He looked into her eyes. Beyond the irritation was a light that said she was playing with him now, but he’d show her good. Backing her to the refrigerator, Zach covered her mouth with his, swallowing her little gasp of surprise, a gasp that quickly turned into the hottest murmur of undeniable need and hunger he’d ever heard when his tongue swept alongside hers.

And though he’d meant only to show her up, he ended up showing himself something. That she fit against him as if she’d been made for the spot. That her scent filling his head, and the feel of her hands fisting in his shirt fueled his hunger as she sighed into his mouth, until it became so damn arousing he couldn’t bear it. Pulling back, he stroked a hand down her body and felt her knees buckle.

His own weren’t so steady, either, but a fierce sense of satisfaction went through him. Still holding her between the refrigerator and his own hard, aching body, he looked down into her face. “Tell me again that that was merely good. I dare you.”

“Okay.” She licked her lips, an action that didn’t help calm him down any. “Does shockingly incredible work for you, Officer Hottie?”

He rolled his eyes but could admit that yeah, shockingly incredible worked far better. “So what now?”

“The million-dollar question, Zach? From you? Really?”

He found himself staring at her. Holy shit, had he actually asked, “What now?”

“Yeah,” she said into the charged silence. “That’s what I thought. There’s nothing now. Both of us know it. We just have to remember it.”

LATER THAT DAY, after having been out for hours on a series of nonemergency transport calls, Dustin and Brooke were directed to a familiar address for another Code Calico.

“How about you take it this time,” Brooke said to Dustin.

He looked amused. “You catch on quick.”

“I try.”

“You’re trying a lot of things lately. Or people. What?” he said innocently when she sent him a long look. “Just wondering about the status.”

“I’m not asking you the status of your love life.”

“Ha!” He grinned victoriously. “So you admit there is a love life.”

They arrived on scene, mercifully saving Brooke from having to answer, since she didn’t know the answer. The truth was, she no longer knew anything at all about what she and Zach were doing. Stepping out onto the sidewalk, she craned her neck, searching the three large trees out in front of Phyllis’s place for the cat.

No Cecile in sight.

“Dustin,” she said, watching as Aidan and Zach pulled up, moving with steady purpose toward the house, not the yard. “What’s going on?”

Dustin put the radio mic back in its place, his expression suddenly serious. “It’s not Cecile after all. Grab your bag.”