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Calix wasn’t expecting the knock on his door later that night. He was busy going over the case, poring through the personal files of all the medical staff who’d attended the wedding on Vitality. There still wasn’t proof any of them were involved, especially since another member of the staff had been arrested at the shuttleport for a different murder, one that didn’t fit their serial killer’s M.O.

Figuring it was Troya, he opened the door without bothering to check through the peephole, mind still elsewhere, and froze when his eyes met bubblegum pink ones.

“Surprise.” Aodhan beamed and held up a paper bag. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything—That’s a lie. I sincerely hope I am. I figured you were holed away here working and hadn’t remembered to call room service for dinner. Am I right?”

Dinner?

“What time is it?” Cal’s eyes widened when he checked his multi-slate and saw it was close to midnight.

“Are you going to let me in, Detective?”

“Oh.” He stepped aside and motioned for him to enter, closing the door and following as Aodhan brought the paper bag to the kitchen and set it down on the small table.

“I knew if I called ahead, you’d tell me not to come, so I had to guess what you might be in the mood for,” Aodhan said as he moved about, grabbing plates from the cabinet directly over the sink and silverware from the door closest to the fridge. “Hopefully, I got it right.”

“Are you sure this isn’t your room?” Cal asked, taking a seat at the table while the doctor took out two Styrofoam containers and started arranging everything.

Aodhan chuckled. “I’ve been here a few times. Does it show? This hotel is closer to the hospital than my place.”

“Is that why you came?” Cal couldn’t help but wonder, gaze sweeping over Aodhan’s clothing. “Did you just get off work?”

He was dressed in black pants and a navy button-up, but there was no sign of his white lab coat. If he was tired from a rigorous day of saving lives one heart at a time, he didn’t show it, brightly smiling at Calix as he set the table.

“Do you want the beef or the sed?” Aodhan presented both plates, each coming with their own sides.

“Whichever.”

“You have to pick.”

“It’s really fine. I like both options.”

“Pick, Cal.” There was a firmness to his voice despite his friendly expression never wavering, and Calix felt a zap of something hot and primal shoot down his spine.

He slid the plate with the beef over to himself, dipping his head in the hopes he could hide the way his cheeks were heating. Something about the doctor had a tendency to do this to him, get this type of reaction with very little prompting.

Ever since that night when the two of them had made out and he’d felt how possessive and in control the doctor’s touches could be, Cal had been unable to shake himself out of this stupor.

“Should we talk about the party?” The doctor asked suddenly.

He choked, accepted the can of soda Aodhan offered him, and downed half the contents in a few swallows. “What?”

“The party? You said you wanted to talk about it, remember?” Aodhan gave him a funny look but then shrugged. “I figured we might as well get the business portion of the evening out of the way first, don’t you think? It’s disappointing you weren’t able to get anything while you were there.”

“I’m sorry I left you,” he blurted, internally scolding himself for coming off like a guilty child. “I mean…”

“I told you to go,” Aodhan reminded, brow furrowing slightly. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. I am curious, though, why haven’t you told Bruce anything? I was expecting him to show up at my door the next morning, demanding to know what I’ve gotten myself involved in, so imagine my surprise when days have passed and still nothing.”

“If he knows about the sort of shit that goes on in his city, right under his nose, he’ll be obsessed with figuring out how to put a stop to it, and I need him to remain focused on this case,” Calix said. It wasn’t entirely false. That was part of the reason he’d kept it all to himself.

But not the major reason.

“Really?” It was hard to tell if the doctor believed him, but he didn’t push the issue. “I ended up hearing something later on that night. A woman was laughing with some other people, bragging about how many heads she’s gotten. It could be nothing—you saw it yourself, everyone there is crazy—but it could be worth looking into. The problem is I didn’t get her name and I couldn’t see her face with the mask on.”

Cal frowned. “Basically, there’s no way to find her even if she is who I’m after.”

“I’ll keep my ears peeled,” he told him. “There’s another party happening at the end of the month. Who knows, maybe she’ll be there. If she is, I’ll recognize her voice for sure.”

“You heard her that well?”

“Loud and clear.”

At least that was something, even if it was a small, mostly useless something.

“Have you been feeling guilty, Detective? Is that why you’ve been avoiding me?”

“I haven’t. I’ve just been busy.”

“There’s no reason for you to feel bad about going. I’m glad you didn’t stick around,” Aodhan said. “Things got intense for a while there. A potent aphrodisiac was released. They didn’t even clean the showroom before Act Two began.”

“Act Two?” Cal assumed the showroom was the glass box.

“Yeah, there was a live sex performance. You recall the woman who was sitting next to you that night? She found someone who was interested. A man in a black mask fucked her on the floor in the merman’s blood. I doubt that’s your sort of thing, so—”

“Why would you think that?” Calix interrupted, and that internal voice of his cursed him yet again for not keeping his big mouth shut.

Aodhan laughed, then seemed to realize he wasn’t joking. “Come on, seriously?”

“Are you not into that sort of thing?”

“I am,” he replied without hesitation. “What? Did you think I’d beat around the bush? Why should I? We’re both adults, and neither of us is a virgin.”

“I’ve never told you I’ve had sex before.”

“You have,” Aodhan said confidently. “No virgin would be able to allude to being into blood play as straight-faced as you just did. You surprise me, Detective. In a good way. Maybe you’re sad you missed Act Two after all.” His gaze roamed down his chest, and he licked his lips suggestively. “You know, I could always tell you about it.”

“Are you…hitting on me?” Calix blinked.

“Have you really not noticed how badly I want you?” Aodhan chuckled. “Wow, Cal. I’m not sure if I should be insulted or not. Here I thought I was being obvious, pulling out all the stops by bringing you dinner and asking you about your day.”

“You haven’t asked me that.”

“Not yet. I was working up to it.” He set his elbows on the table and propped his chin on them. “How was your day, Detective? Do anything fun? Think of me naked at all?”

Cal choked on another bite, but this time, he glared across the table at the doctor as he chugged the rest of his drink.

Aodhan merely laughed harder. “I’m going to choose to take that as a yes.”

“Have you thought of me naked?” he countered, realizing too late he was flustered.

“Yes,” Aodhan replied. “I’m doing it right now, in fact.”

“You’re—” Calix couldn’t bring himself to say it, clamping his mouth shut. Then, because he really must hate himself, he ended up stating, “I’m leaving once I solve this case. I’m not staying on planet.”

“Relax,” he continued to smile, “this isn’t a marriage proposal. I’m attracted to you. I like you. I’d like to be inside of you. That’s all.”

“Oh, is that all.”

“You’d like it, too.” His grin widened, turning wolfish. “Promise. What do you say, Detective?”

“Say?”

“About me getting inside of you.”

“Aren’t you moving kind of fast?” Cal asked.

“Not at all.” Aodhan stood. “You aren’t planning on sticking around long, remember? I’ve got to make the most of the time you’ll give me. So?” He stepped around the table, stopping at Calix’s side so he was forced to tip his head to maintain eye contact with the doctor. “Would you like me to tell you about Act Two, or,” he dropped one hand to the back of Cal’s chair, the other to the table, blocking him in, “would you like me to give you a demonstration?”

Cal’s eyes narrowed. “You think I’ll turn you down.”

“Aren’t you planning on it?” he countered, the challenge clear as day.

He should, because getting involved with their liaison wasn’t professional. It was risky.

“You obviously don’t know me very well,” he found himself saying, flattening a hand against the center of Aodhan’s chest before shoving him away. Cal stood and followed, keeping his palm against the doctor all the while, pushing him until they’d entered the living room area of the suite.

Calix retreated once they were there, putting a few feet of space between them, and then started to undress. He took his time with it, enjoying the way Aodhan’s pink gaze tracked his movements as he stripped out of his tan bomber jacket and then lifted his white t-shirt over his head.

He didn’t hear the other man move, so he wasn’t prepared for Aodhan’s hands on his belt, unsnapping the leather and yanking it free before Cal had gotten the shirt fully over his head. He gasped when those frantic fingers tugged on the waistband of his white jeans, helping him out of the rest of his clothes in a flash of motion that should have given him whiplash.

The next thing he knew, Aodhan had him sprawled out on the couch, naked and trembling.

When the doctor’s mouth found his, he moaned against his lips, sucking down his hot breath along with his tongue. Electricity buzzed through him, sparking across his skin straight to his balls and he felt his dick twitch to life.

“It was like role play,” Aodhan breathed against him as he spoke, nipping at him between words. “That night? Act Two? She turned that man in the black mask into putty in her hand. Made him submissive and docile. Willing to do anything to please her. Can you do that, Cal? Do you still want to?”

“Want to play?” He gripped the base of Aodhan’s skull and tugged him in close so he could feast on his mouth for another minute before letting him go long enough to growl, “Yes. Yes, Doctor. I want to play with you.”

A sound of desire rumbled out of Aodhan, and the look in his eyes shifted to something darker. Something that might have frightened Calix—or at the very least warned him off—if he were in any other circumstance.

As it were, his dick was too hard and he was already too drunk on the other man to notice a damn thing.