Deadly Intuition(21)
James shuffled the file in his hand. “This is going to take a while to go through.”
“How long?” Sophie asked.
James shrugged. “Less time now that someone isn’t puking every twenty minutes,” he said pointedly.
Mandy flicked his ear before kissing the ridge. He shifted underneath her weight. “Are you sure?”
James smiled up at her. “Behave yourself.”
Finn groaned. “Good grief. It’s like you two are in heat.”
Grady joined in with his brother’s laughter. “It’s hormones.”
Mandy watched Sophie, her curiosity getting the better of her. Sophie was uncomfortable with the overt affection – something that tugged at Mandy’s heart. She didn’t know a lot about Sophie, but she did recognize the emotion washing over the woman’s face. It was yearning.
“We’ll run the names,” James said. “We’ll keep you updated. I’m sure Grady will be in contact.”
Mandy glanced down at him. He definitely knew. He saw the attraction, too. “What are you going to do?” Mandy pointed the question directly at Sophie.
Sophie shrugged, her slight shoulders heaving. “I’m not sure. I don’t have a plan of action yet.”
“I can ask around at the courthouse,” Mandy offered. “That’s a huge gossip mill. I bet some of the prosecutors have some ideas.”
James squeezed her waist. “Do you think they’ll tell you?”
“The alphas will,” Mandy replied. “They like to boast. They think it impresses me.”
“That’s still days away, though,” Grady pointed out. “What can we do over the weekend?”
James shrugged “Run the list.”
“What else?”
“I have no idea.”
After a few minutes, Grady managed to isolate Sophie in the lobby while Finn disappeared upstairs. From her spot on James’ lap, Mandy couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she took the opportunity to watch them from afar.
James’ fingers were skillfully moving across the keyboard.
“He likes her,” Mandy said.
James glanced up, following her gaze. “I know.”
“No, I mean he really likes her.”
“I’ve noticed.”
Mandy turned her attention to James. “What are you going to do about it?”
James’ fingers stilled. “Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
He sighed. “Don’t meddle, baby.”
“You don’t want your brother to be happy?” Mandy pressed.
“I want him to be happy,” James said. “He’s not going to be happy if you meddle, though. Just leave it alone.”
Mandy chewed her bottom lip. “They need to have sex.”
James barked out a laugh. “How do you know that?”
“Look at them.”
James glanced up, snuggling closer to his girlfriend. “They’ll have sex.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because he looks just like me when I was fighting to stay away from you,” James replied.
“That doesn’t mean they’ll have sex.”
James sighed, pressing his lips against her taut jaw. “Yes, it does.”
“How can you be sure?” Mandy’s mind was jumbled with ways of assuring Grady’s eventual seduction of the county’s top reporter.
“Because sometimes you can’t fight it.”
Mandy wrenched her gaze from Grady and Sophie, focusing on the man who had managed to claim her whole heart. “How can you be sure, really I mean? You fought it.”
James reached up, tweaking Mandy’s nose. “And I lost. You have to let them do it on their own time. You can’t force it.”
Mandy sighed. “You’re smarter than you look.”
James cupped Mandy’s jaw with his hand. “And that’s why I love you.” He captured her mouth with his, slipping his tongue beyond the barrier briefly before pulling away. “Now, focus on me.”
Mandy giggled. “What did you have in mind?”
“Why don’t you whisper dirty thoughts in my ear while I type?”
“How is that going to help you get your work done?”
“It’s not,” James admitted. “At a certain point Finn is going to get frustrated with all the sex talk and send us upstairs. That’s the ultimate goal here.”
Mandy smiled, a particularly filthy idea entering her head. She leaned in and whispered. James’ arms tightened.
“That’s my baby.”
Ten
Watching Mandy with James was ... odd. Sophie had known the court clerk for more than two years, but she’d never taken the time to really engage with her – at least not on a personal level. She liked her. She was friendly and smart. Watching her and James through the office window seemed somehow intrusive.