“Well, you were drawn to the crosses. Here’s a lovely one.” Earl opened the cabinet to show a gorgeous and somehow still manly silver cross that would look amazing against Aiden’s toned chest.
I gently took the jewelry. “It’s beautiful.” Okay. Yeah. “Love it. I’ll take it.”
“Wonderful.” Earl took the necklace and set it in a blue felt box. The ring of a phone—an actual landline—twittered through the quiet store.
“Excuse me.” He hustled toward a desk area behind the counter. “Earl’s Jewelry Store—Spokane’s longest standing jeweler,” he answered. Then he paused. “Uh, yes. Please hold on for a moment.” He set the receiver next to the cradle. “Ms. Albertini? It’s for you.”
I cocked my head. “For me?” The trip to Spokane with Florence had been spur of the moment. My throat went dry, but I moved around the counter to reach for the handset. Nobody knew where I was right now, so this didn’t make sense. My hand shook, and I tightened my grip around cold polymer resin. “Hello?”
Silence met my words. A weighted, thick, heavy silence.
Irritation caught me and I straightened my shoulders. My breath quickened, but I forced myself to sound almost bored. If the caller wanted to scare me, I wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction. Even so, this was creepy as heck. “Hello? Who is this?”
The click of a phone hanging up was quick and loud enough that I knew somebody had been there. My hand shook as I replaced the phone in the cradle, turning to Earl. Had somebody followed us to Spokane? I hadn’t noticed anybody on the way in, but I hadn’t been really watching. “What did the person sound like?”
Earl pushed his glasses farther up his nose. “It was a man with no accent that I could discern.” He frowned. “Did you tell anybody you were coming here today?”
“No,” I said quietly, looking through the barred windows at the rapidly increasing snowfall. “Not a soul.”
Chapter 7
I finished up my day after having left Florence’s sparkling ring at Earl’s so he could catalog it before fetching the funds to repay her. I wasn’t entirely sure she wouldn’t spend some of the money on new jewelry after having spent time looking through the lovely sparkles. I’d purchased a silver cross for my sister Tessa and a gold bracelet with small emeralds for my sister, Donna.
The cross for Aiden sat heavily in my purse. Was that the wrong gift? I tried to ignore my trepidation and forced myself to think about the case.
Florence was still planning on giving most of the money to Lawrence’s son, and I’d convinced her to wait until after the reading, just in case. Then I’d worked with clients for the rest of the day, having reported the prank call to Detective Pierce to add to my new and odd stalkerish-themed case file. He’d promised to have a friend on the Spokane force try to trace the call, but neither one of us had much hope we’d find anything but a burner phone on the other side. Somebody had followed me and I hadn’t noticed. In addition, Pierce had called all the flower shops in the area but hadn’t found where the roses had come from.
He had, once again, suggested I get a dog.
When we got off the phone, I turned to my computer and brought up the online version of the Timber City Gazette. Bernie and I had made the front page with the picture of us leaving the courthouse. The headline read: “A Killing for Christmas.”
My blood heating, I read the entire article by Jolene, and yep, she made mention of me and the trouble I’d gotten into that summer after breaking into a funeral home. She more than hinted that I hadn’t been charged with a crime, although the words were ambiguous enough that I probably didn’t have a libel case. The woman had also chosen a picture that had me shielding Bernie, but since he was much taller than me and still wearing his Santa hat, plenty of him was visible.
I groaned.
Wishing a massive yeast infection on her, I turned off the website and returned to my case files, working through the divorce and the other timber case we had going on. At this juncture, I was at the paper filing stage, which was fine with me.
My legwork would be focused on Bernie and the Santa case for now. The sooner I helped Bernie, the sooner he could go back to his life, and Jolene could get her teeth into another story that did not include me.
I fielded calls from several of my family members after they’d seen the article, and Tessa’s offer to egg Jolene’s house cheered me considerably. Oh, we wouldn’t do it, but sometimes it was nice to dream.
After finishing work, I drove home past houses all lit up for Christmas, along with several sparkling deer figurines decorating lawns. I ventured around my smaller lake and turned down my driveway by the trees, keeping an eye on the surrounding area.
The snow-covered black truck by my garage made my heart leap through my throat. I parked, grabbed my bag, and jumped to the snow, hurrying through the blizzard conditions to my front porch and past the solid Santa figure that my aunt had given to me. The walkway had been shoveled, but snow was already piling up. I opened my door to the delicious smell of a Vinnie’s pizza combo with extra spice.
My skin sensitized, and I walked inside, dumping my bags near size thirteen boots before shutting out the storm. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Aiden performed a full body scan on me as he leaned back against the bar separating my living room and kitchen, a full glass of red wine in his hand. He wore faded jeans, a dark tee, and a lot of dark facial scruff that matched his unruly black hair. A white bandage showed on his muscled bicep.
My body reacted to his scan, my heart rate picking up and my anxiety ratcheting even higher. “How bad?” I whispered, fighting the very odd reaction to flee at the sight of the sexiest man I’d ever seen in real life.
“Not bad.” His expression didn’t reveal his thoughts. “Through-and-through on the arm and barely a scratch on the leg. Saber didn’t even have to dig out a bullet and just was being a baby.”
Saber was anything but a baby, but Aiden did look strong and formidable standing in my small cottage. The fact that he was standing calmed a fear I’d been carrying around all day—but it wasn’t the only fear.
I cleared my throat. “Are you breaking up with me?” The words came out of nowhere, but I didn’t call them back. I did, however, scramble to keep talking so he couldn’t say anything. “We don’t have to end things. How about we see other people and just take it casual?” I sounded like a pathetic dork, but the panic consuming me felt heated and sharp.
His pause didn’t make me feel better. Finally, he spoke. “I don’t share, Angel. Neither do you.”
I wavered. What did that mean? “You feel…off.” I still didn’t move.
“I am,” he said, his gaze sliding to the red roses I’d placed in the center of the table gifted to me by my Nonna Albertini.
I followed his focus. “Those flowers aren’t my fault.”
“No, they’re not,” he agreed softly, the tension from him tightening the room in the manner of an oncoming explosion.
I set my stance out of instinct, not knowing him like this. Not recognizing him. Aiden Devlin had always been a force beyond nature, while most of the time I felt like I was pretending to be a grownup. I glanced at the cheerful lights on my Christmas tree, acutely aware that I hadn’t purchased many presents yet and Christmas would be here in a heartbeat. I winced and then faced him. “I think you should say the words.” The ones I so didn’t want to hear.
He gently placed the wine glass on the granite counter. “All right.” Then he moved for me, reaching me in two long strides and cupping my face. His hands were warm and strong. “I’m sorry. What I said the other night about us, I didn’t mean. It was a shitty night that turned into a horrific and even shittier day, and my philosophical side is an asshole who deserved to get shot.”
The words filtered through the buzz in my head, and my knees weakened. Relief would come later. I had to get control of this infatuation I had for him, but I didn’t know how. Especially with him right there holding my face. “How did they know just
to shoot that side of you?” I murmured.
His lips twitched into almost a smile. “Just lucky, I guess.” He leaned down and kissed me, taking his time and spiraling a lazy heat through my entire body. When he released me, I was breathless, turned on, and slightly disoriented. “We’re not breaking up.”
It was a statement and not a question. Considering I’d kissed him back and shown him how much I’d missed him, he probably felt secure in making the claim. I wasn’t ready for happily-ever-after, but my rapidly thumping heart hoped he was in my future. Right now, I wanted to deal in the present. “We did go from zero to a thousand very quickly,” I said, my body humming for him, even as I tried to force my brain to stay in the moment.
“Maybe,” he allowed, watching his thumb caress my tingling bottom lip. “Although we haven’t been in the same town for more than two weeks at a time and haven’t had the opportunity to settle into any routine. I’m not sure either one of us knows how to do a routine.”
The man was not wrong. I sucked in a breath. “Maybe we’re not routine type of people.”
“Perhaps,” he said. “The bad news is that my op got busted, but the good news is that we can spend Christmas together. We have a couple of weeks to see if we need a routine or if we can create one of our own. Whatever that means.”
What if we couldn’t? What if we didn’t work if we lived in the same space for too long? I couldn’t imagine life without him, and that was saying a lot for me. Playing the field had never been my thing, and there was nobody on the planet who compared to Aiden Devlin. Which meant it would suck if we broke up, and with our lives and jobs, nothing was for certain. I should do the smart thing and try to protect myself a little from heartbreak.
“You’re not dating somebody else,” Aiden said, brushing snow off my shoulder and apparently reading my mind. “Neither one of us has time to balance or deal with that type of situation, and I don’t want it, anyway. It’s you and me, and we’ll figure out if we can make sense of us without a lot of drama or anybody else involved.”
Now I lifted an eyebrow. I was an independent and adventurous woman, but oddly enough, I liked his bossy side. Even enjoyed the sense of feeling safe when he was in control of a situation. Yet I couldn’t let him get away with too much. “I’ll let you know what I decide about that,” I said, unzipping my coat and dropping more snow to the tiled entryway.
“You do that.” He helped me out of the snow covered wool and hung it on the peg near the door, his strong hands pulling my hair free and his warm fingers brushing against my nape.
A shiver took me and I couldn’t hide it. He could undo me with just one touch, and I didn’t like giving him that much power. Although I did like that one touch. So I ducked my head and toed off my boots, holding his good arm for balance. I was young, smart, professional, and should be playing the field and having fun. But since the sexiest, most dangerous, Irish badass on the planet had found his way into my bed and my heart, why waste time on anybody else? I sighed.
His chuckle eased the rest of the tension from my body. “Come on. I brought pizza and wine. I don’t want to talk about either of our cases or jobs tonight—all of that can wait until morning, considering it’s Saturday tomorrow. For now, let’s relax, eat too much pizza, and then sleep in.” He turned and strode for the kitchen, his Glock nestled in his waistband against his lower back.
He never wore his gun on his body while at either of our homes.
Yeah. That tension and stress returned. Fast.
Chapter 8
Aiden hogged the bed. Considering he was a solid two-twenty-five of muscle packed into about six feet and four inches of height, I guess he needed more space than I did. Morning came, and I rolled over in my small area to face him. It was rare that I awoke before him, so I took a few moments to drink my fill.
Soft morning light cascaded through the blinds on the sliding glass door to my small deck.
He lay facing me with the blankets shoved down to his waist. His muscled chest held various scars from his time on the streets, in the military, and then with the ATF. The scruff along his jaw was growing out, and a multitude of bruises led down his arm and neck to the bandage that was light against his bronze skin. His breathing remained even, and I fought the urge to trace both his straight nose and those ripped abs that led down beyond the covers. He stirred and opened his long dark lashes, awakening.
Blue. His eyes were a mixture of impossible blues, sharp and alert instantly.
I swallowed.
His gaze wandered lazily over my face and down my chest, covered by a pink nightie I’d purchased on sale the week before. He reached and grasped my arm, rolling onto his back with a smooth motion and pulling me on top of him. Then he brushed my hair back with both hands, his body solid rock beneath me. “Mornin’.” His Irish brogue came out strong.
“Hi.” I could look at those blue eyes all day, and from the feel of him beneath me, all of him was wide awake.
Aiden liked mornings. Aiden really liked naked mornings that lasted for hours, and I knew this from personal experience. So when he didn’t immediately try to remove my nightie, my body stiffened.
“You good?” he asked.
I nodded. “I’m good.”
The night before, we’d talked about nothing over pizza and wine before watching an old action movie. I’d even forced thoughts about my stalker to the abyss, so I could just enjoy one normal night with him. Then we’d tumbled into bed, and he’d been asleep within minutes.
He shifted his weight, brushing an impressive erection against me. “No complaints about my job?”
I frowned, trying to concentrate on his words and not his hard body. “Well, I wouldn’t mind it if you dodged the bullets next time.” His hands around my face kept me in place, or I’d lean down and kiss him. What was going on in his head? I lifted my gaze from his tempting mouth to his sizzling eyes that were watching me so carefully. “Am I supposed to complain?”
His focus moved to my mouth, and I swear, my bottom lip swelled in anticipation. “I don’t know,” he said.
Ah. I got it. He’d dated other women before me, and they hadn’t liked the distance. I shrugged, moving my breasts against his chest and enjoying the heated flare in his eyes. “If you like your job, I like your job,” I whispered. “So long as we’re on the same page, we can make anything work.”
His thumbs caressed my cheekbones. “I don’t love your job.”
I grinned. “I know, but it has been fairly mundane all autumn, so perhaps the winter will be calm as well?”
“Right,” he said, shaking his head. “Let’s not tempt fate.”
Fair enough. “I’m glad you’re home,” I said.
His mouth curved. “Me, too. I have to ask, why did you keep the roses?”
It was a reasonable question, and I knew he was just curious. “They were too pretty to throw out, and I thought I’d take them to the hospital on the way to a reading of a will today.” I wriggled against him. “Do they bother you?”
“Not that you kept them to take to somebody in the hospital.” His thumbs wound down to my jawline. “I don’t like the anonymous aspect of them, but it’s probably harmless.”
I winced. “Apparently it was dark when you arrived last night?”
He stilled. “Yes. Why?”
I moved my hips against him, catching my breath at the feeling of him against me. “Let’s talk about it after.”
“No.” He tightened his hold, his jaw firming. “Let’s talk about it now.”
“It’ll ruin the mood,” I warned him, really not wanting to lose the mood. Like, ever.
He paused to consider my statement. “That would be a travesty. Are we in danger right now?”
Considering his gun was on the nightstand and mine was next to me in my drawer, it was doubtful. “No more than usual,” I admitted. “Probably.”
“Only you,” he whispered. His expression softened, his rugged face losing the guarded look. There he was. My Aiden. His
hands swept down my sides and drew up the pink silk. “This is pretty. Meant to tell you that last night.” Then he pulled it over my head and threw the soft material across the room. “You’re prettier.” His hands finally went to my breasts.
I leaned down and kissed him, going deep. Having him in my bed, facing the morning with me, felt right. And kind of dangerous.
He returned my kiss and rolled us over, looming above me and taking control in a way that stole my breath. He was big and strong and deadly, and he’d made me feel safe from the world my entire life. But not from him. That took trust, and I had jumped headfirst into this with him, sometimes wondering if I should’ve protected myself better.
If I could have somehow.
Yet when he kissed me, when he took me deep, there was only Aiden Devlin, and I was fine with that. Exhilarated, in fact.
He kissed me harder and then wandered down my body with his heated mouth and made me whimper. Aiden was good at this. Phenomenal, in fact. He knew how to draw out a moment, and he liked to play, keeping me on the edge. He also liked to make me scream.
Three orgasms later, from his talented mouth and fingers, he moved back up me, grabbed a condom from the drawer, and finally pushed inside me. Then he paused, his mouth wandering across my cheekbone before those piercing blue eyes captured mine. “I missed you,” he murmured, starting to move, powering deep inside me.
I caught my breath. “I missed you, too.” Then I dug my nails into his arms, careful of his newest bandage.
He started to move harder and faster, and I closed my eyes just to enjoy the moment as he took me away again.
And yes, I screamed his name two more times that morning, ending our marathon extremely happy.
“I am not happy,” Aiden snapped as I set a plate of scrambled eggs and huckleberry pancakes in front of him, his coffee steaming next to his fork.
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