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Yes, we did, and I prayed moving forward would be a means to an end—a happy ending for Kipp and I. Pushing thoughts away of things I couldn’t control, I focused on the things I could and asked Dane, “Well, you seem to know more about this than we do, so do you have a suspect?”
Anger lit a fire in his gaze and his eyes narrowed, as he once again, took a seat at the end of the bed. “No suspects. No motive. Nothing.” His jaw clenched before he relaxed his features. “But like I said, it has to be someone who was close to Alexander—someone who knew about you. That’d be the only explanation for the magic used against Kipp now.”
Yes, that did seem right. But I let Dane finish before I got too ahead of myself. “I’ve wracked my mind thinking over everyone who came to the Animus in the weeks prior to Alexander’s death, but no one stands out as a viable suspect who would have any motive to kill him.”
He was right—everyone I had met wanted me to solve Alexander’s death. The person who killed him wouldn’t want that. I pondered all I heard and where did knowing all this get us? No-fucking-where—that’s where. “All right. First of all…” I looked at Gretchen. “We are so not staying in this house anymore. Max will have no problem with us staying at the hotel with them.”
She gave a firm nod. “Agreed.”
I turned to Dane. “We’ll have to come up with a good explanation to Amelia for why I’m leaving. I’m guessing you don’t wan
t to tell her all this, right?”
“She’s been through enough,” was his reply.
I understood his reasoning, because I suspected he wanted to protect her. The guilt and sadness ever so present in his features that he couldn’t help Alexander now made me well aware why he kept it from his wife. Perhaps he simply waited until he had a solid plan to save her father so he could soften the blow that her father’s murder wouldn’t be solved.
“Fair enough.” Then I glanced to the love of my life. “You’re here and safe for now. That makes me happy.” He winked and I shook my head at him. “Gretchen can look into this spell on you and see if we can find a way to break it.”
At Gretchen’s nod of agreement, I continued, “I have no clue why anyone would want you back now since I’m already here and helping. There have been no threats at all. But you seem fine at the moment and I seriously can’t take on anything else. Until something bad happens, we can’t make assumptions that it’s to exploit me or is a danger to you. Maybe…” I tried to think up another reasonable explanation. “No, I’ve got nothing. Who in the heck knows why you’re back now.”
“Well said, beautiful.” He grinned in his seductive way, making my belly flutter. “You always did look damn sexy taking control of an investigation.”
That hadn’t been the first time Kipp had told me that. He was a cop after all, and loved a good mystery. But as my cheeks warmed, I gave him a long look. “Now is not the time for that kind of talk.”
His smoldering eyes disagreed.
With all the insanity behind us, which only made things more complicated, I turned to Alexander. “Before all this crazy shit happened, you were saying you found something else last night.”
“Yes, I did.” A slow smile spread across his face. “I’ve discovered Nettie’s diary.”
Chapter Twenty Two
To my annoyance, but Kipp’s firm demand, we had waited around all day until nightfall to look for the diary. He thought it safer, considering in the cover of darkness it would be less likely anyone would see us go into the shed, which was where Alexander said the diary was located. I thought it a stupid idea since the daylight always seemed like a smarter choice to me, but even after an hour of telling him such, I begrudgingly agreed to his demands.
I’d been irritated at him for a quarter of an hour. That was, until a hot shower turned my entire day around.
The warm water pouring out like rain from the showerhead ran over my neck and back. My head was bowed to the slate rock floor and I pressed my hands against the shower wall, inhaling the coconut-scented shampoo Amelia had given me. But even with the water easing the tension out of my shoulders, the goose bumps trailing over my body couldn’t be ignored. “You know, some would say watching someone else shower makes you a pervert.”
Kipp chuckled, his icy body pressing against my warm back. “I would say I’d rather be perverted than starved of such a beautiful view.”
He trailed a finger over my shoulder and down along my spine, causing me to shiver. My eyes fluttered closed as his finger swiped ice over my skin and the hot water soothed away the bite.
When his entire hand caressed over my back, it didn’t bring a firm touch, but an intense coldness causing me to catch my breath. The blood in my veins turned to liquid fire and pooled low in my belly.
Then Kipp’s touch vanished.
“Turn around,” he murmured.
I did as he asked, and Kipp stood in his naked glory while the steam from the shower made him appear more ghostly than he ever had looked before. The lines of his muscles along his shoulders, chest, and abdomen were cut so precisely I craved to feel them as I had in the Netherworld. Touch and tease him. Lick and taste him. Caress and stroke him.
A tickle of frost hit the plumpest part of my lip and when I glanced up, Kipp smirked. “You’ve only had it,” he gestured to his erection, “once, and look at that hunger in your eyes.”
My body felt ravenous, throbbing and aching for him. My voice was a soft whisper of need. “You know I want you.”
“Ah, I do.” His smile grew a little wicked. “Lower your hand, Tess. If I’m going to be a pervert, might as well make it memorable.”
With a slow heat starting at my head and washing all throughout my body, I placed my hand between my thighs, as Kipp took his erection in his hands. Then my simple shower became scalding hot for reasons that had nothing to do with the water, but was more about the heat we built between us.
