Words failed Sam as he peeled off Jenna’s top. Her perky breasts begged to be suckled, but he wanted to wait until every inch of her delicious body was under him before he partook in the carnal pleasures.

“Hurry, Sam.”

“No way. I want this to last a long time.” He grunted as he slipped off her flowing skirt and gently coaxed her to the bed. “You’re amazing.”

She closed her eyes. Perfect. He gathered her clothing and placed them neatly on the corner chair before he strode over to the bed. “Want to help me?” Her lids sprang open and he hooked his thumbs in his pants.

She sat up. “Undress you?”

He laughed. Here she’d tried to seduce him the moment she met him. Surely, she wasn’t chickening out now. “Yes.”

In a flash, her deft fingers undid his belt and unzipped his pants. Her assertiveness must not have been an act after all. With a tug, his trousers fell to the floor. He stepped out of them and scooped up the mess.

Jenna’s hands flew to her face. “You’re going to fold them, aren’t you?”

“I’d planned on it.”

She laughed. “I give up. Go. Hurry. Do your thing.”

She leaned forward and watched his every move. He whipped off his shirt, placed it on top of her clothes and eased back over to her. Standing in front of her, his erection strained against his boxers, and he willed her to take them off.

To his delight, she did just that. It was when she ran a finger down the length of him and squeezed his shaft that lust grabbed him so hard he failed to breathe for a moment. “Jen-na, why don’t you lay back on the bed?” His breath quickened.

He didn’t want to admit his willpower had disappeared. He wanted her, needed her, desired her—now. She deserved better than some rutting male, but his patience had been tested too many times to count, and at the moment, it had flown the coup.

When Jenna scooted back onto the bed, he plied open her thighs. His chest on the cool, clean sheets, his tongue did a dance over her swollen, enticing clit.

“Oh my God.” She sucked in a loud breath.

Her hands flew to his shoulders as her hips vibrated up and down. The light from the flickering candles played across her features. Open mouth, eyes closed, back arched, Jenna moaned and groaned with every thrust and parry of his tongue.

“I can’t take it anymore,” she panted. “Please, I have to have you.”

Sam grinned. Her eagerness turned him on big time. To half satisfy her, he slipped a finger into her.

“That’s wonderful.” She seemed satisfied, oohing and aahing until her hips quieted. “You have anything...bigger?”

He worried her ribs might not take the pressure of him on top of her, so he pressed up on his arms and hovered over her. His erection brushed her stomach.

“Wait,” he said, as he reached over to the nightstand.

“If you pull any kind of stopping shit on me, I’ll have to kill you.” Her lips pressed together, but the corners wobbled as if she were trying not to smile.

He laughed and held up a condom. “You want to do the honors.”

Jenna dropped her head back and howled. “Yes.”

Her fingers worked like a race driver—fast and quick—slipping the protection on in seconds. Jenna grabbed his cock and guided him into her sweet sex. As he slid inside, cinnamon and spice filled the air. Their lips met, and then their tongues parried. The rhythm of their frenzied thrusts grew. Blood pounded in his ears as the lovemaking reached a crescendo.

Her moans rang out as she clawed his back. With each thrust his climax threatened.

“Yes! Yes!” she shouted.

Jenna screamed, and Sam came a second later. Their breaths had turned ragged as if they’d run a marathon. Once they caught their breaths, Sam rolled to the side and gathered her in his arms.

“That was amazing,” he said.

“See what you’ve been missing this whole time?”

Sam kissed her again, not satisfied with the few kisses she’d bestowed on him. “I’ll guess I’ll have to make up for lost time and do this again.”

Jenna and Sam huddled over the computer screen in the technician’s lab. When she ran a hand over Sam’s cute butt, he swatted it away, but she didn’t mind. Jenna could tell by the turn of his lips he was trying not to laugh at her less than subtle seduction. Thank goodness, Edwardo Lopez, the video technician wasn’t able see them play lovebird behind his back.

The tech leaned forward and manipulated an image on the screen. He pointed to an enlarged version of the fake cop’s neck as he strode down the hospital corridor toward the AV room. “Your cop killer was wearing a latex mask.”

Sam moved in closer. “You’re kidding. So we have no idea what he looks like?”

“He wore a blond wig.”

“Shit.”

“But look here.” Edwardo pointed the mouse to a spot near the man’s collar. “Underneath, his hair is curly and dark.”

“That’s good.” Sam tapped the screen. “Hey, is that a tattoo on his arm?” The man’s long-sleeved shirt was unbuttoned at the wrist, exposing the partial image.

Edwardo zoomed in closer. “Half of one.”

“Can you tell what it is?”

After a series of filters, the image cleared. “A spotted tail of some kind wrapped around a spike. The tail might belong to a snake.”

“Can you print a couple of copies for me? And how about an overall shot of the guy?”

“Sure.” Edwardo’s fingers clacked away.

“Run the film one more time for me, will you?” Sam said once the tech hit the print key.

Jenna leaned into Sam. “What are you hoping to find?”

“I want to check out his gait and also compare his height to the objects on the wall for a more precise measurement on the guy.”

As they viewed the film, acid burned in her stomach. “He looks familiar.”

Sam faced her and placed his hands on the side of her shoulders. “How so?”

“I’ve seen him before. Only I don’t know where. Here maybe, or at the store. I wish I could be more sure.”

“I’d vote for here. Think about it. The guy seems to know all of our employees. He burned down my house, stabbed Carla, and blew up Chance. A guy off the street wouldn’t pick three employees of HOPEFAL for no reason.”

“I wouldn’t consider Chance a target.”

“I know.” His voice lowered to a whisper.

“In some way, I’m the common denominator. The cauldron, or at least a cauldron, is associated with Botanica. I worked there. It was my car that was blown up. The killer might have seen me with you and Carla and is sending me a message.”

Sam gathered her into his arms and squeezed tight. “Then why send cryptic notes to me and Carla and not you?”

“I don’t have an answer for that one yet.”

“Every time I think of what could have happened to you, it makes me sick.”

Jenna leaned her head on his shoulder and breathed in his spicy scent. Sam was worming his way under her skin, something she knew was about to end in heartbreak.

Four color images spit out of the printer. Sam rushed over to grab them. “Let’s go.” He grabbed her hand.

“Where to?”

“First off, I want Phil to ask the head of Human Resources to go through all of our employees here at the lab to see if anyone matches the man’s gate, his height, and his coloring.”

“Don’t forget his tattoo.”

He smiled down at her. “I doubt tattoos or body piercings are on the application. The head of each department might be able to identify the man’s markings, unless he never rolled up his sleeves.”

“Don’t all employees here get background checks?”

“Sure, but all that means is that the person hasn’t been caught.”

“Scary.” Once Sam thanked Edwardo, he and Jenna delivered the information about the latex mask to Phil, who promised to find out about the employees and their markings. They left Phil to track down evidence. They headed to the elevator. “What’s your next move?” she asked.

“To see if our guy had the tattoo done in Tampa. We find the parlor, we find a name.”

“Why not ask Phil to ask the cops to do the legwork?”

“I don’t know how much interaction you’ve had with the TPD, but finding a man with a tattoo might not be their highest priority. We need action.”

So the fine men, or women, in blue apparently did not rank high in his opinion. “The cops work fast when a killer’s on a loose, especially one who might be a serial killer.” She couldn’t let his slight go unchallenged.

“I’m not taking any chances. If you want to get something done right, do it yourself.”

She moved away from him. “What is it with you? Do you have to control every situation?” If so, she and Sam would never survive together.

Hold it. Is that what she wanted?

Before she could answer the question, he ran a finger down her face, and her anger flew away. “I want to find this guy so bad I can taste it. Time is not on our side. I won’t be able to sleep until he’s behind bars. If anything happened to you...”

She smiled at his depth of caring. “It won’t.”

Argument apparently forgotten, Sam pushed the down button. “Listen, I promise that if we find a name of someone with this tattoo, we’ll pass the info to the cops, and I’ll let them deal with this guy.”

Sounded fair. “Okay.”

The moment the elevator reached the first floor, she hit the number two button. He cocked a brow. “We’ll need to get a couple of addresses for all the tattoo parlors in Tampa—unless you know where they all are. Since I’ve investigated every inch of your delicious body and didn’t find a drop on ink anywhere, I’m guessing you’ve never even been to one.”

He winked. “Are you positive you’ve seen every square inch?”

“Maybe not.”

He leaned over and kissed her. Only when the doors opened did he end the magical contact.

Fifteen minutes later, Jenna and Sam were heading downtown. She waved the stack of paper. “There are more than twenty parlors here.”

“Look through them and see where you want to start.”

“If the killer is one of Deidra’s minions, he might have had the work done in Ybor. There are four of them on 7^th Avenue. I say it’s as good a place as any to start.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

At the first shop, they showed the owner the photo of the blurry tattoo. “Haven’t done one of those. I’ve only been in business a little more than a year, but I’ve seen the design though.”

“Who else might do this kind of work?”

“Anyone of the other artists in Ybor. You just have to ask around.”

Once outside, Jenna shielded her eyes against the bright sun. She put an X by that shop and headed to the Dog-Bone Tattoo Parlor.

Three artists, crowded around a table near the back of the store, were enjoying a smoke. The exchange of glances told her they thought they were tourists who must be in the wrong spot. Jenna slipped the paper from Sam’s fingers and strutted over to the only guy who didn’t look high.

“Help you?” The tall, beefy man stood and pulled up black jeans that were full of holes.

She flashed the photo. “This man is a killer. Have you seen this tattoo before?”

“You shittin’ me?”

“No.”

Holey Pants took the image over to his cohorts. The heavyset girl, with the thick, black eyeliner nodded. “Yeah, I did a tat like that maybe two, three years ago.”

“Guy got a name?”

She jutted out her hip. “If I could remember every client’s name, I’d be in Mensa.”

“Can you try? Please?” Jenna softened her tone, hoping the fact a killer was on the loose might appeal to her sense of duty.

She took a long drag on her cigarette, stamped it out, and stood. “Could take me a while to look through the records.”

“Thanks. We can wait.” Sam nodded.

Too edgy to stand still, Jenna scoped out the photographs that plastered the walls. Some people had tattoos on their faces and others had colored ink over every exposed surface of their bodies. Who would do that?

“Here it is.” The girl handed Jenna the receipt.

Crap. “He paid cash.” The receipt was dated three years ago.

“Many do.”

“There’s only a first name here.”

The girl shrugged and retrieved the paper. “Probably not his right name either. Some people like the anonymity. We’re cool with that.”

Sam stepped around Jenna. “This is only a partial photo.” He nodded to the paper Jenna held. “Do you remember the rest of it?”

“Sure. It’s common enough. Just a sec.” She ducked into the back room again and came out a minute later. “Here’s what the design looks like. It’s a medical staff.”

Now she recognized it. One of her friends wore a medical alert bracelet with the symbol on it. “Can I keep this picture?”

“Sure. Good luck in finding the creep. If only I’d known.”

Once outside, Jenna took in a cleansing breath. “I can’t take cigarette smoke any more.”

“Me too. What was the guy’s name again?”

“Joe. No last name.”

“That doesn’t narrow it down much. We need Carla.”

“Thanks for springing, me,” Carla said.

Gina had had the unfortunate job of breaking the news to Carla about Chance’s death. She’d held up well, Gina said, but now a deep sadness filled Carla’s eyes, nearly breaking Sam’s heart. He couldn’t bring himself to mention the same man who killed the hospital guard probably set the car explosion.

If they were to crack this case, however, Carla had to be involved. He’d explained how they needed to find the identity of the masked security guard killer. “You want to work from the lab or from home?”

Jenna shot Sam a stern look and leaned over Carla. “You don’t have to go back to work right now. The doctor said you’re supposed to be in bed for the next few weeks—resting, not working.”

Carla looked over Jenna’s shoulder to him. “I won’t be able to rest until this guy is caught. I’d prefer being at the lab, but I hope you don’t mind if I order a pizza? The hospital has nothing but healthy food, and I’m absolutely starving to death.”

Sam chuckled. “Order two and we can share.”

Jenna planted her hands on her hips as her mouth turned down into a cute little pout. “For the record, I’m not for Carla going back to work so soon.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Carla huffed out a friendly laugh. “Like you rested after you barely survived a burning house?”

Jenna clamped her mouth shut. “HOPEFAL it is.”

Carla used Jenna’s phone to place the food order as Sam wheeled her downstairs. Once she stood, she walked like she was eighty years old. He wished Jenna had been able to talk her out of going back to work.

“I promise I’ll be fine,” Carla said.

Once they arrived at the center, Seth greeted them from the front desk as Carla inched her way to the elevator. In her office, Sam leaned a hip on Carla’s desk. “Phil asking HR to find an employee who fits the bill of our killer, but I think you can do the work quicker.”

“I know how slow HR can be.” Carla huffed out a laugh and turned on her computer.

When her system booted up, she logged on. “Give me a sec to pull up the names of everyone who works here. Unfortunately, there’s no database or I could sort by nationality and height.”

Jenna leaned into him. “How many people work here?”

“Including maintenance, I’d say close to one hundred,” Carla answered. She glanced back at Sam. “You said he was about five foot ten, right?”

“From my best estimates. He could have worn lifts to make himself taller, but he couldn’t make himself look shorter.”

“I’m going to start with maintenance.” She typed away. “Does this Joe have a last name?”

“No,” Sam said.

Carla rolled her eyes as Jenna pulled up a chair. “But if he had a medical symbol on his arm, he’s either allergic to something or he could be a doctor.”

Carla groaned. “I’ll widen my search.”

The phone on her desk rang. She answered and then listened for a moment. “Great. I’ll send someone down.”

She turned around and smiled. “That was fast. Pizza’s here.” Her stomach grumbled. From her purse, she extracted a twenty-dollar bill. “Would one of you mind—”

Jenna grabbed the money. “I’ll go.” She waved a hand. “You two do your thing.”

Once Jenna left, Sam took Jenna’s chair. Carla clicked on the first male on the list. “John Abdulla.”

The job description listed him as chemist. “Any photo?”

“No.”

“Height? Age?”

“Can’t put that stuff on an application.”

Sam leaned back in his chair. “Maybe we can ask the heads of each of the divisions to tell us who matches the description. Who’s the head of maintenance?”

Her fingernails scurried over the keys. “Terrance Muley.”

“Does it say if he’s working now?”

“He should be. His office is on the first floor. But let’s have lunch first. Then you can find Joe with the medical tattoo.”

Jenna bounced in a moment later, and the aroma of cheese and pepperoni filled the small office. Carla cleared an area on the side table and Jenna set down the box. “Here’s your twenty back. The pizza was just sitting on the guard’s station. Maybe Seth paid the guy. After I eat, I’ll bring him the money.”

Sam lifted the lid and his hands froze.