Fire and Ice by Taylor Lee

from the shadows, pulling Annika protectively against him.
    “Won’t be necessary, Nate. I’m here.”
    Nate reeled back in surprise, then shook his head, a disbelieving smile tugging at his lips.
    “Well, I’ll be damned!”
    Even though the situation was graphically clear, Annika felt she had to explain, somehow….
    “It’s not what you think, Detective. Sam was just….”
    Nate cut her off. Pointing to the bulge in Sam’s trousers, he grinned. “Honey, there’s a lot of things we men can lie about but that’s not one of them.”
    Annika peeked down at Sam’s pants and felt her face flame. She sniffed. “Men.”
    Nate looked her over appraisingly and shook his head. “Fortunately for us guys, the gods weren’t entirely one-sided. They send us hound dogs a few signals to let us know we weren’t barking up the wrong tree.”
    He stifled a grin, but nodded at Annika’s erect nipples poking against Sam’s shirt.
    “Better give the commander back his shirt, Lieutenant, and get yourself dressed. We have a fire to go to.”
    Sam followed her into the bedroom and grabbed one of the many shirts tossed on the bed.
    “Here, Annika. Put this on. Get dressed. And don’t worry. I’ll handle Nate.”
    She stared up at him, her face was flushed—her lips were red and swollen from his kisses. It took everything he had not to grab her and never let her go. Instead, he helped her take off his shirt. Forcing himself to look away from her bare breasts, he put on his shirt. As he tucked it into his pants, he did his best to ignore his iron hard prick, and reached out and stroked her cheek.
    “It’s okay, Annika.” He pulled her close to him. His voice was nearly a whisper now. “Later, baby. We’re just getting started. You know that, don’t you?”
    When she nodded, her eyes shining with the same desire he was sure was in his, he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
    “Get dressed, honey.”
    He left the room, closing the door behind him and went out to face his grinning partner.
    When Nate raised an eyebrow and tossed him an unspoken question, Sam brushed him off.
    “Dammit, bro, when I said, fire could melt ice, I didn’t mean a real goddamn fire.”
    They shared a soft chuckle, stopping when Annika entered. She was dressed in jeans, boots and, as Nate had suggested, a jacket. None of which hid the heat on her face or the soft gleam in her eyes.
    As they tromped down the stairs, Nate sidled over to her, jerking his head at Sam.
    “As your commanding officer, Lieutenant, I feel it’s my duty to warn you. Hotshot here didn’t get where he is on his looks and gold-plated connections alone. Underestimate him at your peril . ”He added with a wink, “He gets what hegoes after. And from the looks of it, Lieutenant, he’s goin’ after you.”
    Annika tossed her head, ignoring the knowing grin the two men exchanged and gave him a grim smile.
    “Thanks, Detective. Forewarned is forearmed.”
    But even as she spoke the brave words, Annika knew defending her heart was a lost cause. Her body had betrayed her the first time she saw Sam, days ago . The betrayal was now complete . All she could think about wasfinishing what she and Sam had started. And then beginning all over again.
    When they turned the corner to the entrance of Lakeside Estates, they saw clouds of smoke and towering flames billowing through the dark star-lit sky.
    When Connor saw them, he disengaged from the crowd of firefighters and hurried toward them, a deep frown striping his forehead.
    “Glad you three got here. If it’s one thing we need, it’s the police.”
    He raised an expressive brow, his grim expression encompassing them all.
    “Just so you know. This is no longer a case of suspected arson. Now, it’s murder.”

Chapter 11
    An ashen-faced Garrett Baker led them toward the burning building. Annika stood with Sam and Nate at a safe distance, watching the courageous firefighters work to control the flames. Thank God it was a calm