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“Hmm, careful. I might enjoy that,” I tease.
He sets me back on my feet when we reach the front doors of the mansion. “Here, put these on.” He hands me a set of disposable gloves to make sure I don’t contaminate evidence if we find anything.
“So, any tips on looking for clues?” I ask, as I snap the second glove into place.
Jedrik reaches for my hand, and I happily take it, even if it is odd holding hands with two layers of rubber between us. “We need to carefully take in everything. Keep an eye out for things that are out of place. Areas that look cleaner than their surroundings. Blood splatter.” He shrugs. “I’m not the best at teaching.”
We move through the rooms systematically. My gaze swipes over everything, keeping a lookout for any hints of blood or signs of a struggle. I put on my best Nancy Drew hat and get my detective persona on.
On one of the decorative shelves in the study, I find a magnifying glass and instantly pick it up. It doesn’t take long before Jedrik catches sight of me bent over, peering through the glass like I’m tracking a clue.
His laughter rings out through the room. The potency of it is contagious, and I quickly find myself doubled over laughing with him.
“Come here, Trouble,” he manages to get out between his chuckles. His hand grasps the collar of my shirt and drags me to him until we’re flush. “You make one sexy detective.”
It starts out with a simple brush of his lips gliding over mine, but I’m not one to be happy with such a brief moment. I stop him from retreating with my forearm to the back of his neck. Awkward, I know, but necessary while wearing the gloves. It doesn’t take much convincing. His lips slant over mine.
I lift to my toes and press my breasts into his chest, my nipples already peaked from the way his tongue teases mine. His broad hands move to my lower back, tugging me closer.
“Jedrik,” I moan, wanting more.
He draws back after pressing one more kiss to my lips before resting his forehead against mine. We’re both breathing deeply, trying to remain close in the moment we’ve carved out.
“Fuck, Trouble. You know how to make me forget the world around us. We need to finish hunting for clues. But as soon as we’re done, you’re mine.” He strips his gloves that are now contaminated and pulls on a new set.
As much as I need to free Ry, I’d be lying to myself if I said I wasn’t disappointed with things being cut short with Jedrik.
“Come on, let’s clear the dining room.” He gives me a wink before leading me to the next room.
When we reach it, I slowly trail my eyes from floor to ceiling, looking for anything out of place. I spin the magnifying glass I’m still holding and hum to myself.
About halfway into the room, I come across a fireplace. On the mantle is a gold candlestick, which isn’t abnormal in a dining room, however, considering everything in here has silver accents, it’s out of place.
I lift it from the mantle and inspect it. The base is chunky with pointed square edges. As I rotate it, I find blood smeared along the bottom.
A gasp escapes me. “Jedrik! Come here.” He must hear some urgency in my voice because he quickly crosses the room to stand next to me. “There’s blood on here. Do you think it could be the murder weapon?”
He takes it from me and raises it to his nose. “Yeah, that’s blood all right. And the shape is right for what caused Matthew’s wound.” He rotates it similarly to me and pauses before bringing it closer to his face and squinting.
“You okay there, Jed? Do you need some glasses? Are you my blind boo?”
He glances at me, exasperation clear in his eyes, which is confirmed when he rolls them and focuses on the candlestick. “Such sass from a pretty little mouth.”
When he squints again, I hold up the magnifying glass with a coy smile. “Would this help?”
“Yeah, it would actually.” He reaches for it, but I move it out at arm’s distance before he can get it.
“You can have it for a price,” I tease him.
Jedrik smirks and backs me into the wall behind me, using his body to keep me in place with his forearms bracing him against the wall. “Oh, really? And what would this price be?”
“A kiss.”
He leans down, and I tilt my head back, waiting for him to kiss me. My hands go to his chest, gripping his shirt and closing the distance. His eyes sparkle, and right before his lips can touch mine, he steps away and grabs the magnifying glass from my hold.
“You are such a cheat,” I exclaim, swatting his shoulder. He laughs and dodges the impact. Before I can complain further, he grips my chin and kisses me thoroughly. It’s so good my toes curl and my stomach flips.
“That’s enough for you right now, Trouble.” He turns his attention back to the candlestick and holds up the magnifying glass. “There’s a partial fingerprint left in a smudge of blood. This has to be the murder weapon.”
