Dahlia's Kiss

BURNING

I laidin my bed and stared at the ceiling. Too many things were going on in my life and I wasn’t a fan. With the latest addition to my woes being the interest the police had in me; I wasn’t feeling too optimistic. Bean laid on my chest purring like a maniac, his fluffy tail swishing back and forth errantly. I knew Cole was on the couch in the living room. His snores had woken me periodically through the night.

Damian was in the bed beside me. His sleeping form looked cherubic in the morning light filtering through the sheer curtains. I wanted to brush his blond hair out of his face and kiss his eyelashes. His breath came in little puffs. His lips were slightly parted, pink like a child's. For the first time ever, I wished I had a bigger bed so I could wake up with all of my men together. It would be nice to have a nice dog pile of Incubi at my disposal each time I opened my eyes.

Maybe it was time to call a realtor.

I hadn’t seen Sterling since he dropped me off at my car the day before. He didn’t speak to me the entire way back to the law office. The set of his jaw said he had things on his mind. Whatever they were, though, he wasn’t telling. I knew no amount of pestering would get him to share his thoughts with me. He was all shared out.

I didn’t push because I was reliving every second of the chat I’d had with the two detectives. I was worried I’d said too much at times and not enough for others. If only I could have read what the man was writing all that time, I might have had a better idea of what I was facing. I couldn’t very well have asked him, though. Well, maybe if the woman had left the room. Then he might have been susceptible to my Succubus charms.

Cole stirred in the living room, and I heard his bare feet on the floor headed for the bathroom. I should probably be getting up soon too. These guys were awful at making coffee. If I had to drink that mud they’d made for me the day before one more time, I might make a full confession to the crimes just to avoid it.

A few moments later, the TV came on and he quickly lowered the volume to not bother those still sleeping.

Carefully, I disentangled myself from Damian’s limbs and pushed Bean off my chest. Dressing quickly, I ran my hands through my hair and made it to the coffee pot just in the nick of time.

“I can do that for you,” Cole purred, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and nuzzling my neck. “If I’m going to sleep here, I can at least make myself useful.”

“Clean my bathroom, or do the dishes,” I responded, leaning my head to the side to grant him access to the tender skin at my nape. “But leave my coffee alone.”

“Anything you say, boss.” He let me go and handed me the creamer out of the fridge. “Sterling never came back last night. I was under the impression he needed to feed. He is a hard mother fucker, but it’s the best feeling ever to break him down and make him squeal in bed.”

I laughed, remembering the last time we’d all been together. Sterling wasn’t a fan of being on the bottom for the other two men. He was a self-proclaimed manly man, but when he took it, he took it well. Most importantly, when he gave in to the pleasure, he seemed to enjoy it.

“I thought he was coming back as well. He must have gotten tied up on something at work.”

Cole smirked. “Tied up. Now there’s an idea.”

“Don’t you start,” I replied, putting a finger to his full lips. “I have to go to work.”

“All work and no play make Jack a dull boy,” Cole said.

“Well, I don’t know this Jack, but I’m sure he had trouble paying his bills with a mindset like that.”

Cole’s eyes glittered with his laughter, and I wanted to kiss him so badly. If I gave in to my desire, though, I would never leave the apartment. I’d already missed most of the day yesterday. I didn’t want to have to apologize to Drake again. He was still pretty sore about my rejection.

My eyes fell on the TV. “Cole, turn the volume up.”

He obliged, grabbing the remote from the couch and brought the sound up so I could hear the news anchor. The screen was a night shot of the police precinct I’d been taken to the day prior, except it was engulfed entirely in flames.

“What the hell?” Cole said quietly from beside me. “That can’t be good.”

The broadcaster announced that the fire was an arson, and all available units were looking into who could have done such a thing. There were no leads at the moment, but I bit my bottom lip.

“Why do you have that look on your face?” Cole asked.

“What do you mean?” I posed the question without taking my eyes off the flickering red and orange flames dominating my screen.

“The look that says you have an idea about what happened there.”

I turned to him. Was I that easy to read? “I was brought in for questioning yesterday. They took my statement and my fingerprints. They already had my hair from the crime scene and all those surveillance tapes. Sterling never came back here. What if he did this to get rid of any evidence they could have used against me?”

“You really think he would have done that?” Cole speculated. “That would also get rid of any evidence they had that would exonerate you.”

I shrugged. To some degree, it seemed very logical to assume it had been him. To another, he was way too dedicated to his job to have done something this drastic. But I just didn’t know.

While he stood in rapt silence listening to the details, the front door opened and the detective in question walked in like the walking dead and collapsed on the couch. There were heavy bags under his bloodshot eyes, and his jacket smelled like smoke.

“Where the hell have you been all night?” Cole asked.