Brazen Virtue

pulled a bottle of white wine out of the bag. He also had taste, she decided as she read the label. Then she took out what appeared to be a clump of asparagus. She sniffed it, then wrinkled her nose. Taste, yes, but she wasn’t at all sure what kind.
    She found cauliflower, scallions, and snow peas. The only thing that managed to make her feel relieved was a bag of seedless grapes. Grace didn’t hesitate before diving in.
    “It looks great.”

    She swallowed a grape and turned to see him in the doorway.
    “The bathroom. It looks great.”
    “I’m very handy.” She held up the asparagus. “What do you do with this?”
    “I cook it.”
    She set it down again. “I was afraid of that. I didn’t ask what you wanted to drink.”
    “I’ll get it. Did you rest?”
    “I’m feeling fine.” She watched him pull a bottle of apple juice out of the refrigerator. It made her lips purse. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking while wallpapering your bathroom and chatting with your mother.”
    “What kind of thinking?” He poured a tumbler of apple juice, then reached in a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of vodka. He poured two shots into the juice.
    “That’s a hell of a way to get your vitamin A.”
    “Want one?”
    “I’ll pass. Anyway, I’ve been thinking that I should take over Kathy’s lease for a while. Stick around.”
    Ed set his glass down. He wanted her to stay, just as the cop in him knew she’d be better off gone. “Why?”
    “I still have lawyers and insurance to deal with.” Which she could do just as easily from New York. And he knew it. She could tell from his expression that he saw right through her. She’d been foolish to try to circle him. In any case, she didn’t find it easy to be dishonest with him. That was odd in itself. Grace never minded shading the truth. “All right, that’s not it. I can’t leave here without knowing everything. Kathy and I weren’t close. It’s never been easy for me to admit that, but it’s true. Staying here, trying to find who did this to her, is something I have to do for both of us. I can’t put this behind me, Ed, not completely behind me until I have all the answers.”
    He wished, for both their sakes, that he didn’t understand. “Finding your sister’s killer isn’t your job, it’s mine.”

    “Your job, yes. For me it’s a need. Can you understand that?”
    “It isn’t a matter of what I understand, but what I know.”
    She crumpled the empty grocery bag before he could take it from her and fold it for storage. “Which is?”
    “Civilians can’t be involved in investigations, Grace. They screw things up. And they get hurt.”
    She touched her tongue to her top lip as she stepped toward him. “Which bothers you the most?”
    She had incredible eyes. The kind a man could stare into for hours. They were looking into his now, waiting, questioning. Half-fascinated, half-wary, he ran his thumb along her cheekbone. “I don’t know.” Then, because he needed to, because her lips had curved just a little, he lowered his mouth to hers.
    She tasted exactly the way he wanted her to. She felt, as he spread his fingers over her face, exactly the way he wanted her to. It was foolish, he knew. She was New York, bright lights, and fast parties. He was small town, and he never knew when he’d have blood on his hands again. But she felt just right.
    Her eyes opened slowly when their lips parted. She let out a long breath before she smiled. “You know, you make a big impression whenever you do that. Maybe you could make it more of a habit.” Pressing against him, she nibbled her way to his mouth. When she felt his hands move to her hips, then tense, she sighed. It had been a long time, much too long, since she’d been tempted to let herself go. She wound her arms around his neck and felt, with great satisfaction, his heart thud along with hers. “Are you going to take me to bed, or what?”

    He burrowed his lips into her neck, wanting more. It would be easy, so easy, to pick her up, to take her to his bed and just let it happen. As it had happened before. Something told him that with her it shouldn’t be easy. With her it shouldn’t be a casual tumble onto the sheets without a thought to tomorrow. He pressed his lips to her brow before he released her.
    “I’m going to feed you.”
    “Oh.” Grace took a step back. She didn’t often offer herself to a man. It took more than a sexual pull, it took affection and a feeling of trust.