by Jennie Marts
She swallowed, and her nipples tightened as he leaned closer to her, pressing her back against the wall of the closet. “Yeah? Like what kind of things?”
He leaned down and nuzzled her neck, his breath hot as he ran his lips lightly along her skin. The light growth of whiskers along his chin scraped her neck and sent another shiver down her spine as she imagined those whiskers along the soft, sensitive skin of her inner thigh. His voice was quiet, teasing, as he spoke next to her ear. “You’re the psychic. Aren’t you supposed to already know?”
“Oh, you little brat.” She narrowed her eyes at him, good-naturedly laughing, and pushed gently against his chest. “You’re the private detective. Haven’t you deduced what I’m thinking? Or haven’t I given you enough clues?” She wiggled her hips against his, eliciting another groan of pleasure from him, and he pressed her tighter against the wall.
Where had this brazenly flirtatious vixen come from? She never talked to men like this. But she’d also never been pushed against a closet wall by a hunky detective on Halloween night. Maybe it was the holiday. Or the cycle of the moon. Or maybe it really was magic.
His response was a cross between a growl and a groan as he took her hand from his chest and lifted it above her head. Intertwining her fingers with his, he clasped her hand as he leaned down to kiss her. Easy and slow, taking his time, as if he were savoring the taste of her lips. He lightly raked his teeth along her bottom lip, and she moaned against his mouth.
He let go of her hand and ran his fingers lightly down her arm, along the side of her body, just grazing her breast as he went, and her insides clenched, aching with the need of this man’s touch. His hand traveled down her waist, over her hip, and he lifted her leg up and around him as he clasped her butt.
She pressed her body against him, pulling him closer with her leg and cursing the layers of clothes between them. She longed to have her skin bare against his, and contemplated the idea of getting naked on the floor of the closet.
What was wrong with her? She did not do closets, and she certainly didn’t get naked with men she barely knew. Men who flat out called her a kook and claimed she did hocus-pocus.
But Finn had also said that he liked her smile and that she made his stomach feel funny and that he ached to touch her. Holy Earth Mother. What woman could resist a man who said that he ached to touch her?
And even if her brain wouldn’t admit it, her body was most definitely telling her that she liked this man. Because her body was doing some aching of its own. Aching for his hands to pull her tighter against him, aching for the feel of his calloused palms against her stomach as he slid his fingers under the waistband of her jeans.
She was lost in his kiss, lost in his touch as his hands roamed her body. She arched against him, desperate to get closer, to feel every inch of him against her. She pulled back, her brain trying to make sense of this crazy passion she was feeling.
Her breath was ragged as she clutched him to her. “Finn, what are we doing? This is crazy.”
He tipped her chin up and looked down at her. “Honestly, I have no idea. I know it seems crazy, but it also seems exactly right. Like this stupid closet is exactly where I’m supposed to be. I always think with my head and do the rational thing, and everything about this is irrational and wild, and there’s this crazy side of me that’s wondering if you actually put a spell on me. But the other side of me doesn’t care. My heart tells me you are something special and that being with you is just where I’m supposed to be.”
She couldn’t swallow over the lump that had just formed in her throat. In fact, she couldn’t speak at all. She felt like laughing and crying at the same time. Tension swelled in her chest, and she felt as if her body might actually shatter. She gripped his shoulders as if he was a lifeboat and she was trying not to drown.
Wetting her lips, she swallowed and whispered, “I’m scared.”
Finn reached up and slid his hand around her neck. He ran his thumb lightly across her cheek and smiled down at her. “Lady, you scare the hell out of me. My normal MO for Halloween night is watching a football game with a beer and a frozen pizza, and keeping the porch light out because I forgot to buy any stupid candy for the trick-or-treaters. My life is stable, ordinary, even—”
“Boring,” she finished for him with a wry grin.
“Yeah, boring. I do not do this kind of thing. I get nervous kissing a woman goodnight after a first date. But something is different with you. I feel like a horny teenager who can’t keep his hands to himself. I just want to touch you and taste you and feel you against me. Lord help me, it’s taking everything I have not to rip your clothes off and get you naked on this closet floor.”
He shook his head. “And that’s another crazy thing. I never talk like this. I think you must have put a spell on my tongue, because I keep saying out loud all the crazy things that are running through my head.”
He might be teasing her about putting a spell on his tongue, but she knew there had to be real magic in the air. His words were releasing the tight, hard ball in her chest, and she felt herself filling with a lightness she hadn’t known in years.
She knew this was a moment. One of those moments that you just needed to grab and hold on to. Forget that she was in a closet, with its weird shimmers of spiritual presence and concrete floor. Forget that she was supposed to stay strong and keep herself guarded from any kind of emotional attachment.
Forget all of that and just let go. Let go and trust Finn. She could protect her heart, stay closed off and remain alone, or she could give in and take a chance. Give in to the desires of her heart and the bone-deep need she had for this man.
Oh hell, she already had her leg wrapped around his waist—what was she waiting for? She reached up, driving her hands into his hair, and pulled his head down to hers, seizing his lips in an onslaught of fiery kisses. She poured every ounce of passion she was feeling into those kisses, holding nothing back, giving herself to him.
He reached down and lifted her, driving her back against the wall and cupping her bottom as she wrapped both legs tightly around his waist. His hands groped and squeezed, inflaming parts of her that had lain dormant, but now craved his touch. He held her up with one hand while his other skimmed her waist, sliding under her shirt and along her skin.
She arched her back, wanting to feel every part of him against her, and cursed the layers of clothing between them. He effortlessly unsnapped her bra. She gasped as he slid his hand under the lacy fabric and filled it with her breast. Her nipples pebbled into tight buds, aching with need, as he fondled and caressed.
She pulled up his shirt, desperate to touch him and reveling in the hard muscles of his chest. Knowing he had a loaded gun strapped to his shoulder only drove her wilder. He’d probably put the safety on, but not knowing upped the element of danger.
His voice in her ear, low and husky, had her insides clenching with desire. “I want you, Zia. I want you right now. You need to tell me to stop or I’m going to take you right now on the floor of this closet.”
“Don’t stop. Do not stop.” She gulped. “But maybe you should take your gun off.”
He laughed then stepped back, setting her down so he could unstrap the gun holster. “That’s probably a good idea.”
Turning to set it on the shelf, he knocked against the array of brooms and mops and they all fell against them, including a large roll of plastic. Clattering to the floor, the cleaning supplies scattered, and the roll of plastic hit the floor with a dull thud.
It landed next to Zia’s boot, and a scream bubbled to her throat as she looked down and realized the red-smeared plastic encased a dead body.
Chapter Six
What the hell had just happened? Twenty minutes ago he’d had his arms full of a curvaceous gorgeous woman and now all he had his hands full of was a dead corpse and yellow crime scene tape.
Homicide was rare in the small town of Pleasant Valley, and half of the police force had turned up to view the body, which e
qualed a total of about six people. And by the looks of their Halloween costumes, most of them had been off duty that night. At least, he hoped they were in costume. Otherwise, Darth Vader, Dracula, and a zombie had just showed up to the crime scene.
Mac was the lead detective and the first on the scene. He was wearing an orange t-shirt that read “This Is My Halloween Costume.” He’d cordoned off the area and just handed the yellow crime scene tape to Finn.
Mac bent down and cut enough of the plastic away to view the face of the murdered victim. Male, late sixties, greying and paunchy. Looked like the type of man who’d been married for thirty years and never missed a meatloaf dinner with his wife.
Finn had texted Jake a few minutes earlier, and was surprised when he and Sunny walked in and approached the body. He was also surprised that they were wearing matching Batman and Batgirl outfits.
“You got here fast. I just sent up the Bat-Signal.”
“We were at the Halloween party across the street,” Jake said, surveying the scene. “What happened?”
“Dude, I don’t know if I can take you seriously when you’re wearing tights.”
Jake grinned. “They came with the costume.”
“And you paid money for this?”
“We already had the costumes.”
Finn held up his hands in surrender. “I do not want to know what kind of kinky superhero stuff you two get into. At least not until I’ve had a beer or two.”
Sunny laughed. “It’s not like that. We got these costumes when we went undercover at Comic-Con last summer. They were a gift from one of your clients. But Jake definitely rocks the Batman outfit. Tights and all.”
Jake lowered his voice, imitating Batman. “I’ll take you to my Batcave later and show you the backseat of the Batmobile.”
“Seriously,” Finn said. “Dude, we’re working a case here.”
“Sorry,” Jake said, still using the deep Batman voice. He grinned then sobered as Finn gave him a look. “What have we got?”
“Dead guy. Early sixties. Had a gal come into my office earlier today claiming her husband was missing because he didn’t come home for dinner last night. She also talked to Zia, and we think this guy might be connected to that jewelry heist,” Finn said to both Jake and Mac.
Before either man could comment, a commotion by the door had them looking up to see Phyllis, the woman who had stopped by his office earlier, pressing against the outstretched arms of Darth Vader and demanding to see the corpse.
Finn had a sneaking suspicion that Zia had called her after they found the body. He looked her way, arching an eyebrow, and was rewarded with a Who, me? expression and a shrug of her shoulders.
Damn. He’d been this close to having those shoulders bared and pinned to the floor under him. He still couldn’t believe he had been about to have crazy sex in a closet with a psychic. Could this night get any stranger?
He was standing next to a dead body across from his partner, who was dressed in a Batman costume, and a zombie was taking down a statement from an incredibly gorgeous woman who wanted to rip his clothes off and claimed to be able to talk to dead people. Yeah, that sounded about as strange as it could get.
Another loud ruckus at the door of the building and he looked up to see Dracula trying to hold back a tiny woman with an outrageously stuffed chest wearing a pink cowboy hat, a huge blonde wig, and orthopedic shoes.
Nope, he was wrong. This night could get stranger.
Mac waved off the officer, and the woman rushed up to him. “Edna, who the heck are you supposed to be?”
“Why, Dolly Parton, of course,” she declared in a thick Southern accent, and shimmied her chest at him.
Her shimmy made a squeaking sound, and it didn’t take much of a detective to deduce two balloons were the source of her newfound chest.
Mac held up a hand. “Don’t ever do that again or I will arrest you. What are you doing here, anyway? Do those things come with a built-in police scanner? I swear, nothing happens in this town without you hearing about it first.”
“I knew that Finn and Zia’d had some trouble over here earlier today, and I just felt that something was wrong. I am a bit of psychic myself. Well, more of an intuitive. I just feel things.”
Mac’s face remained passive as he stared at her, not saying a word.
She fidgeted, shifting from one foot to the other, causing another squeak of her balloon boobs. “Oh, all right. I was at the Halloween party across the street and saw the police cars.”
Holy crap. Was the whole town at this Halloween party across the street? An image of the lusty pirate and his busty nurse popped into Finn’s mind, and he wondered if the pirate had scored his bounty yet or if he was still looking for the treasure.
Edna pointed at Mac’s shirt and gave him a disapproving look. “Mac, I’m a little disappointed in this costume of yours. Couldn’t you have put a little effort into it? I mean, really, it’s not that hard. You could have been a cowboy or a lumberjack. I bet you could dig up a flannel shirt.” Finn figured this was a distraction technique, and he had to give the old lady props.
A cry of anguish interrupted their discussion as Phyllis looked down at the plastic-wrapped corpse. Her hands fluttered around her face as she repeated his name. “Morty. Oh no. Morty.”
Edna wrapped an arm around the woman. “I’m so sorry, honey. Was this your husband?”
Phyllis nodded as tears streaked down her face. “We’ve been married forty years, and Morty never misses a meal. I knew something was wrong when he didn’t come home for supper last night.”
“Do you know of anyone that would want to hurt your husband?”
“He was a good man. He used to run with some shady fellows, but he got away from that life when the kids were little. One of the old guys, Stan, just got out of prison and had been hanging around lately. I told Morty not to get mixed up with those old guys again, but he wouldn’t listen to me.”
“Men never listen.” Edna patted her shoulder. “What kind of trouble were they getting into, honey?”
“I’m not sure. Stan would come over and they would go down in the basement. I tried to listen at the door, and I think it had something to do with a jewelry store. Morty had been really jumpy lately, but when I asked him about what was going on, he said he was fine, just taking care of some business.”
“What kind of business do you think it was?”
Mac cleared his throat. “Edna, you do realize that I actually work for the police? And there are two private investigators standing here as well. Would it be all right with you if one of us asked a question?” He looked at Finn and Jake for support.
Finn shrugged. “I thought she was doing all right on her own. I was about to add her to the payroll.”
Mac rolled his eyes and took Phyllis by the elbow, leading her away from the corpse of her husband. “Ma’am, why don’t you come over here and have a seat and I’ll take your statement.”
“Poor Phyllis. I had a bad feeling about her husband when she was here earlier today.” Zia had crossed the room and now stood by Finn’s shoulder.
“Did you have a bad feeling like maybe his corpse was in the closet next to us?” Finn asked. “That would have been a helpful feeling.”
“I did have a bad feeling when we were in the closet, but I couldn’t focus because I was being distracted.”
“What were you guys doing in the closet?” Jake asked.
Edna leaned in, her nosy radar on high. “And what was distracting you?”
Warmth spread up Finn’s neck, and he actually felt flustered. “Nothing. We caught a couple in the closet making out. A guy dressed like a pirate and a gal in a naughty nurse costume. They were drunk and had come from the same party that evidently half the town is at tonight.”
“Yeah, I saw those guys earlier. Well, I saw the naughty nurse. She might have been with a pirate. I didn’t notice much beyond her medical enhancements.” Jake laughed and earned a slug in the ribs from Sunny.
The medical examiner walked in the front door and headed for the body. He was dressed like the Grim Reaper, and pushed a stretcher in front of him. He nodded at Finn. “Looks like this guy got the trick instead of the treat.”
“Nice costume, Bob. Very fitting.” Finn waved a hand at the front door. “I suppose you were at the party across the street.”
Bob, or Grim, nodded. “Oh yeah. The place is hopping. I think the whole town is over there.”
“I think you’re right.”
It took the Grim Reaper about fifteen minutes to load the body and wheel it out the door. The police finished up and left a short time later.
Mac left Phyllis with Edna and crossed the room to shake Finn’s hand. “I’ve done all I can tonight. We’ll lock down the place and I’ll get some guys over here again tomorrow to see if they can dig anything else up. I’m going to head back to the station. See if I can connect Morty up to the robbery at the jewelry store and try to track down this Stan friend of his. Phyllis gave me a good description, and if he just got out of lockup, it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out who he is.”
The officer waved at Sunny and Zia then shook hands with Jake. “Thanks for coming over, Batman. I’ll sleep better knowing you’re protecting our fair city.” He nodded at Finn. “I’ll be by tomorrow.”
“Okay, listen up,” Zia said as the building door shut behind Mac. She pointed at Finn. “We tried it your way and did the whole stakeout thing. Now let’s try it mine. I know Morty’s spirit is in this building. That’s why my EMF reader was going crazy. I think he’s the one responsible for trashing our offices, and his spirit is staying here because it’s trying to tell us something.”
“How do you figure his ghost is the one who trashed our offices? If he was in cahoots with this Stan guy, then maybe he was the one who wrecked them. It seems a mighty big stretch to go from a dead body to a vandalizing ghost. Besides, we don’t even know if Morty was involved in the robbery of the jewelry store.”