"I'm not going anywhere." Gently, he stroked her back, cradled her head. Was there anything more astounding or more frightening to a man, he wondered, than a strong woman in tears? "I've been right here all along. I love you, Eve, almost more than I can stand."
"I need you. I can't help it. I don't want to."
"I know." He eased back, tucking a hand under her chin to lift her face to his. "We're going to have to deal with it." He kissed one wet cheek, then the other. "I really can't do without you."
"You told me to go."
"I locked the door." His lips curved a little before they brushed over hers. "If you'd waited a few more hours, I would have come to you. I was sitting here tonight, trying to talk myself out of it and not having any luck. Then you stalked in. I was perilously close to getting on my knees."
"Why?" She touched his face. "You could have anyone. You probably have."
"Why?" He tilted his head. "That's a tricky one. Could it be your serenity, your quiet manner, your flawless fashion sense?" It did his heart good to see her quick, amused grin. "No, I must be thinking of someone else. It must be your courage, your absolute dedication to balancing scales, that restless mind, and that sweet corner of your heart that pushes you to care so much about so many."
"That's not me."
"Oh, but it is you, darling Eve." He touched his lips to hers. "Just as that taste is you, the smell, the look, the sound. You've undone me. We'll talk," he murmured, brushing his thumbs over drying tears. "We'll figure out a way to make this work for both of us."
She drew in a shuddering breath. "I love you." And let it out. "God."
The emotion that swept through him was like a summer storm, quick, violent, then clean. Swamped with it, he rested his brow on hers. "You didn't choke on it."
"I guess not. Maybe I'll get used to it." And maybe her stomach wouldn't jump like a pond of frogs next time. Angling her face up, she found his mouth.
In an instant the kiss was hot, greedy, and full of edgy need. The blood was roaring in her head, so loud and fierce she didn't hear herself say the words again, but she felt them, in the way her heart stuttered and swelled.
Breathless and already wet, she tugged at his slacks. "Now. Right now."
"Absolutely now." He'd dragged her shirt over her head before they hit the floor.
They rolled, groping for each other. Limbs tangled. Giddy with hunger, she sank her teeth into his shoulder as he yanked down her jeans. He had a moment to register the feel of her skin under his hands, the shape of her, the heat of her, then it was a morass of the senses, a clash of scents and textures abrading against the urgent need to mate.
Finesse would have to wait, as would tenderness. The beast clawed at them both, devouring even when he was deep inside her, pumping wildly. He could feel her body clutch and tense, heard her long, low moan of staggering release. And let himself empty, heart, soul, and seed.
She awoke in his bed with soft sunlight creeping through the window filters. With her eyes closed, she reached out and found the space beside her warm but empty.
"How the hell did I get here?" she wondered.
"I carried you."
Her eyes sprang open and focused on Roarke. He sat naked, cross-legged at her knees, watching her. "Carried me?"
"You fell asleep on the floor." He leaned over to rub a thumb over her cheek. "You shouldn't work yourself into exhaustion, Eve."
"You carried me," she said again, too groggy to decide if she was embarrassed or not. "I guess I'm sorry I missed it."
"We have plenty of time for repeat performances. You worry me."
"I'm fine. I'm just – " She caught the time on the bedside clock. "Holy Christ, ten. Ten A. M.?"
He used one hand to shove her back when she started to scramble out of bed. "It's Sunday."
"Sunday?" Completely disoriented now, she rubbed her eyes clear. "I lost track." She wasn't on duty, she remembered, but regardless -
"You needed sleep," he said, reading her mind. "And you need fuel, something other than caffeine." He reached for the glass on the nightstand and held it out.
Eve studied the pale pink liquid dubiously. "What is it?"
"Good for you. Drink it." To make sure she did, he held the glass to her lips. He could have given her the energy booster in pill form, but he knew well her dislike for anything resembling drugs. "It's a little something one of my labs has been working on. We should have it on the market in about six months."
Her eyes narrowed. "Experimental?"
"It's quite safe." He smiled and set the empty glass aside. "Hardly anyone's died."
"Ha-ha." She sat back again, feeling amazingly relaxed, amazingly alert. "I have to go in to Cop Central, do some work on the other cases on my desk."
"You need some time off." He held up a hand before she could argue. "A day. Even an afternoon. I'd like you to spend it with me, but even if you spend it alone, you need it."
"I guess I could take a couple of hours." She sat up, linked her arms around his neck. "What did you have in mind?"
Grinning, he rolled her back onto the bed. This time there was finesse, and there was tenderness.
Eve wasn't surprised to find a pile of messages waiting. Sunday had stopped being a day of rest decades before. Her message disc beeped along, recounting transmissions from Nadine Furst, the arrogant weasel Morse, another from Yvonne Metcalf's parents that had her rubbing her temples, and a short message from Mirina Angelini.
"You can't take on their grief, Eve," Roarke said from behind her.
"What?"
"The Metcalfs. I can see it in your face."
"I'm all they've got to hold onto." She initialed the messages to document her receipt. "They have to know someone's looking after her."
"I'd like to say something."
Eve rolled her eyes, prepared for him to lecture her about rest, objectivity, or professional distance. "Spit it out then so I can get to work."
"I've dealt with a lot of cops in my time. Evaded them, bribed them, outmaneuvered them, or simply outran them."
Amused, she nudged a hip onto the corner of her desk. "I'm not sure you should be telling me that. Your record's suspiciously clean."
"Of course it is." On impulse he kissed the tip of her nose. "I paid for it."
She winced. "Really, Roarke, what I don't know can't hurt you."
"The point is," he continued blandly, "I've dealt with a lot of cops over the years. You're the best."
Caught completely off guard, she blinked. "Well."
"You'll stand, Eve, for the dead and the grieving. I'm staggered by you. "
"Cut it out." Miserably embarrassed, she shifted. "I mean it."
"You can use that when you call Morse back and run up against his irritating whine."
"I'm not calling him back."
"You initialed the transmissions."
"I zapped his first." She smiled. "Oops."
With a laugh he picked her up off the desk. "I like your style."
She indulged herself by combing her fingers through his hair before she tried to wriggle free. "Right now you're cramping it. So back off while I see what Mirina Angelini wants." Brushing him off, she engaged the number, waited.
It was Mirina herself who answered, her pale, tense face on-screen. "Yes, oh, Lieutenant Dallas. Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. I was afraid I wouldn't hear from you until tomorrow."
"What can I do for you, Ms. Angelini?"
"I need to speak with you as soon as possible. I don't want to go through the commander, Lieutenant. He's done enough for me and my family."
"Is this regarding the investigation?"
"Yes, at least, I suppose it is."
Eve signaled to Roarke to leave the office. He merely leaned against the wall. She snarled at him, then looked back at the screen. "I'll be happy to meet with you at your convenience."