Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Colletion_ Books 6-10 - Laurell K. Hamilton [718]
Jarman smiled happily. “Trust me, baby. I’ve got the talent and the size.”
“Easy to brag when you know you’ll never have to prove it,” I said, and yes, I was baiting him.
Jarman swept his hat off and gave me a look. I think it was supposed to be a come hither look. His scary frown was better than his sexy look, but hey, I bet he got a lot more opportunity to practice scary than sexy.
“Let’s find some privacy, babe, and I will prove it.”
I shook my head, smiling. “And what would your wife say about you taking me out for a test drive. Nice wedding band, by the way.”
He laughed, a good-natured rumble.
Jakes answered for him. “His wife would feed him his dick on a stick.”
Jarman nodded, still chuckling. “Yeah, my Bren has a temper, that she does.”
He said it like it was a good thing, a thing he valued. He looked at me. “My Bren would have kicked Marks in the balls, not kissed him.”
“I thought about it,” I said.
“Why didn’t you hit him?” Ramirez asked. The humor still sparkled in his eyes but his face was more serious. I think he wanted a real answer, not a joke.
“He was expecting me to hit him. Maybe even wanted me to hit him. He could have pressed assault charges, gotten me behind bars for awhile.”
I expected one of the three men to say Marks wouldn’t do that, but no one did. I looked from one suddenly serious face to another. “No one going to defend the lieutenant’s honor? Protest that he wouldn’t do such a dastardly thing?”
Jarman said, “Nope.”
Jakes said, “Dastardly. You talk real pretty for a devil-worshipping assassin.”
I blinked at him. “Pass that by me again, slowly.”
Jakes nodded. “According to the lieutenant, you’re suspected in the disappearances of several citizens, as well as dancing naked in the moonlight with the devil himself.”
“Marks didn’t say that last part.”
Jakes grinned. “Can’t blame a man for wishful thinking.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.
I laughed. They laughed. A good time being had by all. Except Bernardo, who leaned against the wall apart from the general goodwill. He was watching me as if he’d never really seen me before. I’d surprised him in some way.
“Marks tried to get you arrested for magical malfeasance, so the rumor mill says,” Jarman said.
I stared at him. Magical malfeasance could carry a death sentence. I stared at Ramirez. “Did you know he was trying to do that?”
Ramirez touched my arm. We moved down the hallway to the distant rumble of masculine laughter. The two officers were probably still giving each other good-natured shit. From the caliber of the laughter, if it was about me, it was probably something I didn’t want to hear. There is always a line to the teasing that must be carefully avoided. I wanted to be a female one of the guys, not get a reputation for being a slut. A thin line to walk sometimes.
Probably best to be out of earshot, but I didn’t want to be alone with Ramirez right now. It bothered me that he hadn’t told me what Marks had said about me. He was a virtual stranger. He didn’t owe me anything, but it made me think less of him.
An African-American nurse walked past us and went into the room. Since all I’d seen were her eyes the first time, I couldn’t be sure if she was the same nurse I’d glimpsed earlier in the room. She was small, about the right size, but in full surgical scrubs, who knew?
The men had fallen silent as she walked past. As soon as the door closed safely behind her, the laughter sounded again.
Ramirez looked at me with that honest face, a line of concern between his eyebrows like a tiny wrinkle of discontent. He looked even younger when he frowned. “Doesn’t that bother you?” he asked.
“What?” I asked.
He glanced back at the two officers. They were still smiling. “Jakes and Jarman.”
“You mean the teasing?”
He nodded.
“When I kissed Marks in front of all of them, I sort of invited a little teasing. Besides, I sort of