He was about to open the shop doors when an e-mail alert popped up on his screen, making him frown. Eric, you sly dog. He’d made a rather sizable bank-card purchase of a specific amount, $1,322.65, but to whom? He quickly logged on to Eric’s account.
Air France. Dumbass. And only one ticket. He wondered how Albert would take that news. He logged out and stowed his laptop beneath the counter.
The bell on the door jingled, signaling his first customers of the day. “Good morning. How can I help you?”
Tuesday, September 21, 7:50 a.m.
Fell asleep in the Gorskis’ garden again, David thought groggily, breathing in the scent of flowers. Sweet, but a little smoky. Abruptly he woke, realizing in the same moment that he sat on Olivia’s sofa and that she was straddling him, her hands in his hair and her mouth busy on his. Arousal smacked him like a club and his hands streaked under her shirt, roaming her back, drawing her throaty murmur of approval.
In a flash he had her on her back, her surprised laugh breaking into a strangled groan when his mouth found her breast through her thin cotton blouse.
“God. Don’t stop.” Her hands pulled his head closer. “Please.” It was a gasp as her body arched like a bow, the staccato jerks of her hips against him begging for more.
His blood pounding in his head, he yanked at the buttons on her blouse. “Hurry,” was all she said as he managed the front clasp of her bra.
Mine, was all he could think as his mouth closed over her breast again, sucking hard as she twisted against him, making reality out of what had been a damn frustrating vague recollection. He pulled at the button on her waistband, unzipped her slacks and, his own hand shaking, touched her and groaned. She was wet, dripping wet.
He worked a finger up into her, her little whimper of relief stoking the fire in his blood. God. She was tight. Wet and tight and he wanted nothing more than to drive himself into her, feel her around him. But he’d fucked up twice before and he wasn’t going to make it three times. When he took her, it would be the right way. Slow and sensual, so that she’d have no doubts about being first string.
But now… now her hips were lifting, reaching. Needing. Needing me.
“David. Please.” The harsh plea made him smile fiercely as he took her other breast into his mouth, suckling as he worked her higher. The cries coming from her throat sounded exactly as they had in his dreams. He added a second finger to the first, pressed his thumb hard against her and she wrapped her arms around his head, pulling him closer to her breast as she went taut, completely silent as she came.
Her breath came shuddering out and she collapsed. In his pocket, his cell phone buzzed three times. His alarm clock. Her body tightened and he knew she’d felt it, too.
“Good morning, Olivia,” he murmured and she laughed breathlessly.
“Oh God.”
Ignoring the throbbing of his own body, he took the time to admire what he’d enjoyed. Her breasts were full, round. Perfect. Her skin was pale, flawless. Except for the red areas his beard had scratched. He kissed those places, softly. “I was rough.”
Eyes still closed, she hummed contentedly. “I liked it.”
“I’ll shave next time.”
Her knuckles slid across his jaw. “I liked it. I like this. Makes you look like a pirate.”
He smiled at that. “Open your eyes.” She did and in them he saw sensual satisfaction. “You’re beautiful.”
Her eyes flickered, surprising him. “So are you.”
He pressed a kiss to the valley between her breasts. “You were wet,” he murmured.
“I was dreaming. Then there you were.” Her eyes grew troubled. “But you didn’t…”
“Not yet. There isn’t enough room or enough time for me to do what I want to you.”
He could see the pulse pound at the hollow of her throat. “To me?”
“To you.” He kissed her mouth, then nipped her lower lip lightly. “With you, for you. In you.” He brushed his lips over her throat. “I didn’t get to that last time, did I?”
“No. I, um, then you… fell asleep.”
He winced. “I’ve got a lot to make up for. Good thing I’ve got fantasies saved up.”
She shivered. “Like what?”
“Most are better shown than told, but there is one… No. I don’t know if I should tell you. You might never sit at your desk the same way again.”
He could feel her pulse hammering. “Just tell me it doesn’t involve handcuffs or butter,” she said and he laughed softly.
“No butter.”
“But handcuffs?”
“Mmm. And your Hat Squad fedora. And my very big bed with the wrought-iron headboard. And nothing else.”
“How cliché.” Her cheeks were red as flame.
“But effective.”
She swallowed hard. “When?”
“Tonight would be good.”
“I don’t know when I’ll be done.”
“That’s okay. I’ve waited this long, I can wait a little longer.” He slid back down, resting his head between her breasts. It felt right. Comfortable. Like he belonged.
For a long moment she was quiet, her fingers toying with his hair, then she sighed. “I have to get up and shower. Go into work. It’s not going to be a fun day.”
He wondered what would make one day as a homicide detective less fun than any other. He thought all the days would pretty well suck, which was why he respected her for doing it every day. “Why not?”
“The girl you pulled out of the condo? Her mother comes today and she’ll want to see her. I hate that part.”
He’d thought of it, wondered how she and the other cops managed it. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too. But I do have to get up, and as good as you feel, you’ve got me pinned.”
David made himself move, rising from the sofa and pulling her up with him. “I don’t have to report back to the firehouse until tomorrow morning at eight. I’m at the dojo till nine tonight, but if you get done before then, call me and I’ll bow out early. Otherwise, I’ll be at my apartment house, probably picking out carpet with my mom.”
She pulled the edges of her blouse together self- consciously. “I met your mom at the wedding. Mia thinks the sun rises and sets on her.” She was halfway up the hall when she turned. “Did you say dojo?”
Paige. Had she said anything? “Yeah, I go a few times a week.”
She tilted her head, considering. “You told me about that, back in Chicago. You were a brown belt then. You helped with karate classes for the kids at the local Y.”
That she’d remembered made him feel foolishly proud. “I made black belt last year.”
She smiled at him. “And you still work with the kids?”
“Yeah. It gives a kid confidence he might not get anywhere else. And teaches them how to protect themselves.” Sometimes from the very people who are supposed to protect them. If Megan had been protected…
“My friend Paige teaches a self-defense class for women at the Y. I should introduce the two of you. I have to jump in the shower now or I’m going to be late. Can you take Mojo out in the backyard?”
He watched the bathroom door close and snapped his fingers for the dog to follow. Out on her patio, he dug his cell from his pocket and called Paige.
“You didn’t tell her,” he snapped when she picked up.
“Where are you, David?” Paige asked cautiously.
“On Olivia’s patio. You said you’d tell her we were friends and you didn’t.”
“Why are you on Liv’s patio? I thought she dumped you.”
“She thought so, too, but I managed to change her mind.”
“Oh. Exactly how far did you change her mind?”
He thought of Olivia going taut in his arms and clenched his teeth against a new wave of need. Not nearly far enough. “None of your business,” he said. “Look, she offered to introduce us and I didn’t know what to say. Now what?”
“I tried last night, but she was so mad,” Paige said miserably. “I was about to blurt it out when she got called to that fire. I thought you were history, and I had more time.”
“Well, I’m not and you don’t.” At least he hoped he wasn’t. She hadn’t taken kindly to his watching her and he couldn’t really blame her. “I’ll tell her.”