"Will Sebastian be there?"
He shrugged but I didn't miss the tension that settled between his shoulder blades at my mention of the man he wanted but could not have. "I can't afford him so it doesn't matter."
I opened my mouth to start our usual argument, but the appearance of a stranger in the doorway pulled me up short. Tall and leanly built, he reminded me of a mountain with the sharp angles of his face too harsh to make him handsome. Striking. Sexy. Someone you would remember. His gaze swept over me, controlled but interested. Yes, he wanted something from me but his quick inhale of breath told me that it wasn't a professional appointment.
I stood to greet him just as a larger African-American man filled what was left of my open doorway. Ryker stepped in front of me, placing his body in between us and I wasn't going to object.
The first man was. . .dangerous. Something told me to be careful around him.
"Dr. Androghetti?" He stepped forward, pulling an ID case out of the pocket of his suit jacket. The badge was shiny. It looked real. Ryker took two steps forward and took it from him, scanning it before returning it to him and giving me a nod of confirmation.
"How can I help you?" I rant through my patients in my head. None of them seemed in a place to involve the police.
"I'm Detective Cross and this is Detective Simms. We need to ask you a few questions." He slipped his ID case back into his pocket and my gaze was drawn to his hands. Large with long fingers, scrapes and bruises across the knuckles. Recently inflicted. A man who didn't mind getting his hands dirty.
"Of course. Whatever you need." I took two paces backward, settling when I could lean against the edge of my desk. Ryker moved to the side, standing against the wall of my office. Still close but not a wall between us. Detective Simms moved into his orbit, his eyes trained on my watchdog as he pulled out a notebook and pen while Cross crossed into my personal space.
I caught my breath, working hard to slow down the rapid beat of my heart. To ignore the tightening of my nipples. I couldn't control my reaction to him. I should have been wary, cautious but I wanted to get closer. To inhale him, to touch him. It was crazy but that explained everything and nothing about sexual attraction. Hormones kicked in and you lost a little bit of your mind.
"What kind of counseling do you do here, Doctor?" He asked, his eyes trained on my face and completely ignoring the huge diploma displayed on the wall just over my right shoulder.
"I specialize in relationship counseling, veteran counseling, grief counseling, and post-addiction counseling. I help people get through and over some of the hard stuff."
"I see," he said, moving past me to examine my credentials. "Couples? Kids? Adults?"
"Yes." I glanced at Ryker but he was watching the other guy, laser-focused.
"How long has Senator Nathan Marsden been your patient?" Cross asked, his tone even but there was a subtle change. Something dark coated the edges.
I turned to face him and he was looking at me. His face was a void, only his dark eyes betraying his suspicion and controlled violence. Now I knew what made him dangerous, he was a man who chose to keep himself under control because to do otherwise would put him on the other side of that badge. And his control kept him off my couch or the couch of someone like me.
"Nathan was never my patient, Detective," I said, stepping around the desk to stand in front of him. He was tall, over six feet, but with my heels I could almost look him in the eye. "Are you going to tell me what this is about."
Cross exchanged a look with his partner. It spoke of years together and lots of trust. And something very wrong.
"Senator Marsden is dead. We found him this morning."
I reached behind me, my hand searching for the edge of the desk and the support I needed since my legs no longer worked. Ice cold flashed up my spine and over my skin and bile rose in my throat, my stomach rolling. I felt Ryker beside me, his hand on my shoulder.
Nathan. Dead.
"Was it an accident?" I asked, licking my lips as I sought an answer in Cross' face. I knew it already. "If it was an accident you wouldn't be here."
"No. It wasn't an accident," he replied, his expression belligerent. "He was murdered. So, I don't really have any patience with doctor/patient confidentiality, Dr. Androghetti. I need to know why the Senator had your card in his pocket."
"I told you. He was not a patient." I shook my head, sliding a glance towards Ryker. He stared back, his gaze offering no solution other than the truth. "He was. . .Nathan was a sexual partner."
"You were having an affair with him?"
"No." I looked towards Ryker again. This part was always tricky. Rarely did people understand and I didn't feel like I had to justify myself to anyone. But this was Nathan. Dead. "No. I had sex with both Nathan and Davina. It's what I do."