Page 12 of Sinful Deception

“Which was my plan all along. And though I know we’ll have unhealthy, trauma-filled, emotionally fantastic, mind-blowing fuckery soon… Do you wanna have a respectable dinner first?”I nip at her chin and smirk when she vibrates under my hands. “Like an actual date. We could talk politics and savings accounts. Perhaps even investments.”

“You think you’re teasing me, but if my options are to talk about boring stock market stuff or my dead dad, then I’m choosing the boring stuff.”

“We could talk about the Diane Philips case.”

“I’d rather invite Jada to dinner and become her best friend.” She leans back and searches my face. “Fletch okay?”

“It’s a one-foot-in-front-of-the-other kind of situation at this point. Nothing is better, nothing is worse. He’s just getting through and coping as best he can.”

“She keeps calling him?” Her eyes, brown like warm chocolate, flicker between mine. “You said she’s been blowing up his phone all day.”

“Once almost every hour since yesterday. He caught a three-hour gap today, which was, sadly, worse.”

“Because then he worried instead,” she guesses correctly. “Ya know, we have certain abilities, considering the people we know and the knowledge we possess.” She twists on the counter and finds her fork, because I guess she really is starving. Digging it into the pot of potatoes, she comes back around and offers it to me first. So I open my mouth and take half. “We could find her,” she explains, “with Soph’s help. Knock her out, using my medicinal knowledge, and drop her into the trunk of a car, using your brawn.” She flashes a wicked smirk. “Teamwork, don’t you see?”

“Also known as an abduction, which is a criminal offense.” I steer the fork back her way and release it only when she wraps her lips around the metal and takes the potatoes onto her tongue. “I’m brutally aware you’re not opposed to committing certain crimes, Doctor Mayet, but I believe we had an agreement that they would be minimal and only to save a life.”

“I consider this a life or death situation.” She licks the fork clean and flashes a delicious dimple that visits me in my dreams. “Leaving Jada out there to make her own decisions is clearly not a good idea. And allowing her to fuck herself over will hurt Fletch, too. And Mia. Our actions would save all three.”

“And be a waste of our time when, ultimately, she does a runner and ends up right back where she started. Just like last time.” I check the stovetop for our protein, but when I find only the mashed potatoes, I check inside the oven and discover two plates warming and a juicy steak sitting on each. “You really love me, huh?” I snag a hand towel and open the glass door. But I select only one plate, because I prefer sharing with her anyway. I could be starving, and I’d still eat slowly and make sure she matches me, bite for bite. “Looks so good, babe.”

“Cato’s gonna be pissed,” she snickers, leaning across and snagging a knife from the drawer. “He went out and selected these cuts himself. He’s training tonight, which means he’ll be hungry when he gets back, and by the time he realizes he’s been robbed, the smell of garlic and steak will already be in his lungs.” She cuts through the meat and selects a cube to offer my way. “It makes the meal so much more enjoyable knowing it’ll annoy him.”

“You have a sadistic side.” But I open my mouth and accept her offering. “Turns me on.”

“That’s the trauma speaking. We’re both as screwed up as each other. How was work?”

“One of the easier days.” I take the knife and fork since she places her hands in her lap instead of cutting a piece of steak for herself, and extricating myself from her legs, I get serious about my current task. Because she has an innate ability to suck me in and allow her to skip a meal. I cut a piece and bring the fork to her lips. “We caught a case. We solved the case. Sometimes they’re easier than others, and when the most obvious suspectskips town and turns up again a few hours away, it makes things a hell of a lot easier. Perp’s being transported back to Copeland as we speak, and then he’ll sit in a cage until Fletch and I get to work tomorrow. We’ll get the confession, and we have a warrant on a judge’s desk, just waiting for a signature. We’ll search his home and find the evidence we need.”

“You seem less pissed about this case than others.” She dips her finger into the potatoes and scoops some out. But when I figure she’ll suck the smooth mash from her digit, she offers it to me instead.

“It’s not uncommon for you to trade sleep and mental health for an open case.”

“Pot,” I chuckle, suckling her finger clean. “Meet kettle.”

“Right. But you’re surprisingly calm about this one. It’s…” Her brows slowly move higher. “Spooky.”

“I have other things on my mind right now. Those things provide perspective, and though I feel for my current vic, and I’ll do the job properly to land the prick in prison, it’s just…” I shrug. “Sometimes a case is just another day at the office. The fewer I become emotionally invested in, the better for us both. Are you mad I’m not stressed about it?”

She scoffs and accepts another chunk of steak when I cut a piece free. “No. Your stress is my stress. I was only making an observation. Easier days make me happy, and Fletch could clearly do with the break.”

“Have you heard from Fifi lately?”

She rolls her eyes. “No. I think she’s avoiding me, and to add irony to insult, it almost seems like I have to speak to the mayor to get to her. It’s a whole conspiracy set up by him. I swear.”

“God forbid you pick up the phone and talk to someone who cares about you.” I poke at the steak and toss a piece into my mouth. “He calls you daily. You ignore him daily. But you get mad that you don’t get to speak to his assistant?”

“Why’d that other assistant retire, anyway? It wasn’t necessary.”

“Because she’s, like, ninety-seven years old?”

“Proving my point exactly. She had three more years in her, at least.” Then her eyes light up. “What if we train Callen to be just like Fifi, then we play swapsies with the mayor? He won’t even notice.”

“Pretty sure he will.” I lean in and plop a kiss on the center of her lips. Then I replace it with more food because she’s talking more than she’s eating. “He swung by the precinct earlier today, so I got to see Fifi for a minute.”

“Did you talk to her?” She chews and studies me. “Did she mention me?”

“Tell me you’ve never pined for someone after a breakup without telling me.” I cut a slice for myself and grin. “I’d like to think you’ve never had a bad breakup before because you were always the one breaking hearts. But common sense tells me you simply never socialized enough to land yourself in a situation that warranted dating. Casual fun,” I amend with gritted teeth. “Sometimes. But relationships?” I shake my head. “No.”

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