Scythe

by M K Mancos

  He cleared his throat before he spoke. “I’ll just pull up over here and wait for you.”

  She smiled. “You’re going to drive two blocks?”

  He shrugged. “Why not? Doesn’t seem gentlemanly like to make you walk when I’m driving.”

  “So, go park your car by my door and walk back to meet me. By the time you do that, I’ll be done pulling this baby into the garage.”

  Josiah drove down the block, parking his car in one of the few spaces in front of her building. Pugsley jumped out of the car as soon as the door opened, running as fast as his short legs could manage toward Keely. The crazy dog acted like he knew her.

  Keely had just finished pulling down the garage door when she spotted the dog coming at her. “Oh, my God!” She squatted down, letting Pugsley have his way with licking her entire face.

  “I think it’s love.” Josiah stopped in front of them, sticking his hands in his pockets. Keely’s brilliant smile and sparkling eyes stopped all breath in his body. It was like taking a sucker punch to the gut.

  “English bulldogs are my favorite breed.” She gave Pugsley a final ruffle on his head then stood. “Hi there, Detective.”

  “Hi.” His gaze immediately centered on her still smiling mouth. “Do I get to lick you, too?”

  “Wait until I wash my face.”

  He smiled, placing her arm through his as they started for her building. “Ah, next time I’ll try to beat Mr. Stubby Legs over there to you.”

  “He’s adorable. Thanks for bringing him over.”

  “You know, I never believed it when the guys said the best way to pick up chicks was to take your dog for a walk. Never worked for me before.” They stopped in front of her outside door and she put her key in the lock.

  “I find that extremely hard to believe. You’re a chick magnet all by yourself. Forget poor Pugsley.”

  Cold air rolled from the inside, filling the doorway with frigid temperatures. Josiah huddled into his jacket. Pugsley began to bark. The dog bounded up the stairs, stopping at Keely’s door to scratch.

  “What’s wrong, buddy?” Josiah tried to comfort Pugsley, but the dog wouldn’t have it. Pugsley was out of his head. He acted as if there was a threat looming. As a precaution, Josiah eased the gun off his hip.

  “Is that necessary?” Keely hurried to unlock the door.

  “Maybe. He never acts like this. It’s better to be safe.”

  Keely nodded then stood back to let Josiah precede her into the apartment.

  The apartment was even colder than the hallway. Their breath turned to white puffs in the air. Nightlights in the kitchen and living room provided the only illumination. A large, dark shadow moved by the bedroom door. Josiah waved Keely to stay back. However, Pugsley showed more bravery than caution and ran directly into the bedroom. Josiah followed him, leading with his gun.

  Pugsley stood on his hind legs, front paws resting on the closet door.

  Josiah searched for a light switch, but found none. He really hated the very idea of opening the closet door and not being able to see potential danger inside. At this point, he really hadn’t a choice.

  He grabbed the knob, standing to the side as he swung the door open. There were no gunshots, no movement. Nothing. Pugsley even stopped his incessant barking. Instead the dog sat down, cocking his head to the side.

  Josiah peeked around the corner to see if an intruder hid. The closet’s interior was too dark to see anything. He did see the metallic gleam of a chain hanging down mid-center of the opening. He reached up and yanked it down. Light flooded the interior of the closet. There was nothing inside but clothes and bed linens.

  What the hell?

  Josiah turned, looking into the bedroom proper. The only thing he saw was a couple of discarded clothing items on the bed and a lacy bra on the dresser.

  Her bed sat on a platform, so there was nowhere to hide underneath.

  Keely appeared in the doorway. “Is everything all right?”

  “Yeah. He must have heard a mouse or something.” That still didn’t explain the dark shape he’d seen moving. Maybe his eyes had played tricks on him. They hadn’t yet adjusted to the dimly lit apartment.

  “I’ll have Nico call an exterminator to check it out.”

  Josiah returned his gun to the side holster. “Why do you rent a place in this building if your family lives out in Short Hills?”

  “Social experiment from when I first started college.” She crossed her arms and glanced around the bedroom. “I like it here. It’s easy to keep clean. My neighbors are quiet. It’s close to the city.”

  “You have brothers?”

  “Two. Why?”

  “Because if you were my sister, I wouldn’t let you live in this neighborhood by yourself.” He herded her out of the bedroom. Standing so close to a discarded bra kept dividing his attention. He wanted all his focus on her, not imagining her topless on the bed.

  “My brothers know I can take care of myself. Besides, Nico watches over me too.”

  He propelled her to the couch, forcing her to sit. “Do any of them know anything about your strange nocturnal activities?”

  Her smile vanished. The wary look reappeared. “Is this where you stop pretending you care and become a cop?”

  Josiah ran a hand through his hair. “Christ, Keely, I’m not pretending. I do care about you. I just want to know how you knew what you did about the Gennaro crime scene. The bottle was right where you said it would be.”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Not to the investigation. State police picked him up at Newark with a boarding pass for south of the border.”

  “Then you really don’t need to know anything more from me?”

  Josiah shook his head and let his gaze settle on her mouth. “I need to know for my own peace of mind.”

  Keely shrugged, looking him straight in the eyes. “It doesn’t matter. It won’t happen again. The reason I knew no longer applies.”

  Completely thrown off center, he did a double take. “Excuse me? How do you figure that?”

  “I’ll no longer be in a position to come into contact with situations like the Gennaro case.”

  He nodded. “I’m glad. But you didn’t answer my question.”

  And she didn’t plan to. He knew it the moment she leaned over and placed her warm lips against his. He’d have to be made of stone not to respond to having her body close to his. Her firm, full breasts pressed against his chest. Her tongue played along his.

  Maybe it didn’t matter how she knew the things she did. She’d helped alert him to a killer who had planned to leave the country in order to escape prosecution. Surely that cancelled out the weirdness from the past week. The dead bodies at her feet. The impersonation of a holy woman.

  Josiah moaned. Holy, no. Heavenly, yes.

  A sudden thought had him pulling away from her. “You washed your face, didn’t you?”

  “All taken care of.”

  He didn’t know if that upset him or he was thankful he wasn’t kissing a woman who had his dog’s germs all over her face. “You should have stayed out in the hall while I checked the apartment.”

  Her gaze slid guiltily from his.

  “What?”

  She bent down and patted Pugsley’s head. “I think you’re right about the mouse.”

  “Why am I not convinced?”

  She let out a weary sigh. “Oh, boy. Did I misread the signals you were putting out earlier?” She pushed to her feet, leaving him in the living room as she went into the kitchen. He heard her opening and closing cabinets then water running.

  “Here, Pugsley.” The dog got up and trotted into the kitchen, toenails clicking on the linoleum.

  Josiah followed his dog. Keely placed a huge bowl filled with water on the floor. Pugsley stuck his face in it, lapping with a grateful sound.

  “Thanks,” he said referring to the dish of water for his dog.

  He studied Keely for a moment. Conflicting emotions pulled him from
both sides. There were more signs pointing to her being a good person than not. But that didn’t explain why she still refused to open up about the black robes and sickle. It didn’t even begin to touch on the fact her image had been erased from a digital video recording that hadn’t left his possession.

  Regardless of all that, what he wanted from her was a relationship. “You didn’t misread the signals, you know. I want you. I want to be with you. But I can’t turn off my curiosity. It comes with the gun and badge.” He stepped closer to her, sliding his hand across her jaw to cup her cheek. “I think we’ll be great together. But there can’t be any secrets.”

  “There won’t be. Not anymore.” Her eyes turned shiny, misty. “I don’t want to hide anything from you.”

  Josiah’s control snapped. He pushed her up against the counter, his mouth plundering hers. Her arms folded around his neck, pulling him closer. His hands worked as if they had their own mind. With a hard tug, he pulled her shirt from her pants then ran his palms over the smooth skin of her back.

  Tearing his mouth away from hers, he moved to her ear. “Let’s go to the bedroom.”

  “What about the mouse?”

  He sucked her earlobe, enjoying the little sounds she made. It was a few minutes before he answered her. “I’ll protect you.”

  “What about Pugsley?”

  “Just give him a pair of old socks to chew on and he’ll be fine.”

  Keely gave him a soft, sexy laugh. “I don’t have any old socks. Not that I’d let him chew on.”

  “Cardboard roll from paper towels or toilet paper?”

  “No, but I do have a box of tissues that’s almost empty.”

  “That might work. I’ll probably take him hours to figure out how to destroy it.”

  Keely slid by him, brushing her body in hot contact against his. “You go make yourself at home in the bedroom and I’ll grab the tissue box.”

  “Don’t take too long. No telling how long this apartment’s going to stay warm enough to get naked.”

  She stopped at the threshold and turned to give him a sultry look over her shoulder. “Oh, it’ll be good and hot, I promise you.”

  Josiah nearly combusted on the spot.

  17

  Keely walked out of the bathroom from retrieving the tissue box, sans tissues. Josiah stopped her in the hallway between the bath and bedroom for a long passionate kiss.

  “Get in there, Detective, or I’ll think you’re stalling.”

  “Me? Hell, no.” He leaned in and kissed her again. Keely sunk into him like he was her only salvation.

  Before things could go too far, she put her hand up between them. “You. Go. Now. Me. Give. Doggie. Box.”

  He gave her one of those dazzling smiles before he walked into her bedroom.

  Quickly, Keely hurried into the living room only to be startled by the sight of Samson sitting on her couch.

  “What are you doing here?” She spat the words from behind clenched teeth. “I thought I kicked you out of my life?”

  Samson said not a word but held up a rawhide bone like a peace offering. It was a thoughtful gesture, but no less annoying. Keely didn’t care a bit for the implications.

  “Were you watching us, you freakin’ pervert?”

  Samson shook his head.

  “Then what?”

  Samson pointed to the bedroom then made a signal for silence.

  “Who are you talking to, Keely?” Josiah called from the bedroom.

  “No one. I was…singing.”

  He came to the door and stood looking out at her, his shirt unbuttoned. If she hadn’t been afraid he’d just seen Samson, her mouth would have gone dry at the sight.

  Josiah gave her a cocky smile. “You could use some lessons.”

  His gaze never left her. Never looked behind her at the man on her couch. Keely turned. Samson had vanished.

  “I’ll work on it.” She handed Pugsley the rawhide bone. “Here, boy. Party on.”

  “Where’d you get that?”

  Her tongue almost tangled around the lie forming in her head. “Under the bathroom sink. I forgot I had it for when my bother brings his dog over.”

  “Oh. Cool.” He held his arm out. “Shall we?”

  Her stomach went all funny on her. It seemed like such a good idea when he was kissing her. Imagining Samson somewhere, watching her and Josiah get it on kind of killed the mood.

  Josiah’s face fell. “You’ve changed your mind?”

  She locked her hands over her abdomen, rubbing it in a slow circle. “I’m a little nervous.”

  “What? And you think I’m not?” He closed the space between them. “You’re the answer to several adolescent fantasies. And some major adult ones, too. I’m half afraid of not living up to my prowess in my dreams.”

  Keely couldn’t resist, slipping her hand between the flaps of his shirt and running it up his hairy chest. “I can’t imagine you not living up to anyone’s expectations, least of all your own. The first time you stopped me on the street and I turned around, I thought you were the sexiest man I’d ever seen.”

  “And now?”

  “Now, I’m about to find out for sure. I’m just worried I won’t live up to your fantasies.” Keely cocked her head to the side. “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you tell me what we were doing in your fantasies and then neither of us will be disappointed?”

  Perhaps it was her imagination, but Keely swore Josiah’s eyes boggled. His face turned several shades of red.

  Keely moved him to arm’s length “Is it that over the top?”

  He gave a laugh that ended in a cough. “Well, more and more lately it revolves around slathering you in butter and eating you like an ear of corn.”

  Nothing could have ever prepared her for that answer. “Only if we use rubber sheets. And since I don’t have any on hand, we’ll have to scrap that idea for a later date. You have anything in your repertoire that doesn’t involve greasy food items? I have some chocolate pudding we could use instead.” At his hot expression, she pressed forward. “Or we could always use honey. It takes a whole lot longer to lick off completely.”

  His eyes turned to a grew darker. “No. I think this first time I want to taste you without the condiments.”

  “Good answer.” She put her arm around his shoulder, guiding him into her bedroom.

  The room suddenly looked smaller. There was something so intense about Josiah that made him take up more space than his actual mass needed. It was almost as if he wore a suit made of a force field.

  “Hey, you want to lower shields, here? Or are you expecting a Borg raiding party?” Keely peeled the sides of his shirt open and slid them off his shoulders.

  “Did I just hear a Star Trek reference on my fantasy woman’s lips?”

  “You did.” She kissed his throat, working her way to his ear.

  “That’s it. I think I’m in love.” He ran his hands through her hair. “Tell me you know who Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore are?”

  “Of course. Who doesn’t know Neil Gaiman? Gaiman’s a god. And though rather a bit more obscure with the general public, Moore isn’t lagging far behind in god-like status.” She stopped kissing him to look in his eyes. “But how we got from Star Trek to comic books, I don’t know.”

  “Have you ever been to San Diego?” he asked, sounding weaker by the moment.

  “Four times.”

  This was definitely a match made in geek heaven. He didn’t need to explain to her what he meant by San Diego. Any comic book or mass-media junky knew the International Comic Con was the geek equivalent of the Promised Land.

  “Oh, Christ.” He grabbed her by the waist and threw her on the bed. “I can’t wait to show you my collection.”

  Keely unbuckled his belt then unfastened his pants. “Neither can I.”

  He laughed. When his mouth came down on hers, the earlier heat was tempered by a tenderness she’d never experienced from a lover. Josiah worshipped her with his lips and tongue.


  Oh, but he was good. He unbuttoned her shirt as smoothly as any Hollywood-choreographed love scene.

  Josiah nudged the sides of her shirt apart. His hungry gaze devoured her. Thank God she’d worn the demi bra in the sheer lace and not her plain white sports style.

  “Holy Mother.” The words were soft, whispered against her skin as he bent to kiss the curve of her breasts spilling over the feminine cups.

  His mouth left a burning wake down the center of her body. The lower he moved, the harder it seemed to breathe. He unfastened her pants then slid a hand around her hip, cupping her bottom.

  His lips grazed the edge of her panties. Her hips came up to meet his mouth. Josiah looked up at her. “You like that?”

  “Show me a woman who doesn’t, and I’ll show you a liar.”

  A low rumble of sexy laughter teased along her skin, igniting fires all over her body.

  He sat up, pulling her pants down her legs. “God knew what he was doing when he created Victoria’s Secret.”

  Actually, her panties were from a discount store, but she wasn’t about to disillusion a man with carnal thoughts of getting her out of said undergarments with all haste. It just wouldn’t be sporting of her.

  Keely rose up on her elbows, giving him the once over. She waved her hand, indicating the clothes he still had on. “All right, Detective. I’m not lying here half naked all by my lonesome. Lose the pants.”

  His gaze bore into hers as he dropped his slacks and kicked them over to join hers. The head of his very large erection peeked out from the top of his underwear. From what she could tell, it was an impressive sight.

  “Like what you see, Ms. Montgomery?”

  “I think I just went to red alert.”

  He put one knee on the bed then began climbing over her. “No need to be afraid. I promise I’ll go nice and slow.”

  “And deep?” Keely hooked him with her leg, rising up to rub against him.

  “Definitely deep.” His mouth closed on hers.

  No man ever kissed a woman as deeply or thoroughly as Josiah Adler. The man had no equal in that department. Keely had a distinct feeling he’d prove just as able in all major events of the sexual Olympics.

  He moved over her. His hand preceded his lips, touching and tasting as he went. He didn’t bother to remove or push aside the thin fabric covering her breasts. With gentle suction, he pulled her nipple into his mouth.