“A simple case?”
“The next thing I know we’re dealing with an imposter. Then a woman is found dead. Drugs are involved. A homicide detective asks you to become an undercover agent.”
“One cop asked another ex-cop for a favor, that’s all.”
She ignored him and swept out her hands. “The situation keeps deteriorating. Now we know the Guilfoyles are a couple of con artists who want to get their hands on Oxlade’s ghastly enhancer.”
“Damn it, Maggie, we’re getting off track here.”
“We’re talking about a killer who has targeted you. I never intended to put you in the path of a murderer.”
A chill of alarm shot through him. “Maggie, I can do without the drama tonight.”
She raised her chin. “You may consider this investigation concluded. You will take the train back to Adelina Beach in the morning. Please send your bill to the Sunset Lane address at your earliest convenience.”
For a couple of seconds he thought he had not heard her correctly. Then the full impact of the words hit him.
“Are you trying to fire me?” he said.
“Not trying, Mr. Sage. I am firing you. If you stay on the case someone may attack you again. If that happens, I will feel personally responsible. I do not want your death or serious injury on my conscience.”
“Because it would give you nightmares?”
“Yes, damn it. You don’t want drama? I don’t want a load of guilt.”
“So you’re firing me because I might cause you a few bad dreams?”
She shot him an accusing look. “You’re twisting my words.”
“No.” He got to his feet and started toward her. “I’m clarifying them. I want to make sure I understand exactly what you meant.”
She watched warily as he closed the space between them, but she did not retreat. “Do you understand, Mr. Sage?”
“Perfectly, Miss Lodge. For your information, you can’t fire me.”
“Why not?”
“Because I quit.”
She thought about that for a beat and then nodded, satisfied. “I suppose it amounts to the same thing. I will, of course, cover the cost of your train ticket back to Adelina Beach.”
“I won’t be on the train tomorrow. I will be here in Burning Cove, working this screwy case.”
She nodded in weary understanding. “You’re worried about me. That is very sweet of you.”
“Sweet?”
“I appreciate your concern, but there’s no need for you to feel responsible for me. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I’ve been doing that for quite a while.”
“What happened to our working relationship? You’ve got a partner now, like it or not, and partners look out for each other.”
She frowned. “There’s been no threat against me.”
“No threat? Oxlade wanted to run experiments on you.”
“He’s gone now.”
“I’m supposed to find that reassuring?”
“I’m trying to be logical and rational.”
“You’re not succeeding.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Do you think I’m behaving illogically and irrationally?”
“I didn’t say that. Now you’re the one twisting words.”
“Do you think I’m in danger of becoming hysterical?”
“No, Miss Lodge. I’m the one who is on the verge of hysteria, and it’s your fault.”
“My fault?”
“Let’s get a few things straight,” he said. “I am not going back to Adelina Beach, because I am not going to leave you here alone in Burning Cove. You are in over your head, and I think you know it. You need me. Admit it.”
She looked at him, her eyes suddenly brilliant with the wonder of discovery.
“Yes,” she said. “Yes, I do need you.”
He had been braced for more argument. The surrender, if that’s what it was, happened so abruptly he was blindsided. Another curve taken at high speed.
“Okay, that settles it,” he said, trying to regain his balance.
“You are offering good advice. I’ve decided to take it.”
“Fine,” he said.
“There’s something else we should discuss.”
“It would be a good idea if you stopped talking now, because you’re starting to irritate me again.”
She smiled. “Would you rather I kiss you instead?”
“So that you can prove to yourself you aren’t frigid?”
“Nope. Because I recently discovered I like being kissed by a man who isn’t afraid I might suffer a fit of hysteria at any moment.”
The heat in her eyes was real. That was all he needed. She wanted him, and he wanted her—so badly he ached.
“Talk about your amazing coincidences,” he said. “I like kissing a lady who has a vivid imagination.”
He gripped her shoulders and pulled her close, covering her mouth with his own.
He went into the kiss thinking that this time he was prepared for the bone-deep sense of rightness. He was wrong. The sensation zinged through him again, stronger than the first time. His marriage had started out red-hot. He ought to know how to handle raw physical attraction. He did know how to handle it. What’s more, he was older now—maybe not wiser, but definitely older. More experienced. He liked to think he had learned a few things along the way.
But kissing Maggie was different. Somehow he knew it would always be different, because Maggie was unlike any other woman.
Last night he had been shaken by the longing that had welled up inside him when he held her in his arms. It was the feeling a man got when he knew that something he desperately wanted was just out of reach. Tonight the longing was shot through with something infinitely more dangerous—the euphoric pleasure that came with knowing Maggie wanted him.
When her mouth softened under his and she started to fumble with the buttons of his shirt, he forgot about all the excellent reasons why going to bed with Maggie was probably a mistake.
He eased the blouse off her shoulders and took the pins out of her hair. When he picked her up and carried her through the doorway to his bed, he was intoxicated with anticipation.
He pulled the covers down and then slowly went about the process of undressing Maggie. She returned the favor. It wasn’t long before most of their clothes were scattered across the rug and draped over the chair and the table.
When she was wearing only a pair of silky, wide-legged panties and he was in his briefs, she went up on her toes and sank her teeth gently into his ear.
“Sam,” she whispered.
They fell onto the bed together. The feel of her soft, warm body beneath his filled him with pleasure. He tasted her mouth again and then the scented skin of her shoulder, her breast, and lower still.
When she slid one bare foot down his leg he took a sharp breath and rolled off her and onto his feet.
“Back in a minute,” he said.
He turned off the lights on his way across the room. In the bathroom he got a pro from the tin in his Dopp kit, sheathed himself, and went back into the bedroom. He stopped when he saw Maggie lying in the light angling through the connecting doorway. Her hair spilled across the pillow. Her eyes were mysterious pools of sensual invitation and desire.
“You are so beautiful,” he said.
She smiled. “You make me feel beautiful.”
He continued across the room to the bed and lowered himself beside her. When he started to kiss her she stopped him with a finger on his mouth.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Are you having second thoughts?”
“I was just wondering if most men travel with a tin of condoms.”
He groaned. “I have absolutely no idea and zero interest in the answer. I bought mine from the pharmacist on Tyler Avenue in Adelina Beach the day before we left for Burning Cove.”
“Really?”
“He keeps them behind the counter. Guarantees they are the best quality.”
He started to pull her closer. She moved her hand to his shoulder, stopping him again.
“You planned to seduce me?” she asked.
She sounded curious. Intrigued. Not angry.
“I don’t have that much faith in my powers of seduction, and even though I haven’t been in the private detective business very long, I’m pretty sure it’s a bad idea to sleep with the client. So no, there was no plan.” He paused. “But deep down I had hope.”
She brightened. “So did I.”