the spacious hallway holding hands. There was nothing left to be said. Once they were behind closed doors, there would be action and few words. Anticipating that this would be the way the night ended, she had tidied up her hotel room and turned back the covers on the bed.
They came to a stop in front of her hotel room door. He released her hand and she took the passkey from her purse. Moments later, she opened the door and he followed her inside, closing the door behind them. And then he reached out and pulled her into his arms, lowering his head and claiming her mouth in the kiss she’d been waiting all night to get.
Present Day
“LET’S GO, DETECTIVE OLIVER.”
Toni blinked, snapping out of her reminiscences of the past. While she’d been setting up her desk, she’d momentarily gotten caught up in the memories.
She glanced up to see Drew standing in front of her desk, an intense look on his face. “Sorry. What did you say?”
“I said, let’s go. Murder in Old Town,” he said in that curt tone that seemed to be his preferred voice with her.
She quickly grabbed her jacket off the rack and followed him. Drew was walking fast, and she could barely keep up with his long strides. She’d discovered a long time ago that the only place she could keep up with him was in the bedroom, and even then, it had taken a whole lot of effort on her part.
She followed him around various cubicles before reaching the door. Luckily, most people were getting out of their way, obviously knowing Drew would plow through them if they didn’t. He led her out into the lot where the pool of unmarked police cars was located. He immediately went to the driver’s side of a car, and she got in on the other. She had barely snapped her seatbelt in place when he took off, tearing out of the lot. “I intended to take you around to meet everyone, but that will have to come later,” he told her in a rushed voice.
“That’s fine.”
She recalled him saying, when they first met in San Diego, that everyone at his precinct got along. She wondered if that was still the case. There was always drama of some kind at her former precinct in Miami. The most recent blow-up had been about a senior officer who’d gotten two female officers pregnant. Their babies were due within days of each other. How he’d successfully managed to keep both women in the dark was a mystery.
Drew steered the police cruiser through the streets, blue lights flashing, as they made their way to the crime scene—her first as a detective with the Alexandria Police Department. Her first as Andrew’s partner.
His concentration appeared to be on the road in front of him. “What information do you have?” she asked.
When he came to a stop at a traffic light, he looked over at her, his expression a little dazed, as if he was still surprised to see her in the seat beside him. When the traffic light changed, he turned his attention back to the road. “The 9-1-1 dispatcher said it was a woman, possibly in her late twenties or early thirties. Severe knife wounds. Not certain if self-inflicted. We won’t know all the specifics until the medical examiner arrives.”
Toni absorbed his words, wondering how he handled this kind of thing. But when she glanced back over at Drew, his gaze was entirely focused on the road again. He was driven, purposeful...and oh, so hot. But this wasn’t the time. They had a job to do...even if he could still set her on fire with just a look.
She suddenly felt even warmer but couldn’t remove her jacket without unbuckling her seatbelt. So she lowered the window, needing to feel the wind on her face. They were partners now—she had to get a grip. Sexual chemistry was a powerful force to reckon with, but it had to be put to rest. She was determined to prove herself to her new department. And to do that, she’d just have to figure out how to make sure Andrew Logan didn’t get under her skin...again.
• • •
Out of the corner of Andrew’s eye, he saw Toni’s dark, shoulder-length hair moving in the breeze coming in from her open window. He’d always loved her hair, especially seeing those tresses spread across her pillow as he straddled her.
His hand tightened on the steering wheel. She was back in his