The Heat Is On by Jill Shalvis Page A

homemade. Since Cord could burn water, he said, “Tell Lexi these were amazing.”
    Cord grinned stupidly. He’d finally gotten smart and for the last month had been dating his sweet, sexy next-door neighbor, a woman who would most definitely give Cord a run for his money.
    â€œLong day, I hear,” Austin said. He was a private investigator working insurance fraud, but his office monitored the police scanners. “You caught a murder.”
    â€œAnd lost it.” Jacob took another pull of his beer and told them the story, making sure to face Cord as he spoke, since his brother still suffered fifty percent hearing loss from the explosion he’d lived through overseas.
    â€œSo you boinked the prime suspect.” Cord shook his head and grinned. “And I thought I was the screwup.”
    â€œBella didn’t commit murder,” Jacob said.
    â€œSo I guess that means you’ve taken interrogation to a whole new level,” Austin said, cracking Cord up. Jacob sent him a don’t-make-me-kick-your-ass look, which only made Cord laugh harder.
    Whatever. Jacob took the last cookie and Cord stopped laughing.
    â€œThat was mine.”
    Jacob shrugged. “Two types of people in this house. The fast and the hungry.”
    Cord watched the cookie vanish into Jacob’s mouth. “I can go home and talk her into making me more.” He added a love-struck little smile, and both Austin and Jacob stared at him. Each of them had had women in their lives before, plenty of them.
    None had stuck.
    But there was a different element to his brother’s expression lately, an inexplicable light in his eyes that signalled something that they hadn’t seen in a long time. Happiness.
    After the hell Cord had been through with his long, painful recovery, he deserved that. So very much, he deserved it, and Jacob was happy for him.
    And also just a little envious.
    Â 
    T HE NEXT MORNING , J ACOB found Ethan waiting for him in his office. He’d made himself at home, sitting back in the guest chair, feet up on Jacob’s desk, legs crossed as he sipped coffee and thumbed through his iPhone.
    â€œSomething new on the case?” Jacob asked him.
    â€œCrime lab lifted a tread print from the top step to Edible Bliss’s back door,” Ethan said. “They’reworking on tracing it.” He looked up from his phone. “And I thought you were staying out of this one.”
    â€œI am.”
    â€œYeah?” Ethan cocked his head. “Is that why you saw Bella last night?”
    â€œWe went out for a bite. I walked her home to make sure she got there safely.”
    â€œDude, I came back to ask her a question and heard someone pressing someone up against her front door.”
    When Jacob narrowed his eyes, Ethan smiled. “I was going to ask her if Seth Owen had brought her flowers on their first date. But I heard that rustling up against the door and figured you two…had your hands full.”
    Jacob had no response to make because it was true. He’d had his hands full.
    â€œMaybe you were frisking her,” Ethan suggested with a smile.
    In return, Jacob suggested something with his middle finger.
    â€œHuh. Again with the no comment,” Ethan noted. “Maybe she wore out your tongue?”
    Jesus. Jacob drew in a breath, and purposely let it out, refusing to let Ethan push his buttons.
    â€œSo. You get laid again?”
    Jacob shoved Ethan’s feet off his desk and sat behind it. “None of the above.”
    â€œNo frisking, no tongue exhaustion, no getting laid. Got it.” Ethan looked at him for a long moment.“Makes sense since you’re so grumpy.” He paused. “You’re into her.”
    Jacob booted up his laptop.
    Getting no response from Jacob, Ethan pressed, “So into her.”
    â€œNot that it’s any of your business, but we’re just—” He broke off, because he had no idea what they were