His mind felt clearer than it had in days. Didnt diminish his desire for Romana, but the clutter around it was disappearing. He could meet his feelings for her head-on and, hopefully, put them in their place. Wherever the hell that was.
Reading Dylans body language, he anticipated the next blow and dipped his left shoulder just enough that Hoags knuckles bounced off bone. With adrenaline zinging through his veins, Jacob spun, kicked Dylans legs out from under him and planted him face-down on the mat.
Dylans curses emerged in a rough growl. He jerked under Jacobs body weight but couldnt free himself.
Jacob leaned over. Had enough?
Dylan snapped up his head and swore. Youre bigger than me, Knight. You have a longer reach.
You weigh more than I do. Jacob held him down for another moment before relaxing his hold. No rules, Hoag.
Yeah, you said that before.
As he spoke, Dylan worked himself onto his back. His lips peeled away from his teeth. Without warning, he doubled his fists and raised them like a hammer.
But Jacob wasnt foolish enough to have trusted a spiteful adversary. Despite Dylans weight advantage, he blocked the worst of the blow.
The spark reignited. Hed have let it erupt if he hadnt caught a movement in the doorway.
Glancing up, he saw Romana leaning on the wide jamb. She had one hand hooked over the opposite elbow as she observed the fight.
The mistake was his. If he hadnt looked, hed have seen Dylan draw back his foot. What he saw instead was the expression of shock that bolted across Romanas face.
Only a kick aimed straight at his crotch could elicit an expression like that. A split second before Dylans foot contacted, Jacob rolled sideways. He plunged his heel into Hoags side, directly into his kidneys.
While Dylan crumpled and wheezed, Jacob did a slower roll into a crouch. With one hand dangling between his knees, and the fingers of his other checking out the cut on his mouth, he regarded Romana from the ground.
Howd you track me down?
I talked to OKeefe. Wincing in sympathy, she pushed off to approach them. Is he all right?
Will be. Jacob located his towel and stood. We said nine for the mall, didnt we?
She sent Dylan a last commiserating look, then refocused. We didnt specify. Accusation gleamed in her eyes. And you didnt call.
Was I supposed to?
No, but Im feeling irritable, and here you are, fresh from a head-clearing workout that I wish Id thought of for myself.
A faint grin appeared. He held his hands out to the side. You wanna go, Officer Grey? Tanks not empty yet.
At his offer, her approach, in fact her entire demeanor, altered. Instead of simply walking, she began to sashay, in a way that could only be called bombshell seductive. Are you challenging me, Detective Knight? Because Im always up for that.
Still nursing his injured side, Dylan gained his feet. Watch for silent bullets, Romana. Its the only way Knight knows how to deal with a woman.
She kept moving, her eyes locked on Jacobs. Oh, I think he knows one or two other ways.Your left cheeks bleeding, Dylan.
He touched the bone, swore and limped away.
I think you riled him, Knight.
He heard a soft snap in his head, wondered where all the light had gone. I might have.
Hes wrong, you know.
So you said. Off-kilter and edgy because of it, Jacob watched her closely. Dylan Hoag he could handle. Romana in this mood was a more difficult proposition. To say nothing of more dangerous.
She halted less than a foot in front of him, made two fists and jammed them against his stomach muscles. You look good without a shirt.
Clothes are restrictive. His eyebrows went up. You gonna take your shot now, or wait until youve destroyed my guard completely?
No rules, Knight. Her eyes danced. Besides, I prefer to bide my time in hand-to-hand combat.
He wondered if a person could drown in eyes like hers. It seemed possible since simply breathing had become a major undertaking. If hed been hot before, it was nothing compared to the way he felt now.
And wasnt that just what he needed after everything hed done to close down his feelings for her tonight?
She pressed her fists in deeper. So whats the deal? Are we going to do it or not?
He had to realign his thoughts. You want to fight?
Its an option. The dance became a tease. But I like my idea better.
With a quickness Dylan Hoag could only dream of, she snatched up two handfuls of Jacobs damp hair and yanked his mouth onto hers.
HE TASTED OF HEAT AND SEX, like fire in a snowstorm. Two seconds in, and Romanas blood went from a sizzle to a roar. Shed plunged into the kiss unthinking. She wanted him to respond the same way.
To her surprise, he did, and with a swiftness that both excited and intrigued her. His mouth devoured hers. His lips explored and his tongue probed in such a wonderfully thorough way that she wished it could go on forever. She wished more that the soft warnings deep inside her mind would disappear.
Shoving them back, she released Jacobs hair, let her hands streak across the smooth lines of his shoulders. The workout with Dylan had heated his skin and now, she thought with a hazy smile, it was heating hers. Couldnt get much better than that, even in a dream.
Jacobs grip on her waist shifted lower. He snugged her hips against his. She felt his arousal, and with a satisfied purr, bumped herself against him. Drawing his full lower lip into her mouth, she regarded him through her lashes.
Jacobs grip on her waist shifted lower. He snugged her hips against his. She felt his arousal, and with a satisfied purr, bumped herself against him. Drawing his full lower lip into her mouth, she regarded him through her lashes.
You should punch out your rivals more often, Detective. I like the aftereffects.
Youre only feeling the ones that dont involve bruises. His lips trailed upward over her cheekbone, but while his breath on her temple brought a shiver, she really wanted that mouth back on hers.
He did truly amazing things with his tongue. However, pretty much anything he did right now would only fuel her desire to tear off his sweats and have sex with him on the gym floor.
Her roving hands snagged his waistband. For a second, she considered tugging on the drawstring. But even as his mouth returned to feed on hers, she knew she wouldnt do it. Wasnt quite that uninhibited. She feathered her fingers over his back instead, then upward again until they were tangled once again in his hair.
Now if only the nagging voice in her head would go away. But it kept sneaking out, reminding her that no matter how much she wanted him, the ice she stood on was far too thin to be trusted. What would she do if it cracked, if everything she believed, needed to believe, turned out to be a lie?
The question haunted, almost as much as he did. Jacob Knight rocked her senses in a way that no one else ever had. He threw her off-balance, tripped her up when he kissed her, then, piece by piece, stripped away every last scrap of her common sense.
Ah, but if she was honest, wasnt that what she wanted him to do? After all, shed been the one to initiate the kiss.
Romana supposed it was fortunate that a sergeant from Internal Affairs, a woman who knew them both and whod been on the force for more than thirty years, should breeze into the room with a sarcastic, Oh, knock it off you two. If I cant smoke in here, neither can you. Heads-up, Grey. You might want to think twice before letting this one get you on your back. Beautiful he might be, but I can tell you firsthand, pretty much every female under sixty at HQ is lined up and itching to take their best shot at him. And not with bullets.
Romana didnt look at the woman, nor did she step away. She did, however, let her eyes sparkle up into Jacobs.
Does that lineup include you, Sergeant Davenport?
Would if my hubby wasnt still the love of my life.
She kept walking. Like Romana, she didnt glance over or pause as she passed. I was just at HQ if youre interested. Words out that Critch has jumped parole, and hes on a vengeful tear. No surprise, Knight, your captain decided to have a chat with Critchs prison shrink this afternoon. I wont go into detail, but suffice to say the shrink figures his patients either cured and functional, or hes completely off the map and incurably, nonfunctionally, carry-his-grudge-to-the-death insane.
Chapter Seven
You know, Romana mused, just once it would be nice to talk to someone who had something positive to say about this situation.
Jacob surveyed the bustling main aisles of the north-side shopping mall. Like what?
She thought for a moment. Well, the Cincinnati police force does have an excellent reputation for apprehending lunatics before they strike.
Do we? Still scanning, Jacob grinned. Thats news to me.
It would be, seeing as you cops in Homicide always look at life from the dark side. I teach criminology, Jacob. I see the stats. When it comes to apprehending crazies, this citys police officers are among the finest in the country.
Either that or the majority of the nutcases gravitate to warmer climates.
So what-youre saying most of the nut balls live in Florida, or California, or Texas, or Louisiana, or She knocked his arm with her own. You know I could go on for quite a while here, dont you?
Yeah, Ive discovered that about you. Id rather you went on about that e-picture again.
She shuddered off the sensation of floating, ghostlike, on the ceiling and staring down at herself in death. Surrounded by mistletoe leaves, she murmured. And halted the thought there. I wonder why he used them?
Who? Critch or the killer?
Either. Both. Okay, Critch was re-creating his wifes death with the picture he sent today, but what do you suppose was going on inside the murderers head when he placed mistletoe around Belindas body?
Maybe we should ask Critchs shrink.
If that shrinks name is Raymond Haines, dont bother. The mans at least two hundred years old. God, Jacob, he was ancient when Doctor Gorman retired, and Gorman was in his late seventies by the time he left Forensics-which he only did because the hospital board put an enormous amount of pressure on him.
Should I know what youre talking about?
Exasperation swept in. Youre in Homicide, Knight. You must have met Gorman at some point.