snatch-and-grab. “You could blind someone with this stuff.”

Despite her pounding heart, she managed to swallow incredible fear and turn it to anger and she spat her response. “Ya think?”

His top lip quirked as he reached around her and set the vial upright on the trunk of his cruiser. “Strange how we keep running into each other.”

“Are you following me?”

“Maybe I should ask you the same thing.”

“What in the world are you talking about? I was here first.”

“No, you weren’t.” His low, husky chuckle stiffened her already-peaked nipples. “I watched you go inside about an hour ago.”

“You’ve been out here that long?”

He nodded.

“Why?”

“Curiosity.”

She hesitated a brief moment before satisfying her own curiosity. Questioning him was a catch twenty-two. Although she knew he wouldn’t answer, she also knew he wouldn’t stop pushing for an answer of his own.

She drew her tongue across her dry lips in a desperate attempt to distract him. “About?”

His eyes moved from left to right, obviously interested in the path of her tongue and she quelled the urge to moan. What she wouldn’t give to replace his eyes with his tongue. Her breath hitched as he stepped close and his big body towered her. Overwhelming testosterone floated on the pheromones between them as he rubbed a thumb across her newly-moistened lower lip.

“Tell me what kept you occupied for an hour.”

She swallowed hard – partly to force her confession back down her throat and mostly to gather courage. Damn his sparkling eyes. Even in the dim rays of evening sunlight, they shone like emerald pendulums, hypnotizing her into a confession.

“Tell me why
you’re
here,” she pressed.

“You first.”

“Working,” she said finally, amazed at how quickly her brain formulated the response.

Although, when his eyes darkened and his brow furrowed, she realized she’d led him to the incredibly worst possible conclusion.

She shook her head. “Not that kind of work.” She didn’t know whether to be grateful of or angered by his silent accusation but that analysis would have to wait. “I met a client.”

When his eyebrows touched his forehead, she groaned. “A patient, Jake, for therapy.”

“After hours at a hotel? Sex therapy is Liberty’s specialty.”

“Enough.” Irritation allowed her to gain self control. “You know as well as anyone how many times I relocate women after hours. And not only to shelters.”

“My apologies. So, you’re relocating a patient?”

God, she hated lying to him but if he knew the real reason for her visit, his handcuff key would be buried in the depths of his iron-clad stomach.

Very slowly she nodded, somewhere between
yes
and
no
.

For several seconds, his gaze never left hers and she knew it was just a matter of time before her reserve broke like fine china. Yet, sheer stubbornness caused her to meet his soft, sultry gaze with one of her own, silently promising to go down kicking and screaming.

“Does this patient happen to be male?”

Her eyes widened both in surprise and shock. She began to wonder if he knew more than she realized. “You know I can’t tell you.”

“If there’s abuse involved, it’s your professional responsibility to report it.”

“
If
one of my patients, male or female, is the victim of domestic violence, Detective, you’ll be the first to know.
After
he or she is safe.”

The evening breeze moved her hair and he reached to tuck a loose tendril behind one ear. “You’re a beautiful liar, Bri.”

“What’s this really about?”

“I have a feeling you’re in trouble. I want to help.”

“Don’t worry, if I was in trouble, which I am most certainly not, I wouldn’t let Mabel hold you responsible.”

“I’m not worried about Mabel.”

“Then why must you torment me?!”

“Surely somewhere in the depths of that gorgeous brain you’ve analyzed my motives.”

Her blood began to heat and his questioning had absolutely nothing to do with her sudden hot flash. No, the sexy detective had just seen right through her, analysis and all.

She wanted this man more than her next breath and he’d just confirmed her hypothesis; he wanted her just as badly.

“I haven’t had the opportunity to do much research,” she said softly.

Her heart pounded as he moved his fingers down the side of her face and lowered his head until his lips were millimeters from hers. “Not because I’m not willing.”

Incredible hope caused her to hold her breath as he placed both of his hands on her hips and walked her backwards until she stood propped against the passenger door of his cruiser. Heat scalded her thighs as he leaned into her.

“Are you going to kiss me?”

“Depends.”

“On what this time?”

“How far you’re willing to go in the name of research.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I think you do.” He lowered his head and brushed her lips with his ever so slightly as he spoke. “Once I possess these lips, Bri, I won’t ever release them.”

Unable to stop herself, she rested her arms on his broad shoulders while her hands pressed his head closer and forced his lips against hers.

As soon as his lips tasted the sweet desire hers offered, Jake kicked curiosity in the ass. His dick pulsed a rhetorical question and his conscious screamed. D
o we really care why she’s here
? Jake couldn’t agree more; her sexy little body just now happened to be plastered against his, a fact that made both him and his hard-on extremely happy. Yeah, who the hell cared why he found her at a hotel after hours?

Her fingers tangled in the longer layers of his hair and his scalp tingled when she tugged to pull him closer. Thankfully grateful that she spent most of her time in a tank top, Jake moved his hands from her hips and slipped them beneath her top to caress the smooth surface of her abdomen, only encouraged to continue as her skin rippled beneath his touch. His fingers moved over the muscles there, sculpted by hours of dancing; at this particular moment, he truly appreciated her talent.

A tiny whimper escaped her lips as she pressed herself against him, deepening the kiss in the process. With her tongue now wrapped in his, he moved his hands higher to palm each breast, his thumbs pressing against her nipples and massaging each peak in circles.

She lifted one leg and draped it across his hip, aligning his greedy dick perfectly with the one wet, warm place he really, really, wanted to be. Suddenly his zipper became an extremely inconvenient nuisance. He moved one hand underneath her leg, lifted it a bit higher, and crammed himself against her. Each breathy little moan that left her mouth only encouraged him to push harder until he damn near spread her out across the hood of his cruiser.