Page 54 of In the Dark

She was close.

I curled my fingers in her and pumped as I leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Not my bride, Jasmina. Not mine. Now, come for your husband so I can get you more dessert.”

She shut her eyes tight and bit her lip to keep from screaming as she did as she was told.

After, I pulled my fingers from her and dipped them into the pudding so I could taste her sweet arousal mixed with dessert.

“You taste divine, Viper. Abso-fucking-lutely divine.”

14

Jasmina

NO PART OF ME wanted to walk into that damn place with Callahan after what I’d allowed him to do to me under a table at a restaurant. Quite frankly, I should have been locked up for the way I was all for it.

I’d completely lost the plot. Or maybe I was making a new one, because walking with him into that precinct felt uncomfortable, sure, but also like maybe I was making my own path, like I would be able to endure whatever it was and maneuver the outcome.

I’d felt that way at first.

But then, the woman who met us near the glass-walled offices of the major crimes unit destroyed all my newfound confidence.

Demi, her name tag read, but it could have read Professional Who Has Her Life Completely Together and I would have believed that to be her name. She was striking in a way that felt almost incomparable to me, with honey-blonde hair pulled into a sleek, professional ponytail, a silk blouse that showed off her curves without being slutty, and plump red lips that glistened just enough that you couldn’t take your eyes off of them until you saw the badge clipped to a belt that emphasized a very disciplined waistline. She didn’t just seem to work here. She seemed to own the place.

But the second her eyes landed on Callahan, the professional mask melted away to a googly-eyed woman in love.

And I about vomited.

There was no hiding her love for him under those too-bright fluorescent lights. I glanced away as she fawned over him and took in the smell of stale coffee, the shiny floor wax, the too-loud and too-public place we were in.

And I felt my palms start to sweat.

He couldn’t possibly expect me to sit through the kind of emotional destruction I was about to endure in front of all them. I wanted the shadows of my apartment; I wanted Romeo curled up next to me. I wanted my cousins chattering in the background and making it all seem much lighter than it was.

Yet, I wasn’t going to get any of that as I dug into all the secrets of my dead uncle. Paolo Ruiz was still cursing me rather than throwing me a damn bone from the grave.

“Can I look at this at home?” I asked, my voice tight. I felt the weight of the heavy manila folders being wheeled toward us on a cart.

“Oh, that’s not authorized, Cally baby,” Demi murmured.

Cally? Gross.

She stepped into his personal space, her hand ghosting near his forearm. It was a practiced, intimate lean.

“Do I need to call the commissioner to get it authorized?” Callahan asked, his voice dropping into that flat tone that would make any person uncomfortable.

Demi hurried to smooth the waters, her eyes flickering to me with a sharp curiosity. “I mean, of course, I can figure it out. You can take home whatever you need. I’ll just mark it as a consultation for the Knights.” She paused, her perfectly manicured finger hovering over the keyboard, and then she disappeared to get a laptop that she handed over to him. “All of the evidence will be on the files on this laptop. Is it going to be in your possession the whole time, or will she be taking it to her … own place?”

“She’s living with me, Demi. So, no worries.”

Poor Demi. I almost felt sorry for her. Her spine turned to steel, and her lips pulled into a pout that was meant to be cute but came off as desperate. She began typing with a rhythmic, angry clatter.

“Maybe once you look all this over, you and I can meet for dinner? So you can hand-deliver it back to me? We have … a lot to catch up on.”

I looked at the few scuff marks on the floor, trying to ignore the sour taste in my mouth. I hoped I never appeared this desperate for Callahan, although I felt her pain. Even if I wasn’t his lover, exactly, I was getting more and more jealous by the minute.

And I couldn’t. I was a contractual fiancée. Granted, we had some fun under a damn table, but it wasn’t like I expected us to be exclusive. I didn’t even have a ring on my finger, and even if I did, it wouldn’t change the fact that women like Demi were probably a staple in Callahan’s life.

“You know I’m marrying Jasmina, Demi.”