The Witch's Seduction. Elle James

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СКАЧАТЬ trip. Not that she’d relax that night. Deme had other plans for her evening. They included one tall dark and ruggedly handsome police officer, a bed and the can of whipped cream she planned to purchase on her way to Cal’s apartment.

      A smile spread across her face as she stepped off the elevator into the Chicago Police Special Investigations Division.

      Detectives and other members of the Paranorm Task Force hurried around desks, some escorting detainees, others leaning into telephones, intent on information gathering or ordering a pizza delivery because most were too busy to take time out to get a meal.

      “Deme Chattox.” A booming voice made her jump. Chief Warner swooped out of his office, a grin on his face. “I’d almost given up on you. Thought you’d changed your mind about coming to work on the force, what with the weather in St. Croix being so much nicer than winters here.” He clapped a hand on her back, sending her stumbling forward.

      Deme’s lips twisted in a wry grin. “Going back to St. Croix had me wondering if I’d lost a marble or two.”

      “Not too late to change your mind.” Warner tipped his head, his brows rising. “We haven’t officially put you on the payroll, yet.”

      “Thanks for the out, but I don’t need it. I’m back in Chicago to stay and could use a paying job.”

      The chief stuck out a hand and shook Deme’s, squeezing so tightly she could swear her bones crunched. “When do you want me to start?”

      “Yesterday,” he replied without hesitation. “No, really. But I’m sure you have a lot to do to get settled in. Tomorrow would be soon enough. Have you touched base with Black, yet?”

      Her pulse leaped. “No, sir.” Foolishly she’d been counting the days, hours and minutes until she could touch bases and a lot more with the man. Now she was only seconds away from him, if he was on duty.

      The chief craned his neck. “He’s around here somewhere. I saw him five minutes ago. Check in the conference room. I think he’s in there.”

      “Sir.” A plainclothes officer stood beside his desk, waving the chief over, a phone pressed to one ear. “We got a call from the Third District. Got a situation going down.”

      “Excuse me.” Chief Warner ducked around Deme. “Look in the conference room,” he repeated over his shoulder.

      Adrenaline hopping, Deme stood in the middle of the room, wondering which way the conference room was.

      “It’s in the far corner.” A man with shaggy sandy-blond hair pushed past her, carrying a jumble of wires and USB cables. He tipped his head to the rear of the room.

      “Thanks.” Deme turned in that direction and wove her way through a maze of desks and people.

      New to the department, she held her head high and pretended she belonged, although that was as far from what she felt as it could be. Starting over was hard. Running her own private investigations business in St. Croix had proven easy. Rich businessmen and desperate wives came to her. Deme had mastered the art of being low profile. To be a good investigator, you had to blend in. She’d done that well, pretending to be a tourist or local depending on the need.

      Now, with nothing assigned, she stood out as the only person in the room without a pressing task. That would come soon enough. First she wanted to see Cal.

      The conference room door stood open only enough for her to poke her head around.

      A man and a woman stood in front of a large white board with pictures stuck to the surface with magnets and markings linking some of them to dates.

      The man had longish dark hair and his back was to Deme. The woman’s arms laced around his neck, pressing his head down toward hers. From their stance Deme could only conclude that they were engaged in a lip-lock.

      Deme ducked back out, heat rushing into her cheeks. Oops. Someone had taken an opportunity to sneak a little nookie on the job. She’d witnessed enough clandestine assignations during her stint as a private investigator. The amount of lying and cheating had hardened her to the idea of opening her heart to a man. Until Cal had come back into her life.

      She moved on, hoping to find another conference room with Cal in it. There were other rooms, but they were smaller and empty. As she turned back to the large conference room where the couple was making out, a niggle of doubt pushed into her mind.

      A beautiful raven-haired woman with ice-blue eyes emerged from the room.

      Wow. She was gorgeous. She was almost too pretty, with her porcelain skin, deep red lips and a mass of long loose curls framing her face. Her gaze scanned the room, lighting briefly on Deme. With a dismissive rise of her brows she turned and headed for the elevator, moving like sex in motion.

      Every male and some female gazes followed the woman until she disappeared around a corner.

      Deme frowned. “Good grief.” She retraced her steps to the conference room, intent on asking the man the dark-haired woman had been kissing if he knew where Cal Black could be found.

      When she stepped into the room, her heart skidded to a halt, her blood freezing in her veins. The man who’d been standing with his back to her the last time she’d entered the room turned to face her, his eyes glazed, a slight frown marring his handsome brow.

      Calais Black. Her partner and her lover. Make that former lover.

      “Deme?” He blinked and blinked again. A smile spread across his face and his feet ate the distance between them. “When did you get in? Why didn’t you tell me you were flying in today?”

      “I wanted it to be a surprise.” She forced the words out around constricted vocal cords.

      Hell, the surprise had been on her.

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