Chapter 5
FIVE
Derek watched Reese saunter over to the bed like she had all the time in the world, plus a day to spare. This was unreal. If he had been thinking with his brain he would have gotten the warrant first or called for backup. She wouldn’t have the nerve to play this game with him if he wasn’t alone.
Of course, that would have meant admitting to someone else in the bureau that he had screwed up. Again. He had thought intimidation would work, after all, withholding the envelope from him was illegal. And there wasn’t any good reason Reese would want it.
Unless…
Her rental car slip had listed her employer as the Newark News. Unless she was a reporter who had smelled a story.
She turned and handed him the envelope with wide innocent eyes that were as fake as his mother’s fur. “Is this it?”
It was, and it had been ripped open. Dammit. Not only had he lost the stupid thing in the first place, he’d lost it to a freaking reporter. Who was hotter than hell and half naked.
“It’s been opened.” He yanked it from her hands.
“It fell open when I dropped it.”
Yeah, Tyvek was known for flying open. Usually he just about needed a knife to pry the stuff apart.
He stared at her with a scowl, trying to scare her into the truth. Instead, her lip twitched like she was going to laugh and right then he was more concerned with the way she kept tugging at her robe than this case.
She was minutes out of a shower, and her auburn hair was still damp, clinging to her head and neck, little wisps of hair trailing down her cheeks. A heady smell of peaches and mint clogged his nostrils and made the room seem smaller than it was.
When was the last time he’d been with a half naked woman? Long enough to make him sweat now.
He had a good head start on a boner, too.
“Why do you keep tugging on your robe? What have you got on under there?”
The semi-smirk fell off her face. “My bra, my panties, and thick flannel pajamas.”
He bent over and picked up a satin bra that was lying on the bed. Sliding his thumb across it, he said, “Then what’s this?”
“I have more than one.” She let her hands drop from the robe and land on her hips. “Now if you’re done fondling my bra, can you please leave? You’ve got your envelope.”
He also had a major problem. “Look, Reese, I know you’re a reporter. I know you looked in the envelope. Now I need you to promise me you’re not going to release any of that information. You could jeopardize the whole case if you do.”
“Who says I looked?”
Spinning her bra on his finger, he said, “Yeah, right. And you’ve got those flannel pajamas on right now. You’re a good liar, but I’m not stupid.”
He wasn’t leaving this room until he got some cooperation. He hadn’t gone this far to have the whole case shot to hell by a brassy reporter with bad timing.
“I can’t promise you anything.” Green eyes flashed, met his in defiance, and locked into a battle of wills.
Derek looked away first, pissed as hell. And he wasn’t sure if it was because she could ruin this investigation for him, or because he was almost overwhelmed by the urge to toss her back on the bed and fuck her brains out.
Odds were two to one on the second.