“It’s not just my call, Em. Once Brooks finds out the truth, the shit will hit the fan about everyone. ”
Yes, it would.
“I’ll talk to the captain,” he repeated, “and see what he wants me to do. But I’m also going to have another chat with the succubus.”
“She might not be involved.” Her voice was carefully expressionless now. “You should wait for the tox screen—”
“Oh, I’ll wait for the results, but I got the feeling she knew exactly what I was—”
“When you backed away, she knew.” She could tell him that much.
“Hell.” Disgusted.
Emily cleared her throat. “Shifters have such an overdeveloped sense of smell that her pheromones came off smelling too sweet to you. When you retreated, she knew what you were.” Humans and demons always went closer, eager for more of the heady scent.
But not her shifter…he’d acted just as the others of his kind had done before him.
“You sure seem to know a lot about the sex demons.” His head cocked to the right. “How certain are you that the info you have is accurate?”
Since her knowledge had come straight from the mouth of a succubus, pretty damn certain. “Something else you should know,” she told him, knowing she had to tread carefully. “Sex demons—they are very, very territorial. I’d be surprised if there are more than a few in the city.”
“In that case, I’ll damn well be having my little talk with Cara as soon as possible.”
Cara.
The name rang in her ears.
Oh, damn.
The rising sun shot streaks of pink and purple across the sky as the lights filtered though the clouds and illuminated the horizon.
Cara paused in the swimming pool, her body easily staying afloat. This was really her favorite time of the day, when the shadows had to give way to the light.
She turned slightly, and dove deep, heading straight to the bottom of the pool. The water was warm—she always kept it heated—
and it closed around her like the arms of a lover.
Todd.
She’d left him sleeping upstairs. A smile had been on his lips. Cara had kissed him, a soft, light kiss before she left.
A part of her was afraid that would be the last kiss she ever gave to him. It was easy to pretend you didn’t care about reality in the heat of passion. When pleasure was only moments away, it was fine to focus on the moment. Hell, she did that all the time.
But Todd was a cop, and he wasn’t just going to ignore the…peculiarities of the night before.
Of course, she had been holding back on the guy. Things could have gotten so intense that she could have had the man begging.
Or screaming with his pleasure.
Though they’d both come pretty close to that.
When she touched the bottom of the pool, Cara pivoted and shot toward the surface. Her eyes were wide open as she swam, and she saw the outline of a man standing near the edge of the pool.
Todd. Her heart rate kicked up a notch. Her head broke the surface and she sucked in a deep breath of air. Tendrils of steam rose from the water.
He’d dressed in the rumpled clothes he’d worn last night. His hair was tousled, and there was a hard set to his mouth.
“Do you always leave your lovers at dawn?” He asked her quietly.
She swam to the edge of the pool. Slow, unhurried movements. She reached for the wall. Curled her fingers over the edge and stared up at him. “Do you always whisper my name when you sleep?” He had, right after she’d kissed him, and that soft sound had pierced straight to her heart.
Fool. He’s not going to care when he knows the truth. They never care.
In fact, humans were usually horrified when they found out what she really was.
Narrow-minded jerks. Okay, now she was starting to think like Cameron, but it wasn’t as if she could help the way she’d been born. She didn’t blame humans for having skin that could injure too easily or—
“Lately, yeah, I probably do.” He crouched down, his powerful thighs bunching. “I missed you when I woke up this morning.”
The guy sure knew how to say just the right thing.
She swallowed. “I, uh, usually swim at dawn.” Oh, jeez, could she have sounded more like a stuttering fool and less like a calm, cool demon?
“I’ll remember that. Maybe I’ll join you one day.”
“You could…join me now if you wanted.”
His gaze heated at her words.
Cara lifted her hand, pointing to the high privacy fence that surrounded her yard. “Don’t worry about a suit. No one can see us.”
Though she wouldn’t have really cared if they could. Modesty had never been a particular concern of hers.
“Damn, but you tempt me, woman.”
Yeah, that was the point.
His hand reached out, caught her by the back of the neck and his lips took hers, pressing tight in a fierce kiss. His tongue moved swiftly to claim hers, stirring the hunger she’d thought was temporarily sated.
Her wet hands wrapped around his arms. When his lips lifted from hers, she whispered, “Come into the water with me.”
His gaze was so dark. So intense. Todd pulled away from her. Rose. Stared down at her with a face drawn tight.
She wanted him so badly that her body trembled.
And the light of dawn was beginning to glow brighter.
His hands went to his shirt. Only a few buttons remained, thanks to her frantic efforts last night. Slowly, he unhooked them and dropped the shirt onto the cement.
He kicked off his shoes, tossed away his socks. Then, gazing down into her eyes, he stripped off his jeans and boxers.
Oh, yes. The man was absolutely perfect to her. She licked her lips. Her stare raked down his chest. Over the sculpted abs and down to the narrow flare of his hips—and to the broad shaft of arousal that jutted toward her.
This might just turn out to be the best swim she’d ever had.
“How deep?” He asked, and for a wild, hungry moment, she thought he was talking about sex.
Then she was actually able to think past her lust. “Uh, twelve feet here and—”
He dove into the pool, arching his body and cutting straight into the water with an economy of splash.
She spun around, wanting to catch him when he came up and feel all that bare male flesh against her body. She was in a bikini, but it would be easy enough for him to pull away the spaghetti straps and—
He caught her around the waist. Tugged her beneath the water. Her hands flew out, slid over his shoulders, and she found him staring at her, body perfectly poised, eyes blazing with need.