Free Mine to Hold by Shayla Black

families back together. Tell me you don’t want to be a part of that and keep more of the pay.”
    “Chasing cheating spouses sounds crappy.”
    Yeah, and seeing all the infidelity had put Tyler off of marriage. Not that he’d been a deep believer in the institution before. God knows, his parents had sucked at it before his father split. Eric hadn’t been perfect, either.
    Tyler took another sip of beer. “But I don’t have Rogers yelling at me, and it pays the bills.”
    “I guess the cheating cases are cheap entertainment, too. Like free porn, eh, man?”
    Before he could reply, the back door opened. “If you two are swapping porn collections, I’m going shopping.”
    Del breezed in, wearing a beige pencil skirt that hugged the slender curve of her hips, a silk blouse in a shade of blue that reminded him of a male peacock’s feathers, and shiny black high heels. The latter she stripped off the second she cleared the kitchen. Then she spotted them sucking down brews and doubled back to the kitchen, pulling the pins out of her glossy, mahogany hair as she went.
    When she emerged again, she clutched a beer and handed it to him with a pleading look. After Tyler twisted off the cap for her, she downed a long sip with a groan. “God, that tastes like Friday. Thanks.” Then she turned her smile on Eric. “Hi, handsome.”
    “Hi, gorgeous.” Eric turned on his megawatt smile, flashing white teeth against that dark Italian skin of his. That smile had persuaded more than one girl to part with her panties in the five years they’d been partners. If Eric had been fully functional, Del would likely have gotten some action tonight.
    But neither of them had been remotely sexual since the shooting. Tyler knew it bugged the shit out of Eric. The guy flat loved fucking, the raunchier, the better. He’d drunkenly confessed once that Del wasn’t that into sex. Glancing her way, Tyler thought that was a shame. She definitely had all the right curves in all the right places. A damn pretty girl. But more, she gave off this vibe . . . subtle, but undeniably sensual. Teasing. Then again, part of her appeal for Tyler was that she was off limits. Sure, he’d been attracted to Del when he’d first met her, but she was Eric’s. Tyler refused to break the buddy code for a woman, no matter how appealing.
    For the last two years, he’d put all sexual thoughts of her aside—well, as many as he could—and regarded her as a good friend he drank beer and watched TV with . . . who also happened to have a great rack. Since then, they’d established a great platonic connection. He’d never been friends with a female and was surprised that he actually enjoyed spending time with her, even without the sex.
    Delaney turned to him, eyes narrowed. “You started drinking without me. How many beers do I have to drink to catch up?”
    She would absolutely keep up with the boys if he challenged her. She had determination and grit. He liked that about her. It had seen her through the darkest days of Eric’s recovery.
    “Not telling. You’d better change clothes and get started if you have any prayer of lapping us in the alcohol department.”
    With a little mock pout, she stuck out her tongue and flounced away. Tyler laughed and swatted her ass. “Move faster.”
    When she rubbed her offended cheek, Eric laughed deep and loud. It was great to hear the sound. Even Del glanced over her shoulder with a grateful smile.
    Relief flowed through him, almost peaceful, at seeing the couple on a more even keel. These were the people he knew—happy, teasing—not the gloom-and-doom grouch bringing down the end-of-her-rope worrywart.
    This weekend was going to be good, for all of them. For Eric’s sake, he’d glossed over the fact that PI work could be boring. Finding a missing woman in Lafayette, Louisiana, had been the only interesting case he’d taken since starting his business a few months back. He’d have to go out there next week and sew