The cab stopped, and Suz reached into her bodice and pulled out a twenty, slapping the cash into the cabbie’s hand before Colby could react. He was admittedly a trifle distracted wondering if the money was warm, and how much more she had hidden in places he’d love to explore.
“You’ve never been encased in ice for ages?” she guessed as she accepted his hand, unfurling those long, leather-clad legs as she exited the cab.
He guided her out of the way of a passing crowd, and her body pressed tight to his as they waited for the path into the bar to clear. His lips hovered right next to her ear. “I don’t suffer from virginal fears when it comes to women. I know how to treat ladies right.”
Once again Suz laughed—the sultry, teasing acceptance he’d hoped for. She twisted on the spot, one inch away from damn near full-body contact.
“Interesting, but can you outdrink the ladies? Or this lady?” She walked her fingers up his chest before stabbing him with her thumb. “Winner gets to pay.”
He was motivated. Hell, he was on fire. “What are we drinking?”
She flashed him that filthy, dirty, gorgeous smile over her shoulder as she sauntered forward. “I could go for a dozen screaming orgasms. How about you?”
Christ. Maybe the costume didn’t have enough room to contain him, after all.
“Whatever the lady wants, the lady gets,” Colby drawled.
His evening had definitely taken a turn toward amazing. He followed Suz’s curvy ass into the bar with a light step and a hard-on as strong as Captain America’s Vibranium shield.
Chapter Three
Dean found a passed-out superhero in his office.
With a barely restrained grin, he approached the unconscious Captain America, who was far too big for the two-seat sofa across from Dean’s desk. Colby’s long legs hung over the armrest, one stubble-covered cheek pressing into the cushion while a red-gloved hand dangled over the side.
“Ahem.”
Colby’s dark eyes popped open at Dean’s loud throat-clearing, a testament to the man’s military training. A former Ranger like Dean and his partners, Colby was as deadly as they came, but he also knew how to have a good time, and apparently that hadn’t changed since he’d left the service.
“What time is it?” the man mumbled. His cheek bore the impression of the cushion, and he looked so out of it Dean almost felt bad for him.
Almost.
“Nine thirty,” Dean said cheerfully. He purposely raised his voice, and was rewarded by Colby’s pained wince. Oh yeah, his colleague had a raging hangover, all right. “May I ask what you’re doing in my office?”
“Why are you here? It’s Saturday.”
“Nice deflection, bro, but we’re not talking about me right now.” He wandered over to his desk and hopped up on the edge, watching as Colby eased himself into a sitting position, groaning the entire time. “What the fuck happened to you?”
Colby grunted out two words. “Susanna. Jones.”
Dean grinned. “Ah shit. What did our resident troublemaker do now?”
Two muscular arms rose in the air as Colby stretched them over his head. He yawned, then winced again and rubbed his temples. “She challenged me to a shot contest,” he grumbled. “I thought I had her once the tally reached eleven, but then she pulled a fucking miracle out of her sexy ass and downed two more shooters.”
A laugh spilled out. Dean knew firsthand that Suz could drink any man under the table. If he’d stuck around at the party, he would’ve warned Colby about it.
But he hadn’t stuck around. Nope, he’d left the haunted house the moment his goddess had fled the scene. He’d raced after her, in fact, getting completely drenched as he combed the sidewalk like a creeper in search of the woman who had knocked his entire world off-kilter with one blistering kiss. She was gone, though. He wasn’t sure how she’d vanished so quickly, or where she’d vanished to. All he knew was that she’d left him with a hard-on, a sense of crushing disappointment, and the all-consuming need to find her.
And the key to finding her had apparently gotten plastered with Colby, which was probably why Suz wasn’t picking up her damn phone.
“Do you know where she is?” Dean asked. “I’ve been trying to reach her since last night.”
“I have no idea,” Colby muttered.
“Where did this shooter contest take place? Because I looked all over for her until someone told me she’d left the party early.”
“Yeah, we left together.”
Dean’s eyebrows soared. “Interesting…”
Colby sighed. “I fucking wish. I’ve been trying to tap that since I met her, but Blondie’s a real tease.”
Dean tried not to let his surprise show. Suz did have teasing down pat, but she also didn’t deny herself pleasure.