The In Death Collection Books 6-10 - J. D. Robb [285]
“Very likely she’s never made the mistake of going after a cop quite so clean and well-respected as you.” He watched her brows draw together at his comment, smiled a little as she squirmed.
“I want to go stomp on her face.”
“Of course,” Roarke said lightly. “Or you wouldn’t be the woman I adore.” He picked up her hand, kissed her fingers, and was pleased to see a reluctant smile soften her lips. “Want to go find her and beat her up? I’ll hold your coat.”
This time she laughed. “You just want to watch two women fight. Why do guys get off on that?”
Eyes deeply blue and amused, Roarke sipped his wine. “The constant hope that during the battle clothes will be ripped away. We’re so easily entertained.”
“You’re telling me.” She glanced down with some surprise at her empty plate. She supposed she’d been hungry after all. Sex, food, and a sympathetic ear. Just more of the wonders, she thought, of marriage. “Thanks. Looks like I do feel better.”
Because he’d put the meal together, she thought it only fair she deal with the dishes. She carried them to the dishwasher, dumped them in, and considered the job done.
Roarke didn’t bother to mention she’d put the plates in backwards and had neglected to give the machine any orders. The kitchen wasn’t Eve’s turf, he thought. And Summerset would deal with it.
“Let’s go up to my office. I have something for you.”
Wary suspicion narrowed her eyes. “I told you after Christmas, no more presents.”
“I like giving you presents,” he said and opted for the elevator rather than the stairs. He trailed a fingertip down the sleeve of the cashmere sweater he’d given her. “I like seeing them on you. But this isn’t that kind of present.”
“I’ve got work. Time to make up.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
She shifted her stance as the elevator glided from vertical to horizontal mode. “It’s not a trip or anything? I can’t take off after I lost all those days due to injury last fall.”
The hand he’d laid lightly on her shoulder flexed into a fist before he could control it. She’d been badly hurt a few months earlier, and he didn’t care to be reminded of it. “No, it’s not a trip.” Though he intended to drag her away for at least a couple of days to the tropics as soon as their schedules allowed.
She relaxed at the beach, he thought, the way she seemed to nowhere else.
“Okay, then what? Because I really have to put in a couple of hours.”
“Get us some coffee, will you?” He said it carelessly as he stepped out into his office. And made her grind her teeth. She had to remind herself that he’d let her vent her frustrations, that he’d listened to her side of things. And he’d offered to hold her coat.
But her teeth were still clamped together in annoyance when she set the coffee on his console.
He gave her an absent hum of thanks and was already fiddling with controls. He could have just used voice command, she knew, but he often liked to work his machines—toys, she often thought—manually. Keeping those clever, one-time thief’s fingers nimble, she mused now.
His home office suited him as much as his plush headquarters did. The sleek console with colorful controls and lights was an excellent frame for him when he slid into the deep U to work.
In addition to the jazzy technology, the faxes and communications, the holo options and screens, there was an elegance to the room, the kind that seemed to walk hand in hand with him whether he was in a boardroom or an alley.
The gorgeous tiles of the floor, the expansive windows clear-treated for privacy, the scattering of art and artifact, the streamlined machines and cabinets that would offer exclusive food or drink at the most careless command.
It was, she thought, occasionally disconcerting to look at him in here, while he worked. To