Criminal Promises (6 page)

Relief followed by
curiosity rushed through him with a release of adrenaline. His
muscles trembled as he reholstered his weapon. “What are you doing?
Where’s Jared?”

“Neighbor’s.” She chewed
her lower lip. The skin flashed white, her jaw tightened. “If he
stayed here I might have strangled him.”

Another prank.
BD resisted asking if the kid had smiled—the boy
was eerily serious more often than not. Asking meant caring. Caring
meant involvement. Involvement meant danger.

The unconsciously erotic way she chewed on
her lip, occasionally wetting it with her pink tongue, shot
straight through BD. A pool of sweat formed at the base of his
spine. The air conditioner made it impossible to blame the heat on
anything other than arousal.

How would she taste? Would she quiver if he
tried to find out?

Too late to dodge danger.

He licked his lips and blinked to break his
stare and thought process. Maggie was built for long-term
relationships while he chose short-term ones. Still, she appealed
to him, disturbed him, threatened his focus. And he hadn’t spent
any real time with her.

He didn’t do the damsel in
distress, but twice now, she’d been cast in the role. Twice now he
found himself turned on by the idea of saving her.
Twisted bastard.

BD walked toward the table. Her radiating
warmth and sensuality teased his senses and tempted him again to
discover what she would be like when aroused. Curious to know how
much exposure he could handle, just how long he’d last before his
brain short circuited, he leaned in close and looked at the
screen.

His body sizzled as if he’d grabbed hold of a
live wire. Vanilla and rose scents floated around her, feminine and
spicy. Arousing.

“Mags.” He cleared his
throat and looked at the snake on her screen. “I had no idea you
were into snakes.”

She freed her bottom lip, swollen from her
own teeth. A drop of blood lingered where she’d bitten too hard.
His tongue swiped across his own mouth, wishing it were hers. Sweat
dripped along his spine. He should be focusing on the job. Not
her.

“I’m not. Jared snuck one
in.”

He looked away from the
image. He didn’t have many fears, but those icy, reptilian eyes
made his skin crawl. “What kind?”

“Copperhead.” She clicked
a picture to enlarge it. Cold, black slits stared back at
them.

“What? How… Those things
are venomous.”

“Apparently, he and his
friend chased it into his backpack. I swear the kid’s not going to
the park for a month.”

“Here? Copperheads don’t
live around here. Do they?”

“Not typically. I however
seem to have one as a pet.”

“You aren’t keeping it.”
The panic in his voice irritated him even as he scanned the room
and corners again, looking for any signs of the slithering,
cold-blooded serpent.

She looked at him with a
startled and suspiciously humored gaze. “Do I look like an idiot?
Now, my neighbor across the street who’s into fetishes might want
it.”

Okay, good to know she was
mentally sound. And he’d heard about that neighbor from Craig after
their door-to-door. No thanks. “How did they not get
bitten?”

“He claims he propped the
bag open with some sticks and put a dead rat in it.” She shuddered.
“I’m not thinking about how he zipped the bag without incident. Or
unzipped it.”

Thinking up the logistics
of stunts like this before he hit ten? The kid was going to be
trouble when he got older. He needed a new direction for his
imagination. “Where did you find it?”

“It went under the
couch.”

“Where is it now?” BD
looked around the room. No sign of it. A careful maneuver had him
briefly brushing against her. Harmless. His system remained
somewhat level.

Hmm.
If he could be close to Maggie, maybe touch her while his
nerves hummed with snake awareness, and stay in control then he
could survive his stint in her home.

“Still there as far as I
know.”

It could be anywhere. Ready to strike. He
could have walked right by it… No. He’d have noticed. Jared may be
the culprit this time, but this was the kind of stunt Adalia would
pull. Only she’d put the thing in the bed.

“I needed to verify the
species before trying to catch it.” She scooted over, presumably to
give him more room, though he already had a foot of space on his
other side and could easily have moved away from her.

Would she really just grab a snake like it
was no big deal? Even non-venomous ones bit. And the bites hurt. BD
pushed his shoulder blades back in an attempt to dislodge the shirt
now stuck to the stream of sweat running along his spine.

“You know, the city
employees people to handle these things. They’re known as animal
control.”

“I grew up on a
farm.”

“So you’ve captured a
copperhead before?” BD searched the floor again.

“No, but I
can
do this.”

In other words she wouldn’t back down from a
challenge. He admired her even while he wished she’d leave the task
to the professionals. He pointed to the tub and hoe.

“Now that you know what
you’re after, the kids are safe, and you seem prepared—” he
couldn’t believe what he was about to ask. She’d already rewired
him somehow. “Do you want some help?”

“That would be great.” She
hopped off the table, handed him the hoe and picked up the tub.
“You pin it. I’ll handle the lid.”

“Pin it and pick it
up.”

A wave of bile rushed into his throat. They
were talking about catching a venomous snake and she seemed more
excited that freaked. Something had to crack her elaborate mask of
control.

They headed toward the
living room with her slightly behind him. “You think it’s still
under the couch?”

“Your guess is as good as
mine.” Not certain how best to approach a confirmation, he sure as
hell wasn’t sticking his face down there, he edged toward the back
of the sofa. “Get behind me.”

Once she’d done as he said, he backed them
both up. Hoping they were out of striking range, he used the hoe to
lift the fabric skirt at the bottom of the sofa and bent at the
waist.

Nothing, not even a dust bunny was under the
couch. A slight scuffling came from behind the entertainment
center. He straightened and watched the snake slither from behind
the massive piece of woodwork. A long, shiny, white-tipped, red
tongue followed by a copper-colored head and a long body slid
around the wall toward the bedrooms.

“They seem so harmless
from a distance,” she mused.

BD turned his head.
Slowly.
Gorgeous. Brave. And off her
rocker.

“It’s headed to my room.”
She moved past him. Her curvy hip brushed against him. A blast of
heat shot through him instantly awakening his body.

He blocked her, not caring
if she noticed his arousal. Maybe she’d be shaken to know he’d
pictured her in bed. It was certainly a more appealing image than
the current activity. “Doesn’t anything rattle you?”

“No.” She stepped aside to
circle around him.

“That’s not
possible.”

“It is.”

“Bullshit.” No one could
be so cool all the time and, snake be damned, he’d prove
it.

BD grabbed her arm and yanked her around. She
dropped the bin. He dropped the hoe, pulled her against him and
kissed her honey and cinnamon flavored, plump lips. His blood
surged.

If she’d only open up.

Stepping closer, needing to feel more of her,
to be closer to the fire, he picked her up and sat her on the back
of the sofa. He stood between her thighs and wrapped his arms
around her. Her satin blouse slid against his palms as soft as what
he imagined her skin would be when he got the chance to touch her.
Sinking deep into her, his mouth playing over hers, he enticed her
to open.

Scents of hot summer, vanilla and roses
engulfed him. Maggie dug her blunt fingernails into his shoulders,
clinging. The heat in his veins raged like a blue flame begging for
more fuel.

He pressed against her, molding himself to
her pliant curves that fit him like heavenly sin. He moaned as his
tongue swept across her slightly parted lips, seeking an entry he
wasn’t sure she would give.

She did.

She opened her mouth and invited him in as a
quiver racked her body.

Triumph echoed in his
chest. Breathing grew difficult within his shrinking ribcage. She
wrapped her legs around his waist and pressed against his erection.
Tingles spread along the top of his scalp.

“I want you. Here.
Now.”

Her quiver turned into
tremors racking her body. More than arousal drove her.
Fear?
BD raised his
head. Her eyes were wide, her breath was ragged and her fingers
shook as she hung onto him.

Never should have kissed
her.

He’d rattled her and himself. He knew her
taste, her feel, her smell. He’d never forget them and he wanted
them again even while telling himself a repeat was too pricey.

“That was a mistake.” BD
stepped back and set her on her feet. Unable to look at her flushed
cheeks, or name the look in her eyes, he picked up the hoe and
slowly moved toward the hallway.

Idiot. Stick to safe women.
No more thoughts of getting Maggie naked.

Catch the snake.
Re-establish a professional distance. Repeating the orders in his
head, he stepped into her room.
Don’t look
at the bed or think of her in it.

She came in behind him. Their prey was coiled
in a corner. Perfect striking position.

Maggie set the bin down and peered around BD.
Her lush breast brushed lightly against his arm. The erection
straining against his zipper throbbed.

“It’s huge,” she
whispered.

The snake. She means the
snake.
BD rolled his eyes to the ceiling.
Stupid kiss had his mind too far south. “He’s not that
big.”

Maggie’s nearness, the feel of her body, the
sight of her bed less than five feet away couldn’t matter. Catching
the snake mattered.

And it
was
big. Easily as big around as his
forearm, longer than his leg, and it liked to eat things. BD
tightened his stomach muscles against the urge to turn away. Being
as still as possible, he called on his training and calmed his
racing heart.

He hated snakes. The way their fangs sank
through flesh. The venom spreading through the body. It only took
one bad move as a kid to get struck. His wrong move had landed him
in a hospital at the age of five.

“You don’t think that’s
big?” Maggie’s hushed question brushed his arm.

“Mags, honey, I think
you’re scared of him.” He tsked her playfully. “And you say you
grew up on a farm.”

“Cautious. A lesson
learned well on that farm.”

He took her hand and
squeezed. “It’ll be fine. He’s not going to bite us.”

“He? How do you know it’s
a him?” Her chin still angled over his shoulder. All he had to do
to taste her again was lean left a tad and… BD mentally slapped
himself.

“Why else would he head to
a beautiful woman’s bedroom?”

“Harte!”

“Now I know I’m in
trouble.” He turned his head and met her gaze. “You’ve employed the
mom tone.”

“You may think this is
funny. I don’t.” She pushed up on her feet until her nose almost
bumped his. She was too small to reach him unless he stooped down.
“Catch that damn thing.”

Ooh, the lovely lady
cussed. She
was
rattled. “Open the tub.”

She pulled the green tub closer, and then
stepped around it so the lid formed a shield. Amazing. She didn’t
look ridiculous with her legs braced wide as she prepared to catch
a venomous snake while dressed like she was going to an afternoon
tea.

BD spread his legs and
raised his hands, one with the hoe, the other formed in a fist. His
pulse thundered in his ears. He caught his reflection in the mirror
and groaned inwardly. He looked like he was preparing to attack
some crazed maniac, which was his preference. “Okay, babe. Here we
go.”

Taking a deep breath, he reached toward the
snake’s head with the hoe. When his arm shook, he hesitated. He’d
lost his mind. They should’ve grabbed Emma and left this to Animal
Control. Saying so now would make him look weak.

Willing himself to remain steady, he
stretched out the hoe and jammed the flat blade down, pressing the
snake’s head into the floor. His hand shook. The snake wriggled its
body. Stepping gently on the blade, not wanting to squish brain
matter all over the carpet, he made sure the head and mouth were
well secured. He closed his eyes and counted to five in another
attempt to slow his heart rate.

Bending, he grabbed the wriggling copperhead
just behind its head in a tight grip. No matter how much his palms
sweated, he wasn’t losing his grip. Removing his foot from the hoe
blade, he let it fall to the floor as he took the weight of the
struggling reptile in his hands.

He stepped over to the empty tote, and
lowered the tail in. If he thought he could do it without drawing
attention he’d take the tote outside when they finished and fill it
with bullets. It would be a Catholic cleanse.