Sean's Reckoning - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,16

very much afraid her son had gotten it exactly right.

Chapter Four

Sean wondered what the hell had ever made him think that Deanna was innocent as a lamb? The woman was a temptress, possibly even more dangerous than the incomparable Ruby, because Deanna’s seductiveness came from out of the blue.

Ever since she’d played that little game of hers with the ice-cream cone, the image had been locked in his brain. Granted, she’d looked a little rattled by the episode and had backed off almost instantly, but she’d definitely known what she was doing when she’d gazed straight into his eyes and run her tongue slowly over that melting ice cream. Even now, just thinking about it made him go hard as a rock.

He’d been working out at the gym practically nonstop on his days off, but it hadn’t relieved the sexual tension one iota. There was probably only one surefire way to deal with it, but the thought of going out with some other woman—using her—to forget about Deanna was too crummy a notion to even consider. Sean tried never to behave like a complete jerk where the women in his life were concerned, no matter how willing they claimed to be to take whatever he was interested in offering.

He’d been deliberately avoiding Hank the past couple of days, as well. He didn’t want to hear about any conquest that involved Ruby. Part of that was some ridiculous sense of loyalty to Deanna and her friend, part of it was self-serving. Hearing about Hank’s sexual exploits would only remind him of the self-imposed drought in his own life. Moreover, he wasn’t ready for the kind of probing questions Hank was likely to ask about him and Deanna. Not that there was anything to tell.

Sean finished his workout, showered and changed into comfortable jeans and a gray department-issued T-shirt. He was already thinking about the pizza he was going to order while he watched the Red Sox game when he ran smack into Hank coming in the door of the gym. His partner was unshaven and looked as if he hadn’t slept a wink in days. The stubble on his shaved head was longer than he usually allowed it to get, too.

“Hey,” Sean said, dragging him back outside and studying him with concern. “What’s up with you? You look like hell.”

“No sleep,” Hank muttered, avoiding his gaze.

Sean was relatively certain he knew why. Ruby, no doubt. Dammit, just for once, why couldn’t Hank have behaved in a less predictable way, maybe shown Ruby a little respect, instead of jumping her bones the first chance he got?

“Yeah, well, that’s never been a problem before,” he said, careful to avoid any mention of his suspicions.

“I’ve never been in a situation like this before,” Hank said, his expression grim, rather than gloating. “Look, I need to get in there and work out for a couple of hours. Maybe if I’m exhausted enough, I’ll get some sleep.”

“No date tonight?”

“No,” Hank said in a tone that didn’t invite further questions.

“Want to come over and watch the game when you’re done?” Sean asked. “I’m going to order a pizza. I’ll even let you get anchovies on your half.”

Hank shrugged without enthusiasm. “Sure. Why not? I’ll cut it short here and be there by seven-thirty.” His gaze narrowed. “No prying questions, though. Are we clear on that?”

Sean bit back his disappointment, but he nodded. Since he was no more interested in talk than Hank appeared to be, he could hardly complain about the embargo. “See you then,” he said, staring after his friend as Hank trudged into the gym with all the energy and enthusiasm of a man walking toward the gallows.

Something wasn’t quite right here, but Sean couldn’t put his finger on it. However, given Hank’s edict about keeping all his questions to himself and his own determination not to discuss Ruby with Hank, he was at a loss.

He thought about all the possible explanations for Hank’s mood on the drive back to his apartment. No matter which way he looked at it, it all came back to Ruby.

Of course, there was one subtle way to get some answers, he concluded, picking up the phone before he could change his mind. And didn’t he owe it to his friend to try to pinpoint the problem? Indeed, he did, he thought nobly. He had a duty to make the call.

At the sound of Deanna’s voice, his mouth went dry. What the hell was wrong with him? No woman had