It Must Be Love

the demon.

Chapter Five

The hairs on the back of Gabrielle's neck stood up as she watched Detective Shanahan place a transmitter into the telephone receiver. Then he reached for a screwdriver and put everything back into place.

'Is that it?' she whispered.

An open toolbox lay at his feet, and he dropped the screwdriver inside. 'Why are you whispering?'

She cleared her throat and said, 'Are you finished, Detective?'

He glanced across his shoulder at her and set the phone back in its cradle. 'Call me Joe. I'm your lover, remember?'

She'd spent the night before trying to forget. 'Boyfriend.'

'Same thing.'

Gabrielle tried not to roll her eyes. Tried and failed. 'So tell me,' she paused and blew out her breath, 'Joe. Are you married?'

He turned to face her and rested his weight on one foot. 'No.'

'Some lucky girl's hunk of burnin' love?'

He crossed his arms over his gray T-shirt. 'At the moment, no.'

'Recent breakup?'

'Yes.'

'How long were you together?'

His gaze lowered to her turquoise nylon shirt with the big green-and-yellow butterflies on each breast. 'Why do you care?'

'Just trying to make pleasant conversation.'

He slid his gaze up to her face once more. 'Two months.'

'Really? What took her so long to come to her senses?'

His eyes narrowed, and he leaned toward her. 'Are you crazy? Is that your problem? Your butt's in a sling, and I'm the one who can get it out for you. Instead of irritating the hell out of me, you should be trying to get on my good side.'

It was barely past nine in the morning, and Gabrielle had already had enough of Detective Joe Shanahan to last her nine years. She'd had enough of him calling her crazy and having him mock her personal beliefs. She was tired of him pushing her around, forcing her to play informant, and putting a bug in her phone. She stared at him, debating whether to provoke him further. Usually she tried to be a nice person, but she didn't feel very nice this morning. She placed her hands on her hips and decided to risk his anger. 'You don't have a good side.'

His gaze moved slowly over her face, then slid past her. When he looked back, his dark eyes bored into hers, but his voice was low and sexy when he spoke. 'That isn't how you felt last night.'

Last night? 'What are you talking about?' 'Getting naked in my bed, rolling in the sheets, you screaming my name and praising God in the same breath.' Gabrielle's hands fell to her sides. 'Huh?' Before she could even comprehend what he was doing, he placed his palms on the sides of her face and pulled her to him. 'Kiss me, baby,' he said, his breath whispering across her cheek. 'Give me your tongue. '

Kiss me, baby? Stunned beyond speech, Gabrielle could do no more than stand there like a mannequin. The scent of his sandlewood soap assailed her, as he lowered his mouth and pressed it against hers. He placed soft kisses at the corners of her lips, and held her face in his warm hands as his fingers tangled in the hair above her ears. His brown eyes filled her vision, hard and intense, a direct contradiction to his hot, sensual mouth. The tip of his tongue touched the seam of her lips, and her breath caught in her throat. She felt a jolt clear in the soles of her feet, a warm tingling that curled her toes and settled in the pit of her stomach. The kiss was tender, almost sweet, and she fought to keep her eyes open, fought to remind herself that the lips brushing hers, as if he really were her lover, belonged to a hard-nosed cop with a black aura. But at that moment, his aura didn't feel black. It felt red, the sultry hot red of passion, his passion, surrounding them both and urging her to surrender to his persuasive touch.

She lost the fight. Her eyes slid closed and her lips parted. He coaxed her mouth open, and his tongue touched hers, hot and slick and enticing a response. She pressed her mouth against his, deepening the kiss, and gave herself to the sensations surging through her. He smelled good. He tasted better. She leaned into him, but he dropped his hands from her face and ended the kiss.

'He's gone,' he said, barely above a whisper.

'Hmm…' Cool air brushed her moist lips, and she opened her eyes. 'What?'

'Kevin.'

She blinked several times before her mind began to clear. She glanced behind her, but the room was empty except for the two of them. From the front of the store, she heard the cash drawer slide open.

'He was standing in the doorway.'

'Oh.' She turned back to him but couldn't look him in the eyes. 'Yeah, that's what I figured,' she muttered and wondered when lying had become so easy for her. But she knew the answer-the minute Detective Shanahan had tackled her in Julia Davis Park. She walked around him to her desk and sat down before her knees gave way.

She felt dazed and a little disoriented, like after the time she'd tried to meditate hanging upside down and had ended up falling out of her gravity boots. 'I'm meeting with the Silver Winds rep today, so I won't be here from noon until probably two. You'll be on your own.'

He shrugged. 'I can handle it.'

'Fantastic!' she said with just a little too much enthusiasm. She reached for the first catalog on top of a stack and opened it to the middle. She had no idea what she was looking at; her mind was too busy replaying the last few humiliating moments. He'd kissed her to shut her up in front of Kevin, and she'd melted like butter beneath his lips. Her hands shook, and she pulled them into her lap.

'Gabrielle.'

'Yes?'

'Look at me.'

She forced her gaze to his and wasn't surprised to find a scowl on his dark brooding face.

'You're not all bent out of shape over that kiss, are you?' he asked low enough that his voice wouldn't be heard outside the room.

She shook her head and pushed one side of her hair behind her ear. 'I knew why you were doing it.'

'How? Your back was to him.' He bent to pick up the toolbox and drill, then looked at her once again. 'Oh, yeah, I forgot. You're psychic.'

'No, I'm not.'

'Now, there's a relief.'

'But my mother is.'

His scowl deepened, then he turned toward the door and muttered something under his breath that sounded like 'Sweet baby Jesus save me.'

As he walked from the room, her gaze traveled from the short comma curls touching the back of his neck, past his wide shoulders, and down the back of the soft gray T-shirt he'd tucked inside the waistband of his Levi's. A wallet bulged the right pocket of his jeans, and the heels of his work boots thudded across the linoleum.

Gabrielle placed her elbows on her desk and rested her face in her hands. She wasn't a huge believer of chakras, but she absolutely believed in a harmonious relationship of body, mind, and spirit. And right now all three were in total chaos. Her mind was appalled at her physical reaction to the detective, and her spirit was just plain confused by the dichotomic division.

'I guess it's safe to come in here now.'

Gabrielle dropped her hands and looked at Kevin as he entered the room. 'Sorry,' she said.

'Why? You didn't know I'd be coming into work early.' He set a briefcase on his desk and added unwittingly to her guilt. 'Joe's a studly guy, I understand.'

Not only had she betrayed her friendship with Kevin but now he had also unwittingly made everything so much