What in the hell was a Duzarx, anyway?
Another breath—in and out. Slowly. Focus on Doc.
Only Doc.
Doc … what was it about him that had my heart snared so thoroughly in his net? Was it his doing or mine? Or a bit of both?
Whatever it was, this link between us was stronger than just the physical attraction that had my pulse pounding when he reached for me and kissed me like he couldn’t get enough. With him came a calming belief that even though the sky might be falling around me, I could wrap myself in his arms and stay safe.
“Violet.” His voice was close.
I opened my eyes.
He’d returned to his desk, only he was leaning against the front side of it this time instead of sitting behind it. Hands in his pants pockets, he stared down at me.
And then there was the way Doc looked at me … like he was now. Really looked. Staring past the false bravado, wild hairs, and chaotic bouts of insanity that distracted most. Lighting upon the real me that tried to hide away from everyone else, even my kids some days. The me that had been fantasizing lately about a white dress, a gold ring, and matching his-and-her slippers … and as of this morning while brushing my teeth, a shared underwear drawer.
His gaze darkened at whatever he saw in my eyes. “What aren’t you telling me, Violet?”
“Uhhh …”
I looked away, worried that he’d seen a gleam reflecting off my wedding bells hopes. During a previous discussion, Doc had made it clear that he wasn’t averse to taking the matrimony plunge, but that was as far into that topic as we’d dived. There was no way I was going to be the one to bring up the subject again. Nope. I was going to play it cool and smooth, and if he someday mentioned marriage, I’d …
What was I doing? I was supposed to be thinking about the lidérc, not a wedding. And the imp. And the séance tonight. Not to mention the Nachzehrer.
“My eye hurts,” I finally answered, which was sort of true. It still throbbed if I touched it, which I’d done repeatedly while trying to hide the bruise with my heavy-duty concealer.
I could see in his face, though, that he didn’t believe me.
“And I don’t want to do the séance tonight.” No lie at all there. I wasn’t even close to being mentally ready to dance with Wilda Hessler and her hair-raising twin. I thought of Mrs. Hessler’s creepy, black-hole eyes and shuddered.
He held out his hand for mine. “Come here, Boots.”
I let him pull me out of the chair, settling in between his long legs. “Doc, how do you feel about catching a plane to some Mexican beach town this afternoon?”
He smiled. “Are you sure that’s far enough away?”
I slid my arms around his neck. “No, but I wasn’t sure you’d go for the South Pole.”
“It’s summertime down there. We could take your fur-lined bikini to go with the handcuffs.”
“Goose bumps aren’t very sexy.” Neither was I in a bikini after carrying twins for nine months.
“Warming you up would be, though.”
“I don’t know. You have a history of complaining about my icy toes. Maybe we should stick to a Mexican beach.”
“As long as you’re there, Boots, I’m game.” He leaned closer, kissing the corner of my mouth. “Icy toes and all.”
Ahhhh, true love. That reminded me of my father once telling me that love was like a toothache—it didn’t show up on X-rays, but you still knew it was there.
Doc kissed his way across my jaw toward my ear, his lips soft and warm, stirring up a flurry of excitement deep in my core.
My phone chirped in my purse, which sat on the desk behind us. Someone had sent me a text message.
“Ignore that,” I said, tightening my arms around his neck and going up on my tiptoes. “You owe me one good-night kiss.”
His hands slid down my ribs, spanning my hips. “Just one?”
“Yes, but with interest.” I brushed my lips over his cheek above his freshly trimmed beard.
He pulled me tighter against his hips, his body primed and ready. “There’s definite interest coming from me.”
My phone actually started ringing instead of chirping.
“Let it go to voice mail,” I whispered next to his ear.
“You sure?”
“Yes.” I made my way back to his mouth via a side trip down his neck and along his collarbone. His beard tickled my cheek, sending shivers south of the border. “Now, about that kiss …”
He didn’t need further urging, and for several heart-galloping seconds I got lost in the land of Doc, aka my happy place.
My phone started playing the Harlem Globetrotters theme.
Jerry!
Doc pulled back, his breathing shallow, matching mine. “That’s your boss,” he said and then kissed me again. “Your lips taste like raspberries this morning.”
“That’s just for you, Candy Cane.”
The ringing continued.
I ignored it and kissed him this time, spreading my fingers wide on his shoulders as I rubbed all over him. The Globetrotters theme stopped somewhere in the midst of my seduction attempt. I moaned as his hands cupped and stroked, pressing even more against him, enjoying all of his hard edges as he coerced my tongue to dance with his.
The phone started ringing again, but without the Globetrotters music this time.
Doc un-suctioned himself from me. “You need to take that call.”
I cursed under my breath. “I’d rather take you.”
“Minx.” He leaned down and brushed his lips over mine once more. “My client could be here any moment.”
I trailed my nails down his chest and kept going. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”
The phone kept ringing.
He captured my hand, holding it against his heart. “I think you’ve used it all up over the last twenty-four hours thanks in part to Prudence, the imp, and your ex.”
“Don’t forget Detective Hawke.”
“I’m more worried about what Rex is up to now, along with Dominick.”
