Positively Criminal Read Online Free PDF Page A

things .
    She pried open her eyes to see Dara’s rosy red cheeks. “He’s standing behind me, isn’t he?”
    Dara just nodded, her eyes trained on the person Bri assumed to be Jake.
    “Scoot.” Jake moved into her line of vision, nudged her with one hip and then folded himself next to her in the booth. He gave Dara a sly grin and extended his hand. “Jake Rawlings.” He nodded to the other man with him. “Detective Turner.”
    Dara didn’t hesitate to move over while she accepted Jake’s hand. “Dara Hamilton.”
    She then extended a hand to Mace, who accepted it with a huge grin and sat beside her. “Mace.”
    Bri cursed the goosebumps that danced on her skin as Jake rested a hand on her thigh beneath the table and squeezed. Damn short skirt . “I’m flattered to be the focus of your dinner conversation.”
    “You’re not.”
    “Then you must know another Detective Rawlings.”
    She shrugged while she chastised herself for allowing his hand to remain pressed against her skin. His big, warm, smooth hand, the exact one causing her hormones to hum. “Maybe.”
    “I don’t know, Bri,” Mace chimed in, “I’m thinking you were discussing Jake.”
    “Oh good grief,” she groaned, “what do you two want?”
    “Food.” Jake grabbed a menu and opened it. “I’m glad to see you’re not working this evening.”
    “I study people, I’m always working.”
    He gave her a sideways grin. “You know what I meant.”
    “Bri’s very talented, Detective.” Dara’s eyes sparkled when Bri shot her a narrowed stare.
    “A fact that I happen to know firsthand,” he answered without moving his eyes from the menu.
    Bri’s first intention was to chase the two men from the booth and then spike Dara’s iced tea with salt. Instead, she let a grin split her lips. “Actually, Dara’s much more talented that I am.”
    A strangled squeak left Dara’s throat, a noise Bri intentionally ignored as she continued. “She writes sex for a living.”
    Mace’s eyes widened. “Sex?”
    “Not just sex,” Dara mumbled.
    “Then what, exactly?” Mace prompted.
    “Romance novels.” Bri gave herself a pat on the back for steering the conversation a whole new direction.
    Jake frowned. “Do you dance too?”
    “No.” Dara shook her head so hard Bri thought she probably scrambled her brain. “I actually have a psychology degree. I just don’t practice the discipline.”
    Mace nodded. “Probably comes in handy.”
    “I use psychology a lot in my novels.” Dara’s shoulders relaxed. “I write mystery and suspense. My villains don’t have a chance.”
    Bri swallowed a moan of pure satisfaction as Jake’s fingers massaged her tense thigh muscles into something close to putty. She fought the urge to slouch lower and force his fingers just a few itsy bitsy inches higher.
    “So were the two of you analyzing Dara’s next villain?”
    “No.” Bri covered his hand with hers to stop his assault on her nerve endings. “We were attempting to figure out why deep in your warped brain you found it necessary to arrest me.”
    “I told you I would.”
    “Yes, but I wasn’t doing anything illegal.”
    “Protocol,” Mace said as he perused the menu. “Anyone who happens to be present at the raid wins a pair of shiny, silver handcuffs.”
    “Oh, that’s good!” Dara giggled. “Can I use that?”
    “Dara!” Bri hissed.
    “Sorry.” Dara shrugged and raised an eyebrow at Mace. “I’m always looking for clever dialect.”
    Mace returned an equally interested gaze. “Clever, huh?”
    Conversation stilled as the waitress set two additional glasses of water on the table then palmed her order pad. Bri ordered her meal, thankful of the woman’s presence while the rest of them ordered. Maybe the Detectives’ interruption had been a blessing in disguise. She and Dara should probably have their conversation in a more private place anyway; it wasn’t a topic Jake needed to know anything about. In fact, if he caught wind