Page 35 of Art of the Hunt
“Fine. Me. Do you want to help me try to figure it out?”
She canted her head, which was kind of cute and a stark contrast to the incredibly hot outfit she was wearing. The whole confusing package was seriously distracting.
“I don’t suppose you would be willing to change back into the sweats, would you?”
She eyed his thin boxers, and he twisted slightly away from her. That look was definitely making a certain part of his anatomy stand at attention, and if he weren’t careful, Willy might just pop out and say hi.
“I’ll put my jeans on,” he said.
She rolled her eyes and flounced into the bedroom, and hell yeah, he watched the view until she closed the door and cut him off. And then he scrambled to stuff his legs into his jeans and tug them over his hips.
Why was he being such a fucking prude? The woman had been practically throwing herself at him. God knew it had been way too long since he’d had sex with anyone else actually in the room.
He was an idiot. Although he’d be an idiot to sleep with her, too, so really, he couldn’t freaking win this game.
She returned to the room wearing his ancient Nirvana T-shirt and equally old sweatpants and she was no less sexy than she had been while wearing satin and lace.
She was right. He did need to get laid.
But not with her. Even though he couldn’t imagine hooking up with anyone else.
He swiped his hand over his face. He’d already gone over all the reasons having sex with her was a bad idea. It was time to move on.
He grabbed a notepad and a pen, refilled both mugs, and dropped onto the couch. “Okay, let’s list what we know and see if we can come up with any ideas.”
***
Two hours later, they’d rehashed everything that had happened to them in the last two days, he’d made breakfast, and the only suspect that had come to light was the guy he’d busted at the massage parlor.
He was a reasonable suspect, except he was currently killing time in a jail cell.
“Perhaps he is paying someone on the outside to do his dirty work,” Artemis suggested.
“Maybe,” Hunter allowed, staring at the notes he’d scribbled down. “Something about it doesn’t feel right. I can’t put my finger on what, though.”
She nodded slowly. He’d discovered that she was a pacer, like him. When they first started rattling off ideas, she’d leaped to her feet, strode to the window and back, over and over, while she verbally walked through every step of their relationship since they met.
Once she’d exhausted all scenarios, he stood and started pacing, and since his apartment was small as hell, she’d dropped onto the couch and reviewed what he’d written down as he talked through the last few days from his own point of view.
Periodically, they’d switch places, like an assembly line with employees who had worked together for years and were so in tune they could practically read each other’s minds.
If he were ever to consider taking on a partner, he’d need someone like Artemis. Someone who meshed with his habits, nuances. Someone who thought the same way he did.
It was funny, really, because on the surface, they had little in common. Yet when it came to the job, they were…perfect together.
“We should interview him,” Artemis said.
Hunter shook his head. “I can interview him, but you won’t be allowed into the interrogation room.” Although, hell, she had a way of manipulating cops, so it wouldn’t surprise him at all if she were allowed to go with him. So many things about her didn’t quite make sense.
As a cop, that should bother him. She was a mystery and his job was to solve mysteries. And while yes, the woman had some serious quirks, all those oddities combined were Artemis, and he liked Artemis for who she was.
More and more with each passing hour they spent together.
Was he developing a crush? Talk about awkward. He’d blown the woman off when she hit on him, now he was crushing on her? She wasn’t the conundrum in this relationship—he was.
“Let’s go,” he said abruptly. “We’ll swing by your hotel so you can change clothes, and then we’ll head into the station. Something tells me you’ll be able to charm the powers that be to let you be in the room while I interrogate the guy.”
She clapped her hands like an excited child, and he was glad he could make her so happy. He wanted to figure out a dozen other ways he could please her.
