Cold & Deadly (Cold Justice: Crossfire #1)(90)

“It would be nice if we could catch this UNSUB, lock them up and then I can go have our baby in peace.” Hopefully too sedated with an epidural to feel pain. She interlaced her fingers around her beachball belly as she glanced at Alex.

His fingers joined hers. “You can stop work any time,” he murmured against her brow.

But if Mallory had a flaw, and she had many, not being able to let things go topped the list.

“Can you drop me at work and I’ll meet you in DC tonight?” she asked.

“I can drive you to DC.”

“I thought you had an appointment there this afternoon?”

“I do but I can—”

She touched his lips with her fingers and they were warm against her skin. “I can drive myself. See you tonight, Mr. Parker.”

A grin cut across his face. “Have it your way, Mrs. Parker, but go take a nap on Frazer’s couch. He’s gonna be busy chasing his tail all day anyway.”

Frazer groaned pitifully. “I heard that.”

She nodded.

“Promise?” he asked.

“I promise.”

*

“Do we have to go back to Quantico today?” Ava spoke quietly into the pillow.

Dominic’s entire body trembled with aftershocks. This woman had completely destroyed him, last night and again this morning, and he was left wondering what was going on between them. Was it just good sex? Although stupendous was a more accurate word. Had he abstained for so long he’d forgotten what it was really like? He honestly didn’t remember having sex with Suzanna which had scared the shit out of him and left him celibate in the months since. Sex with Ava, however, was something he’d never forget.

“Ah, damn.” He groaned, remembering something he would rather forget.

“What is it?”

“We have to go to DC today.”

She turned her head to look at him. “I thought Gross told us to stay away from the task force operation?”

He curved his lips, but it wasn’t a smile. Mark Gross had been a pain in the ass. “We have a party to attend.”

She swore, echoing his thoughts. “I thought you’d forgotten about it. Or changed your mind about me attending.” Ava turned all the way over until she was facing him, and he was treated to the long naked sight of her. He kissed her mouth and kept kissing her until her breath caught.

Finally, when his body was growing hard again from wanting her, he pulled away. To prove to himself that he could. “I don’t suppose you packed a ballgown?”

“Ballgown?” she asked, looking startled and aroused and confused.

“It’ll be black tie.”

“Black tie?” She sounded horrified. He felt her pain.

“My father takes being governor very seriously. Usually he’s back home during the summer, but I suspect the president couldn’t get away to Vermont. And if the president is invited then it will be formal. I have a tux at my apartment, but I don’t have any dresses.”

Ava looked down at herself and raised one long leg in the air, pointing her toes. “I could wear a tux.”

Dominic laughed, but his mouth was dry as ash. He’d never considered himself a leg man, but everything about Ava defied what he’d considered his norm. “It’s tempting just to see what you would look like.” He wanted to say something dirty and inappropriate, but they needed to have a conversation about work. They needed to get up, shower, get in the damn rental car and drive back to their real lives. “You don’t have to attend.” He touched her cheek. “It’ll be boring as hell, and my family will take your presence as my date way out of proportion. But as much as they annoy me, I don’t want them worrying about me or knowing a killer targeted me—so I will want you to keep that secret even though the threat is probably over.”

She held his gaze, and he was struck again by all the faceted colors in her eyes. “We don’t know for sure that it’s over.”

He shrugged. “If the president is attending, security will be tight. I’ll be safe enough.”

“Would you want me there?” she asked. “If we weren’t working together?”

He could tell she regretted the question as soon as she said it because she tried to roll away. He stopped her. She’d made herself vulnerable, and he refused to be any less courageous.

“Yes.” Honesty was scary, and his heart revved with fear.

Slowly, she smiled up at him. “Can we stop at Walmart somewhere on the way?”

“Walmart?”

“For a party dress.”

He laughed. While he didn’t care if she came in jeans and a t-shirt, the society crowd were going to tear her apart. He eyed her carefully, which wasn’t a hardship. His sister was too short. He had a sudden thought and went through to the other room, grabbing his cell, turning it back on. He had dozens of missed calls. Shit. He dialed one number. “Agent Rooney?”

“I’ve been trying to get hold of you, SSA Sheridan.”

Ava tried to sit up, but he put his thigh over hers. He wasn’t done with her yet.

“I turned my phone off to try to get some sleep last night. Before you tell me why you were calling me, would it be weird if I asked if you had a formal gown I could borrow for tonight?” He figured she was a similar height to Ava and when she wasn’t pregnant, they’d be a similar size. He could drive to Quantico to pick up the dress and then head back to the lion’s den of DC.