I stared at him, eyes wide. I’d never heard him say so much, all at one time, in my life. And I’d known him my entire life.
“How often do your men get shot?” I asked.
“Shot at, too often. Shot, luckily, rarely.”
I wanted to ask how often he got shot at or had been shot. I wanted to ask but I didn’t want to know the answer. So I didn’t ask.
“Smart decision,” he murmured. He was in my brain. Again.
“I do get scared,” I whispered, “you scare me.”
His eyes crinkled.
“That’s the best thing I’ve heard in a week.”
I was stunned.
“That you scare me?”
His mouth brushed mine.
“If I scare you, then you care. I’m the same Lee, just older and smarter. You love me, eventually your wall will come down and you’ll admit it to yourself and then you’ll admit it to me.”
Jeez, he was so cocky.
His hands started moving on me and he began to nuzzle my neck again.
Apparently our little drama was over.
“I don’t think I’m done being pissed at you,” I told him.
“That’s okay,” he said against my ear, “I can still make love to you when you’re angry.”
Unbelievably cocky.
“I don’t think so,” I said.
His hand went between my legs, his fingers executing a delicious little swirl that was just enough pressure to get my attention but light enough to make me want more.
Bastard.
I opened my legs a bit, I couldn’t help it.
He kissed me as reward.
“I promised to show you who I was, which mostly you know, today you’ll learn more,” he said when he was nuzzling my neck again. I was kind of listening but his fingers were exerting more pressure and doing some more swirl action so I was finding it hard. “And I promised to tell you what I wanted and give you time to decide.”
Oh no, this wasn’t fair.
I’d opened my legs further and the swirling was getting serious. I was running my hands up his back and had my face shoved in his neck. There was no way I could process important discussion.
“Can we…” I panted, “talk about this later?”
I thought he agreed, he slid between my legs and entered me.
Nice, very, very nice.
He started to move.
“I want you in my house, in my bed. I want you to move in by the weekend.”
My eyes were closed but they flew open and I saw he was looking at me.
I still wanted to take our relationship slow, he was talking hyper-drive.
I could not deal with this, not now. He hadn’t stopped moving and he felt good inside me.
I wrapped my arms and legs around him, sliding a hand in his hair.
“Lee…”
I didn’t intend to say anything else, just shut him up so I could concentrate.
“Jesus,” he buried his face in my neck, “there’s nothin’ better in the world than hearin’ you say my name when I’m inside you.” He slid in deep, filling me. “I’ve been waitin’ years to be right here.”
Holy crap.
His mouth was at my ear.
“I could be on assignment, in a desert as hot as an oven, in a jungle as close as fuck and sometimes I’d get through it dreamin’ of you sayin’ my name like that.”
Holy crap, crap, crap.
“I’ll move in by the weekend,” I said.
He lifted his head and smiled.
Fucking Lee.
I was in the bathroom swiping on makeup.
The bruise on my cheek was nearly gone and my mental body checkup declared only slight aches and pains after a day of no mishaps (and a night and morning of great sex which apparently was an effective muscle relaxant). I was thinking my luck was turning as yesterday, outside of finally doing it with Lee, my adventures only included one dead body which fortunately wasn’t mine. Therefore good and bad instead of all bad.
Then Lee walked into the bathroom wearing just the faded navy sweat-shorts.
I glanced at him in the mirror and tried to tamp down my panic.
In the heat of the moment, I’d agreed to move in.
Okay, so it was more about what he said than the heat of the moment, but I’d still agreed to move in.
Further, I’d just noticed something I hadn’t really taken in the night before. Judy had given me a makeup drawer in Lee’s bathroom vanity.
It was all too much.
He slid a fresh mug o’ java on the vanity counter and put my cell beside it.
“Your phone’s beeping,” he said.
I moved aside to make room as he prepared to shave. I took a sip of coffee and let my mind run wild.
Dear Lord in heaven, I was putting on makeup and Lee was shaving, at the same time, in the same room, after having sex, lots of sex, even sex in this very room!
I stood, frozen to the spot, and stared at him.
He lathered his cheeks with a thin gel and his eyes slid to the side. He checked me out from their corners.
“Something wrong?”
“I’m not really a bathroom sharer,” I informed him.
He looked back in the mirror and continued doing exactly what he was doing.
“Honey, it’s good you’re gorgeous or you’d be a pain in the ass.”
Well, I’m so sure.
I grabbed my phone, looked at the display and saw seven missed calls.
Yikes.
How did that happen?
I called my voicemail while I leaned as best I could on my half of the vanity (I had to admit, it was a big vanity… maybe I was being a bit of a wuss) and swept mascara on my lashes.
Four voicemails.
First up, Willie Moses.
“Indy, Willie… call me.”
Hmm.
Second, Marianne.
“I know Ally said it’s none of my business but give me a break, I live with my parents, I don’t have a life. Yours is better and I want to know everything. Let’s meet at The Hornet tonight if you can guarantee we won’t get shot at.”
Yikes.
Third, Stevie.
“Well? How’d it go? Don’t forget Chowleena, I’ll be leaving just before noon. Tod will be home tomorrow, early, so if you still have her for a sleep over, just leave a note. Kisses.”
Fourth, Duke (who obviously was talking before being given the beep).
“… ass in here or I’m gonna kill him.”
I poked myself in the eye with the mascara wand.
“Holy crap,” I said.
“That looked like it hurt.”
I was blinking fiercely, my eye was tearing up, making my other eye tear up and I was trying to see my phone to replay Duke’s message.
Lee tore off some toilet paper, handed it to me and took the phone.