Black Heart (Cursed Hearts 1)

“Come in,” he said.

Stacey, a uniformed officer in her early thirties, opened the door and walked in, holding a large pile of dull yellow letter sized envelopes. Tristan walked over and took them from her. He’d been waiting all morning for them. As she pulled back her hand, she ran her fingers suggestively over his.

“Thank you,” he said absently, hoping it would be enough to send her on her way. He hated dealing with her. She always came on too strong and wouldn’t take the hint that he wasn’t interested. She knew that she was beautiful and any guy here would be happy to have her. The problem was that more than half the guys already had and he wasn’t interested in joining their ranks.

If that wasn’t enough to keep him from asking her out, the fact that he felt like he was cheating on Marty anytime he so much as looked in the direction of another woman was. He couldn’t explain it, but he’d never been attracted to another woman. A few times he’d forced himself to try, but they’d all ended with failure and left him feeling like a cheating ass**le for simply taking a woman out to dinner.

“Is there anything else I can do for you, Detective?” she practically purred.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Marty watching this little scene intently. Interesting. Maybe he should play on it to piss her off. She looked really cute when she was jealous and jealous she was. He didn’t have any doubts on that account. She wanted him, but not as much as he wanted her. That was simply impossible.

He would never purposely hurt her. Jealousy was a bitch that messed with your mind and tore at your heart. He knew that all too well since she made him crazy with jealousy about a hundred times a day. That was another reason she had to go.

“No, I’m fine. Thank you, Officer.” He purposely didn’t say her name, knowing that any familiarity would only encourage her.

Her smile slipped, but she still managed to send him an inviting look before she left the office. Tristan tossed the pile of envelopes on his desk and sat down.

Marty cleared her throat delicately. “She was pretty,” she said, then felt really stupid. What was wrong with her? She only said and did stupid things around him. She cringed at how that just sounded.

He looked up with a knowing expression and grinned. “Jealous?”

Yes! “No,” she scoffed.

The bastard just chuckled as he opened the envelopes and pulled out thick stacks of paper.

“What are those?” she asked, well, more like demanded. She was a bossy little thing he’d come to realize over the last couple of weeks.

Tristan sighed. This was really going to set her off on one of her little rants. “The files of the missing girls from Massachusetts, Vermont and a few towns south of here.”

“What? I thought we were going to look at those together?” She was already pushing away from her desk before the last word was out of her mouth.

Again, he sighed. “Marty, I don’t have to do anything. This is just a hunch I’m playing out, nothing official. Therefore, I do not have to include my little stalker in it,” he answered her evenly as he spread out the files, preparing to create a database from them. He could have seen the files online, but he always preferred to see the pictures and field notes on paper even if they were just copies.

“I’m helping,” she stated, not asked.

“No.”

“You still can’t type that well with your left hand. You need me,” she pointed out, sounding so damn smug that it took everything that he had to bite back a smile. She was definitely a bossy and manipulative little thing.

“I can type fine. Besides, I’ll be doing most of the work at home.”

*-*-*-*

As she watched him organize the files something in her snapped. She was sick of his highhanded ways and keeping her from doing her job. It was time that she put her foot down.

“I’m helping,” she said firmly. “I was not hired simply to drive you around, pick up your food, and put up with your bullshit, Tristan. This is part of my job and I’m going to do it. Now you can just suck it up, because you do not have a choice in the matter.”

His hand stilled on the file he was moving as he looked up and met her glare. Perhaps she’d gone a tad too far. Yeah, definitely too far this time. He dropped the file on the desk and sat back in his chair, never taking his eyes off her.

“I don’t have a choice?” he asked, cocking an arrogant brow in her direction.

She straightened her spine and shoulders. “No.”

For a long moment he didn’t say anything, making her even more nervous. Just when she was about to make a hasty retreat he spoke.

“Fine.”

“I’m glad we have an understanding.” She couldn’t resist rubbing it in as she walked around the desk to look at the folders, trying to hide how surprised she was that he gave in so easily.

“Oh, we have an understanding, all right,” he said as his hand clamped around her wrist when she tried to pick up a folder.

She swallowed. “I’m helping,” she reminded him quietly.

“Yes, you are. But I need the files over here,” he patiently explained, that calm tone alone sent shivers down her spine and warning signals off in her head.

“Okay, let me get my chair,” she said, trying to pull her hand away.

“No need. There isn’t enough room over here for two chairs,” he explained. Marty looked pointedly at the large space behind his desk.

He ignored her and, with a slight tug, had her stumbling onto his lap. Her response was instantaneous if not a bit embarrassing. She yelped and jumped only to have his arm snake around her waist and bring her back down on his lap.

Her hands shot out to grip the desk as he shifted the chair forward, trapping her between the desk and his large body.

“Ah, that’s better. Now let’s see what we’ve got here, shall we?” he asked in a casual tone.

“I-I can do this from my desk,” she mumbled.

He sighed. “There isn’t enough room at your desk for both of us, Marty. Would you please focus? I’d like to get some work done if you don’t mind,” he said casually, but she could hear the humor in his tone and that pissed her off.

“Fine. Let’s get to work,” she said, purposely shifting in his lap. His reaction was rather pleasing. He sucked in a breath and tensed beneath her. A moment later she rethought the move when she felt him harden beneath her bottom. She swallowed as he continued to grow. Were all men this big? she had to wonder.