Drop Dead Sexy(27)

“Let’s not turn this into a Yankee vs. Southern thing, okay?” I said.

“Whatever,” Ralph grumbled.

“All right, let me check his lividity to see if I can pin down a possible time of death.” Lividity happened when the body’s blood supply stopped moving after the heart stopped pumping. You could gage how long someone had been dead by the way gravity caused the blood to settle. It presented in deep purple discoloration. Since Randy was lying down, I would need to examine the blood discolorations on his back.

I reached to pull the sheet away from Randy’s body when a male’s voice boomed from the hallway. “Hello? GBI.”

Ralph groaned. “Great the G-Men are here.”

I wagged a finger at him. “Be nice. We owe it to Randy to find his killer by having a smooth investigation without animosity.”

“I will as long as they are. But if they start that holier than thou bullshit, the gloves are coming off.”

I didn’t bother arguing with him anymore. Instead, I left Randy’s bedside and started for the door. I got halfway there before I froze on the spot. Like I seriously looked like something out Despicable Me with the freeze ray.

When I was in second grade, I fell off the monkey bars. As I had lay in the grass, I’d tried desperately to catch my breath, but I couldn’t. I had the wind completely knocked out of me. I had never experienced the feeling like a flattened tire because my lungs wouldn’t inflate.

That’s exactly the same way I felt when Catcher Mains waltzed through the bedroom door.





As I continued standing there like a statue, Catcher reached into his coat pocket for his badge. “Afternoon. I’m Holden Mains from the GBI and this is Elias Solano.” He motioned to the tall, Latino standing next to him.

It was then as he gazed around the bedroom that he finally saw me. And then that smile—that drop-dead-sexy smile that had made me throw my inhibitions to the wind and my panties to the floor—stretched across his face and managed to de-thaw my frozen status. “Well, well, well. Olivia Sullivan. Fancy seeing you again.”

Glancing between Catcher and me, Ralph questioned, “You two know each other?”

Catcher licked his lips. “Oh yes, I know Ms. Sullivan very well.”

I shifted nervously on my feet. “Oh, I wouldn’t say it was that well. We just seem to run into each other from time to time.”

A wicked gleam burned in Catcher’s blue eyes. “Yes. I would say it’s been at least three times, wouldn’t you?”

A strangled cry erupted from my lips at the fact he was alluding to the number of times we’d had sex last night. My mouth had already run dry with nerves, so it took me forever to find my voice. "Might I have a word with you, Agent Mains?” When I felt Ralph and Todd’s eyes on me, I quickly added, “So I can discuss the case with you?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Sure. Go right ahead.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Alone.”

Catcher glanced at Elias and the others. “Agent Solano, while Ms. Sullivan is briefing me, why don’t you talk with the officers?”

Agent Solano nodded. When we stepped into the hallway, I ran into one of the deputies dusting for fingerprints. “That room is clear?” I asked.

“Yep,” he replied, as he moved on to the bathroom.

I took Catcher by the elbow and dragged him into the bedroom. After crossing my arms over my chest, I tilted my head at him. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Um, I believe it’s called an investigation.”

“Don’t be a smartass.”

“I was just answering your question.”

“Yeah, well, there’s the fact that you didn’t look too surprised to see me.”

“You ran out on me this morning,” Catcher accused.

I scrunched my brows in confusion. “Yes, I’m aware of that. But what does that have to do with you being here?”

“Everything.”

After throwing my hands up in frustration, I glared at Catcher. “Why must you be so infuriating?”

“Because I don’t like waking up alone after a night of amazing sex.”

“Oh, really well—” I had already started to argue with him, but his reply stopped me cold. “Whether the sex was good is not the issue at the moment,” I argued feebly.

Catcher quirked his brows at me. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but did I not give you—” He paused to wiggle his fingers at me. “Five orgasms over the course of the evening?”

Ah, that would be a yes. Five of the best orgasms of my life actually. I rolled my eyes at him. “You already know the answer to that, so why are you asking me?”

He grinned. “Because I just like to hear you acknowledge it.”

“Fine. You gave me five orgasms. Are you happy now?”

“No. Since my record was seven in one twelve-hour span, I’d like for us to get together again to see if I can beat it.”

I wrinkled my nose at him. “You’re seriously disgusting.”

“And you’re still avoiding the question.”

“You answer mine first.”

Catcher swept his hands to his hips. “Fine. I was working on my case when the call went out about a murder in Taylorsville. When I heard the name Olivia Sullivan mentioned, I had ulterior motives in volunteering to help out Agent Solano and his team.” When he took a step towards me, I eased back until I bumped against the door. “The truth is I wanted to see you again.”