by Susan Stoker
“Just spill it,” Taco said, rubbing a hand over his face in frustration.
“Koren’s friend Sue was arrested for setting a car on fire.”
“What? When?” Taco asked.
“When she was in college,” Beth said.
Taco quickly did the math in his head. “So over a decade ago.”
“Yeah, but I don’t think we can dismiss any information.”
“What are the details?”
“She was twenty, and after their basketball team won the conference championships, the campus went a little crazy. She was caught on shitty video, helping to light a car on fire. Her parents hired an expensive lawyer and she got off with probation and community service.”
“Let me get this straight,” Taco said in a low, even tone that belied how pissed he was. “Koren’s friend was all hyped up that her team won a championship, and she was caught on someone’s cell participating in vandalism with probably countless others? And now she’s in her early thirties, with a family and a steady job, and you think she’s decided it might be fun to bring back her college days and start another fire?”
“She has a history with fire,” Beth insisted. “It can’t be ignored.”
“So do you,” Taco said flatly.
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a tense second before Beth said, “Okay, I deserved that. But this isn’t the same thing, Taco.”
“Beth, I’ve meet Sue Butler. She’s a very nice woman who would do anything for Koren. But there’s no way she’d torch a car and a shed and leave cryptic notes about being sorry. I admit that I don’t know her that well, but I’m fairly confident if she had a problem with me, she’d just come right out and tell Koren she was making a mistake in dating me.”
“But—”
“I know you didn’t mean anything sinister by researching Koren, but from where I’m standing, it feels like a hell of a violation,” Taco said quietly. “I appreciate you telling me what you’ve done, but don’t do it again, Beth. You’ve spent so much time behind the screen of your computer, I think you’ve forgotten the people you’re looking into are living, breathing beings with feelings. Would you have appreciated it if Hayden had researched you and told Sledge all about what happened to you out in California? Warned him away on the premise that you were too unstable to make a good girlfriend?”
Beth didn’t say anything, so Taco went on.
“You wouldn’t. I know you wouldn’t. I admit that I made a huge mistake with Jen, but Koren isn’t anything like her. If you truly cared about me, you’d trust me to have learned my lesson. I’d bet everything I have that neither Koren nor anyone in her life have anything to do with what’s happening. We still don’t know that the fires have anything to do with any of us.”
“I’m sorry,” Beth said softly. “I just…I’ve never had friends like the ones I do now, and I felt so awful about what happened to Quinn that I vowed to do everything in my power to keep anything like that from happening to my friends again. I was just trying to keep everyone safe. We’ve all been through enough stuff, and if I could do anything to keep any more bad stuff from touching us, I was going to do it.”
“Apology accepted,” Taco told her. “But don’t be telling anyone else that shit about Sue. She’s a good woman, and I’m sure she’d be embarrassed if that story got out.”
“I won’t.”
“Good.”
“Are…are we okay?” Beth asked.
“Of course,” Taco said.
“Okay. Cade’s standing here frowning at me. For the record, he told me exactly what you did. Then he urged me to call and tell you what I’d done. And I did gladly, because I wanted to protect you.”
“I get it. I’ll see you later, Beth.”
“Bye, Taco.”
Taco clicked off the phone and bowed his head, breathing hard.
He was extremely upset. It seemed as if his life lately had been one drama after another, and it was frustrating. He didn’t want Beth to feel like she had to protect him. He didn’t want Koren to have to deal with whoever was behind the fires.
Looking at his watch, Taco saw that it was still way too early to go over to Koren’s condo, but he didn’t care. Beth had said Koren knew she’d looked into her. He was kind of upset that she hadn’t said anything to him. Koren should’ve been pissed that one of his friends had looked into her background.
His decision made, Taco pocketed his phone and headed for the door.
Twenty minutes later, he was knocking on Koren’s front door. He turned to observe her neighborhood as he waited for her to answer. Her three-story condo was sandwiched in the middle of a row of similar-looking units. Each had their own garage and driveway. Across the street were more condos. They all looked a bit cookie-cutter, but the neighborhood was quiet and well kept. It was very middle class. Suburban. He couldn’t say that it fit Koren’s personality, but he understood the lure of easy living. And paying a monthly fee to have someone take care of the landscaping, and to have a pool and tennis court to play in and on whenever you wanted, was a good deal.
The door opened behind him and Taco turned.
“Taco! Hi! You’re early,” Koren said.
“Can I come in?”
She frowned at his tone. “Of course. What’s wrong?”
Without answering, Taco moved past her. He went into the living area that was attached to her kitchen, then turned.
She’d closed the door and approached until she was about five feet away.
“Beth called me today.”
When he didn’t say anything else, she asked, “And?”
“And she told me that she’d investigated you.”
“Shit,” Koren said under her breath.
“Yeah,” Taco agreed.
“I knew you wouldn’t be happy she’d done that.”
Taco tilted his head and studied her. She didn’t look upset in the least. She looked more worried about him at the moment than what Beth had done. “You aren’t bothered that she looked into your background? That she violated your privacy? Because, make no mistake, she did. She’s able to find shit on the Internet that would make your head spin. Hell, the woman can hack into government satellites, for God’s sake.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
Koren took a deep breath. She didn’t come any closer. “I’m not thrilled, if I’m being honest. But I’ve got nothing to hide, Taco. And I understand why she did it. To protect you. If my friends had the abilities Beth does, they’d probably have done the same thing. They’re nosy and can be overly protective of me, but that’s because they love me. Just like Beth loves you. So yeah, it was a surprise and it made me feel uncomfortable for a bit, but honestly, I’m just me. My life is boring.”
“You are not boring,” Taco said sternly.
Koren smiled. “I am, but it’s okay, I’m perfectly fine with that. Seriously.”
Taco stared at her in surprise. But she wasn’t aware of the full implications. “Beth told me today that she expanded her search. She not only violated your privacy, but she also violated Sue’s and Vicky’s.”
Koren nodded. “Let me guess. She found out that Sue is a hardened criminal who was arrested for vandalism.”
Taco nodded.
For the first time, Koren looked worried. “And you think Sue set Crash’s car on fire now?”
“No. Of course not. I think Beth’s lost her mind, and is clearly desperate to find a reason for the fires.”
“I was there too,” Koren said softly. “And so was Vicky. But we weren’t caught on the video. We got swept up in the excitement of the night and stupidly got involved with setting that car on fire. But, Taco, it was a junker. Placed on campus by some spirit group. It was spray painted and graffitied for the game. It wasn’t someone’s actual car. We wouldn’t have done that. And Vicky and I felt so bad that Sue had gotten caught and been arrested when we were there too, that we did her community service with her. Sue didn’t set Crash�
�s car on fire. Or Chief’s shed. She’d be more apt to get up in someone’s face if she had a problem with them.
“And the reason I ultimately don’t care that Beth looked into me—other than the facts that I have absolutely nothing to hide, and I had a great childhood and teen years, and even adulthood—is because she did it out of love for you.”
Taco listened—and realized she wasn’t just trying to reassure him. She really didn’t care that Beth had hacked into her college records, or that she’d violated her privacy.
He slowly closed the distance between them, keeping his eyes on hers. He stopped right in front of her and reached out and took her face in his hands. “How’d I get so lucky?”
Koren immediately gripped his shirt at his sides. “I think that’s my line,” she teased.
He shook his head. “No. You don’t get it.”
“Get what?”
“You are the epitome of the perfect girlfriend. You’re funny, beautiful, and you have wonderful, supportive friends and family. You aren’t into drama, and even when there is drama, you somehow let it bounce right off you.”
“That’s not true,” she protested.
“It is. You could’ve gotten flipped out over the fact that Beth dared to research you. And your friends. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you’d gotten spooked and wanted to take some time to think about our relationship. But you didn’t. You haven’t. You’re the perfect girlfriend.”
“I’m not perfect,” Koren protested. “Not even close. In case you haven’t noticed, guys aren’t exactly beating down my door.”
“Their loss is my gain,” Taco retorted.
“Taco,” she said with a small shake of her head. “I’m not who you think I am.”
“Yeah? Who do you think you are?”
She shrugged. “You’re seeing me through some sort of distorted glasses or something. I’m just me. Plain ol’ Koren. I’m more comfortable hanging out in my fat pants and T-shirts than dressing up and going out. Why do you think I started working from home?”
“And?”
She huffed out a breath. “I can’t live up to your expectations of me. It’s too much. I’m bound to screw up and you’ll wonder what in the world you were thinking.”
“You don’t get it.”
“I know I don’t!”
“You’ve already met and exceeded all my expectations, Koren. You can’t screw anything up because there’s nothing to screw up. As I said, I’m the lucky one, and believe me, I’m well aware that you’re way too good for me, but I don’t care. I’m going to be selfish and do my best to tie you to me anyway.”
Her fingers tightened on his T-shirt. “I’m already tied to you,” she whispered.
Taco stared down into her blue eyes and brushed a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. How he’d ever thought she looked like Jen was beyond him. Yes, she had similar color hair and eyes, but that was where any resemblance ended.
“I need you, Koren…” Taco started, taking a breath to continue, but she interrupted before he could.
“Yes.”
“I was going to say, I need you in my life. Any way I can get you.”
“Oh,” she said, and her face flamed with a blush and she looked away.
Taco put a finger under her chin and turned her back to face him. “But as usual, you’re braver than I am.”
She rolled her eyes.
He smiled. “I need you that way too. I’ve dreamed about nothing else over the last couple of weeks. You have no idea how difficult it is to wake up to the sound of the emergency bell and try to put on a pair of bunker pants over an erection.”
Her lips quirked. “Probably as difficult as researching a nice, quiet place for Blythe and Squirrel to have a getaway before she has that baby and thinking about how perfect the place would be to make love to you at.” She shook her head. “That didn’t come out right.”
“I know what you meant,” Taco told her. “And I know I’m early. Did I interrupt anything that can’t be picked up later?”
“No.”
That was it. A clear and concise answer. Just to be sure they were on the same page, Taco asked, “I want to take you upstairs to your bedroom and make love to you. With you. Right now.”
“I want that too.”
“You sure?”
Koren nodded.
Taco leaned forward and kissed her oh so gently. Her fingernails scraped against his sides, the feel of them muted through the material of his T-shirt. Then, without another word, he grabbed one of her hands and headed for the stairs.
Chapter Twelve
Koren kept her eyes on Taco’s ass as he climbed the stairs that led to her bedroom. This was probably the most exciting thing that had happened to her in a very long time. Every other time she’d had sex, it was more of a we’ve-been-dating-for-six-months-so-it’s-time kind of thing.
Taco had come over because he was pissed on her behalf. Not to make love. And it was the middle of the afternoon. She was wearing a pair of sweats and a T-shirt with no bra. It was her normal work outfit. She’d planned on changing before he came over later. But he didn’t seem to care about her clothes. Koren never felt as if she had to look perfect when she was with Taco. In fact, the more comfortable she was around him, the more they seemed to click.
He towed her straight to her bedroom, not even looking into her office, which was an unholy mess. There were books and papers everywhere. She’d been in the middle of researching the best Bahamian resort for her client to have her wedding, but that could definitely wait.
Being with Taco couldn’t.
He led her over to the bed, then turned and sat.
Surprised, Koren could only stand there as he wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek on her belly. She stroked his hair and closed her eyes, absorbing the moment. Yes, she wanted him, but being with him like this felt like something special.
After a while, he looked up at her, running his hands up and down the outside of her thighs. “Are you sure?” he asked.
“Are you?” she countered.
Taco smiled. Then nodded. His hands moved to her waist and his fingers slipped under the waistband of her pants. Slowly, giving her time to object, he pushed the loose cotton off her hips. They fell to her feet without a sound. It felt weird to be standing in front of him in nothing but a T-shirt and panties, but the look in his eyes made it a little better.
“I wasn’t expecting you until later,” she said shyly. “I was going to put on a nicer pair of underwear, just in case.”
“These are perfect,” he said, his eyes glued to them.
“They’re white cotton,” she protested. “There’s nothing perfect about them.”
“Wrong,” Taco said, licking his lips.
“Um…shouldn’t we close the curtains?” she asked, looking over to the windows uncertainly.
“We’re on the third floor. No one can see in,” he responded, not even glancing over to where the afternoon sun was streaming into the room.
“It’s weird,” she said softly.
He looked up at her then. “What is?”
“It’s the middle of the day.”
“And?”
“And…I don’t know.”
“You haven’t made love in the afternoon before?”
She shook her head. “Only at night. When it was dark.”
He smiled. “It’s not dark now, and I’m fucking thrilled. I get to see every inch of you.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she quipped.
“And you get to see me,” Taco added.
Hmmm. That definitely had its perks. “True.”
Then Taco leaned forward and nuzzled her T-shirt up until his lips touched the bare skin of her belly. Koren inhaled sharply. She wasn’t exactly skinny, and she’d never been thrilled with her stomach. But the second his lips touched her, she forgot about the weight she wanted to lose and concentrated on how he was making her feel.
His fingers grabbed hold of her shi
rt and his thumbs brushed back and forth over the sensitive flesh at her sides. His mouth kissed and caressed the skin around her panty line. Koren shifted restlessly in front of him.
He did this for a long time, ratcheting up her desire. Finally, when she couldn’t stand it any longer, she said, “Taco…”
“You smell so good,” he mumbled. “I can smell how turned on you are.”
She should’ve been embarrassed, but instead she simply felt impatient. “I’d love to say the same about you, but alas, I can’t.”
She felt him smile against her belly before he tilted his head back and aimed his grin her way. “Take off your shirt.”
Koren blinked. She’d expected him to say something teasing back, or to finally stand up and start stripping. But he wanted her to take off her shirt when he was still fully dressed?
“Please,” he added after a few seconds.
Figuring that maybe it would encourage him to speed up his own disrobing process, Koren’s hands went to the hem of her shirt, and she whipped it up and over her head in one quick movement, kind of like pulling off a Band-Aid.
Taco’s eyes immediately went to her boobs. Since she wasn’t wearing a bra, they were hanging loose. In her own critical eye, they were too saggy. Too big. Too…something. But Taco didn’t seem to have any problems with what he was seeing.
His pupils dilated and he swallowed hard. Koren thought he’d immediately reach for them, but instead his fingers tightened on her hips, almost hurting with their grip. He pushed her back a step and his eyes roamed from her chest, to her belly, to her hips, then her legs. He licked his lips and brought his eyes up to her face.
“You. Are. So. Beautiful.”
Koren simply smiled down at him. She really didn’t think so, but it felt good to hear him say it all the same.
“You don’t believe me,” Taco said with a shake of his head.
“Taco, I’m a naked woman who is more than ready for you to make love to her. Of course you think I’m beautiful,” she told him honestly. “I’m a sure thing.”
“Fucking hell,” Taco breathed then rested his forehead on her belly.
Surprised, Koren just stood there, not sure what to do.