He kissed the smile off her mouth, leaving her gasping for air and twisting to get free. He moved his hand down the length of her body, over her breasts, past her soft belly. He found the wellspring of her damp heat and explored the swollen flesh until she went wild.
He could have sworn that invisible energy flared between them. In some way he could not explain, he was resonating with her on the psychic as well as the physical plane.
Her release gave him more satisfaction than anything he had ever experienced before in his life. He had to cover her mouth with his own to stifle her little scream of pleasure so that it would not reverberate downstairs and arouse Betty Furnell’s curiosity.
When the last of the tight little shivers inside her was finished, he released her wrists. She immediately rolled him onto his back and took him inside her.
“My turn to be on top,” she whispered, eyes alight with sultry challenge.
She was wet and tight and welcoming. Nothing had ever felt so good.
His climax hit him in surging waves that dazzled his senses a thousand times more than any dose of alien psi energy ever could.
Perfect.
Chapter 29
AN HOUR LATER SHE WAS IN THE KITCHEN MAKING breakfast. She had showered and dressed in a pair of snug, dark brown pants and a crisp white shirt. A brown head-band restrained her freshly washed hair.
Araminta and Max watched the breakfast preparations from the top of the refrigerator. Both were munching slices of fresh, sweet amberglow melon.
Davis emerged from the bedroom hallway, dressed once more in the black T-shirt and black trousers. The masculine satisfaction in his eyes made Celinda grow warm all over again.
He watched her pull the pan off the heat. “Trig said you think the relic could be used as some sort of mind control device.”
So much for cozy chitchat. She braced herself for the battle.
“I think it’s possible, yes, especially when it’s pumped up with alien psi underground.” She divided the scrambled eggs onto two plates. “I have a hunch that it requires someone with my type of talent or something similar to resonate with it, however. That’s why it sat unnoticed in the Guild vault all these months.”
“Trig also said that you want to see it turned over to a medical research lab. But if it really is a potential weapon, it’s better off under lock and key in the Guild vault.”
She put the pan down and looked at him. “We’re in dangerous territory, and there are no guarantees. But if the device is turned over to a reputable lab with a lot of fanfare and media attention instead of being handled secretly by the Guild, it is far more likely that it will be studied with a view toward its therapeutic properties.”
“How do you know that?”
“The medical world has a long history of working with medicines and machines that can kill as well as cure. The Guild will think only in terms of using it as a weapon.”
Davis was silent for a while.
“You may be right,” he said eventually.
“I know I’m right. This is the only way to go, Davis. You have to trust me.”
“I’m going to call Wyatt as soon as we finish breakfast, but I can’t promise you that he’ll see things your way.”
“I think he will be reasonable if you remind him of a couple of small details,” she said quietly.
“What details?”
“First, if he tries to take that relic without my permission, I’m going to go straight to the media and put out the word that the Cadence Guild discovered an alien mind control device and is conducting secret research on it.”
Davis wasn’t impressed. “Wyatt can handle the media. Who do you think the reporters are going to believe? A disgraced matchmaker from Frequency City or the head of the local Guild?”
She winced. “That was cold, but you’re right. Okay, that brings us to the second little detail.”
“Which is?”
“I just told you that I don’t think there are many people around who can figure out how to work that device. That’s probably why Araminta wanted me to have it in the first place. She must have sensed that I could resonate with it. I wouldn’t be surprised if she thought it would make a nice toy for me.”
They both looked at Araminta, who was unruffled by the attention.
Celinda took a deep breath and prepared to play her high card. “You can inform Mercer Wyatt that I will cooperate in research on the relic only if that research is conducted in a respectable medical lab and if the results of that research are made public.”
“Well, hell,” Davis said, stone-faced. “Nothing I like better than starting off the day by blackmailing my one and only client.”
Some of the tension she had been feeling receded.
“Thanks,” she said quietly.
“Don’t thank me. This is a long way from a done deal. And even if Wyatt agrees to make arrangements for a medical lab to study the device, you’ll still have to figure out how to convince Araminta to go along with the plan.”
They both looked at Araminta again.
Araminta muttered something. Max promptly scampered down onto the counter and pried the lid off the cookie jar. He removed a cookie and drifted back up to his perch. Araminta took the cookie from him and began to nibble daintily.
“We both know that dust bunnies have some psychic qualities,” Celinda said quietly. “I’m hoping that if she senses that I really don’t want that relic, she’ll lose interest in it.”
“Sure about that?”
“No,” she admitted.
Davis sat down behind the counter and picked up his coffee mug. “Maybe you can distract her with a really big wedding cake. She didn’t get a chance to finish the last one.”
“That’s a thought.”
“Something else we should talk about,” he said.
“What’s that?”
“You can’t go to work today or any other day until this situation is under control.”
“Davis, my job is very important to me.”
“I realize that. But keeping you safe is my first priority. I can’t protect you and work on this case at the same time, not if you insist on going into your office at Promises, Inc.”
“But Mrs. Takahashi won’t understand.”
“She will when I call her and explain that this is Guild business.”
He was right. Morosely she surveyed the eggs and toast. “My worst nightmare. I’ve become Guild business.”
He cocked a brow. “Your worst nightmare?”
She sighed. “Okay, not my worst nightmare. But a nightmare, nonetheless.”
She sat down beside him. They ate their eggs and toast in what she thought was a surprisingly companionable silence, given that three minutes ago they had been locked in a contest of wills. Maybe it was the early-morning sex.
“Probably the early-morning sex,” Davis said. “It seems to put me in a good mood.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Don’t tell me you can read minds. Going invisible I can deal with. Mind reading is a deal breaker.”
“I can’t read minds, but sometimes I’m a really good guesser. That’s what makes me such a hotshot private investigator.”
“No doubt.”
Someone knocked on the door.
“I’ll get it,” Davis said.
He eased himself off the stool and went into the small front hall. Celinda listened to him greet their visitor.
“Good morning, Mrs. Furnell,” he said. “You’re looking very bright and cheerful today.”
“Thank you.” Betty sounded pleased. “Everyone always says that orange is my color.”
“Everyone is right,” Davis said.
“I wondered if I could borrow a little milk for my cereal. I ran out, and it’s too early to go to the store.”
Celinda stifled a sigh. “Come on in, Mrs. Furnell. I’ll get the milk for you.”
Betty appeared, beaming. “Thank you, dear.” She was, indeed, very bright and cheerful looking in an orange track suit trimmed with purple racing stripes and a pair of neon orange running shoes.