by S. E. Harmon
“Fucking cops.” Paul struggled in Danny’s grip, but it was a waste of time and energy. Danny had a full head on him and at least fifty pounds of muscle. Paul would do better to set his shoulder to the wall of the restaurant and try to push it across the street. That would probably go a little better than the ineffective, neck-stretching move he was trying out.
“I’ll have your badge,” Paul finally yelled.
Fuck. At this point you’re going to have to get in line.
Danny looked at him, considered, and gave him a little shake. “Well, if I’m losing my job anyway, I might as well make it worth it. How attached to your kneecaps are you? What do you think, Rain?”
I barely held back a grin. Good cop, bad cop was effective but not quite as much fun as bad cop, badder cop. Hell, we were already going to get into trouble. I might as well enjoy the show.
I pretended to think. “I think they always start with the fingers, Dan.”
“I’m a sucker for tradition,” Danny agreed amicably.
“Goddammit.” Paul had apparently realized that he wasn’t going anywhere without Danny’s say-so. The man wasn’t quick on the uptake, that was for sure. “Call off your dog,” he sneered at me.
I rubbed my chin and pondered. “I dunno. I mean, I’d tell you that his bark is worse than his bite but… I’d be lying.” I winked conspiratorially. “And I hear he’s got rabies.”
“All right, all right,” Paul huffed. “What the hell do you two want?”
“Records,” Danny said, and he lifted Paul a little higher. There was suddenly air between Paul’s tan sneakers and the commercial-grade linoleum. “Now.”
MY INDIGNATION lasted all the way to the parking lot. My righteousness lasted until I was settled in the passenger seat. The guilt settled in sometime around me buckling my seatbelt. That was not the way to conduct an investigation. Despite Danny’s preferred approach of bashing heads first and asking questions later.
“Jesus,” I muttered. “I work with you for a week, and I’m already bullying witnesses.”
Danny slammed the car in reverse. “I wouldn’t waste any tears on that prick. Besides, I’m lead. If you can’t handle that, then you know where the door is.”
“I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job.”
“Because that’s not like the FBI at all, right?”
I sent him a sideways look and took in his tense hands and even tighter jaw. “I don’t want to fight with you.”
“Then don’t.”
Easier said than done. But I didn’t want to spend the time we had together fighting. And since clearly Danny didn’t want to spend it fucking, I was going to have to come up with something else. I sighed. “What do you say we end this night like normal people?”
“No murder. No mayhem?” He arched a brow. “Whatever shall we do?”
“Want to Netflix and chill?”
His mouth fell open. “You did not just say that.”
My eyes twinkled. “What’s wrong. Too hip? I got it from my nieces. I think I used it right.”
“I’m fairly certain you did not.” He laughed until I feared for his safety. He finally managed to speak again. “I’m up for Netflix. No chill.”
I shrugged. Can’t blame a guy for trying. “Sounds like a plan.”
And it certainly was that. I just don’t know if it was a good plan. Extending our contact rather than going to our separate rooms and ignoring one another? That tree limb must’ve hit me harder than I’d thought.
“Let’s hit the drive-through first,” I said. “I want nuggets.”
I BLINKED groggily and looked around to get my bearings. The logo of the cable company bounced around on the screen and cast a bluish glow over everything. It was quiet and still in the semidarkness of the living room. I squirmed a little and realized I was on the couch. And I wasn’t alone.
I tried to move backward and met resistance. Solid resistance. Resistance in the form of a pair of strong, tanned arms. I froze. I didn’t need to look down and see the ace of spades tattoo on the forearm to check.
Memories flooded me. We got home and went to our separate rooms to shower and change. Then we ate dinner in front of the TV and took the rare opportunity to veg out and watch some random cop show. And then, at some point, we fell asleep. I was a little fuzzy as to how we’d gotten in this particular predicament, but the general sequence of events was pretty clear.
Wonderful. The hardness I felt pressing against my lower back? Wonderful squared.
It meant nothing. It was just a matter of physiology. Only… my body had some physiology too. And my physiology remembered how good it felt when Danny took me this way. Took me almost before I was even really awake enough to realize what was happening. Just waking up in time for the sensation of slick penetration. That thick cock breaching me. Stretching me. Sliding along every nerve ending on the way in and then pulling back out.
The fabric of our thin sleep pants wasn’t much protection and gave enough for his long, thick cock to settle briefly between my cheeks. The fabric bunched there and distorted the shape, but it was more than enough for me to rock on. I cautioned myself, even as my hips involuntarily rocked. You know this would just complicate things. We were working together so well. We were able to talk to one another. Be with one another, sometimes all day, without it being weird and awkward. Did I really want to risk all that for a quick fuck?
Yes. I pushed back against his erection and ground on it slowly. I wanted the fabric gone. A soft groan sounded near my ear, and that arm around my waist tightened. Fuck yes.
Danny seemed to be of the same mind as he slid his hand up under my shirt and flattened that broad, rough hand across my stomach. He was busy with his other hand too, working it under the elastic of my sleep pants. He pulled the drawstring and pushed them down to my thighs with little effort at all. My cock bobbed free, sticky and wet and hard, and I could only whine a little in approval. He pulled me back against his chest.
“We don’t have anything,” I said, trying for sanity.
“Departmental testing.” He rucked up my shirt so he could play with my nipples, and he pinched them and tweaked them as I squirmed. Jesus. My nipples were sensitive, and of course he knew that well. “I’m good. You?”
“Yeah, but….” What the hell else did we need? I struggled to think as Danny dipped down between my asscheeks. I could hardly breathe as his thick finger slid over my sensitive opening. “Lube,” I finally gasped out.
“S’okay,” he muttered, face buried in the crook of my neck. “More than what I usually have.”
“What, your right hand and a dirty magazine?”
“Give me a little credit, Rain.” Danny grasped my cock, and I gasped soundlessly. “All my porn is digital.”
God, that man knew every single one of my buttons. Knew what made me gasp and what would make me shoot off the couch like a goddamned rocket. He worked the underside of the head of my dick with this thumb and damn near had me ready to cry.
“That’s it,” I gasped out.
“I know it is. I know you.” His voice was just a whisper in my ear. “Just relax.”
I know you. My cheeks flushed even further. Yes, he did. The words rang in my ears even as I lost myself to sensation. They made me feel cared for. Special. Important. And no, I don’t know when I turned sweet sixteen.
He turned my face to my shoulder, took my mouth with his, and bit and sucked at my lips. His grip was merciless as he worked me expertly, not giving me a chance to back off and build up. And finally that thick finger was pressing inside me, breaching my hole insistently. I ground back on that finger and wished we’d bothered to get the right supplies. I needed that. Wanted that. Needed his dick in me, filling that empty space that was practically pulsating with need.
I know you. I grasped at the couch cushions as I felt that low, tingling sensation start at the base of my spine. My back bowed out, and I came with a wrenching cry and spilled over Danny’s fist. I trembled with th
e force of it and slammed my eyes shut as Danny spoke soothing words in my ear, held me tight, and kept my shattered pieces together there in the darkness.
I know you.
My eyes drifted shut as he kissed my neck and worked himself furiously, the only sounds in the room the slap of his hand on his dick. I felt guilty not helping, but I couldn’t move an inch to save my life. He came a moment later with a gasp and spilled hot, wet seed on my lower back and in the crack of my ass. I sighed. I’d missed that. Missed him. Missed sex with someone who knew my body just as well as I did.
I know you too.
I’D THOUGHT the next morning would be awkward, waking up tangled on the couch together. Awkward and sticky, since we hadn’t bothered to clean up.
I shouldn’t have worried. I woke up alone and blinked at the morning light that warmed my face. At some point Danny must’ve cleaned me off, because my pajama bottoms didn’t feel sticky either. Thank fuck for small favors. Even though the thought of him cleaning my bare ass while I was vulnerable and asleep made my face grow warm.
I’d no sooner sat up on the couch—hair sticking up in every direction—than the front door opened and let in an alarming amount of blinding sunlight. I shoved a sheaf of hair out of my face and squinted. Danny came in, clad in a BBPD shirt and jogging shorts, a Nano in a fitness band around his arm. He looked so refreshed and healthy it almost hurt to look at him.
I scrubbed at my eyes and mumbled a greeting. “Morning.”
Danny sent me a smile as he pulled neon-colored earbuds out of his ears. “Good, you’re up.”
“Barely.” And I barely caught the bag he tossed me. A bagel from the looks of it. “Breakfast?”
“Yeah. Thought I’d get in a run and grab something on the way back.”
“Thanks.” I peered in the bag and inhaled the yeasty smell. And because Jesus hadn’t forsaken me entirely, there was a little tub of flavored cream cheese in there too. “What time are we leaving?”
“Just give me time to grab a shower. Twenty minutes?”
“Sounds good.”
Where the hell was the lover who had whispered in my ear? Taken care of me tenderly without expecting a thing in return? Cleaned me up while I was sleeping so I wouldn’t wake up stuck to the couch like a fucking human decal? How did that guy fit in with breezy, here’s-breakfast guy?
I stared glumly at the bagel. If I’d known that guy would disappear for good, I would’ve fucked him last night. Twice.
“You okay?” Danny grabbed a bottle from the fridge and stared at me as he drank, throat moving thirstily.
“Yeah. ’Course.” I blew out a breath. “Just glad we’re okay is all.” And so what if my tone was a little bitter.
“Why wouldn’t we be?” He looked genuinely surprised.
“Last night….” I gestured helplessly at the couch, otherwise known as the scene of the crime. I stared at the spot as though there were a chalk outline of our prone bodies.
He stared at me for a moment, brow furrowed, and I went pink. God help me, one day I’d learn how to leave well enough alone. “I’m just glad things aren’t awkward,” I said awkwardly.
He tossed the empty water bottle in the recycling bin and made a beeline for the couch. He leaned in and kissed me on the jaw, and his lips scraped against my morning stubble. Strangely enough that simple brush of the lips felt more intimate than a kiss on the mouth. He smelled of clean sweat and pine and minty toothpaste, and his mouth was damp and cool from the water. It was an intoxicating mix. My nostrils flared, and I was tempted to pull him back down when he straightened.
“It was just blowing off a little steam. You ever hear of sex? Stress relief?” He shook his head. “Why does everything have to be so complicated with you? You need to turn off your brain for a few.”
I widened my eyes. “But then I might not be able to get it back on. I mean, look at you.”
His eyes looked amused. “You’re a funny guy. I’m just glad we’re on the same page.” He headed for the bathroom. “I’m going to get ready. We’ve got work to do.”
I sighed and rubbed my neck. “Sounds good.”
I didn’t know who I was talking to, really. The bathroom door had already closed. I stared down at my bagel, which looked like it’d been dipped in birdseed.
I glanced over to find Ethan sitting cross-legged on the coffee table. He gave me a pitying look. Of course. Because calling his name for thirty minutes didn’t get his attention. Apparently the ghost equivalent of the bat signal was my humiliating moment. Next time I needed to talk to him, I’d just have someone pants me in public.
“Don’t,” I warned on a low growl.
He held up his hands. “Even if I wanted to.”
It was a sad day when a ghost felt sorry for me. But I wasn’t too pathetic—at least I’d had sex. Wait. Not sex. What’d he call it? Blowing off a little fucking steam. I took a vicious bite of the bagel and ripped it with my teeth.
Good to know.
Chapter 16
I WAS kind of getting used to my little desk. And my dusty window. I’d also stored a couple six-packs of Monster Energy drinks in my bottom drawer and a bag of fun-sized Kit Kats that Kevin wouldn’t quit stealing. I grabbed a handful of them and snacked while I read the file Chevy had sent me on Brock Johnson.
It was thorough. He’d grown up in Brickell Bay, the son of a woman who worked in the school cafeteria and a man whose main occupation seemed to be trouble—finding it, making it, and staying in it. From the looks of Brock’s extensive arrest record, he had followed in his father’s footsteps. My eyebrows climbed as I perused the list. It seemed he couldn’t decide whether petty theft or battery was his favorite flavor.
None of that meant he’d ever gotten angry enough to kill someone, especially not someone he cared about. I needed to speak to him. Not to hear what he would say, but how he would say it. To watch the expressions on his face. Watch his fidgeting or lack thereof. But we had to catch him first.
I sighed and closed the file. It was a good thing I was so used to my little dusty corner, because I clearly wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon. I checked my phone, but I didn’t have any missed messages from Danny. Obviously he decided to do his own thing. I guess I should probably do the same. I decided to utilize my day slogging through the tips file.
They were all over the place. Some enterprising soul had separated them into categories—sightings, suspects, and theories—and cross-referenced them by date and time. By the time the sun went down, I’d only gone through a quarter of them. According to the fine folks who called the tipster line, Amy was in Seattle, Mexico, Nebraska, and the Virgin Islands.
Her frequent-flier-miles plan must be off the hook.
The door to the conference room whammed open, and Kevin tottered in. At least I thought it was him. It looked more like a box perched atop Kevin’s jeans.
“For you,” he said, gasping for air. He dropped the box with a grunt and stayed draped over it for a minute.
“Can I get you anything? Water? Aspirin? A defibrillator kit?”
“Oh, you’ve got jokes.” He came up with a groan and set his hands on his hips. “That’s the last time I offer to make a trip down to the storage locker for you.”
“What the hell is all this?”
“I heard you were going through the tips. This is the last of them.”
I stared at the box in disbelief. “You gotta be fucking kidding me.”
He shrugged, clearly not fazed that we’d gotten a tip from everyone on planet Earth and the Mars Rover. “They put up a lot of reward money. You know that brings out the kooks.”
“En masse, apparently.”
He dropped into a chair at the table. “You should see the number of tips we had for the Becker case. Their daughter went missing in the early nineties? Her family put up a reward of a hundred grand. I think we’re still getting tips on that shit, and they found her five years ago.”
I could imagine, but I was eager to get b
ack to work, so I looked expectantly at Kevin. He looked right back… and he looked… comfortable. Like he wasn’t going anywhere for a while. “Well, thanks for the box,” I tried.
“No big.” He cracked his knuckles. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
“I sure will.”
“Anything at all.”
“Uh huh.”
I gritted my teeth and picked up my place again in the tips file. If he wanted to watch me work, then that was fine by me. I was so determined to appear busy that I almost missed his next words.
“So… it’s probably strange to work with Danny again, huh?”
“What?”
“Danny.” He sketched out a shape in the air that I assume was meant to remind me of Danny but was more reminiscent of the Blob. “It’s probably kind of strange to see one another.”
“Oh. Well, yeah. But we’re still friends. Of a sort.”
“Friends.” He stretched out the word, and my eyebrows lifted. “Friends who live together? Work together? Sleep together?”
I stared. “Are you actually asking me about my sex life?”
“Living vicariously.” He shrugged. “I’m pulling a double this weekend. My wife has to take the kids to Disney on her own. The next time I’ll be getting some is the year 2040.”
“Honestly? No offense, but I don’t think my relationship with Danny is any of your business.”
His face hardened. “Everything about Danny is my business.”
My lips thinned in a flat line. Ah. So it was that kind of talk. I didn’t think Danny would appreciate me kicking his partner’s ass all up and down the station, so I set my temper on a low simmer. “Why don’t you just say what you want to say?”
“Maybe I am overstepping. And if Danny knew I was talking to you, he’d kick my ass.” His eyebrows drew together in a scowl. “That’s not going to stop me from speaking plainly, though.”