by Marci Bolden
She couldn’t imagine doing his job. Looking at corpses all day. Cutting them open. Yuck. No wonder he needed to focus on her warm, live body to clear his head. She didn’t begrudge him that need. Especially since she usually benefited from it. His massages were incredible. She missed them. Not just his fingers kneading the knots in her back, but the way his touch soothed the tension that was like a live wire in her mind. She never seemed to be able to slow her thoughts, to stop trying to solve cases, until he’d pull her into a hot bath or one of their beds and start working his magic on her.
Eva inhaled as much garlic-scented oxygen as possible and let it out as she counted to five and then did it again. As always, the warmth and light pressure of his hand soothed the edge of her frustration and helped her breathe easier. She couldn’t explain the feelings churning in her any more than she could deny them. Her primal urges usually didn’t awaken outside of the gym where she practiced Krav Maga, but the need to stake claim to Josh was strong and borderline undeniable.
If she pressed herself any closer to him, she’d practically be hanging off him. Generally she didn’t care for PDA, but she wasn’t usually forced into a position to defend what was hers.
Not that Josh was hers. Not really.
The mental reminder should have convinced her to put space between them. Instead she set her wineglass down and entwined her fingers at his hip, effectively pinning him against her side. And making it clear where he belonged.
Courtney didn’t say a word, but her eyes lingered on where Eva’s hands rested, and her jaw muscles clenched a few times before she forced a smile back to her face. The atmosphere had changed. The neighborly camaraderie had taken on an electric edge that had popped up out of nowhere like a summer storm. One wrong move, and lightning could strike, causing the tension to combust. And not just between Eva and Courtney. Eva was just as aware of Josh’s thumb brushing over her shoulder as she was of Courtney’s dithery mood.
Eva hadn’t expected the unspoken battle for Josh’s attention when she’d accepted the dinner invitation, and perhaps that had been Courtney’s plan, but Eva was never unprepared to do battle. Josh, on the other hand, seemed freaking oblivious, as always.
“Can I do anything to help?” Josh asked, as if Eva and Courtney weren’t having the staring contest to end all staring contests.
Courtney batted her eyes but with a little less flirtation behind the act this time. The little bitch had been testing the waters. Eva had made it clear she wasn’t keen on what Courtney had been up to, but Josh hadn’t. Courtney would take that as an invitation to continue her absurd behavior without realizing Josh was too dense to understand what she was up to.
“Thanks, Joshua,” Courtney practically purred. “You are so sweet.”
Her velvety tone caused Eva’s stomach to tighten. Mostly because she knew men responded to that sort of seduction, and Eva had never been able to master it. If Josh knew how to blush on cue, she might not have been so concerned, but the red on his cheeks told her and Courtney she’d once again succeeded in flattering him. “Maybe you could just top off our wineglasses.”
“Sure thing.” He left Eva’s side and went into the small kitchen area with Courtney.
The pang hit Eva again. Joshua looked right standing next to her unexpected adversary. They made a cute couple, and when Courtney looked over her shoulder and giggled, Josh’s smile widened, as did the hole in Eva’s chest.
Had they ever looked that good together? Had they ever had such easy rapport? Maybe early on, but things hadn’t gone that smooth for long. Only a few months into dating, Josh had started questioning her. She’d started resenting him. And the whole thing had gone to hell.
Where had Courtney said she worked? Managing a bank. That was safe enough, wasn’t it? Even if something did happen, there was security to protect her. Not like Eva. Eva was the security, and he couldn’t handle that.
Josh handed Eva a refilled glass and met her at the edge of the counter before guiding her to the table set with three plates, each on their own side of the square table.
Conveniently.
Courtney managed to get her butt in the chair between Eva and Josh before either of them could make a move to sit next to the other. “I really hope you like this,” she said, serving Josh first.
“It smells delicious,” he offered.
Eva rolled her eyes at the chicken on her plate because nobody else would have noticed. Josh was too busy listening as Courtney broke down every step of creating the dish. Eva cut into the breast and snapped her teeth on the bite. Damn it. Her mouth actually started watering over the tenderness and perfect seasoning.
God, she hated this woman who was so much more deserving of the smile on Josh’s face. And screw her for making perfectly crisp fresh green beans. And screw her twice for being so damned interested in his job and finding everything he said so funny.
Dinner seemed to drag on for hours. Eva did her best to keep her cool, but by the time Courtney cleared the table, she was fuming again. She had counted over forty ways to kill Courtney without even standing up.
“Eva,” Josh said under his breath as he reached across the table.
She stared at his hand, wanting to use it to smack his forehead and give him a damn clue, but instead she put her palm to his and let him wrap his fingers around her hand as he looked at her with clear concern.
“What’s going on?” he asked. “Did you find something in her room?”
She had to swallow the laugh that wanted to erupt from her. She’d found something all right. But Courtney’s sexual interests were her business, not Eva’s. Or Joshua’s. Definitely not Joshua’s. “No.”
“Then what has you so worked up?”
Swallowing hard, she tried to ease the sharp edge in her tone. “Nothing.”
He lifted a bushy brow over the rim of his glasses. “I’m throwing down the bullshit flag on that one. I’m not so great at reading body language, but even I can tell you’re getting angrier by the moment.”
“Am not.”
“What’s bothering you?”
“Nothing,” she insisted.
“Liar.”
Inhaling slowly, she narrowed her eyes. “Good dinner, Joshie?”
He stared at her for a long moment before grinning. “Not as good as anything you would make.”
She practically snorted. She might…might…have believed that if he hadn’t just spent the last twenty minutes gushing. Or if she hadn’t sampled the damned delicious food herself.
“Do I still need to distract her so you can search the living room?”
“Yes.”
Sitting back, he pulled his hand from hers. “I’m on it.”
“Josh—”
She was going to ask his plan, but Courtney set down three dishes and then pulled her chair out, sliding it closer to Josh as she did.
Easing into her seat, she casually dropped her fingertips to his forearm. “This looks great, Joshua.”
“Thank you, Courtney. I’m hoping you like it.”
Her natural smile returned, and she flashed a triumphant glance at Eva. The temptation to drag her around by her hair returned. Digging in with her spoon, Courtney made a show of slowly pulling the utensil from between her lips and moaning as she rolled her eyes closed. “Amazing.”
Jesus. Effing. Christ. Just jump him already, Eva seethed internally. She smiled across the table. “Wonderful as always, Josh.”
“Thanks, Eva.” He tipped his spoon in her direction. “This is Eva’s favorite.”
It wasn’t, but she appreciated his attempt at reminding Courtney his “girlfriend” was in the room. Then he tipped his spoon too far and hit his wineglass, which spilled on his dessert…which splashed bright berry stains on his light blue dress shirt. “Oh, shoot!”
“Oh, don’t worry.” Courtney jumped to her feet and grabbed him by the hand. “I do that all the time. Come with me. We need to rinse your shirt before the stains set in.”
And th
ey were gone. Vanished in a flurry of pastels toward the bathroom. Eva had to admit she was impressed with Josh’s creativity and with Courtney’s boldness. If she hadn’t wanted the room to herself, she would have jumped up just as quickly and intervened. No doubt Courtney was in there unbuttoning Josh’s shirt this very second. He always wore an undershirt. Always. So…at least she wouldn’t see the little patch of hair that traveled from his belly button into his waistband.
Closing her eyes, Eva huffed out a breath and forced her fists to relax. Turning her head, tuning in to the voices and giggles from the other room, she confirmed Courtney was taking control of the situation. She pushed herself up. She didn’t have a moment to lose focusing on unimportant things. She pulled the thermal reader from her purse and started scanning the shelves of knickknacks. Half-assed listening to Josh telling their hostess about other shirts he’d ruined, Eva continued the mission—the only reason she was still sitting there tolerating Courtney’s behavior. The first set of shelves was clean, as was the second. The smoke detector had no suspicious signs, nor did the picture frames Eva expected to see glowing with a heat signature. But as she turned and scanned the table next to the front door, something white just slightly behind the front right leg of the table caught her eye.
A quick check on the events in the bathroom confirmed the water was still running as Courtney proved how domestic she was. Huffing, Eva marched to the table, bent at the waist, and clicked her tongue.
“Gotcha,” she whispered. After pulling a latex glove from her bag, she used it to snatch the tiny device from where it’d been taped to the table leg and dropped it into an evidence bag. If she hadn’t seen the signature, she never would have seen it, even if she’d been looking. Whoever had hid it there was clever. Very clever.
But not nearly as clever as Eva.
Josh stepped back when Courtney put her hand to his arm. Again. He wanted to leave the small confines of the bathroom before he had to pry her off him. He’d never seen someone so aggressive. And that said a lot, considering whom he hung out with. Eva and the HEARTS were far from subtle, but even Eva hadn’t jumped on him until they’d reached a certain point in their relationship.
Once she knew he was just as interested, she’d pounced. Literally. She’d asked if he wanted her to kiss him, he’d said yes, and she was on him. Her mouth pressed to his, and her body wrapped around him so tightly he hadn’t been able to breathe. He would have gladly suffocated if she hadn’t broken the kiss first.
But this woman? Coming on to him like this? In front of his girlfriend? Okay, his supposed girlfriend. This was the biggest turnoff he’d ever seen. Even if he had been interested in her before this dinner, he would have lost it the moment she started trying to take him away from Eva. And he had no doubt that was the game she was playing. He wasn’t a stud like Shane Tremant, or even close, but he wasn’t stupid, either. This woman was on the hunt, and she’d decided Josh was her prey. Despite Eva shooting daggers at her from across the table.
Stupid, stupid woman.
But he had to admit that seeing Eva act jealous was a treat he never thought he’d see. She kept her cool. Always. But something about Courtney’s behavior had really set her off in a way he hadn’t anticipated. He was quite certain if it weren’t for her camera hunt, she would have punched Courtney’s lights out and dragged Joshua from the condo, whether he wanted to leave or not.
He would have left. In fact, he would have scooped Eva up like he’d used to do and carried her all the way back to their bedroom. He was tempted to do that anyway. If he thought she’d allow it, he would.
“I think that’s it,” Courtney said, holding his shirt up to the light. “I think I got them all out.”
“Hey, that’s great. Thanks so much.”
She balled his shirt up and twisted the material to squeeze out the water. “Oh, it’s no problem at all.” She looked over her shoulder and batted her eyelashes in a way that most men likely found appealing. “I’m happy to help. Are you sure you don’t want me to wash your undershirt?” She nearly pouted. “Those stains will never come out.”
He lifted his hands, showing he didn’t have a care in the world. “Nobody but Eva sees my undershirts.” Zing. Feel that point hit home.
She didn’t. She just stuck her lip out a bit more as she turned to face him and heaved her breasts out. “I don’t mind.” She reached for the hem of the white T-shirt, but he caught her wrist.
“Neither does Eva. She’s the only one I need to impress.”
That seemed to finally get through to her. Her smile faltered, and the arch in her back returned to normal so her breasts weren’t popping out. “She doesn’t seem to like me. Which is odd. We had such a nice conversation the other day.”
Reaching around her, careful to leave plenty of space, he grabbed his shirt. “She had a long day at work.”
“At the library?”
He tightened his jaw at Courtney’s mocking tone. “Yes. At the library.”
“How cute.” Her batting eyes suddenly didn’t seem nearly as charming. Not that he’d been charmed. But he hadn’t seen them as menacing, like he did now. Something about this woman was off. Her mask had slipped a bit in that moment, and he caught a glimpse of a darkness that was unsettling.
His sense of protectiveness flared. He wanted to close the distance between them, not to accept what Courtney had been subtly offering since he’d stepped foot in her apartment but to warn her off whatever game she was playing. The fact that she had an ulterior motive to her flirtations was suddenly clear. What that motive was wasn’t. But his nerves were instantly on high alert, and he was tempted to call her on what he’d seen.
Eva had taught him better, though. Keep cool, Joshua. He heard her voice run through his mind.
He leaned against the doorframe, ignoring the drips from his bundled shirt. Courtney, however, glanced down at the sound of the rhythmic splat-splat-splat, and her smile faded.
“Just to be clear,” he said in a tone that wasn’t nearly as laid-back as it had been for the rest of the evening, “Eva’s the only woman for me. Ever. In any capacity.”
Her eyes iced over for a moment before she smiled. “I didn’t imply otherwise.”
“Doing so would be pointless.”
She made a move like she was starting for the door, so he put his hand to the jamb, wet shirt and all. Her cheeks flushed as she watched what he suspected to be streams of water running to the floor. He didn’t know how much more time Eva needed, but if she didn’t wrap things up soon, she was going to get busted. Short of taking Courtney up on her offers—which he’d already made clear wasn’t an option—he was running out of ways to keep her occupied.
The smile that curved Courtney’s lips sent a chill down Joshua’s spine. She was almost pleased with his statement. She tugged at the hemline of his stained undershirt and took a step closer to him.
“I do love a challenge.”
“This isn’t a game, Courtney.”
Leaning in so close he could feel her breath, she whispered, “Everything is a game, Joshua.”
So caught off guard by her movement and hushed words, he let her slip by him. Shit. He stepped out of the bathroom after her. The minx was rushing toward where Eva was clearing off the table.
“Oh, don’t do that,” Courtney insisted. “You’re my guest.”
Eva put her hand on her hip and tilted her head. “Oh, but you were so busy taking care of Josh, I just had to do something.” Her tone was patronizing and her eyes thin slits.
“I don’t mind at all.” She set the stack of dishes on the sink and looked at Josh again, her flirtation renewed. “I had so much fun talking with you. You are so interesting. Isn’t he?” She looked at Eva.
Josh draped his arm over Eva’s shoulder and ran his fingertips over her upper arm as he hugged her to his side. Pressing his lips to her head, he stared at Courtney, making sure she knew the point he was making. “Eva and I can spend hours talking about nothing. Even uninte
resting things. That’s the best part about being in a relationship. Don’t you think, babe?”
Playing her part, Eva snuggled a bit closer to him. “Definitely one of the better parts, but I can think of one or two things that top the list.”
He chuckled, kissed her head again, and then gently pushed her toward the door. “Thanks for dinner, Courtney. I think we should head out. Eva’s had a long day.”
“At the library,” Courtney pointed out.
Eva tensed under his arm. “That Dewey Decimal system is a real bitch sometimes.”
“I bet.”
Josh nudged Eva again, and they headed right for the door, not giving Courtney an opportunity to intervene. The door closed behind Josh, and he lifted his brows in warning. “Bite your tongue for two more minutes.”
She exhaled a long breath but did as he said. However, the moment they stepped inside the elevator, she turned on him. “What the fuck was that?”
He held his hands up. “Don’t blame me.”
“I’m not.” Her tone wasn’t any less bitter, though. “Who the hell acts like that? I have never seen—” She stopped when the elevator door slid open and they walked to their door, but the moment they were inside, she threw her purse on the sofa and spun, hands on hips. “She was practically sitting on your dick by the time dinner was over.”
“Uh, let’s not put it that way.”
She glared at him. “What happened in the bathroom? Did she touch you?”
“No.”
“I’ll break her fucking arm if she touched you.”
He lifted his hands again. “The only thing that happened was that I made it perfectly clear to her that I was not interested in any woman but you.”