Jack coughed, grinned and turned away.
“I’m getting you a room at the hotel,” Rocky said.
She opened her mouth to protest, but he spoke before she could.
“Please, I’m begging you,” he said, knowing his exhaustion was clear in his voice. “I’ve been up all night talking to your friend Brent, so no protests, okay? At least for today, you can’t stay here alone. Not after what just happened.”
She let out a sigh. “What about Poe?”
“He’s a bird,” Rocky reminded her.
“Yes, but I can’t just leave him.”
“He’ll be all right for now. We’ll come back and get him later if it looks like you’re going to be away for long,” he promised. “Hey, Poe and I—we’re close, you know. I’ll make sure he’s not neglected, I promise you.”
It was as if Poe understood. He let out a caw and flew to his cage.
He was ready to do his part in solving the crimes, even if that meant staying there alone—and standing sentinel over the cottage in the woods.
13
Rocky thought that he was dreaming when he first heard the knock on his door. It felt as if he had barely fallen asleep, and he knew he wasn’t thinking clearly.
It was still early in the morning, but at least it was daylight. By the time Devin had gathered a few things and they’d gotten to the hotel, Angela had already seen to it that Devin had a room on their floor—one between the suite the Krewe had taken and Rocky’s own. They meant to keep her close.
They’d all been exhausted. When his head had finally hit the pillow, it was past six. Many guests were already waking up to begin their days.
He knew he’d left the Do Not Disturb sign on the door, so it couldn’t be a maid.
And if it were an emergency, his phone would have rung.
He jumped up, grabbed his Glock and walked to the door in his briefs. Looking through the keyhole, he saw that it was Devin.
He threw open the door.
She stepped back in surprise, and he realized she wouldn’t have been expecting him to open the door with a gun in his hand.
“Are you all right? Did something happen?” he asked her quickly.
“No. Nothing happened. I’m fine. And I’m sorry.” She indicated the Glock. “I guess that actually is a gun and you’re not so happy to see me.”
He leaned out through the doorway, frowning, and scanned the hallway in both directions.
“What is it, then?” he asked.
“May I come in?”
He opened the door and let her in. Backing away, he wished he’d taken a moment to grab one of the hotel robes, even though she herself was wearing nothing but a theme-park nightshirt.
He was definitely glad to see her.
“Hang on,” he said quickly. He slid his gun back into the small holster by the bed and pulled on the hotel robe.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, belting the robe. “You can’t be here just to say good morning.”
She lowered her eyes for a long moment. “Wow, you’re making this kind of difficult.”
“I’m making things difficult?” he asked.
Difficult? He couldn’t even seem to belt the damned robe.
Her eyes met his. “Yes. I guess I was having a fantasy thing going on in my head,” she said huskily. “I knock on your door. You open it. I step closer to you, and...and you whisk me into your arms. I thought you’d felt the same way at my place, except Auntie Mina always seems to appear at the most inappropriate times. I can’t stop thinking about you, and I just wanted—”
She didn’t get any further, because he stopped attempting to belt the robe and pulled her into his arms.
“Is this what you had in mind?” he whispered.
Talk about a fantasy...
“Yes...this,” she said.
He let his hands fall to the hem of her cotton nightshirt and slowly drew it over her head. Then he shrugged off the robe; no sense hiding anything now.
Her fingers slid along the waistband of his briefs, hovering lightly in front, a smile curving her lips.
“The gun is gone—and I am happy to see you,” he said. Then he slipped easily out of the briefs and drew her to him again.
“In fact, you’ll never know how happy,” he said huskily, tightening his arms around her, feeling the length of her against him, breathing in the perfume that was all her.
For a brief moment he just held her in his arms, felt the silk of her skin, and thought that, yes, there were moments when he had to believe a greater power was smiling down on them. He remembered seeing her on the road when she’d flagged him down, how she had appeared almost mythical, black hair streaming in the breeze, shimmering in sleek darkness. He remembered her eyes, so blue, as if they contained all the colors of the sea and the sky. He had been almost mesmerized when he had first seen her.
But then, of course, reality had intruded in the form of a body in the woods.