do it well.”
He stared at her for a few seconds more.
“I’m sure you’re used to calling your own shots,” she said pointedly, “but—”
“I am,” he agreed. “And I can’t promise not to step on your toes from time to time, but I’ll make an attempt not to overstep my boundaries too often. I’ll do my best to try and curb my basic instincts from now on.”
Gretchen took a long and audible breath, but she merely nodded.
“I’m sure we’ll get the hang of this in time. It takes practice for partners to learn to work as one body.”
He stared at her hard, the vision her words called forth lodging in his mind immediately. A woman, a man above her, thrusting into the softness of her body, making himself a part of her very being. The thought nearly made him groan, and he fought it. He labored to keep his breathing even as he watched the woman seated not two feet away from him.
As he studied her, her eyes suddenly widened slightly as if she’d read his thoughts. Her breathing picked up a tad, but she didn’t drop her gaze from his. She sat as if frozen.
David struggled, pushing the temptation of the image of himself braced above Gretchen to the farthest corner of his mind. “I can’t quite believe you said that,” he finally managed to say, his voice quiet and reasonably controlled, an amused but still somewhat ragged smile on his lips.
“What?” The word was released on a breath. Gretchen sat up straighter, higher.
He smiled in earnest now. She knew darn well what he meant. “Gretchen, has it occurred to you that this is not going to be easy?”
She sighed slightly, rubbing at the frown that formed between her delicate brows. “I think that pretty much says it, yes,” she agreed.
“Why do you think that is?”
“I suppose it’s because I’ve been a rather reluctant participant in this partnership and also because you don’t like taking orders from a woman.”
He shook his head slowly. “I’ve worked with many women in many contexts. Taking my directives from a woman isn’t a problem. Having a relationship with a woman isn’t a problem. Generally speaking, I keep my private and public life separate.”
“We’re not going to have a relationship.”
“Exactly.”
She took a deep breath, waiting for him to finish.
“However,” he continued carefully, “I think it’s only fair to warn you that wrong and stupid and completely out of place as it may be, the fact that you are a fine detective hasn’t quite made me forget that you’re a desirable woman, as well.”
She didn’t move. She almost didn’t appear to be breathing. But he saw her swallow, then blow out a long, slow puff of air.
“Why are you telling me this?” Her voice was low. Sexy. Suspicious.
He shook his head slowly. “I’m telling you because we are going to be working as partners. I’ll trust you to protect my back. I want you to be secure in the knowledge that I intend to protect your life at all costs, but don’t expect me not to react as a man to a woman if you’re going to make provocative comments.”
She stared at him for long seconds. Then she nodded slowly. “Fair enough. I’ll try to think before I speak.”
“And I’ll try not to initiate any…unwarranted bodily contact.”
“Yes,” she said on a cracked whisper. “Touching wouldn’t be smart. It would make working together very difficult. Impossible.”
“I know that, and that’s my point. Finding the thin line we need to walk in the middle of the road is going to be difficult, Gretchen. My fault. My apology.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t be working together at all.”
“Maybe. Except this is your case, and I fully intend to be on it.”
“Rafe might feel differently if he knew we were going to have problems.”
“What are you going to tell him? That I’m having trouble keeping my lips away from those of his top detective?”
He wasn’t even leaning close, but he could feel her presence as if she had wrapped herself around him. Her soap-clean scent enticed him. He forced himself to keep his hands at his sides.
“No. I wouldn’t tell him that. What’s between you and me is…between you and me, Hannon,” she said, releasing another long breath. “We’ll deal with it together. We’ll work through it.”
He raised his lips in the slightest of smiles. “I know women who would have been hyperventilating in a similar situation. You’re an admirable lady, Gretchen.”
“I’m a good detective, too, David.”
“Never let anyone say any different. I liked the way you manhandled Earnest into repairing a few things around Mrs. Barton’s house. A good solution for both of them.”
She smiled. “You’re not trying to flatter me, are you, David?”
He lifted one brow. “Detective Neal, you wound me. I was completely sincere.”
“Thank you very much, then,” she said, starting the car. “So, Agent Hannon, do you think it’s possible that you’re ready to take an order from me now that we’ve established a few truths between us?”
He held out his hands in defeat. She was being a good sport. He had laid his cards on the table in such a way that she might well have been flustered or angry. He had told her the truth, he’d gotten in her face and she was dealing with it, but she still hadn’t given up one millimeter of her authority. He could see why Rafe had put her in charge.
“Just say the word, Gretchen.”
“That’s a lovely sound, David. Since you’re being so cooperative, let’s go get lunch at the Hip Hop Café. And no cookies for you, partner. You’ve had enough for one day.”
David smiled at Gretchen’s attempts to move the conversation onto a lighter plane.
“You’re a hard woman, Gretchen Neal. A real tough lady.”
“I am,” she said more soberly. “And don’t you forget it.”
He wouldn’t. For her sake and the sake of this case, he would do his best to forget that Gretchen was a woman and simply think of her as the partner who was going to help him crack the Raven Hunter case. He hoped something enlightening would happen very soon.
“Gretchen, are you sure the dress is going to fit by the time the wedding takes place? Maybe you should just come in for one more fitting just to be certain. The wedding’s still a few weeks away.”
Gretchen heard the rising panic in her friend Pamela’s voice and did her best to try and put herself in her friend’s shoes. No dice. Gretchen had been
