A Little Harmless Submission(6)

He nodded and headed out the door. No matter what, he was on the case until he caught the bastard. And no one, not the FBI or the HPD, would tell him differently.





Chapter Two



Maria was nervous. Her entire body sizzled with energy that was draining her concentration. She had faced down felons that would scare the bejesus out of most grown men, but none of them made her feel as nervous as Detective Carino. It was embarrassing to admit that Carino made her palms sweat.

It wasn’t uncommon for her to be edgy at work. She had never really fit in at the FBI, and she knew she never would. Every little bit of the job made her feel out of place. She hated the adrenaline rush before a raid, and she really hated questioning suspects. Still, Carino made her off her game. And not in the way that most adversaries did. She couldn’t get the cool, quiet detective out of her head. Good lord, she didn’t even know the man, and he had her almost drooling. There was something about the way he moved, all quiet control…It made her shiver.

She pulled in a deep breath and looked out over the pool area. She needed to get her reaction to him under control. Acting this way could end up being embarrassing for her. Besides that, she could lose the edge she had over him right now. She knew he understood if he didn’t play nice, he could lose any hopes of solving the case. If she wanted to be a complete ass, she could take over the investigation. But she didn’t want to do that. She wanted his help. No, she needed it. Not that she would let him know how much she needed him. That would be a mistake with a man like Rome Carino.

With considerable effort, she sipped on her white wine. As the cool liquid slid down her throat, she thought how she would prefer a swift shot of whiskey. She ordered herself to calm down, and she took another drink. It was her idea to work together. It was a great plan. All of it, including the part she didn’t tell them about, was solid. Now that she was here in Hawaii, she wanted to go run and hide. What the hell had she been thinking?

You weren’t thinking, little girl.

Maria shook her head, trying to push that thought aside, but she knew it was no use. How many times did she hear that from her father? More than a thousand, she was sure. He would have approved of her plan. It was good, solid, and coming in under the radar was the best way to do it. He definitely would not be happy with her reaction to Detective Carino.

“Daydreaming, Agent Callahan?”

She started at the deep, resonate voice that came from beside her. Drawing in a deep breath, she tried to prepare herself before looking at him. She just hoped she wouldn’t swallow her tongue. He was standing so close, she was amazed she hadn’t heard him walk up.

There was no doubt about it. The man was a god. She knew for a fact there wasn’t a heterosexual woman alive who would argue with her. He was tall, so tall, that she had to look up at him. Since she was five foot eleven in her stocking feet, that didn’t happen that often. He wasn’t just tall, but he also had those movie star looks. A strong jaw, swarthy skin, and long, long eye lashes were enough to attract just about any woman. Add in the hazel eyes that seemed greener now that he was in the natural sunlight and he was near perfection. His dark hair was military short, but she could tell it was thick and probably very well given to curl. Full sensual lips completed the package, and she had to fight the urge to lick her own. He would be considered pretty if he hadn’t had his nose broken more than once.

“Agent Callahan?”

“Yes.” Great. Yeah, really a way to impress the local law. She was staring at him like she was a fifteen-year-old with a crush. “Sorry. I’ve been up for about forty hours or so.”

One of his eyebrows rose. “I didn’t know you just got here.”

She tried to tell herself not to get irritated, but she hated repeating herself. Especially when she was sure he did remember what she’d said earlier. Power plays were one thing she despised. “As I said at the station, we’d come straight from the airport. It’s the reason we were in our suits. You remember that, right?”

His smile told her he did. “And you look much more relaxed now.”

She looked down at her outfit, knowing it probably still looked too formal for Hawaii. The short sleeved red shirt and khaki shorts weren’t as flashy as a lot of the other tourists’ clothes, but it was the only thing she could think of wearing. Most of her other clothes were too formal, and she knew that she couldn’t wear her workout clothes to their meeting.

He paused, his hands still in his pockets. “You want to wait to talk about this?”

She shook her head. “I’m anxious to get to everything that isn’t in the report.”