I grin. “He gave me his card, yes.”

Kate squeals on the other end of the phone, making me laugh. “Right on!”

Not that I’ll ever get the guts up to call him.

Unless I get drunk again.

Maybe I should drink more often.

“It was weird. At first I didn’t think he recognized me, but then toward the end he said it was good to see me.”

“I like him.”

“You don’t know him,” I reply and roll my eyes.

“He’s hot. Sorry, babe,” she says to Eli, who must be in the room with her, “and he has a good job. You could do worse.”

“Gee, thanks.” I chuckle and glance at the time. “Okay, I’ll see you at lunch.”

“Oh, I can’t.”

“What? Throat punch, Kate.”

“I was actually going to cancel. I’m sorry. I had a meeting come up.”

“And by meeting do you mean hot office sex with your ridiculously sexy billionaire boyfriend?” I ask dryly and try like mad to shove away the jealousy that spears through me.

But, come on, Eli is hot. And rich. And so in love with Kate it’s disgusting.

“Well, there could be some of that, yes,” Kate confirms with a laugh.

“You’re ditching me for sex. What ever happened to sisters before misters?”

“Do you need me?” she asks soberly. “Because I can cancel the office sex, I mean, meeting, and still meet you.”

“No.” I laugh, so happy that I live close to my best friend again. “I’m okay. A little sad, but okay.”

“Let’s reschedule for beignets tomorrow morning,” she suggests.

“Will you get out of bed early enough for that, or will Eli talk you into a meeting then too?”

“Well, I can’t make any promises,” she replies with a smile in her voice.

“You’re disgusting. Enjoy your meeting. I’ll see you in the morning.”

I hang up, and suddenly all of the events from that night nine months ago come flooding back and I have to bite my lip and cross my legs at the sudden burst of pure lust that shoots through me, even making my fingertips tingle. That one night with Asher was better than all of the other nights I’ve had with other men combined.

The man knows his way around a woman’s body.

And he lives in New Orleans now.

Chapter Two

~Asher~

“So, that was interesting,” Jordan says as we jog down the steps of Lila’s building on the Tulane University campus toward the parking lot.

“We didn’t really find out anything we don’t already know,” I reply, deliberately misunderstanding her.

“Right. That’s what I meant.” She rolls her eyes, making my lips twitch. “For someone who’s supposed to play the bad cop, you were sucking at it. And that’s not like you. You play bad cop really well.”

I’m not about to tell her that it took everything in me to not stalk around that desk and pull Lila into my arms and kiss the fuck out of her. Or that all I could think about while looking at her was the way she moved beneath me, the sounds she made, the way she smelled while I was deep inside her, losing my ever-loving mind.

Seeing her again was a punch in the gut. I’m surprised I was able to speak at all.

And now that I know that my Lila is this maniac’s focus, all I can think about is tucking her away and making sure she’s safe.

There’s no way in hell I’m telling my partner that. I’ll never live it down.

“I didn’t need to play bad cop,” I reply and slip my Ray-Bans on my face. “She’s not a suspect.”

“Not right now.”

I glance down at Jordan then shake my head as we climb in my car.

“And what was up with you telling her about Leslie dying?”

“It’ll be all over the news in about twenty minutes,” I reply softly. “There’s no reason to not tell her.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t tell her about the notes left on the scene too.”

I scowl and throw the car out of gear before pulling out of the parking space and turning to Jordan.

“Do you have something to say?”

She sighs and shakes her head. “God, I sound like a jealous girlfriend. It’s just that the sexual tension in that room was off the charts, Ash. I’ve never seen you like that.”

“We’ve been partners for six months, not years. There’s plenty you haven’t seen.”

She nods and then grins at me. “Whatever happened between you two must have been off the hook.”

You have no fucking idea.

“Does your husband know that you have such a raging crush on me?” I put the car back in gear and pull out of the parking lot.

“Whatever. Don’t flatter yourself. I have a hot man at home.”

“If you say so.” I turn toward the precinct and toss her a glance.

“Are you saying my husband isn’t hot?” she asks as though she’s offended.

“I’m a dude. I’ll never say that another dude is hot.”

“Well, I’m a woman, and I’m telling you he is.”

“Right.” I laugh and shake my head. “Back to Lila.”

“Yes, back to Lila.” She clears her throat, and I can tell she wants to ask questions, but instead, she just clears her throat again. “I guess you’ll be stuck to her like glue.”