She stared into the pitch-black barrel of the 9mm, her heart pounding like a jackhammer.
"You just don't know when to quit, do you Heat? You just can't let one goddamn thing go!"
The detective took a step back, her stiletto heels grinding against the gravel covering the rooftop. Through gritted teeth she replied "I'm a cop. It's who I am. It's what I do."
"What kind of last name is Heat?"
"Says the man with the last name Jane."
"Lisbon is the capital of Portugal."
The woman named after the capital of Portugal rolled her eyes in response. Jane was lying beside her on the bed, propped up on the pillows, with his head turned so that he could read over her shoulder. That would have been fine but he insisted on reading the passages out loud and with added commentary. She'd given up on angling the book away from him—he'd kept scooting closer until he was nearly on top of her. So she lay there, trying her best to focus with Jane basically breathing in her ear.
He nuzzled her cheek. "Agent Nikki Heat. Very suggestive."
"Patrick." Teresa said steadily, flicking to the next page. "You have your own book."
"Meh. Yours is more interesting."
She threw one brief and skeptical glance at the hardcover clasped in his far hand. Perception of the True Self. Psychology. Yuck. "I don't care. You are not spoiling this one."
That was another thing—he liked to predict the killer before the ending. As much as he complained about how formulaic the novels were he never stopped annoying Lisbon while reading them.
"It's reached the climax of the action. " He observed. "Plus with the amount of pages left there promises to be at least one gratuitous sex scene before the end, right?"
She was counting on it.
"Ohhh this is a good part."
"Hush."
"Detective Heat clung to the edge of the roof for dear life. One panicked glance below told her what she already knew—to fall was to loose everything. The chance to find the truth behind her mother's murder, to bring the killer to justice, to tell her partner how she really felt—"
She elbowed him playfully. "Okay, okay. Read it to yourself."
Thankfully he fell silent. Jane was right. Detective Heat was pulled from the roof in just the nick of time, the murderer caught and put behind bars. The conclusion involved a detailed liaison between Heat and her partner which Jane insisted on reading out loud no matter how much Lisbon kicked his shins or elbowed him in the ribs.
"We should try that move." He murmured against her neck, grinning against her flushed skin.
The last sentence read, she snapped the book shut and tossed it onto the nightstand. "To think there was a time when I could read a book without the ending being spoiled." She said wistfully.
"Eh. It's not that great of a series, anyways. Derek Storm was better." Jane had returned to his psychology book, unrepentant as usual. Lisbon watched him for a while, a slow smile creeping over her face. Though he didn't look directly at her, Jane stiffened as she rolled over so that she was facing him, her leg hooked over his, one arm wrapped over his chest. "Teresa. What are you doing?"
"Hmmmmm?" She had snuggle as close as possible, her head resting on his shoulder.
"It's not going to work."
Lisbon looked at him, eyebrows lifted in feigned innocence. The tiniest smirk tugged at her lips, she murmured. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"This revenge tactic. You're trying to distract me from my book as pay back for ruining yours."
"That sounds awfully petty. You think I'm distracting?" She pressed a series of small kisses along his jawline. In Jane's defense he lasted about a minute, squinting fiercely at the small font as she worked her way to his throat and then to the corner of his mouth.
"Goddammit." Frustrated he threw the book onto the floor by the bed, rolling over to take her in his arms. "You know you're only encouraging this type of behavior." He reminded her ruefully.
His partner grinned. "I'm counting on it."
I haven't read the Nikki Heat novels and all of my Castle-verse knowledge comes secondhand from my best friend. Sorry about that. Thank you for reading!
