"What are you-?"

His mouth was on hers so fast and hard that she didn't have time to catch her breath. It was beyond a kiss-it was a verdict, a claim, an assault-and he tasted like beer and hot dogs and something else, something powerfully male.

Audie was dizzy. Her head hurt. She was crying. And she felt her body catch fire. She took a quick gulp of air and then gave as good as she got, even as it began to go black around her.

She couldn't help it-if it was the last thing she ever did in her life, she had to open her mouth to this man and take everything he could give her. She pressed hard against him now, clutched at his back, felt his moan fill her mouth and his hands tug on her disheveled hair.

Not a word was exchanged between them, and all Audie wanted was the pushing and seeking and taking. She wrapped her legs around his waist and grabbed the back of his neck. She was suffocating. She had to have more of him. She was blacking out…

"Yo, Romeo and Juliet. This is a family neighborhood." A uniformed officer stood on the sidewalk next to them, trying to hide his amusement with a serious frown.

When Quinn pulled his lips from hers in surprise, Audie lost consciousness. She fell backward in his arms, her head hanging limp.

The patrol officer tensed.

"Area Three Violent Crimes Detective Stacey Quinn," he said, out of breath. "My badge is in my jacket pocket. I can't reach it."

The officer still frowned. "Then you might want to ascertain if you just killed your girlfriend, sir."

Quinn nodded. He rolled with Audie until she lay back in the grass. He pulled out his badge and flipped it open, then put it back in his pocket, all the while running his fingers along her scalp.

"She hit her head on the sidewalk," Quinn said, leaning over her.