Authors: Melody Snow Monroe
She’d never had a ménage relationship before. In her heart, she knew she was waiting for Shane and Cody to come into her life.
His hand seemed firmer on her waist as if he didn’t want her out of his sight. “I’ll drive.”
That worked for her. His truck wasn’t new by any stretch, but the inside was clean. She pressed the window button to get some air. Being in such a closed space with him jumbled her brain.
“So, you’re thinking the guy at the front desk will recognize these two as regulars, tell you about it without a warrant, and you’ll eliminate the drug cartel as a suspect?”
When he put it that way, her idea did seem a bit stupid. “I guess that was my thinking. Lame, huh?”
He shrugged. “I figured you knew that, but you contacted me because you wanted to see me again.” He winked and her face heated up.
Had he developed X-Ray vision into her mind? “No. I needed their picture for not only the news, but also in case something else turned up.” That sounded reasonable.
“Uh-huh.” He grinned, and her body seemed to catch on fire.
She said nothing more. Fortunately, the sex club was less than a mile away. He parked in front. “You sure you want to go in?” His tone held concern as well as something she couldn’t put her finger on. Here she’d prided herself on reading people. She guessed Cody had a secret stash of Kryptonite in his pocket designed to keep her off balance.
“Yes.” The daylight did not show the club in the best condition. It needed some paint and a new door. It looked like someone had smashed a hand through one of the panels. The trash on the sidewalk was anything but inviting.
“Come on then. You’ll be safe with me.”
She wasn’t sure if he meant he’d keep her safe from the unsavory elements inside or he wouldn’t put the moves on her.
Once inside, her eyes took a moment to get used to the dark. There was a desk at the entrance where a short, stubby man sat behind.
“Cody. Little lady. You come for a little viewing or a little doing?”
The man raked his gaze up and down her. She was about to
little lady
him when Cody had the nerve to chuckle. He nudged her to produce the photos. “Do you recognize these people?”
Wait a minute
. This guy knew Cody? Was it because he was a regular or because he ran the only newspaper in town?
“The Tanners? Sure.”
Her heart raced. “Do you remember the last time they were in here?”
The stubby man leaned back. “They ain’t never been in here. I just knew them. Nicest people in the world. In fact, my son did some contracting work for them. Installed the solar panels on their roof.” He waved a hand. “It’s a shame you came all the way out here for nothing.”
Damn
. “Thanks for your time.”
He cleared his throat. “If you want, you’re welcome to take a peek around. It’s a little dead now, but come Friday or Saturday night, I bet you’ll find something that strikes your fancy.” He winked, but his overture did nothing for her. “We have women on women, men on men, and my personal favorite, two or three guys on one girl.” He grinned. While the light was dim, his teeth glowed yellow.
He handed the photos back to her. She looked up at Cody. “I guess I got what I came for.”
Cody rubbed her arms. “Sure you don’t want to try out a room? Mano y mano? I mean reporter to reporter?” His chuckle shot down her throat, straight to her pussy.
“You’re a laugh a minute.” His eyes turned a darker blue, and her whole body vibrated. “Let’s get out of here.”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder as if they’d been a couple forever. What was his game? Was he trying to see how far he could push her?
The big question was how far did she want to go? Her goal was to get him into bed. The chase was part of the fun, but Cody seemed to be moving pretty fast and was way too willing.
Being confused about what she wanted rarely had been her issue. She’d spotted something she desired and went for it. With Cody and Shane she hadn’t expected the path to be so fraught with potholes that made her trip over herself.
As soon as they stepped outside, she squinted against the bright light.
“So, you going with the Colombian drug cartel theory now that you’ve eliminated kink?”
“You got a better theory? I’m open to anything you can think of.”
Whoops
. From the twinkle in his eye, he took her comment the wrong way. She didn’t mean to imply she was into kink herself. She would never submit to neck collars or caning. Nor would she agree to be put in a pillory whereby she’d be naked and helpless. With her hands and head constrained in the wooden stocks, a man could lick and probe her anytime he wanted. Couldn’t have that!
Her damn pussy squirted out some juices thinking about that.
Traitor
.
Cody tapped her shoulder. “Jessie. You okay?”
She looked up at him. His brows were pinched and he seemed to be searching her eyes.
“Sure. Why?”
“You were just standing there, staring into space.”
Oh, shit
. She knew he couldn’t read minds. If he could, he might suggest they go back inside. She shrugged as casually as she could despite her heart firing rapidly. “Just thinking.”
He held open the passenger side door for her. “Before I draw any conclusion, I’m going to wait for Shane’s lab results to come in.”
Smart
. “Does Shane send his evidence to Cheyenne?” She figured Intrigue was a bit too small to have its own crime lab, and Cheyenne was the capitol.
“Yes, but the police department has some capabilities.” Cody glanced at his cell. “It’s a bit early, but do you want to catch a bite to eat?”
“I wish I could. I have to follow up on some bike thefts at the local elementary school.”
He laughed. “You’re kidding. Walt has you wasting your time on that kind of story?”
That piqued her interest. “What do you know about the stolen bikes?”
“Not much. They’ve interviewed a few people but have come up short. There’s no story there. Besides, the bikes were taken over a week ago.”
What was Walt trying to pull? Was he subtly trying to pull her from the Tanner case? “I’ll head over anyway. We’ll do lunch some other time, if that’s okay with you.” She probably should have accepted, but she needed some distance to get her head on straight.
“Sure.” Cody parked in the back parking lot of the newspaper office. “If you change your mind, call me.”
“I will.” She smiled and slid out. What was wrong with her? As soon as she stepped into the sex club, the reporter part of her brain had disengaged. It was all Cody’s fault.
No sooner had she gotten into her car when her cell rang. It was Shane. Now that was a nice surprise. “Hey, Shane.”
“I got some more information on the fire, but I’d rather not tell you over the phone.”
Her senses shot to alert. Did he think someone was listening in to the conversation? “I can meet you.” She bet when Cody learned she’d ditched a lunch offer to meet with Shane, he wouldn’t be too happy.
“How about Hooper’s Park?”
If someone were listening, they’d know where they were going, but eavesdropping would be more difficult in the open. The park he chose was where all the high school kids used to hang out. It also was close to the elementary school, so that worked out well for her. “When?”
“Ten minutes work for you?”
“Sure.” She’d actually be there sooner than that.
When she arrived, the park was mostly empty, which was probably why Shane wanted to meet there. While there were a lot of picnic tables, she chose one of the benches under a tree, not too far from the parking lot.
Less than five minutes later, Shane got out of his truck and came toward her. She loved how his broad shoulders didn’t move as he strode closer. His compact motion spoke of a highly tuned machine. What she wouldn’t give to see his engine up close and personal.
Stop it. You’re here for work.
Her lips seemed to turn up on their own when he sat down.
“Thanks for coming.” He placed a hand over hers, and it was like a bolt of electricity had shot through her.
She cleared her throat and slowly pulled her hand out from under his. He didn’t seem to notice. “What did you find out about the fire?”
“The police department was able to test the cigarette paper I found. It was wrapped around marijuana.”
She had to think about what that meant. “Are you thinking they got so stoned that when the bed caught on fire, they didn’t move?”
He shook his head. “While I’d never seen either Greg or Rhonda smoke, I know for a fact they’d never do marijuana.”
“How can you be so sure?” She kept her voice neutral. If he thought she was questioning his integrity, he’d clam up quickly.
“Greg’s brother was into drugs and died a few years back from an overdose. That prompted Greg to work part-time for a nonprofit organization to help those who were dependent.”
While she never had any siblings, if she had, she couldn’t imagine losing one of them and not being able to help. “If they absolutely wouldn’t have been smoking a joint, are you saying someone deliberately set the fire using a marijuana cigarette?”
“It’s possible. There are some horrible people out there, but I can’t draw that conclusion without more proof.” He glanced around, almost as if he expected to see someone lurking.
Did Shane really think someone might want to shut him up? “Is there something I can do to help?”
“I thought maybe you could do a bit more research on Rhonda at Harman Security. They’re not local, so I don’t know much about them.”
“It’s hard to believe a security company would be unsavory. That would be like saying the police were dirty. Why not look into Greg’s background, too?”
“He worked at the local feedstore. I’ve known the owners for years. They’re upstanding folks.”
“Call me cynical, but sometimes even the nicest people can be crooks.”
“True.”
Shane edged closer, causing her senses to shoot to high alert. The birds were making a racket nearby, and she saw a mother push a baby in a carriage, but she wasn’t sure why they were having this clandestine meeting. “Why did you want to meet in the park?” Was he in danger? She prayed he was overreacting.
“So I could do this.” He leaned over, cupped her face, and kissed her.
Her body lit up. She’d dreamed about kissing the dark-haired, sexy Shane McKee for too many years. He totally lived up to the hype. Jessie leaned into him and opened her mouth a bit to test whether he wanted to deepen the kiss. She squeezed his muscular arms for balance. Shane took her up on her invitation and ran his tongue along her teeth before exploring her mouth. A whirlwind of emotions electrified every cell. Touching Shane made one of her dreams come true.
When his thumb brushed against her breast, she pulled away. “Okay. I didn’t see that coming.” Her breath came out in pants.
Shane’s expression was totally unreadable.
Oh, shit.
Had she offended him? In truth, she was confused by the sudden interest.
He ran a hand down her arm. “You didn’t seem to mind.” His tone came out lighter than she expected.