“Do we have enough on him yet?” she asked, her tone showing her frustration and annoyance.
“Did he make another pass at you?” Dave asked calmly.
Stevie looked up at him sharply, her jaw tightening. “What makes you say that?”
“Are you saying he hasn’t made a pass at you?”
“Hundreds of them,” Stevie replied shortly, dropping her eyes from his.
“And today he made another one,” Dave said, as if completing her sentence. He studied her face. “And this time he didn’t want to take no for an answer.” His eyes narrowed even as he said the words.
Stevie looked up at him again, clearly surprised that he seemed to know. Finally, she blew her breath out in a frustrated sigh, shaking her head. “No, he didn’t.”
Dave nodded, as if accepting that he’d been right. “This is getting dangerous now.” It was a statement, and Stevie could see his mind churning. His blue eyes pierced hers then. “Do you want out?”
She was taken aback by the question, and she could see that he was serious. But Dave knew her answer even before she gave it, because her jaw tightened, like a physical manifestation of her tightening resolve. “No.”
Dave grinned, giving her a nod of respect. They went on to discuss the business dealings he was arranging with Tiempo, when they’d arrange the buy, and how Dave intended to take Tiempo down once and for all. Three hours later, Stevie left.
Dave was half asleep when the intercom for his front door sounded. Reaching up sleepily, he depressed the button. “Yeah?”
“Dibbs, it’s me,” came Stevie’s voice. Dave recognized the tension in it immediately, as well as the fact that she’d called him Dibbs. He knew there was trouble.
“Hey,” he said smoothly. “Come on in.” He pressed the unlock button even as he made sure his firearm was secure under his pillow. Sitting up and drawing on a shirt, he waited for her. He wasn’t altogether surprised when Tiempo pushed her into the room, with two of his men behind them.
“What’s goin’ on?” Dave asked, looking dumbfounded, his eyes lingering on Stevie almost sensually. He already had an idea of what this was about; he was going to play it to the hilt.
“Well,” Stevie said, her eyes locking with Dave’s, “Tiempo saw me leaving here earlier, and he’s a little put out. He thinks there’s something going on.” Her smile was knowing.
Dave pretended to drag his eyes away from Stevie’s to look at Tiempo, then put on an expression of chagrin. “Hey, man, I didn’t know she was your piece.”
“What are you talking about?” Tiempo practically spat. “She works for me. I want to know what the fuck is going on.”
Again Dave let his eyes trail over to Stevie’s, a grin playing at his lips. “Just what’s natural between a man and a woman…”
“Bullshit. She said she didn’t know you before the other day,” Tiempo said stridently. He didn’t like being played.
“She didn’t,” Dave said, his grin wide. “We got to know each other the other night when she came to check me out.”
“Puta!” Tiempo spat, shoving Stevie toward Dave. “I don’t believe it!”
Stevie caught herself before she could fall with surprising agility, moving to sit on the bed next to Dave. “What, you want some kind of proof?” she said, her tone scornful, even taunting.
Tiempo’s eyes burned as he looked back at Stevie, his anger almost tangible. He thought he was being played by two cons; he wasn’t convinced they were sexually involved. “Yes, I do,” he muttered threateningly.
Stevie’s mouth dropped open in shock, then turned into a sneer as she looked back at Tiempo in disgust. “I will not be ordered to prove something just because your male ego can’t take the—”
Her voice cut off as Dave’s hand closed around a handful of her hair, pulling her around as his lips covered hers in a kiss that started out fierce then melted into hungry passion. He grasped her waist, dragging her body close to his, as his lips made a sensual exploration of hers, licking seductively at her lips, coaxing a moan from her. Stevie molded herself to his body, forgetting everyone in the room. He held her close, pressing her against his chest, her hands sliding over his arms and up around his neck, into his hair, to pull him closer, closer. Losing herself in the kiss, in the strong, sensual feeling of his lips against hers, his tongue hot and wet, plunging into her mouth and withdrawing, mimicking the act of joining their bodies, making her moan again at the thought.
The sudden absence of his lips left her gasping for breath, her face pressed against his neck, as Dave looked up at Tiempo, slightly short of breath himself. Stevie could feel his heart pounding under her hand, which rested on his chest. She heard him talking and tuned in to what he was saying.
“…women just can’t shut up long enough to deal with things, you know?” Dave’s voice held humor, but was husky, showing the effects of the kiss he’d just given her. Was he faking it? Stevie found herself wondering as she pressed her lips against his neck, pretending for Tiempo’s sake but also wanting to affect him as he had so easily affected her. She felt Dave glance down at her, his neck muscles flexing at the movement. She could almost picture his lewd grin as he said, “Now, if you gentleman will leave, so we can finish what we started…”
Tiempo and his men made a hasty retreat. It was obvious that Tiempo wasn’t happy about this turn of events. Better that than thinking Stevie and Dave were playing him.
The silence in the room seemed to expand in the moments that followed Tiempo’s exit. Stevie found she couldn’t lift her head to look up at Dave; it was like she was frozen. After a few moments, she felt him pull away, his left hand at her waist as he leaned back to look down at her.
“Hey,” he said softly
She lifted her head, not sure what she’d see on his face. She saw concern.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice still slightly husky. He had only leaned back a few inches when she lifted her head. Her lips were very close to his chin; if he lowered his head just an inch their lips would meet again. She found she couldn’t look away as she nodded slightly.
“Do you…” she stammered, trying to find a way to lighten the mood. “Do you kiss all your women like that?”
A grin tugged at his lips as he looked down into her eyes. “Are you complaining?” His voice held humor, even as she saw the heat still burning in his eyes.
“Well, no,” she said, willing him to lower his head, wanting him to so much. “I just thought that if this was just for show…” She let her voice trail off as she wet her lips with her tongue. His eyes followed the movement as he tilted his chin down ever so slightly to do so.
“Well, it was for show,” he said, his voice dropping to a deep whisper. “But it was the real thing.” On the last, his lips lowered to within a hair’s breadth of hers. She could feel his breath on her lips.
“But they’re gone now,” she whispered, her breath coming quicker.
“Yes, they are,” he replied, his lips brushing hers.
Stevie shivered at the effect he was having on her senses. She’d had no idea he could be so sensual. “You could kiss me again anyway,” she said, throwing all pretense and caution to the wind.
Dave didn’t answer for a long moment, drawing back slightly to look searchingly into her eyes. Stevie could feel his answer coming before he even started to speak, and became determined to change it before he could finish.
“I could, but—” was all he got out before her lips pressed against his, her tongue slipping between them to lick his lips as he had hers. Dave knew he was lost then, and gave in to the desire he’d been harboring since the first time he’d met her. Stevie found herself engulfed in his passion, and in moments was swept up in it with him.
Afterward, Stevie was sure she’d never get her heart to stop pounding. Her body was still shuddering in little aftershocks of what he’d made her feel. As she lay against him, she began to think he was like some kind of drug; she’d heard that certain drugs could enh
ance one’s orgasm, but she was sure she’d just experienced that without needing chemicals. She’d always had a very adventurous sex life. She’d grown up with the belief that she would take everything in life that she could get. Incredible sex was one of the things she didn’t hesitate to pursue. Dave Dibbins had certainly delivered in that arena.
Propping herself up on one elbow, she looked down at him. He was lying on his back, his left arm under her and wrapped around her waist, keeping her close. His other hand rested on his chest. She lay on her side, her body pressed along the length of his. Her auburn hair swept over his shoulder as she leaned over him, falling across her face. His eyes were closed, but he opened them when he felt her hair on his chest. They regarded each other for a long moment, then a grin tugged at his lips.
“Lost that battle, didn’t I?” he said lightly.
“Definitely,” she said, grinning down at him. “But I have to say, you did so rather admirably.”
He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Admirably?” he repeated, as if testing the sound of the word. “I don’t think I’ve heard that one before.” His grin was infectious then, and Stevie laughed, dropping her head to his shoulder to kiss his skin.
When she pulled back she looked at his shoulder and noted the thin scar there. She traced her nail over it. “What’s this from?”
Dave glanced down. “Gunshot at a raid,” he answered easily.
Stevie widened her eyes at him. “Shot in the line of duty,” she murmured, lowering her mouth again to his shoulder, kissing the scar then trailing up to his neck.
He made a contented “mmm” sound in the back of his throat.
Again she pulled away, looking down at his cross. “Religious?” she asked. That didn’t fit what little she thought she knew about him.
He grinned. “Nope. I bought that cross with my first real drug money.”
“Really, now?” Stevie said, looking appropriately surprised.
Dave shrugged. “A long time ago I ran a gang that sold drugs. I wised up with some help and straightened myself out. Now I do this. The cross is a reminder of where I came from.”
Stevie gave him a measured look. She remembered hearing that he’d been part of the renowned gang task force started by Midnight Chevalier. She realized she’d always assumed he’d been law enforcement the whole time. A new dimension to Sergeant Dave Dibbins, the country’s best narc.
He reached up to brush her hair back, and she saw the tattoo on his arm. Again she was surprised. She moved closer to him so that she could see it better. The tattoo was a Celtic cross outlined in black, with red lines within the borders. Vertically down the center of the cross, in an Old English–looking font was the word Apostles. Under the cross, in bold, graffiti-like script outlined in black and filled in with blue and yellow, was I. B. Bad Boys.
“Your gang?” she asked as she traced her finger over the letters.
Dave nodded.
“I. B. Bad Boys?”
He shrugged. “That’s what we were.”
“You were a bad boy?” Stevie asked, grinning.
His expression was impassive, but there was a mischievous glint in his eyes as he said, “Still am.”
“Yes?” she said, staring into his eyes.
“Oh yes,” he replied, pulling her down to him, and his lips took possession of hers again. He made love to her, just as intensely as before, but he took his time this time. Hours later he lay half over her, his left leg and arm thrown over her possessively.
A shrill ring roused them from sleep. Dave sat up and reached over to his nightstand for his cell phone.
“This is my undercover line, so don’t say anything, okay?” he said, glancing at Stevie as he pushed the button.
She lay watching him as he talked, fascinated by his ever-changing persona.
“Dibbs,” he answered. A pause. “Yeah?” Another pause, his eyes flicking to hers. “No—no, that wasn’t the deal.” His finger tapped his leg in agitation even as his voice remained calm. “He said ten—twelve wasn’t the deal.” Anger sparked in his eyes, his hand clenching in a fist. “The product is shit, I won’t pay twelve for it,” he spat. Then it was as if something clicked in his head, and he closed his eyes. His chest expanded as he took a deep breath through his nose, then blew it out silently through parted lips and moved his neck around as if working out a kink. He unclenched his fist, extending his long fingers as if stretching them. She could almost feel him calm down.
He opened his eyes, training them on a point across the room but not seeing anything there. When he spoke again his voice oozed casual arrogance. “Hey, look, if he wants to charge twelve he can just find another buyer. I hear Miami’s nice this time of year.” Another long pause, a grin tugging at his lips. “Yeah, ten-five might be doable. I’ll let you know.” A few polite “goodbye”s and “I’ll call you”s and he hung up. He reached over, putting the phone back on the nightstand, then lay down next to Stevie, noticing as he did that she was still watching him avidly.
“What?” he asked, grinning at her.
“Damn…” she said, shaking her head.
He looked perplexed. “What?”
“What was that?”
Dave glanced over at the phone then back at her. “That was me almost losing a deal I’ve been setting up for over six months now.”
“You actually lose deals?” Stevie asked disbelievingly.
Dave gave her a puzzled grin. “Some.”
“But not that one.”
“Not that one.”
Her eyes searched his face for a long moment. “Do you realize what a mass of contradictions you are, Dave Dibbins? I just don’t get you.”
Instead of answering her, he leaned over and kissed her again. His lips moved from hers to her cheek, then to her ear, where he whispered, “I get me.” She shivered as his teeth grazed her earlobe, and then his lips made their way down her neck. Soon after that she forgot everything but the way he made her body feel. Neither of them got much sleep that night.
Chapter 5
The morning after her meeting with Chief Chevalier, Rhiannon Templeton got into her office at the regular time of 7:30 a.m. She was surprised to find Christian Collins already hard at work at his computer. While Christian didn’t work for her, he worked with her handling property, although his main responsibility was the maintenance of the inventory system and more recently the consulting work for other departments. On this particular morning, however, she noted he was busily working on entering property information into the computer system—something that was normally her job.
San Diego Police Department was increasing its budget every year. This directly affected Rhiannon’s job, in that more property was being purchased, which meant she was required to track more and more equipment. Midnight Chevalier-Debenshire had wisely split the property job into two sections, creating an extra position. One position handled evidence, cataloging it, monitoring the chain of custody, and so on. Rhiannon had ended up with the daunting task of handling the fixed assets for the department, both expendable items like car batteries, film, ammunition, flex cuffs, and the like, and non-expendables, like cars, guns, computers, batons, and flashlights.
Christian had designed the inventory system she worked with, and so he was invaluable to her as a problem solver. She’d been surprised at first when she’d met him. He was strikingly handsome—he seemed like he should be in movies or something, not some computer person in a police department. As it turned out, Christian was very down to earth. Even though he was fully aware of his looks and the impact they had on people, he wasn’t conceited. He exuded a confidence that was magnetic, but Rhiannon could never detected any kind of egotistical nature in him. In the end, she found she couldn’t help but like him.
Since Jason’s death, Rhiannon had changed a great deal. Whereas she had been a very outgoing, open, happy person when her husband was alive, she was closed off and introverted now. She spent a lot of time alone, in silence. She didn’t even listen to the ra
dio anymore, because she always found herself listening to the classic rock stations her husband had liked so much, hearing songs that ripped through her heart with a flood of memories. She rarely, if ever, saw friends from her past, because they held too many memories for her as well. Very few people caught glimpses of the woman Rhiannon Templeton had been three years before—but Christian Collins was one of those few.
“What are you doing here so early?” she asked, sitting down at her desk and reaching over to turn on her own computer.
“Working,” Christian said, grinning.
“You do that?” Rhiannon replied with a smile.
“Sometimes. When the mood takes me.”
Rhiannon glanced over at the stack of paperwork sitting next to him at the terminal. “And your mood told you to work on my stuff today?”
Christian grinned sheepishly. “You looked swamped.”
“I am swamped!” Rhiannon said, rolling her eyes. “But that’s not your job, Blue—it’s mine.”
“I’m property too, and you needed help.”
“Yes, but—”
“No buts,” Christian cut in smoothly. “Don’t worry about it—I’m all caught up.”
Rhiannon narrowed her eyes. She knew that his workload, although totally different from hers, was just as heavy. Finally she shook her head, realizing she wouldn’t get him to admit that he was just helping her to help her. “Well, whatever—thank you,” she said, then asked, “What time did you get here?”
“Six.” He glanced at her, sure he knew what she was asking.
“That early, huh?” she said, wrinkling her nose sympathetically.
“Yeah,” Christian replied, his eyes narrowing slightly.
He and Susan had not slept together the night before, as he had suspected they wouldn’t. When they’d gotten back to the house after dinner at Midnight’s, there had been a minor emergency with one of the children, and Susan had stayed up at the house to help. Christian had proceeded to his room down at the carriage house at the edge of Joe and Randy’s property. He’d taken a shower and then lain down on his bed. He’d fallen asleep and had never heard Susan come in. He hadn’t seen the way she’d looked down at him, wanting to wake him but afraid to for fear he’d tell her to go away. In the end she’d turned and left. Christian had awoken at 5:30 and, burying his disappointment that she hadn’t come to him, got up, got dressed, and come to work to push aside the building anger.
Past in the Present (MidKnight Blue Book 9) Page 15