by Tessa Cole
“I figured you’d at least get through the week,” she said.
Sean White, the other officer on booking duty, strode through the door. He was lanky to Tia’s stocky build and was about a hundred shades paler. If I saw him at the beach in his swim shorts, I was sure I’d have to wear shades just to look at him. Of course, given his pale coloring, I doubted he ever went out in the sun. And no, he took the day shift as well as the night shift, so he wasn’t a vampire.
He let out a whoop, his full lips curling into a wide smile. “Holy crap, I won!”
Marcus snickered and I slid my glare to him, which only made him laugh harder and made my pulse pick up with desire.
“How many days did you give me?” I forced out, determined not to let my attraction soften my tone.
“I apparently think too highly of you. I thought you’d at least finish the month.” He turned to Tia and Sean and set the yellow purse on the counter. “Watch this one. He’s half magpie.”
“Demonica Corvidae Cissa.” The thief leaned closer to the purse, that strange glimmer in his eyes again.
“And you don’t have a drop of oil on you,” Tia said to Marcus.
“Essie ran him down by herself,” he said, his tone warm as he flashed me a proud smile.
“Well, score one for the rookie,” Sean said, grabbing the thief by the arm and taking over. “You should sign up for the advanced combat training for dealing with supers.”
Yeah, no way in hell. It was bad enough I couldn’t resist the urge to help people and that I became a cop, risking encountering supers on a daily basis. But purposefully taking the training to deal with supers meant all things super would be sent my way and then I’d be side by side with supers for others to compare me to.
“I’m sure they wouldn’t take a rookie.” Thankfully there were only four slots for officers from our precinct in the class, so even if I were forced to sign up, the odds were good I wouldn’t be selected.
“You ran down a half demon. That proves you won’t freeze up when push comes to shove,” Tia said.
“I didn’t know he was a half demon.” I shifted away from the counter. Come on. Just take over booking him already, so we can stop talking about this.
“It would look good on your resume,” Sean said.
“If you want a good career, you want to stand out.” Marcus’s gaze swept over me and he chuckled again. “And for something other than always needing to shower mid-shift.”
My cheeks burned. “Why don’t you sign up for the advanced training.”
“I just might. We could do it together.” He flashed me another warm smile. The heat of his desire billowed a little, but it clearly wasn’t the driving emotion behind his suggestion. “We could be the team everyone in the precinct goes to for dealing with supers.”
My pulse fluttered, a mix of attraction and fear.
Yeah, terrible idea on so many levels. It was great knowing Marcus trusted me and wanted to continue working with me, but the closer he got while being constantly reminded about supers, the greater the chance he’d notice something strange about me.
Jeez, it always came down to that. Above everything else, hide in plain sight. Don’t draw attention. Stay in the middle of the pack, helpful but forgotten.
“Sounds like a great plan,” Sean said. “I’ll go get the sign-up sheet for you.”
Oh, shit. “I should clean up… and… ah… we should get back on patrol.”
“See if you can get the location of this guy’s stash,” Marcus said.
“Will do,” Tia said. “I’ll also tell the trustee you need a quick clean.”
“Thanks.” Marcus headed to the locker rooms and I followed so that I, for the second time this week, could shower and change—
“Crap.” This just wasn’t my night… or my week, for that matter. Maybe I really should ask for a different partner, because it seemed the more I tried to do a good job and impress him, the more I screwed up. “I didn’t replace my backup uniform. I’m going to have to go home to change.”
“Shower here first and get out of that uniform.” Marcus snapped his mouth shut, and the heat in the air around me jumped another ten degrees, as if he’d just realized what he’d said and how he felt about it.
My gaze jumped to his. I wouldn’t have been able to stop it if I’d wanted to. His desire had never been this strong before, and even though I knew I wouldn’t see it in his expression, I could still feel it burning around me.
But this time his desire darkened his eyes, his pupils fully dilated, making my thoughts stutter. I had no idea what to say. I knew he was attracted to me, but he’d never looked at me like this before.
Chapter 3
The temperature turned sultry and Marcus’s gaze dipped to my lips, making my breath hitch. Oh, please, God, kiss me.
Humidity joined his heat, turning it sweltering.
Please. I leaned closer to him, unable to help myself, but managed to stop before pressing my oil-soaked body against his… which would have been a terrible mistake… and not because that would get oil all over his uniform… even if that meant he’d have to get out of his clothes—
Snow. Frozen showers. Losing my job—
“Essie,” he said, his voice raspy with need.
Come on, think of anything but him with his clothes off, and step back. Just step back. But I couldn’t pull my thoughts from what he’d look like naked or even make myself step back an inch.
“Got the location of his stash,” Sean said from behind me, making me jump. “The basement of a tenement on the corner of Seventh and Lincoln.”
Marcus’s gaze jerked over my shoulder and the mask of professionalism snapped back over his expression as well as his emotions, banking the heat back to its normal levels and leaving me cold and aching.
“Thanks.” He turned back to me, all the heat I’d just felt gone, although a flicker of it still simmered in his eyes. “Give me your duty belt. I’ll clean it up while you shower, so we don’t waste more time.”
“Sure.” I handed over my belt and hurried into the women’s locker room, my pulse still thrumming with desire.
I couldn’t believe he felt like that about me. Searing, breathtaking desire. I ached just thinking about it, and I’d only experienced it for a minute, probably less. No one had ever felt that way about me before. Not my flings or my few one-night stands, and I had no idea what to do about it. Even just as partners, there was a chance he could learn my secret, but as lovers, like I wanted, learning the truth was guaranteed. Then I’d have to leave him and my life here in Union City. I didn’t want to change my name and start over again. As much as everyone at the precinct teased me, I liked it there, liked who I was, and God, liked being Marcus’s partner.
I also couldn’t just make it a one-night stand. That would make things weird between us — not that sleeping together repeatedly wouldn’t — but I had a feeling sleeping only once with Marcus wouldn’t be enough.
I scrubbed enough oil from my hands to unlock my locker, grab a towel, a shower pouf, and my body wash, then headed to a shower stall.
But God, all that heated desire focused on me.
I dropped my towel on the bench near the glass door of the individual stall and turned on the spray.
All that edgy sexiness.
I shivered at the thought of his scruff against my cheeks as he kissed me. His sexy scruff on other places. His lips on other places.
I pulled off my boots and set them aside, then peeled out of my uniform. The oil had soaked into my underwear, so I shimmied out of those too and added them to the pile.
The water turned hot and filled the stall with misty, sweltering air, just like Marcus’s desire. I bit back a groan and stepped into the spray. This wasn’t the first time I’d fantasized about my partner, but it was the first time I knew how much he wanted me.
I rubbed my soapy pouf across my breasts, the rough mesh brushing against my nipples. They tightened in anticipation, and my mind jumped straig
ht to Marcus’s fingers tweaking them into tight buds. Heat throbbed between my thighs, and I slid my soapy hand down my stomach into my curls. His hand would be bigger, stronger. There’d be a ferocity in his touch, a passion I’d glimpsed just moments ago in the hall outside the locker rooms.
He’d press his naked body against my back, his erection hard against me, and he’d knead one breast while teasing me down below with his other hand.
I clenched my jaw on another groan, and brushed my fingers over my clit. I’d beg for more, more than just a tease, more than just his hands, but he’d be deliciously cruel and draw it out, until I quivered on the edge of climax. Then, while panting and aching, he’d slide into me, hard and thick, filling me completely. His need would sear my skin with glorious heat, and he’d pump into me, driving me over the edge with a breathtaking release.
My finger brushed my clit again, and I shuddered with a miniature release. Now I ached even more for Marcus. My partner. What the hell was I going to do?
Nothing.
The smart thing was to do nothing, no matter what I yearned for. Getting into a relationship ruined everything.
But God, just thinking about the power of his desire made me ache on the edge of climax again.
I turned off the hot water and scrubbed myself as fast as I could under a stinging cold spray that did nothing to ease my yearning.
This was going to be one hell of a problem if I didn’t pull myself together.
I toweled off, changed in front of my locker into the street clothes I’d worn to work that afternoon — minus underwear because I hadn’t brought extras — and grabbed a garbage bag from the janitor’s closet for my oily uniform.
Marcus waited for me in the hall with my duty belt, and my pulse stuttered at the sight of him, at the memory of his searing need and my fantasy in the shower.
“Here.” He handed me my belt, his tone and expression back to warm, partner professional. “The worst of the oil was on the back where you didn’t have many pouches.”
I wrenched my attention away from him and took my belt. “Thanks.”
“You didn’t get much on your holster or sidearm, but since we have to stop at your place, I’d recommend switching to your off-duty weapon until you can give your Glock a thorough cleaning.”
We turned to head down the hall to the back door, to see if our cruiser was cleaned or if we’d need to take another one from the motor pool, when Sergeant Faucher rounded the corner ahead of us.
He took one look at me in my civilian clothes and heaved an exasperated sigh. “Twice in the same week, Shaw?”
“Worth the mess, though. She ran down a half magpie,” Marcus said. “We’re off to retrieve his stash, see if we can reunite the treasures with their rightful owners.”
“That’ll have to wait. Michelle Cromer’s daughter has been abducted, and I need all available bodies on this.”
“The head of GVT Pharmaceutical?”
“Is there another Michelle Cromer in Union with a five-year-old daughter?” Faucher asked.
There could be, but that wasn’t his point. Michelle Cromer was the wealthiest woman in town, with a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical company. She’d been the first to partner with supers after the war and had taken a decisive hold on the market by developing drugs for supers where the human equivalent wasn’t as effective. As well, she’d been the first to use supers’ abilities to develop new drugs for everyone. Rumor had it she was working on a drug to help cancer patients that she’d unveil early next year.
“Do you know who?” Marcus asked.
“No.”
“What about why?” My best guess was for money, but humankind advocates could have kidnapped the kid to demand Cromer stop working with supers, or super extremists could have done it for the same reason.
“We don’t know why and that’s not part of your job,” Faucher said. “Getting into uniform, rookie, and canvassing your part of the search area, is.”
“Yes, sir.” I resisted the urge to argue. He was right. Knowing who or why wasn’t my job. But not knowing bothered me. Human extremists could be well-armed and supers were just downright dangerous.
“Dispatch has sent the details to your phones,” Faucher said. “Now get out of here.”
We hurried to the lot where we parked the cruisers. The station trustee, a pudgy guy with a face full of freckles, tossed Marcus the keys.
“I can do a more detailed clean if you like.” His gaze jumped to me and he frowned.
“Not tonight,” Marcus said. “Officer Shaw and I need to get back out there.”
“The kid?” the guy asked.
“Yeah.” Marcus opened the driver’s side door, and I hurried around to the other side.
“Takes a real special asshole to abduct a five year old.” The guy’s hands curled into fists.
“Couldn’t agree more.” Marcus shut the door and started the engine.
We drove to my apartment building at the edge of the precinct — in the opposite direction of where we’d been assigned to search. My building wasn’t in the precinct’s seediest neighborhood, but it wasn’t the nicest, either. Most of the buildings were tired three-story tenements that had been tired before the war. And while there were many affordable buildings in town, the ones with absentee landlords and lazy superintendents were best for remaining unnoticed. That, and when I’d first moved to town, I’d been seventeen and unemployed. There were few landlords who’d been willing to rent to me, and while I could pass a credit check now, I couldn’t bring myself to leave the safety of my nobody-really-notices-me neighborhood.
Marcus pulled up to the curb and I hopped out.
“I won’t be long,” I said, closing the cruiser door and racing to the unsecured front door, since every minute counted with a child abduction.
Marcus got out and followed me.
Crap. I’d expected him to wait in the car. It wasn’t like my apartment was a mess — I didn’t have enough stuff for a mess — but I’d never had anyone in my apartment before. It was my only safe space where I didn’t have to worry about revealing my temperature fluctuations by sweating or freezing or hell, getting my face misted with someone’s grief. That, and my building was a dump.
He raised his eyebrows at the building’s front door. No lock and no buzzer system. A chunk of tile along the right side of the hall floor was missing and a large piece of cardboard had been duct-taped over a hole in the wall.
“Wow, they must have cut back on a rookie’s pay.”
I took the stairs to the basement where half the lights were out, throwing the narrow, dingy hall into perpetual shadows, and unlocked my door. The urge to insist Marcus remain in the hall clawed in my chest, but I recognized the feeling for the ridiculous emotion that it was. I couldn’t ask my partner to stand in the hall. That would just make him ask questions I didn’t want to answer.
Gritting my teeth, I hurried into my one-bedroom unit, dropping my garbage bag of filthy clothes by the door and pulling off my boots so I didn’t track in oil.
“They’ve really cut back.” His gaze slid over my living room, with its grayish-beige walls, once-was-light-brown worn carpet, and secondhand couch and TV.
I could have painted when I’d moved in, and I could have bought a new couch. I could have bought tons of new things now that I had a secure job, but instead I put my money into an escape fund. My mom had done it for as long as I could remember, and when she’d died and I’d started working to pay my rent, I put every extra cent into the fund.
Besides, what was the point of having stuff if I had to abandon it at a moment’s notice?
I already knew, and had already lost precious keepsakes because Mom and I had needed to flee the angels and Joined Parliament agents hunting Michael’s remaining nephilim and fellow fallen angels. I wasn’t going to become attached to anything else and lose it, too.
“No photos. Barely any furniture. You don’t even have a plant.”
“Sure, I’ll get a plant.
” I jerked my thumb at the small, grimy window on the back wall before hurrying down the short hall to my bedroom.
“How am I supposed to learn anything about you if you don’t have any pictures?”
“You’ve already learned lots of stuff about me. We’ve been patrolling together for months.” I dropped my duty belt on the floor, yanked off my T-shirt, and shimmied out of my jeans — doing my damnedest to ignore the fact that I now only wore a bra and socks and Marcus stood a few feet away in my living room.
“You don’t really share much personal information,” he said. “I don’t even know how you take your coffee.”
I pulled on a clean pair of underwear. Plain and white, nothing sexy about them, but it didn’t help me stop thinking about sex. “That’s because you keep making me get our coffee.”
“You never talk about your family.”
I shrugged into my uniform shirt. “You never talk about yours.”
“Yeah, but you know stuff about me.”
“Sure, I know how you take your coffee,” I said sarcastically. Except I did know a fair amount about him. He boxed with a few of the other officers and worked out on top of that — and God, I really wanted to see and run my hands all over the fruits of that labor. On his days off, he alternated between volunteering as a big brother to a kid who’d lost his dad in the war and visiting the veterans’ wing at the hospital. Hot to look at and a nice guy. I bet he helped old ladies cross the street when he wasn’t saving kittens from trees.
What I didn’t know was if he had a girlfriend. I hadn’t asked and he hadn’t brought it up. It seemed like family and romantic life were taboo topics in our partnership… until now.
Chapter 4
I finished dressing, secured my duty belt, and knelt at the back of my closet so I could unlock my gun safe and trade out my on-duty Glock for my off-duty one.
“If we’re going to be partners, we should at least get to know each other.”
“We’ve been partners for months. You’ve never wanted to share like this before.” I shoved the magazine from my on-duty weapon into my off-duty one, holstered it, and turned around.