Free a Touch of TNT (An Everly Gray Adventure) by L. j. Charles

speaking—”
    He held up a hand. “No. Not another word. We’ll check it out.” A slow smile spread across his face and brought out the dimple in his right cheek. “This could be fun.”
    Yes! Score one for me. Sort of. “You’re only agreeing because you think you can keep me out of trouble.”
    “Only a complete idiot would think he could keep you out of trouble.”
    “Huh. Then—”
    “If I’m there—” he unlocked the carrier on the back of his bike and pulled out an ankle holster complete with weapon— “I can maybe keep you from getting killed.”
    “Killed? Seriously? No, no. This is just surveillance. At most a chat. You sure as all hell don’t need a weapon.” I waved my hands toward the gun. “No weapons. This is…casual.”
    He pulled a towel from the carrier and handed it to me. “Um-hmmm.”
    I blotted the water from my face and arms. “Just a casual conversation. Young couple looking for a house. Nothing more. No probing questions.”
    He eyed me, forehead crinkled. “The gun comes along or we don’t go.”
    “Without ammunition?” I asked, hopefully, and then handed him the towel.
    “With ammo.” He dried himself off, stowed the damp towel, and wrapped his hands around my shoulders. “From what you described yesterday, Jacobson didn’t die easily. I’d just as soon neither of us end up with a slit throat.”
    I dropped my forehead to his chest. Inhaled the scent of Mitch and Black on Black, then let my fingers trail across his chest, seeking comfort. “Yeah. Okay, point made,” I mumbled. Much as I hated guns, the nightmare images of Jacobson’s body still haunted me and added considerable weight to his argument.
    He gave me a single raised eyebrow and held out his hand. “Come on, let’s go see how much trouble you can get into.”
    It had been a while since I’d ridden on Mitch’s bike, and I looked forward to the bite of wind and the deep rumble of the engine, to say nothing of… “Will you stay here tonight?” Riding on the bike made for interesting foreplay.
    He caught my look, and his eyes darkened. “Oh, yeah. I’m staying.”
    A wave of lust and a flash of heat almost had me rethinking lunch and the visit to North’s office.
    “Waiting makes it better.” Mitch—reading my mind.
    Or maybe he picked up on the way my breath hitched and on the need fluttering in the core of my body. I inhaled, deep and long. “Right. North first. Sex later. But there’s another problem. Posing as an affluent couple intent on buying an upscale house, we should probably arrive in a more sedate vehicle in case someone looks out a window and spots us.”
    “Uh-huh. Might ruin the image if we show up casual.”
    My spirits drooped. I was all about a ’cycle ride, but common sense was about to screw up our bike-induced foreplay. “I’m gonna change into something dressy. Will you zip next door and ask Annie if we can borrow her Acura? I don’t think my Bug’ll cut it for the affluent scene.”
    He tweaked a strand of hair that had worked free from my clip. “You got it, Sunshine.”
    Mitch jogged up Annie’s front steps, and a tingle slipped up my spine. The man had a bike ride planned for later. His whistle floating on the breeze was a dead giveaway.
     
    As we pushed through a pair of heavy glass doors that opened into the main lobby, a chemical smell stung my nostrils. This was definitely not a green building. The wood floor had been buffed to a deep glow and a plethora of plants were strategically arranged throughout the space. Seemed at odds with the scent of chemicals. The air conditioning was set high enough to send chills up my legs and a shiver down my spine. I didn’t take that as a good sign, but since Mitch didn’t say anything, it seemed prudent to keep my thoughts to myself. Reacting to air conditioning was a little too woo-woo, even for me.
    The directory indicated that North Construction was on the third floor, and I vaguely remembered Clyde mentioning he