Page 44 of Avery's Hero

Code speak? I’m not sure, but I nod toward the chair in front of my desk.

“Fire away.”

She flips open a notepad, when her eyes rise to mine, there’s a warmth to her cheeks that wasn’t there before last night.

Avery looks different after spending the night with me.

My ego balloons. Yep. I put that little smile on her lips and the color on her cheeks.

She gulps, tries to get her composure. “I, um… I have some questions.”

Yeah, I fucking feel ya. My gut’s clenched in a knot. My testosterone is pumping. I’m not sure I’m the guy withanswers. Obviously, my judgment is seriously in question here.

“Sure,” I grumble, annoyed at my lack of control. “What’s on your mind?”

She licks across her lips. The lips I can’t wait to get my mouth on. A hundred times last night I almost kissed her. Fuck, how I want to own that mouth, run my tongue deep, just like I did her delicious, hot pussy.

The air around me sizzles. I can hear it crackling in my ears. She clears her throat as her color brightens even more. Somehow managing to sound half normal, she asks, “Do the three arson locations have anything in common?”

Once again my cock has consumed more than its fair share of blood. My brain feels dim. I lean back in the chair, trying to get my bigger head in the game. “Well…” I chuckle. “Seems I’m not the only one that’s off to a slow start this morning.”

Blushing, she glances over her shoulder. “Can I shut the door?”

I rise and do it for her. “Best damned idea I’ve heard all day.”

Once we’re sealed in, she sighs and straightens her notepad. “Okay, that’s better. I’m not sure why, but I was afraid I’d slip and say something really incriminating.”

“Like?”

“I have no clue. But it could happen, Chief Cunnilinguist.”

We grin at each other, then we both laugh. Hard. The energy in the room eases, just enough for me to breathe. She wipes at her eyes when she catches her breath. “Okay, I feel better now.”

“Me too.” I grab two bottles of water from the fridge. “Here, your voice is a little rough.”

“Thanks, someone had me yodeling last night.”

I’m shaking my head when I take my seat and lean back in my chair. “Back to the case. Or we might end up in the shower again.”

Dropping her pretty brows, she says, “Oh no, Chief. I’ve got work to do.”

I let my voice drop. “Dirty work.”

She scoffs, shakes a finger at me. “Bad.”

“I don’t know. That was pretty funny.”

She straightens her ponytail. “Okay, so back to the case. What do the three businesses have in common?”

Sipping the cold water, I enjoy the way her expression shifts and becomes sharper. Genius Avery is checking in for duty now.

I say, “Bookstore. Antique store. Warehouse.”

“Hm. What was in the warehouse?”

“Files.”

“Modern files? Document storage?”

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