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tell her?
She doesn t know about that last scar you showed me. He
74 Jayden Knight
wiggled his brow, and Nick slapped his own forehead.
Don t be so touchy, Nick. Chris wouldn t stop talking about you
for like two hours this morning. If I didn t know any better, I d say he
has a crush. Then again, based on the level of pheromones you re
both emitting, I d say that s quite mutual. Apparently you didn t get it
out of your system yesterday.
Chris colored beautifully, and Nick reached up to scratch at his
neck. They exchanged looks and both grinned sheepishly. Oh, yeah.
Nick had one hell of a crush on Chris Taylor and couldn t wait for a
replay of yesterday. No one had to know.
Well, apparently, no one but Chris s sister.
She spoke up. So can you get a scent off of this or whatever you
do?
Nick thinned his lips as he leaned more toward not liking her.
I m not a dog.
You can definitely say that again. But that isn t what I mean.
Chris told me you could feel the air or something. Isn t that what you
do?
Chris looked at her. F eel, Mel. Not smell. He then turned to
Nick. Can you get me anything off this?
Nick dropped his gaze to the body and swallowed hard. He still
stood a full five feet away, and yet he smelled the rancid scent of
death as if he were right next to it.
He took a breath to protest but stopped when he smelled
something else. Sniffing the air, he then took a step, and another. Do
either of you smell that?
Smell what? Chris asked.
Dr. Melissa Graves grinned triumphantly at her brother. I told
you he could smell it.
Smell what? Chris asked again, this time with a little more
agitation hardening his tone.
It s hot air, Nick answered Chris.
She turned to Nick. That s exactly what I smelled when they
Lust in the Wind 75
brought him in, like he d been inside a sauna. I don t smell charred
remains and trust me, that s a very distinctive smell. But this& She
paused and motioned at the body. This is unlike anything I ve ever
seen.
Something Burns said came back to Nick. The chief of the fire
department swore he saw a half man, half dragon at that house fire.
Dragons breathed fire, at least they did in all the stories. And birds
seemed to float on air, like they controlled it.
Birdman had something to do with the Edwards murder. Nick
would bet his element on that. That same instability ate at him, very
distinctive, as the birdman upset the air.
So if the birdman had something to do with the murders, how did
the dragonman play into all of this? What was he doing at that house?
And how in the world did they mutate into what Nick and Chris saw
yesterday, if the two monsters were connected at all?
Which body is this?
Melissa read the chart. Richard Edwards.
And you re sure?
At least the DNA is.
Nick had a wild idea, but since nothing else about this case made
any sense, he didn t throw it out. Can you get DNA from a feather?
She nodded. Sure. You can get DNA from just about anything
anymore. Why? Do you have one you need tested?
He pulled the feather, still in the evidence bag, from the inside
pocket of his leather jacket and held it up. Melissa s eyes widened.
Holy hell. That thing is huge. What did that come from?
That s what we re hoping you can tell us, Chris added.
She walked over and took the bag from Nick to examine it herself.
Why not just send it to the lab?
Discretion is critical on this, Mel. Chris held his sister s gaze
until she gave him a nod.
I still have the autopsy of Newman Sygowitz and a couple John
Does to do.
76 Jayden Knight
Nick stepped to the side of her Chris wasn t on. This is really
important.
There s a killer out there, Chris stated.
And you might just crack the case wide open. Nick nodded at
the feather, hoping he sounded like he knew what the hell he was
talking about.
Please, Mel. We really need this.
Please, Mel.
She bounced her gaze to the one talking as they both tried to talk
her into running the DNA on the feather ahead of everything else. She
finally put up her hands, one in front of each of them. Fine, just stop
doing that.
Doing what? Chris grinned wide at his sister.
Being all likable. And you, she said as she looked at Nick. You
are just as bad as him. Quit being so cute.
I ll have to work on that.
See? Just when I m sure I have to hate you since I only want my
brother dating kings and presidents, there you go being all likable
again.
Chris kissed her cheek. You re the best.
Nick mimicked Chris s move and kissed her other cheek. You
really are.
Her cheeks reddened as she smiled and stepped back away from
the men, shaking her finger at them both. Okay, you two. Quit
combining your charm and ganging up on me. Now go away before I
change my mind.
Chris grabbed Nick by the arm and dragged him out. They both
waved at Melissa before closing the double doors behind them.
You re something else, Chris commented in a chuckle.
Nick swung around and trapped Chris against the wall, his hands
on either side. He hesitated a split second before lowering his lips to
Chris s. He wouldn t make it through the day if he didn t get to at
least taste him. Swiping his tongue against Chris s lips, licking them
Lust in the Wind 77
open, he then got their tongues feeding off one another.
Their kiss deepened as they consumed each other. An entire night
of aching, tossing and turning as he thought about how to break it off
with Chris, clawed at Nick. Maybe kissing Chris like this, devouring
him like a starving man, would ebb the desire he felt every time he
saw him.
Wow, Chris groaned against Nick s lips once the desperation in
their kiss slowed. Nick tore his mouth from Chris s, and he stepped
back to allow Chris to move away from the wall.
But Chris didn t move. He stood there, panting, as he stared at
Nick with lust darkening his blue eyes. When Chris traced his lower
lip with his tongue, licking off Nick s saliva, Nick nearly collapsed to
his knees at the sight.
Do that again, Nick rasped.
Chris did, and Nick lost control. He jerked them together, tangled
his fingers in Chris s ponytail, and slanted his lips over Chris s. He
opened his mouth to Nick, and a throaty moan escaped from Chris
into Nick.
He drank from Chris greedily, getting completely lost in his
intoxicating taste. Heated desire sent all of his cells vibrating, and he
forced himself to center. He didn t want to call right now. He just
wanted to devour this man and die from pleasure right here in his
arms, if only for a little while.
You do realize there are cameras in all the halls? Melissa
walked out and had a caught you look in her eyes.
Nick lowered his head and stepped back from Chris. Shit. Just
when he thought they had everyone at Dark Horse convinced that
nothing happened between them yesterday, Nick had to go and attack
Chris in front of a camera.
Did you need something, Mel? Chris asked his sister in an
irritated tone.
I just wanted to make sure you understood that by me using the
feather, testing for DNA will destroy the sample. If it does implicate
78 Jayden Knight
the killer, it won t be admissible in court, not without the defense
being able to run their own testing.
Nick spoke up. That won t be an issue. If you get a hit off the
DNA on that feather, we ve got much bigger problems than building a
case against the killer.
Okay, she sang and pushed the double doors open.
Hey, Mel?
She paused and glanced at her brother.
Don t run the results through CODIS. Call me as soon as you
have anything.
How will I know if I have a hit if I don t run it through the DNA
Index?
Chris looked at Nick and lifted his brow. Well?
Melissa s mouth fell open. Wait. You re going off the word of
someone who s never been on a case before?
He s got good instincts.
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