Синтия Иден: Hotter After Midnight

Her breasts brushed against his chest. The nipples were tight, pebbled. He wanted to touch them, but he didn’t think the doc was ready for that.

He sucked her tongue slowly, drawing out the kiss, wanting to make every second count. His cock was rock hard for her, pressing tight against the tempting cradle of her sex.

What he wouldn’t give to have her naked beneath him right then.

Colin forced himself to break the kiss, forced his head to lift. Her lips were red, wet from his mouth.

She glared up at him, and her breath sounded ragged to his ears. "Are you satisfied now?"

Not by a long shot. But he had a good idea of just how the doc could satisfy him.

Her bedroom had to be down the darkened hallway. He could take her in there, strip her, and-

"Not going to happen." She exhaled slowly, shaking her head. "So you can just forget about that. A kiss is one thing, shifter. Sex is a whole other game."

He blinked. "Ah, now, baby, what makes you think I was-"

"Hands off, now," she snapped, not answering his question, but instead narrowing those gorgeous green eyes of hers.

He liked her eyes. Liked the dark, emerald green. Course, those eyes were starting to shine with a rather furious glint.

Reluctantly, he dropped his hands. Colin inhaled her delicious scent one more time, then he stepped back, completely freeing her.

Her hands dropped to her sides. "Future reference note." Her chin jutted into the air. "If I want you to kiss me, I’ll tell you. I’m not a big fan of the He-man routine."

"Ah, so you’re already thinking of our future."

Her lips thinned.

"That’s fine, Doc. When you want to be kissed, you just let me know." He’d be more than happy to oblige her.

"What I want is for you to go." She pointed toward the door. "Now."

Colin didn’t think that was what she really wanted. He could smell her arousal in the air, and her nipples were still tight with desire, thrusting against the white T-shirt she wore. But he nodded.

He’d accomplished most of his goals by coming to see the doc.

He’d discovered that she knew he was a shifter, and she’d given her word that she wouldn’t reveal his secret. For now, he’d take her at her word. Wasn’t like he had much choice in the matter. He’d try trusting her, and for the doc’s sake, he sure as hell hoped that she didn’t betray him.

So he’d gotten her to lay her cards on the table, and he’d finally gotten to taste her. For nearly three straight hours, he’d wanted to feel her lips beneath his. Now that he had, well, he wanted to taste her again.

And he would. Soon.

He stalked toward the front door, flipped the locks.

"You never wanted to talk to me about the case, did you?" Her voice stopped him.

Colin glanced back at her. She still stood against the wall, but her arms were crossed over her chest now and her left foot tapped out a hard rhythm on the floor. "I don’t want to talk about that yet." Not until he’d gotten his report from the ME and he’d talked to McNeal about the possibility of bringing Emily on the case in a more official capacity.

If she was right, if the killer really was Other, then he figured the PD would need all the help it could get in solving the case.

And who better to hunt a monster than the good doctor?

"Would you work with us?" he asked as he began to make his plan of attack. McNeal had brought her on originally; he’d probably okay pulling Emily completely onto the case.

"Work with you?" Her foot stopped tapping. "I already did. I told you what I know and-"

"Lady, I have the feeling you know a hell of a lot more than you told me." About the case, about him-but he’d deal with all that in due time.

Her expression never altered. "What is it you want from me?"

Once he’d gotten the official okay, he wanted her to be-"A profiler. I want you to give me a workup on this guy, want you to tell me exactly how he thinks, how he lives." So that he could catch the bastard before he hurt anyone else. "Can you do that?"

She nodded.

"Then I’ll be seeing you soon, Doc." And they’d start tracking a killer.

Hmmm. Not a usual date, but with the doc, he had a feeling he’d have to take what he could get.

They’d been inside the house for twenty minutes. The cop had gone in, like he owned the place, and he’d been inside with her for twenty minutes.

A slow rage began to build inside him. This shouldn’t have happened. This should never have happened.

Her front door opened. The cop appeared. He looked back at the woman, muttered something, then marched down the steps.

His body tensed as he watched them. He’d hidden himself well; they wouldn’t be able to see him in the darkness. He was-

The cop froze. Lifted his head. Looked slowly around the yard.

"What is it?" Her voice. Dr. Drake stepped onto the porch. The light cascaded over her. For an instant, with that shining light all around her, she almost looked like an angel.

But he knew she wasn’t an angel. No, not an angel. Never an angel. The doctor was a demon. Just like the others.

The cop was looking right at his hiding spot now. The guy took a step forward.

"Gyth? Is someone out there?" Dr. Drake crossed to the cop’s side.

A trickle of sweat slid down his cheek. He realized the crickets around him had stopped chirping. The night was quiet, too quiet.

Now wasn’t the time, he realized, inching deeper into the brush.

He’d come back for the doctor another night. Wait until she was alone.

Then he’d destroy the demon.

After all, hunting demons was his job.

Colin stared into the dark, twisted trees on the vacant lot across the street. For an instant, he’d sworn he’d heard something, someone.

He spared a quick look at Emily. She was gazing at the trees, a faint furrow between her brows.

"I want to check that place out," he told her, and pulled his gun from the holster at his hip. "Stay here."

He didn’t wait to see if she obeyed, just took off, moving slowly, stealthily across the street. Maybe he was wrong, maybe he was just too damn tired, but he had to check the place out.

Because his instincts were screaming at him, and he never, ever ignored his instincts.

The faint scent of cigarettes teased his nostrils as he crept closer. Yeah, someone had been here all right.

But why?

The moonlight barely trickled past the trees, but he’d always had excellent night vision. Another little shifter side effect. So he could easily see the ground and the bent grass where someone had knelt, where someone had watched.

A growl rumbled in his throat.

His fingers tightened around the butt of his gun and-

A twig snapped behind him. He spun around, gun drawn, leveled, aimed, and ready to fire-

Right between Emily’s eyes.

"Dammit!" He lowered his gun. "Didn’t I tell you to stay put?"

Her gaze followed the movement of the gun, then slowly lifted back to his face. "Yes, but I’m not a dog. I don’t generally ‘stay’ when I’m told."

He realized the doctor was annoyed. Good. Matched him perfectly. "Future reference note," he muttered, quoting her earlier words back to her, "when I give an order, there’s usually a damn good reason for it. And next time, you’d sure as hell better listen to me."

Her lips tightened. "I thought you might need some help."

"What?" Jesus. He was the cop! He didn’t need the mind doctor to back him up.

And he was a shifter-that fact alone meant he knew how to guard his own ass.

She muttered something beneath her breath, something he didn’t quite catch but sounded a lot like "asshole shifter."

"Shit. Just stay behind me, all right?" He wanted to check out the thick patch of bushes up ahead. He strained, trying to listen for any telltale sound that might indicate the watcher was still there. But he heard only the call of crickets, the faint rustle of the leaves in the breeze.