Dark Reasons Ch. 05-06

"What can I do for you, Detective?" He let his eyes roam over her once, only letting her see the detached medical professional in his eyes, not the very interested, very intrigued man. "You certainly look better than the last time I saw you."

"Actually," she cleared her voice to get rid of the little hitch his presence always seemed to bring. "I wanted to thank you for all your help."

He shrugged and glanced around noting the interest in the hospital personnel pretending to be busy. "All part and parcel of the service, Detective. How about I buy you a bad cup of coffee and we can discuss my bill?" he offered grinning down at her. He took her elbow and steered her out of range of curious eyes and headed down towards the cafeteria.

At this time of early morning, the service part of the cafeteria was shut down leaving a handful of machines to deal with the needs for coffee, soft drinks and snacks. Ethan plugged in quarters and ordered the coffee, pulling the flimsy cups out of the machine as they filled. He gestured to one of the empty tables and sat her coffee in front of her.

She took a sip and grimaced. "It is pretty bad." She took another sip and sat the cup aside, realizing she still had a death grip on the white bag.

"Here." She slid the bag hurriedly across the table to him, catching a hint of surprise in his eyes before he grabbed it.

"A present?" He opened the bag, smelling chocolate before it unraveled.

"Double chocolate brownies."

He pulled one out of the bag and breathed in the scent with an air of appreciation that made a smile curve the corner of her full lips. "No nuts?"

"I didn't know if you liked them or not."

"I do," he said, taking a huge bite. "Fantastic." He swallowed, finishing the brownie with one more bite. He took another then offered Jenna the bag. "Sorry, we had a traffic accident come in and I missed lunch. So what do I owe this treat?"

Jenna took another sip of the sludge from the coffee machine. "I owed you. You got me back to work and," she paused, hating to have to admit this, "the painkillers helped a lot. I wouldn't have had them if you hadn't brought them over."

She'd never forget the day after her accident, the pain that just getting up out of bed had caused her to feel had been almost more than she could bear. Without those painkillers, she'd have been forced to take sick leave that day. The thought of the 'told you so' grin that would have been on Justin's face more than made the brownie's well deserved.

Ethan reached out and took the hand that was unconsciously shredding the brownie she had taken to crumbs on a napkin. "These are too good to waste, Jenna."

The blush that stained her cheeks annoyed her as much as embarrassed her even more. He pulled her hand away from the brownie but kept it in his.

"And if you'd like to thank me, how about dinner?"

Jenna felt a sudden spurt of panic. "Uh, dinner?"

Ethan smiled which sent a jolt of something else zapping through Jenna's nervous system to twist in her stomach. "You know, two people. Go to a restaurant. Order food. Eat the food." The smile broadened into a grin when he caught her still stupefied look. "I thought we could eat it together."

"Uh." She was out of her element here. It wasn't as if she hadn't gotten asked out before, she had. And she dated, well, she did when her case load allowed. So, okay, that wasn't a lot, she always figured she did the job better than a personal life anyway.

"Jenna."

She looked up at him. He was still smiling, amused by her. It stiffened her spine and made her just a touch annoyed with him.

"Dinner would be great, Doctor Miller."

"Ethan."

"Dinner would be great, Ethan." She found it easy to say his name, liked the way it sounded, too much. The thought was a little disconcerting.

"I'll pick you up, tonight? 7:00?" His thumb stroked across her palm in a way the made her twitch a little.

Jenna pulled her hand free, rubbing her tingling palm stealthily against the leg of her slacks, and stood. She felt a bit calmer on her feet, enough so that she faced the look in his eyes and tried to smile at him. "That would be great." She turned and headed toward the door. She was almost through it when she turned her head one more time, wanting another glimpse of the picture he made sitting at the table watching her. "Enjoy the brownies, Doc."

A serious case of stress and too much coffee had her nerves jumping as she hunted through her wardrobe, searching for something to wear. She'd already pulled out and discarded half of the contents of her closet. Why hadn't she asked him where they were going?"

She finally decided upon a simple black knit dress, sleeveless with a deep scope neck and short hemline that made the best out of Jenna's considerable attributes. Slim heels added inches to her small stature and made her legs look sleekly curved miles long.

She grabbed a quick shower, powdered, perfumed and primped quickly in the bathroom then hurried into her bedroom. Her dress was laid out next to the small pile of lingerie. Lingerie was her weakness, her one true downfall. She couldn't pass a shop without at least gazing wistfully into the windows at the colorful silks, satins, and laces and dreaming of her next pay raise.

Jenna tugged on the black, lightly boned,satin teddy, sucking in her breath before fastening it over her breasts. Black silk stockings were rolled into place and then clipped carefully into black garters decorated with tiny white bows. Jenna checked out her reflection, pleased with the way the satin clung. Satin and silk lingerie was a weapon, a quiet but very powerful weapon for a woman who knew how to use it. It gave a feeling of naughty confidence and an air of femininity to a woman. Even if a man never saw it, she knew she was wearing it.

She pulled the dress on, running her hands slowly down the front to smooth out any wrinkles and to admire the fit. She flipped her head to send her hair scattering in thick wisps around her face in an artful mess before she stepped into the matching shoes. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. She had just enough time to grab her off duty weapon and her badge and shove them into a tiny black purse, along with some emergency money and her cell phone.

At precisely 7:00, the buzzer to her apartment went off. She hit the intercom button and then buzzed him in, opening her door slightly so she could hear the elevator open. Her stomach hummed with nerves and she fought with herself to stay calm. She could handle murder, brutalized bodies, psychopaths with ham sized fists. One night out couldn't kill her.

"Wow."

He stood in the doorway, his eyes slightly glazed as he stared at the picture she made. The black dress did incredible things to her skin, making it seem pale, almost porcelain in it's perfection. The scooped neckline showed off her deep cleavage, made only more daring by the fit of the satin teddy. The hemline of the dress stopped mid thigh, nothing too daring but, with the added height of the heels, her legs looked as if they'd never stop.

Ethan felt his tongue begin to loll out of his mouth and gave himself a mental shake. "You look..." He took two steps forward into the apartment, searching for an adequate word, "amazing," he finally finished.

"Thanks, Doctor." She remembered their last conversation of any length, the one that he had gotten so mad and stomped out of. "Is that a personal observation, or a professional one?"

He laughed, a wicked deep chuckle that tickled her nerves. "Oh this time, I can definitely say it's personal. I'm hoping very personal."

Jenna smiled, hers coy and a little daring, giving him a hint of the impish side of her nature. "We'll just have to see, now, won't we?"

She handed him the black jacket that matched the dress and let him help her into it, smiling inside when his hands lingered on her shoulders for an extra second or two.

When they reached the parking lot, she was in for a surprise. She'd expected a BMW or a Corvette, not the smooth lines of the Grand Prix that sat in her visitor parking space next to her own Mustang. It was a black four door and not even close to a new model.

The man was full of surprises. He unlocked the car and opened the door for her, closing it behind after ogling the long length of thigh the hemline exposed as she sat. When he got into the car, he didn't start it right off, instead, he reached behind her seat and brought out a small brown paper bag. He sat it in her lap then sat there and watched her stare at it.

"What's this?" She touched the paper gingerly, almost afraid to look inside.

"It's a present, go ahead and open it." He laughed at the look she gave him.

"Oh and you wrapped it so pretty too," she said wryly as she unfolded the top of the bag and peeked inside. She reached in and almost melted as she pulled out a small brown bear with long fur. He had a big black fedora on his head, a trench coat belted at his bearish waist. On one lapel was a five pointed star, a cop's badge. She smiled, set the bear down in her lap and shifted in the seat.

His mouth met hers, easily, almost as if they had done this before. The kiss was soft, a beginning of something that Jenna felt was as fragile as happiness. She pulled back a little, staring into those chocolate eyes. "Thank you."

A glint in his eyes, he took another small taste of her lips before sitting back with a sigh. "The pleasure was all mine," he said starting the car.

Jenna sat back in the car watching his hands as he drove. The bear on her lap, she relaxed and watched his hands on the steering wheel, the competent way he drove. Before she realized, they were pulling into a parking lot and Ethan jumped out of the car, pulling open Jenna's door. She stood, stooping slightly to set the bear in her seat before turning back to the doctor.

The restaurant overlooked the water and a marina full of everything from full sized yachts to rowboats. Jenna watched the masts slowly dip and sway with the waves as they were seated close to one of the windows. The sun was still in the sky but slowly lowering, creating intricate shadows along the terrace outside the window. She took the menu she was offered but didn't open it, looking around, a cop's gleam in her eyes.

It was habit, for both cops and criminals. Case a joint, spot the exits, the entrances. Find the restrooms and the kitchen. Check out the other diners, the wait staff. She looked over the hostess, a very tall blonde in a tiny black skirt and tight white blouse that made no bones in declaring that her best assets were in front of her. The bartender, a tall black man with no hair and a shiny head was working calmly and seemed to feel Jenna's stare. He looked her way, smiled widely exposing three gold capped teeth in the front of his mouth.

"Ready for the heist Muggsy?"

Jenna smiled ruefully and blushed at being caught. "Sorry," she apologized. "It's habit." She opened her menu and just as quickly folded it back up, barely glancing at the selections. She took her purse off of her lap and sat it on the table and shrugged out of her jacket, seeing Ethan's eyes gravitate to her bare shoulders and below for one admiring minute before returning to her eyes.

He seemed about to say something when their waiter appeared to take their drink order. Jenna was fine with water, and Ethan was the same. "You're on duty tonight aren't you?" Jenna asked him.

"On call. They final got us back to a full staff so I only have to go in if they get an emergency. You too?"

"The life of a cop, we are always on call. You never know when some hooker killing psycho is going to run amok on city streets and need to be taken down," she said, laughing at herself.

"So that's what the outfit was about." He grinned. "Not that I'm complaining mind you, that just didn't seem like the style you'd particularly wear out. And those shoes.." he paused, remembering the fantasies that had come to mind when he'd thought about those shoes with their incredible "do me" heels.

"I burnt them." She smiled with smug memory at the way it had felt to watch those feet killers go up in flame.

"You didn't?" he asked in horror. He couldn't believe it. He watched his fantasies of her in nothing but those shoes figuratively flare then go up in smoke.

"You sound disappointed, Doctor." Jenna leaned forward, enjoying this play.

Ethan's eyes, which had been behaving, well, mostly, strayed down to the front of her dress once more, admiring her lovely curves. "They were nice shoes," he said lamely.

"Well, let me check, maybe I can find them in your size."

He laughed, his eyes meeting hers once more. He'd opened his mouth to continue the banter when the waiter appeared again to take their order. Ethan quickly scanned the menu, making choices for both of them, waiting for Jenna's nod at his choice for her before continuing. The waiter left and the two of them were alone once more.

Ethan leaned forward and opened his mouth to say something but Jenna never knew what. Almost on cue, the phone in her purse went off.

"I'm sorry, Ethan," she said, pulling it out and checking the caller id screen. "I have to take this, excuse me." She flipped it open and hit a button, sighing angrily but quietly into the phone. "What, Justin? And it'd better be good."

She listened for a moment and sighed again. "Sure, but can't you..."

Another moment.

"Yeah, but..."

Justin once more interrupted.

"I know, but what about Dicks..." Jenna finally gave up. "Fine, let me catch a cab and I'll be there in ten minutes. What's the address again?"

Ethan had been unashamedly listening in. When Jenna hung up and started to apologize, he brushed it away. "Don't worry, rain check on the date, and you can bet I'll collect. Just remember this sometimes when I get called out. But no cab," he said hastily when she started dialing the phone. "I'll take you."

"It's a crime scene, Ethan. I can't take you to a crime scene."

"You couldn't take me to an interview either, but you did. He called the waiter, explained the situation and left a sizable tip, then escorted Jenna back to his car. Just as he was going to unlock the door, she reached out and grabbed the lapels of his jacket and yanked his face down to her height. Her lips found his in a kiss that was more than gratitude.

She kissed him slowly, savoring every bit of his lips, twisting and rubbing against them with her mouth in a way that had her dizzy. His tongue swept out, sliding between her lips to lap at the smoothness of her teeth before slipping between and tasting the depths of her mouth. She moaned, feeling it get caught in his mouth, echoing his own. When they parted, he let his forehead rest against hers, his breathing a little unsteady.

"We need to do that rain check, really soon. Okay?"

Jenna laughed and sneaked out from under his arms. "Okay, but now I got a dead body waiting and a partner that has a serious problem with me getting a night off."