starts wailing.”
Pete nodded and kissed her cheek.
Cole caressed his son’s little head and planted a kiss on his wife’s mouth as she walked past him. He made like he was going to swat her ass, but she glared over her shoulder. Pete held back a laugh and Cole chuckled.
Nikki sat on the couch, her arms crossed over her breasts, and threw a dirty look at him when he followed Cole into the living room. Lee leaned against the wall and offered a nod as Cole grabbed the remote.
Great. Still irritated at you, dude. Pete assumed she was jealous over the way he’d interacted with Lee. From the first thing that morning, all she’d had was a tight expression for him. When he spoke, she answered curtly, in the fewest number of words possible.
What gives? The previous evening they’d shared had been pleasant. He and Lee had taken her to see her grandmother then they’d had dinner together—takeout from Dixie’s—before Lee had headed back to The Covington.
Being alone with Nikki hadn’t been so bad, though he’d had to glue his hands to his sides and scream at himself not to reach for her. He’d sat on the opposite end of the living room of the big house on Montgomery Street as they’d watched the late news and they’d parted ways at about eleven to get some sleep.
Separate bedrooms.
Close so he could protect her, of course, but not close enough.
Pete had imagined her naked beneath him before chiding himself and finally falling asleep. He’d had vivid dreams where he’d done a hell of a lot more than kiss her. Morning wood had been annoying, but he’d not given in to the urge for a quick release because Nikki was down the hall. Unfortunately, the condition had only worsened when he’d heard the shower in the master bedroom running.
Calling himself every name in the book, he’d managed to ignore his erection through his own shower in the guest bathroom, banishing the image of a bare Nikki with water sluicing down her supple form.
Put the brakes on that thought train. Right now. A tight crotch was never good…especially with an audience. Think about the case, dammit.
That morning, they’d met Lee at Marty’s to get the surveillance DVD from the owner, so he hadn’t taken Nikki to the station yet, despite the fact that she was dressed for work, in a pretty pink flowy skirt that stopped at her knees.
Her top matched, though it had a few different shades of pink all over it. The neckline dipped low enough to make him want to look harder. He kept making himself stare at her shoes. Even her stilettos matched.
Gorgeous didn’t really cover it. The outfit gave her an air of innocence, though the way her brown eyes flashed irritation when their gazes met suggested otherwise.
Yesterday, Chief had had her spot-train one of the rookies to take her place until the case was over. Both Officer Tommy Nelson and Nikki had been less than pleased with the situation. But the PD day-to-day didn’t stop because she’d witnessed a crime.
With jerky movements and abrupt statements, she’d shown the kid how to use the complicated phone system and told him where she kept everything.
Mysteriously, Chief had stayed in his office the whole time, without a word to say on the matter. Pete had perched himself in a chair to watch the interchange. Poor Nelson was going to be afraid to come to their boss’s office when this was all over. Nikki’s attitude fairly shouted my territory even though she wasn’t actually rude to the young cop.
Pete would have preferred she remain at the station, safe inside when he had to be out working the case, but Chief really did want her with him.
Cole hit play and Lee came closer towards the sizable flat-screen hanging on the wall, her hands behind her back.
He took a seat beside Nikki, who stiffened and scooted away. He sighed. No use pushing her.
Looking at the screen, Pete shifted to the edge of the couch. The recording was clear, much more high-tech than he would have expected of a
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