Page 10 of Heat of Justice

“No. At least I hate to think it could be,” Quinn added with a wince. “But someone who’s got access... a person who knows where and how to dig. That, yes. Definitely.”

“Well, I know how to dig, too,” Lia declared with narrowed eyes.

“I don’t want you involved in this, Lia.”

“Too late. Already am.”

“I mean it,” Quinn insisted, and her heart tightened.

It wasn’t a new feeling where Lia was concerned. From her first day on the job as a police reporter, when she strapped on a Kevlar vest and went out on patrol with Lewiston P.D. officers, Lia had been intimately involved in her professional life. Before this, as a war reporter, she had spent time on the ground with various military units. She had taken plenty of risks in her owncareer and lived to tell the tale. She was streetwise, far from naïve, and Quinn had seen her in action too. She knew her wife was well able to fend for herself. Even so, the desire to protect her, to keep her safe and out of harm’s way, was always a strong impulse.

“Anybody could be behind this stupid blog,” she muttered. “I don’t want you to take risks.”

“No risks, I promise. But I will take a look.”

Quinn hissed in frustration. “You can be so damn stubborn; you know that?”

“Why, thank you, darling, it’s one of my best qualities.”

“Not funny, Lia.”

“Isn’t it?” Lia challenged with a roguish smile. “What did you expect when you married a reporter?”

“Exactly. A reporter, not a private detective.”

“Some would argue there’s a fine line between the two.”

“Whatever. Just don’t cross it.”

The smile turned into a smirk. “Or what, Lieutenant?”

The way her dark eyes flashed so invitingly and a familiar, attractive rush of color across her cheeks also prompted Quinn’s temperature to rise. Before Lia could react or wriggle off her lap, she wrapped both arms tightly around her waist and twisted to the side, pinning her startled lover to the couch with the weight of her body. The move earned her a delighted giggle.

“Run out of words to argue your case, babe? Going to resort to force now?”

“If you ask me nicely.”

As Lia laughed, Quinn trailed a line of heated kisses behind her ear, down the side of her neck, along the edge of her jaw. She nipped playfully at her bottom lip but pulled away a little when Lia tried to steal a kiss.

“Behave yourself, Ms. Kennedy.”

“No,” Lia shot back with a fiery grin.

On that, she fisted her fingers firmly in her hair and yanked her back down to claim the kiss she wanted. Quinn offered no resistance; just a smile as she melted into it. Lia had so many adorable ways to disarm her… Quinn often marveled at the fact that she understood her so well, and also that Lia seemed to want her for exactly who and what she was, scars and all. This kind of love was special. A gift, for sure, and the best feeling in the world.Especially after today.Quinn thought she had done pretty well in Wilson’s office to control her initial fury, even as she told him, point blank, what she thought of the suspension order. She did regret letting her temper show with her detectives afterward, but yeah, as Lia said, they were tough cops. They’d deal with it. Compared to the sort of anxiety Quinn used to be plagued with, debilitating flashbacks of traumatic times in the army and equally disabling panic attacks, letting out a verbal rebuke was nothing. The rest of it hurt, though, and Lia would be able to guess how much. To have her ethics brought into question when Quinn took her duty so much to heart was like a vicious punch in the face. To realize that she was not trusted at the higher levels, not worthy of proper support when she held her oath to serve and protect over and above even her own life, was so totally—

“Relax,” Lia murmured. “Stay with me, Quinn, don’t drift off in your head.”

To help with that, she slipped both hands under her t-shirt, raked her fingernails over the strong muscles in her stomach, and grunted when she encountered a sports bra instead of naked breasts.

“Take this off.”

“Roger that, Ms. Kennedy.”

As Quinn sent her t-shirt and bra flying across the room, Lia rolled off the couch to do the same with hers. She stood therehalf-naked, with her nipples at attention, and flashed a devilish grin.

“Catch me if you can.”

Laughing, she took off down the hallway, prompting Quinn to chase after her. They rejoined at the entrance to the bedroom and fell on top of the bed with their arms wrapped around each other. It had not taken Quinn very long to discover that married sex was incredibly better than all the meaningless encounters she used to have. Married sex with Lia easily topped off the mind-blowing chart by a mile. As they fought briefly for dominance, a playful tussle, Lia lost her panties, which happened to be her last remaining item of clothing.

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