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  If she'd avoided the Dom/sub thing this long, though, despite her obvious craving for it, he might merely be the first one who'd gotten under her defenses in a while and been able to draw those needs back up to the surface. While he wasn't interested in being a damn gateway drug for her back into the lifestyle, that wasn't something he could control. Any more than he could stop her from leaving this morning.

  Patience, timing. He usually didn't have a problem with those things, but in truth, he'd missed her as soon as she left. When he picked up the sweatshirt and detected her scent on it, he took an extra whiff of it like a bloodhound figuring out which direction he needed to go to chase her down.

  Hell, it had been a long time since he'd had this kind of reaction to a woman, that hard coil of need in the chest and the gut, a mix of pleasant anticipation and urgent need that would continue to twine together until he saw her again. As he headed toward his shower, he was grinning like a fool, just anticipating it.

  SS

  Roll call and writing up the day's work list in his tiny cubicle started the day, but sergeants didn't spend too much time hanging around the district home base. Unless the lieutenant needed to update him or chew on his ass about something, or one of his squad needed a one-on-one, most days it wasn't too long before Leland was out on the street, monitoring the District 1 communications on his unit radio and scanning the frequencies for the other three on his portable.

  He checked in on his officers, going wherever additional help or guidance was needed. Since certain resources were limited, he was one of the few who had a beanbag shotgun in his trunk, a useful aid for putting someone on the ground in a nonlethal way. Important, since the budget for more beds at the mental health facilities had been slashed. A few weeks ago, Leland had brought the weapon into play for a schizophrenic who refused to stay on his meds. The guy had secured a handful of knives to protect himself from his family members, whom he thought were invading aliens.

  Leland was also trying to increase his presence in key areas for his squad because gang activity was up this month. Baton Rouge didn't really have organized gangs like the Crips out in Los Angeles or that kind of shit, but it did have loose affiliations of guys who decided they were a "gang," with drug-related crimes being their primary activity. Two had evolved enough to give themselves names, not that they'd hit the FBI's gang register anytime soon. The MoneyBoyz and the Reigning Kings. Christ, like a bunch of kids playing form-a-secret-club, which followed, since a lot of them were in high school or barely out of it.

  Unfortunately, the problem with them getting an identity was it made them cockier, more aggressive. They were doing shit to intentionally step on one another's toes and that was never good for anyone.

  Case in point. The crime scene he was approaching now was a laundromat robbery and assault. He expected it had been done by the Reigning Kings, probably because the owner had been brave--or foolish enough--to report that they'd set up a dealing point in the alley next to the store. The majority of violent crime in Baton Rouge surrounded drugs, so though the city was known to have a high crime rate per capita, if you weren't dealing, supplying or doing drugs, or hanging out or having to live in the places where that happened, life was little different from any other place with a far lower crime rate.

  Dope dealers killing and stealing from other dope dealers wasn't something that broke his heart but, like any cop, he was all too aware of how that activity could quickly involve innocent bystanders. Like the store owner who'd been trying to do the right thing.

  He'd stop in to check the scene, make sure everything was going as it should and see whether his guys needed an extra set of hands. With approval, he saw they'd secured the area properly. Billy Johnson, a rookie, was riding point on the barricade, along with a veteran, Mike Carter. Mike had been part of his district for quite a while and Leland knew he was a good man. There weren't too many people milling outside the proper range of the scene, but he made special note of at least two who were, just as he was sure Mike had.

  Two Reigning King members, a pair of kids likely still earning their street cred, were lounging against a light post, smoking. If any uniform headed in their direction to question them, the kids would melt away like shadows. Or feed the cops total bullshit.

  He saw one or two citizens in the doorways of businesses across the street. The ones with creased brows and concern darkening their eyes told Leland they lived close by. All of them would know the store owner. Even so, they stayed where they were and kept their peripheral vision on the gang members. Nobody wanted to be perceived as being too sympathetic.

  When he looked back toward Mike, he saw the man stiffen. Leland immediately followed his gaze back to the two kids. He blinked, sure he wasn't seeing what he was seeing, but no, he was not hallucinating.

  Celeste Lewis was strolling up to the two young men with a cardboard tray full of coffee.

  He was too far away to intercept her, so he made himself stay in the car, watching. Logic said they weren't going to do anything in front of a trio of cops. They also wouldn't be packing heat under their oversized shirts, because if a cop had a justifiable reason to believe they were carrying, they could get searched and hauled in. Gang members weren't exactly the types to go through the legal channels to apply for a concealed carry permit.

  Even knowing all that, he didn't like her being that close to them. Let alone Goddamn chatting with them.

  Whatever she said had them glancing at one another, shifting. One said something that looked a tad belligerent, and she shrugged, responded with a shake of her head. She handed them both a cup from her tray and asked a question. The shorter of the two boys stole a look at the other one and then gave a quick nod. Fishing white sugar packets out of her coat pocket, she handed them to him. When she cocked her head at the other boy, he shook his head, made a motion at her to go away, but Leland noticed he kept a firm hold on his own cup. So did Celeste. With a suppressed smile but an even look, she said something else, then stepped off the curb to cross the street.

  She was wearing a snug camel-colored coat, black slacks and blunt-heeled boots. She had the lithe, athletic movements of a woman who worked out for more than her waistline. He wondered if she played any sports. She'd shown she was pretty sports-savvy last night, but that wasn't the uppermost thing in his mind as he watched her. The belted coat emphasized her generous breasts. He'd kept his attention mostly below the waist at his place, but that just made him fantasize all the more about closing his hands around those curves, snaking his tongue in the cleavage to tease and caress, moving over to suckle her nipples into swollen cherries. Her pussy would get all wet like it had on his couch. While she was gasping and arched into his mouth, he'd work his cock right into that tight fit.

  The erection he was unwisely creating instantly went on hold when she approached the barrier and extended another coffee to Carter. He took it, which gave Johnson unspoken permission to do the same. The rookie leaped for the coffee like a puppy leaping on a ball. She chatted them up a few moments with the same ease she'd talked to the two boys. Then she wandered over to the curb about twenty feet away. She had a cylindrical tote slung over her shoulder which, as a football fan, he should have immediately recognized. His little Girl Scout pulled out the stadium chair, unfolded it and sat herself down, clicking open her tablet to make some notes.

  She obviously was used to working the streets and talking to his men. What bugged him was their comfort with her, which suggested it was a two-way street.

  Leland got out of the car, his brow drawing down, his mouth set in a thin, hard line.

  They'd seen him pull up, but when Mike saw his expression, he spoke a word to Johnson. The rookie went back to his position on the perimeter with a furtive look. Leland lifted the tape and ducked under it, then gestured Carter to him.

  "I wasn't aware you were our public information officer now, Mike." He spoke low, but kept his eyes pinned on his man. He was aware Celeste's head had lifted when he got out of the car
, but he didn't look her way. Not yet.

  "No, Sarge. It's not like that." Carter shifted uncomfortably. "Celly was approved to do some ride-alongs last year when she did an article on the BRPD, so we know her. She's at a lot of the crime scenes, because she has that blog. If you've seen it," he added lamely as Leland's expression didn't alter.

  "Being approved for a fluffy PR piece doesn't give her open access to information."

  Mike stiffened, the veteran cop not willing to be pushed around too much. Billy probably would have wet himself, which was why Leland was talking to Mike. "I didn't tell her anything, Sarge. You know me better than that. And she does, too. She didn't ask me anything about what's going on. She was just saying good morning, bringing us some coffee."

  Yeah, and even a mature cop confronted with a pretty, smiling woman didn't always have his head on straight. A good reporter knew how to extract information without her source realizing he'd let things slip.

  As if reading the direction of his thoughts, Mike sobered. "I know the routine, Leland. But she's different from the rest of them. Me and the other guys feel like when we get a reporter who treats us fair, it's okay to give her a bone now and then."

  He winced as Leland gave him a fish-eye. "No, Christ. Not like that. She's not a badge bunny. Most the time she carries on as much shit with us as we do with each other. I think she was raised with brothers. Never has dated anyone on the force that we know about."

  As Leland's gut eased, he realized he'd reacted more personally than expected to the idea that he'd been played a fool. Hearing that he hadn't, helped. But it also pissed him off with himself. Still, he reined back the irritation. "Why do you think she's different from the rest of them? Other than her great legs?" And the gorgeous rack. Her ass was a little on the skinny side for him, but he still didn't mind wrapping his hands around it.

  "When God gives a woman those kinds of gifts and arms her with coffee, you have to show some kind of appreciation." Mike held up a hand when Leland seared him with a look. "Kidding. She doesn't pick up a piece of a story and give it the slant she wants, like most of them do. She's thorough, careful. Checks her sources. I won't say she hasn't ever managed to get some tidbit out of one of us on an off day, but it doesn't come back to bite us. Not with her."

  "A cop can be written up for that kind of shit. Or lose his job." He jerked his head toward Johnson. "Maybe you know how to watch your tongue, because you have enough years and brain cells. You want to get his rookie ass fired because he sees his partner chatting up the press and thinks it's okay to do the same?"

  A flare of resentment in Mike's eyes said he'd hit target, but Leland let it stand. The resentment would pass. A sergeant might be considered one of the guys on most days, but when it mattered, he'd chew their asses. It was better than one of the lieutenants doing it, and it sure as hell was better than them taking risks that could get them killed. While talking to a reporter wasn't a life-or-death situation, it was a slip in protocol that could open the door to other ones. Their lives were far more important to him than their friendship. And he valued their friendship as if they were family, because they were.

  "Yeah, Sarge. Won't happen again."

  "See to it. You're a hell of a good cop, Carter. Johnson will benefit from your experience. You'll help keep him on his toes."

  He pivoted and strode toward Johnson. The blue-eyed rookie's military haircut didn't conceal that it was as fine as when his mother brushed it as a baby. He'd paled, telling Leland his expression was still forbidding, more in the mood to kick asses than pat them. He heard the young cop's relieved sigh as he passed him without stopping, headed for the other end of the perimeter barrier.

  While he'd been grilling Mike, he'd seen Celeste leave her spot. She'd spent a few minutes talking to one of the onlookers in a store across the street. The two kids had watched her the whole time, and the store patron had noticed it as well, disappearing back inside in a matter of seconds. Shrugging, Celeste had come back to her chair. Now she was making notes and sipping the last cup of coffee in the tray. Despite that, Leland would bet his squad car she was aware of every move he'd made and the tone of the conversation he was having with Mike.

  "Miss Lewis? Come here."

  The formal address brought her head up, and put those hazel eyes on him. He remembered them last night, disoriented with lust, her lips parted, gasping for air as he ate her pussy, stroked her silken skin. She looked wary, but her expression had a tinge of arrogance, that public-has-the-right-to-know and I-have-the-right-to-be-here bullshit.

  He could have been dead wrong about her last night. Not the Dom/sub stuff, he wasn't wrong about that, but about whether or not it was a good idea for him to be pursuing anything with her. Mike's opinion carried weight with him, but he knew he'd better stay cautious, take the same advice he'd just given his man. She'd tripped his trigger and he'd tripped hers, but she could still fuck with his head. Actually, that meant she had far more potential to do so.

  As she rose and moved toward him, he saw spots of color on her fair cheeks. He'd issued her an order that he might give to anyone in the crowd. "Come here." "Stand back." "Clear this area." But she'd registered it a different way. Her responding to it with that flush didn't help settle him, so he darkened his scowl. She stopped two feet from the barrier, as if she thought he might reach across and grab her. It was an intriguing thought. Instead, he crooked a finger at her to bring her closer. She did, another step, then found her brass, because she lifted her chin and leveled eyes sparking with some fire on him.

  "I have a right to be here," she said.

  He almost bared his teeth in a grin. So not the right thing to say, sweetheart.

  "You have the right to be on that side of the barrier, just like all these other good folk. As well as the not-so-good ones." He flicked a gaze toward the two gang members who were watching him with suspicious eyes.

  "Darryl and Sean are in the tenth grade at the local high school," she responded. "Darryl's mother is a junkie, but Sean's mom works at the Piggly Wiggly. She doesn't know that they're hanging out here instead of being in school. Which she will know, once I stop by and see her there today to pick up some fresh tomatoes." She cocked her head. "I'm having a craving for them."

  He pressed his lips together. They were far enough away from anyone that the conversation couldn't be overheard, though the intensity of their locked gazes might be interpreted myriad ways. Christ, she had delicate features.

  "Neither one is sixteen yet," she continued, "so you could have them picked up for truancy and carted back to school. Then the MoneyBoyz won't have eyes on your crime scene and see who you're questioning."

  He noted the pulse thudding in her throat. When she spoke, he detected the faint scent of chocolate, telling him the last coffee wasn't coffee at all. She preferred hot chocolate in the morning. He wondered if she liked whipped cream in it and thought about tasting that on her lips, teasing it away with his tongue.

  Seriously, Keller?

  "Did you give them hot chocolate, too?"

  "Sean took hot chocolate, Darryl took the coffee, though I think he would have preferred the hot chocolate. He just didn't want to be seen as a baby." Her expression flickered. "Though they both are, more's the pity."

  And either one of them might shoot her without a second thought if one of the more hardened members of the MoneyBoyz told them to do it. He kept his scowl in place. "From here forward, you don't talk to my officers, and you don't bring them coffee."

  "There's no law against a reporter attempting to talk to your officers or giving them coffee. They do a tough job. I'm showing appreciation as a Baton Rouge citizen."

  He pursed his lips, nodded. Then he bent so he spoke into her ear. He'd bet that little tender spot beneath it would taste sweet and smell like some kind of powder or fragrance. "I see you doing it again, I will put you over my knee and blister your ass." He drew back enough to meet her startled gaze. Shock was followed by indignation, a trace of anger, but it wa
s the little ripple of arousal, the quick indrawn breath, that made him want to do exactly as he'd threatened.

  "Are we clear, Celeste?" He kept his eyes on hers, his tone steady. He wondered what he would do if she said "Yes, sir." Probably nurse a hard-on for the rest of the morning.

  He forced himself to straighten, to ease back on a couple different levels. "You should have taken the sweatshirt to stay warm this morning. I bet that car of yours doesn't heat worth shit."

  She blinked in surprise again. He hadn't intended to say something stupidly intimate like that, but it was out before he could call it back. Her flush deepened. "It does well enough," she said. "Underwear would have helped, but they were stolen. I expect I should report that to local law enforcement."

  "Items like that are rarely recovered. The perp has usually taken them for personal reasons, not to fence."

  Her brow lifted, then her gaze swept his lower torso. "So he might be wearing them?"

  She was not going to make him laugh, though it was a near thing. He'd just called out his man for just taking her coffee and he was flirting with her. Really fine damn example he was.

  Fueled by that, he gave her a hard look. Time to put things on the right footing. His job was to protect and serve, and she was one of those he was supposed to be protecting. "Remember what we discussed, Celeste. I mean it. This neighborhood is too dangerous for you to be distracting my men. And way too damn dangerous for you to be strolling through it, chatting up high risk subjects like you know what the hell you're doing when you don't."

  In a blink, her expression went from spirited sass and confused lust to hard-as-nails anger. He could handle that, just like he could handle Mike's irritation, but the quick flash of hurt dug into him. "Yes, Sergeant," she said icily. "I'll file that under 'go fuck yourself'. You don't know anything about me. My psych profile isn't tucked up inside my pussy like the prize inside a Cracker Jack box. Asshole."