And more importantly, she simply wanted to remain close to Duncan. At least for a little while longer.
Unconsciously her fingers lifted to touch her lips, still swollen from his kisses. She’d half expected to be disappointed. After all, the sexy cop had filled more than one fantasy over the years. How could he possibly live up to her obscenely high expectations?
But he’d not only lived up to them, he’d blown past them as he’d tutored her in the vast array of kisses from tender sweet to raw, bone-melting perfection.
She’d been lost in the sensations that seared through her. The pounding of her heart. The squeeze of her lungs as she struggled to breathe. The aching need that twisted her stomach.
And all from a kiss ...
She wasn’t sure she could survive a full-out assault.
Not that she wasn’t willing to give it a try, she acknowledged with a shiver.
Realizing that Duncan was slamming down the phone, Callie fiercely squashed her renegade thoughts. A dead girl was missing. Now wasn’t the time to be wishing that they’d ignored the knock on the door.
They would have time later to explore the heat that sizzled between them. She intended to make damned sure of that.
Pushing away from the bar, she watched as he turned to meet her steady gaze, a surprising hint of color on his cheekbones.
Because his chief had called them freaks? Or because they were still considered suspects?
Probably both.
“You heard?” he demanded.
She nodded. “I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop.”
“It doesn’t matter.” He shoved his fingers through the pale gold of his hair, making her breath hitch at the desire to smooth the short satin strands. “We need to find out what happened to the body.”
Damn. With an abrupt jerk, she was heading across the room. She couldn’t concentrate when she was alone with this man.
“We need to share this information with the Mave.”
She opened the door before he managed to capture her arm and tug her back to meet his hooded gaze.
“Callie.”
A shiver of anticipation crept down her spine. “Yes?”
He leaned down until they were nose to nose. “This isn’t done.”
“You said a kiss,” she reminded him, not about to admit that she’d already made the decision to lock him in her apartment until he proved whether the rest of his skills lived up to her fantasies.
His ego was big enough, thank you very much.
“A kiss for now,” he corrected, his voice gruff.
“And later?”
He pressed his lips to the edge of her mouth before lifting his head.
“I want ... everything,” he whispered in warning.
They were standing there, staring at one another in emotion-charged silence when the sound of approaching footsteps had them both turning to the door.
Once again it was Mel. The healer had clearly broken some rule that demanded community service. Not unusual for a young, impetuous man who’d barely left his teens. And he wasn’t a bit pleased with his duty of carrying messages.
Especially when that duty included playing servant in front of an aggressive male norm.
He glared toward Duncan. “The Mave wants to see you in her office.”
“Good news travels fast,” Duncan muttered.
Callie grimaced. Nothing happened in Valhalla that escaped the Mave’s attention. And a call from the human police chief would have hit her radar at record speed.
“Would you rather speak to her alone?” she asked.
“Hell no.”
There was a snicker from Mel, as if he’d never wet his pants when the Mave called him to her office.
“I’ll show our visitor to the Mave,” she informed the young man.
He sent Duncan another glare. “Should I alert the dungeons they’re about to have a guest?”
“Enough,” Callie said in dismissal, waiting until Mel turned to stroll down the hallway before leading Duncan in the opposite direction.
She kept the pace brisk, but there was no missing the cold, suspicious glances that followed their path.
“Friendly bunch.”
“As friendly as your fellow cops would be if I strolled into the station house,” she pointed out in low tones.
“Touché,” he muttered.
“This way.” Callie turned the corner, headed directly for the Mave’s office. It wasn’t until they were standing in the small alcove directly in front of her door that she realized Duncan was dragging his feet. Halting, she glanced over her shoulder in confusion. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ve heard a lot of rumors about your leader,” he confessed.
“Which rumors would those be, Sergeant O’Conner?” the Mave asked as she pulled open the door to offer Duncan a serene smile. “The one that claims I have actual horns and a tail? Or my personal favorite, the one that suggests I’m nothing more than a myth? Like the Wizard of Oz?”
Chapter Six
Duncan was accustomed to shoving his size twelve foot into his mouth.
It was one of his few talents.
But he wasn’t used to being struck speechless.
Holy shit. He felt like he’d been kicked by a mule as he caught his first glimpse of the mysterious Mave of Valhalla.
It wasn’t just that she was drop dead gorgeous. He had a distinct preference for flame-haired pixies with eyes of sapphires. Or that she displayed her witch’s mark with obvious pride. It was dark enough to warn even a thick-skulled norm that she had enough magic to turn them into something nasty if they didn’t keep their prejudices to themselves.
No, it was simply the power of her presence.
It was etched onto the pale, perfect oval of a face. In the storm gray eyes. And flickered in the aura only his gaze could detect.
Even if he didn’t know a damned thing about this woman, he would realize she was a force of nature.
“Good god,” he breathed.
“Not quite, Sergeant O’Conner,” she murmured as she stepped back and waved an arm toward the black and white room behind her. “Will you come in?”
Awkwardly moving past her slender form, he headed toward the nearest chair. “I’m sorry,” he muttered.
“Trust me, I’ve heard worse.” The Mave crossed to stand beside the large desk where a fully loaded tea tray was waiting. “Refreshment?”
“No.” Callie stepped next to him, elbowing him in the ribs to remind him of his manners. “Thank you,” he tagged on lamely, dropping into the leather seat.
Callie took the one next to him while the Mave slid into her seat behind the desk, her gaze on the young diviner.