Page 39 of No Small Sin

I glared at her, silently begging her to keep her beautiful mouth closed. Regaining my composure, I turned back to Detective Carson. “Regardless,” I shot her a look out of the corner of my eye, daring her to speak again. “You can take your pick of the deviants living in this complex. Question them.”

“Deviants,” TK blurted. “Please. Tell me what you really think of where I live.”

As soon as this door was closed, I was going to lay that cute little ass of hers across my knee and absolutelyredden it.

I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Is there anything else you need from us?” I asked again. “We were eating breakfast and I’d like to get back to it before yourquestioningleads to our first lovers’ quarrel.”

“Oh, we’reloversthen,” TK rubbed up and down my bicep with a coy grin on her face.

This woman.

The detective shifted from foot to foot, obviously uncomfortable. “That’s all. If I think of anything else, I’ll be in touch. Thanks.”

He turned to walk away. “Bye, Detective!” TK yelled after him, waving frantically as I jerked her back into the townhouse and slammed the door.

I glowered down at her.

“What?” She asked. “I didgood, thank you.”

“How are you not even shaken up about this? Like… at all?” I questioned, truly surprised at her response and overall demeanor.

“You’re not either.” She shoved her hands into the pockets of her pajama pants and nonchalantly walked back to the kitchen.

I grabbed the back of her shirt and tugged her into me, wrapping her in a bear hug. “I’ll take care of it if it needs taken care of,” I let her know.

“I know you will.” She sounded so certain.

She should be, because I would die before I let anything come between us now.

She pulled away from me again, heading toward the kitchen counter. She grabbed an apple from the bowl and took a paring knife from the drawer below it. She hastily cut into the fruit, trimming away the peel.

“I’m not worried,” she said. “There’s nothing tying us to the scene and even if there was, like DNA or something, they’d have to have something to match it to. You’re not in any criminal databases are you?” She looked up at me through her eyelashes while continuing to peel the apple.

I snorted. “Yeah. No. I’m more responsible thanthat.”

Had she been watching CSI or something?

“Right. So. No worri —shit!” She’d carelessly knicked the edge of one of her fingers with the knife.

A small amount of blood beaded around the minor wound. I took her hand in mine, instinctively bringing it to my lips and sucking the red liquid away.

My mind flashed to the last time I’d seen blood beading on her skin and a wave of momentary panic overcame me.

She’d cut herself on my knife that night at Alexander’s and I’d run my fingers through it. I was so under her spell, the shock of her being there at all — all of it — that I couldn’t remember if I’d cleaned it from my hands before manhandling Alex.

What the actual fuck had I done?

I’dneverbeen so thoughtless and irresponsible when dealing with a body, even in my early days.

I wouldn’t worry her with this possibility, and wouldn’t until I knew for sure that this was why foul play was suspected.

I removed her finger from between my lips and pulled her into me, breathing in her vanilla scent.

“You’re way more lovey than I would have thought you’d be,” she giggled.

“I have a lifetime of unspent affection, cuore mio. Excuse me if I want to spend it on you now — and for the rest of my days.”

I didn’t voice the rest of that sentiment — that I wasn’t sure how many days that might be. Because I would die before I let anything happen to her as a result of this. I would kill anyone who tried to take her away from me. I would killherif it came to that, and barrel after her into the darkest part of hell because I know that the pieces of my soul somehow know hers, and would find her there.

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