“Twenty-four,” I said slowly. His eyes tightened. “I’ll be twenty-five next month.”
Instantly, I was tangled up in his arms, all prepared for my Opie kiss.
Only I didn’t get it. I got so much more.
Cole captured my mouth with a kiss that made my head swim. His arms surrounded me as they did on the dance floor just moments earlier, and held me tight. He kissed me, never breaking contact with my mouth. This kiss was like no other kiss I’d ever had. This kiss claimed. I had no doubt about his feelings for me. I relished every last second as his lips ignited a bone-melting fire that burned through me. I dug my fingers through his hair and held his mouth to mine. I, too, was claiming. My body trembled. Never before had I trembled from a kiss. It scared me. Was I that much in love with this guy?
Yes.
He finally broke the kiss and tried to pull back only I wouldn’t let him move. He chuckled low as his eyes scanned my face. “If you’re not telling me the truth about your age, Lilah,” he began.
“Would you like to see my license?”
“I think I’d rather just kiss you again.” And he did. Oh man, when he concentrated, he concentrated. I couldn’t think straight, so I didn’t. I let him take possession of my heart as he kissed me thoroughly. Every thought not of Cole left my head, and I relished in the sweet pleasure. Somewhere the line between me and Cole vanished, and I was lost in his firm, warm lips, engulfed within his soft, low moans.
Until he cleared his throat. Who clears their throat during a kiss, especially a passionate kiss?
He did it again. That was when I realized it wasn’t Cole. Sadly, I drew back.
“Did I do—”
I pointed over his shoulder and he turned to face the smiling Booker Gatto.
“Sorry.” The devilish grin on his face said otherwise. “Mags and Seth are about to cut the cake. I didn’t think you’d want to miss it.”
Cole nodded and took my hand, drawing it to his lips. “Remind me where we were later.”
“You can count on it.”
Chapter 16
Cole
“I think you should’ve let me put Seth’s car up on cement blocks,” Booker lamented as we entered his house via the garage. He reset his complicated alarm system behind us. If he knew I rarely locked my doors before going to bed, let alone when I came home after work, he’d freak out. Of course I was seldom there, so it probably didn’t matter.
“Isn’t putting a newlywed’s car on blocks cruel and unusual punishment, Captain Gatto?” I questioned, slumping onto the leather sofa and slipping off my too-tight shoes. Why couldn’t they make dress shoes in a clog style?
“Maybe,” he laughed. “I would’ve given him my car to drive . . . after a few agonizing minutes.” Booker opened the fridge and poured us each a glass of milk and snagged a bag of Oreo’s from the freezer. He plopped on couch, setting the glasses on the coffee table he’d built for his grandfather Sam’s ninetieth birthday. Except for the glass top, it was made completely of cypress wood Sam had purchased on one of his many trips to Greece.
I took a frozen cookie and popped it into my mouth. “I hate you, by the way,” I said, around the cookie.
“Why’s that?” he asked, dropping a cookie into his milk.
“For getting me addicted to these things. Who would’ve thought that frozen Oreos would become my own personal brand of heroin?” I shook my head and devoured another cookie.
“Food for the gods,” he agreed. “Definitely going for a run tomorrow. Do you want to go, Opie, or do you and Ms. Lilah have plans?”
I knew it was coming. It actually surprised me that he waited this long to tease me about Lilah.
“Opie?” I asked innocently.
“Sorry, Doc, she ratted you out. She’s good. Quick wit and all, not to mention a great little dancer, little being the optimal word there. She can’t be over five-foot-two,” he said, downing his glass of milk in two swallows.
“How do you know how tall she is?”
“You’re kidding me, right?” He looked at me as if I’d grown horns. “Opie, I’m a cop, I’ve been a cop since I was nineteen years old. Observing people is what I do.”
“Good catch with Tess tonight, by the way. She sure was embarrassed.” I grabbed the now empty milk glasses and headed to the kitchen to refill them. Booker took the cookies and followed me.
“I’d sure like to know her story. She dyes her hair, she wears brown contacts, and she’s afraid of her own shadow.” Booker said, tapping his fingers on the counter. “Maybe I should check her out? She’s either hiding from someone, or spying on someone and the whole timid as a mouse thing is part of her M.O.”
“M.O?”
“Modus operandi. Part of her disguise,” he explained. “All I’d need are her fingerprints, at least to start with,” he said, taking a piece of paper from the kitchen’s desk, along with a pen.
I pulled the pen from his hand and returned it to the desk drawer. “No, Book. I don’t want you to investigate the poor woman. She’s not a criminal. Leave her be.”
“Sorry,” he said, tossing the notepad onto the desk. “I keep having this feeling that something big’s going to happen, but I can’t quite figure out what it is.” He rolled his head from side to side, stretching the muscles.
“Maybe you’re going to get the break in the case you’ve been working on?” I suggested.
“That’s what I’ve been hoping. We’ve been close so many times, and then the bottom gets ripped out from under us.” He shrugged. “I don’t know, and I’m too tired to think about it tonight.”
“I need to go to bed, too,” I said, following Booker to the stairs. “I have to be to work at eight.”
Booker stopped dead on the first step, and I ran into his back.
“You’re working tomorrow?” he asked. “You’ve worked every day this week, including this morning ‘til noon.”
“I’m covering for someone,” I said defensively.
“You keep that up and your hot little girlfriend will be moving on to greener pastures.” He started back up the stairs. He made it three steps before stopping again. “She looks so familiar to me.”
“Maybe she reminds you of someone.”
“Probably right. Why did you change your mind about her age? I mean, the last time we talked the whole nineteen-year-old thing was a real thorn in your side.”
“She’s twenty four.”
“Twenty four? Really? Never would’ve guessed that,” he said. “She looks so young. Did you check her license? Maybe she’s not being honest about it.”
“Why would she lie?” I said, passing Booker on the stairs and heading for the spare room I’d slept in way too many times to count.
“Maybe she has a thing for clumsy guys and the thought of losing you’s too much,” he said, following me into the room. He laid a set of my scrubs on the dresser, along with some strange pink thing with a cartoon character on it.
“What’s that?” I asked, pointing at the pink cartoon.
“Hello Kitty pajama bottoms. Magpie gave them to me for Christmas,” he said casually.
I picked them up. “The tags are still on them.”
“Well, you don’t expect me to actually wear them, do you?” He smiled a bit too gleefully.
“I suppose these are all you have?”
“Yup. I’ve been a bad boy and haven’t done my laundry, so it’s Hello Kitty or your tighty whiteys. And don’t even think about going commando on my sheets.”
“I do not wear tighty whiteys,” I said, tossing the pajamas on the bed. “And I just may sleep commando.”
Booker held up his hands and groaned. “TMI, Opie, TMI.” He laughed and walked to the door. “You buy that whole thing about Lilah’s age?” he asked, a hand grasping the door knob. “Maybe I should have her checked out instead of Tess.
“Booker, she’s not on the FBI’s most wanted list. Chill.”
He shook his head as if to clear it. “You’re right, sor
ry. I really need to stop doing that. Good night, Opie.”
I changed into the stupid cat pajamas and dropped into bed. As I dozed off, my thoughts were of Lilah. Booker had it right, she didn’t look twenty-four. Maybe I should check her license. I rolled over. “Nope. Ignorance is bliss.”
Chapter 17
Lilah
“Good morning,” I said, a smile blazing from my lips. I waltzed in and sat on Cole’s desk near the edge, crossing my legs. He looked up from his latest drawing and returned my smile.
“Good morning, beautiful.”
“Beautiful, huh? I could get used to that.” I slipped off the desk and onto his lap, biting my lip as he straightened slightly.
“Lilah, what if someone walks in? This is not professional.”
“Opie, Opie. You worry too much,” I said before dropping my mouth to his. It took him all of two seconds to relax and devour me with one of his kisses. I love how he cradled my head in his mammoth hands as he tilted it, deepening the kiss. I pulled back out of fear I’d melt.
“I do love the way you concentrate, Cole.” I stroked his firm jaw with the back of my hand and ran my fingers up into his silky hair before pulling his mouth back to mine.
“Cole, the lab results for Jamie Canosa are—oops! Sorry,” Natalie said, bursting into the room. He jumped from the chair. If he hadn’t held on to my arms I’d have hit the floor.
“Yes. Thank you,” Cole said, red-eared. “These are great. I’ll make sure and tell her on my rounds this morning.” He smiled self-consciously. She chortled and left.
“That was smooth, Cole.” I slipped my arms around his waist and tipped my head back to peer into his deep blue eyes. “It was just an innocent little kiss.”
“Lilah,” he said, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. “We’ve been together for one week. Never, in that time, have you ever kissed me innocently. They are more like mind-blowing, reality-altering kisses.”
“Really?” I asked proudly.
He chuckled. “Really.”
I tugged him around, forcing him onto the desk’s edge so we were eye to eye. “Let’s alter your reality some more.” Before he could protest, I pressed my lips back to his. It didn’t take long for me to become completely engulfed again. The soft sexy movement of his mouth against mine, the feel of his warm breath as he yielded to my lips, and the way he held me tight melted my core. I was his, heart and soul.
Part of me wanted to run and hide, but the other part, the stronger part, wanted to stay and fight for him. Never had I met anyone like him. His sweet naiveté was refreshing after David, and especially my father. Cole had no hidden agenda. He wanted me, just me. Little ol’ Lilah, daughter of Sofia, plain and simple.
And the guilt ate at me. He deserved better. He deserved truth and honesty.
He drew back. I immediately felt the loss and wanted to pull him next to me again. Not to keep kissing him, although that’d be great, but to feel the connection I felt whenever we touched, even if it were something as simple as holding hands.
“Sorry, Lilah. I got a little carried aw—” I stopped his needless apology with my mouth. No way did I want to hear him apologize when it should be me saying the words I’m sorry.
“Dr. Colter, did—Oh my!” This time a Tweedle interrupted. Why doesn’t that stupid door get stuck when we’re kissing?
“I’m getting a friggin’ lock for that door today,” he mumbled before turning to face the Tweedle. “Yes, Karen, what did you need?”
I walked over to his chair and parked my butt while Karen whined about some goofy error message the coffee machine flashed. Seriously? A coffee machine error? Cole accompanied her out.
“I’ll be right back,” he promised as the door shut.
After ten minutes alone in the beautifully decorated, yet still very tiny, office I needed some air. I tugged several times on the door before it finally flung open. Unbelievable. I went directly to the nurses’ station and found Tess, but no Cole.
“Did Cole come this way with a Tweedle?” I asked.
“I thought just the other nurses called them that,” she said softly. We both laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Booker said from behind me. I knew his voice without even looking.
“Hello, Booker. What brings you here?” I asked. Tess fidgeted with a file in her hand before taking it over to the Tweedles, who’d walked up to the nurses’ station with Cole. Her jaw tightened, as if struggling not to smile.
I turned to face Booker. As usual, he had a Glock 22 strapped to his chest. His uniform, however, was covered in blood.
“Booker, have you been shot?” My eyes scanned him from head to toe in search of a bullet or knife wound.
“No. I was on my way home when I saw this guy, Jeff Moore, trying to get a deer into his car.”
“Poaching?”
“Nope. Someone hit it out in front of his house and then drove off. He was struggling to get it into his car, hoping he could bring it here for medical attention.” He had a grin from ear to ear as he told the story. “Needless to say, Moore’s had a little too much to drink today.”
“You brought a deer to the ER?” I questioned, looking toward the glass doors that led to the parking lot.
“No. The deer died before we could get it in this car. Of course not before it bled all over us and jabbed Tim multiple times in the ribs with his antlers. I brought him in to make sure there were no internal injuries.”
“You tried helping him get a deer into his car?” I asked, impressed.
“There’s an animal hospital down the street from where we were, so it was worth a shot,” Booker said casually.
“Lilah,” Tess said, coming toward us. “Cole said to tell you he’ll be just a few minutes.” Tess looked coyly at Booker’s face through her thick eyelashes, smiled, and then dropped her gaze to his shirt.
Down she went.
Never in my life had I seen someone go that white and faint that quickly. Booker caught her and scooped her up in his arms, looking at me for directions. I pointed to a small ER room off to the right and he carried her inside, laying her carefully on the faded Power Ranger sheets that covered the gurney mattress.
“Tess,” Booker called to her softly. “Tess,” he repeated, stroking her hair out of her eyes as he worked on bringing Tess back to the living, so to speak.
“I’d better find a clean shirt for you to change into or when she comes around she’ll faint again.” I hurried over to a clean laundry cart against the wall and snagged a fresh scrub top, bringing it to him. Tess had already begun stirring as he slipped the top over his bloody shirt.
“Wh …What happened?” Tess asked, her eyes fluttering open. Before either of us could answer, they widened. “Oh no! I fainted again, didn’t I?” She had a look of utter embarrassment on her face, red cheeks and all.
“Yes,” Booker said, sitting down next to her. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “Don’t worry. Everyone’s so busy caring for the drunk deer lover, they haven’t noticed. It’ll be our little secret.”
She buried her face in her hands. “I’m going to lose my job,” she said through her fingers.
“No, you won’t. Lots of people can’t handle the sight of blood,” he assured her.
“Yes, well, I’ll bet they don’t work in a hospital.” Tess looked him straight in the eyes. It was the first time I’d ever seen her look anyone in the eyes for more than two seconds.
“If you promise not to tell anyone, I’ll share a secret with you,” Book said, handing her a hankie from his pocket to dry the tears spilling down her cheeks. “When I was a rookie cop, the first time I saw blood, I threw up twice. Once in my patrol car all over my partner,” Booker admitted. “He got so mad, he refused to work with me again. He called me Upchucky Cheese until I left the force to join the military a year later.”
“Why Upchucky Cheese?” she asked, blowing her nose.
“Right before I got sick we’d just eaten lunch whi
ch consisted of pizza. I’m sure you get the picture,” he said.
“Okay, that may be worse than fainting,” she admitted, a small smile on her face. “You don’t throw up now, do you?” He shook his head. “I need to get used to the blood if I’m going to keep my job.”
“Maybe you should try getting a different job,” I suggested. She worked hard at what she did. I knew Cole would give her a good reference.
“I love this job, well, except for the blood, and maybe the Tweedles,” Tess said, standing up slowly.
“Who are the Tweedles?” Booker asked.
“They…umm…”
“Two very obnoxious nursing students,” I said, saving Tess from saying it.
“Let me guess, Julie and Karen?”
“Lucky guess,” I said.
“No, obvious,” Booker replied with a mischievous grin. “And remember, this little incident’s between us.” Tess nodded.
“You’d better get home and take a shower before the blood dries, otherwise you’ll be scrubbing for days to get it off,” I suggested.
“Not really. When you live in the northeast, you never fully dry out thanks to all the humidity,” he joked.
“True,” I agreed. “I’m from Arizona where any moisture dries instantly in the desert air,” I replied.
Booker’s eyes jumped from Tess to me, narrowing slightly. “Where in Arizona are you from?” he asked.
Oh crap! Think fast, Delilah, or he’s going to finally figure out who you are. “Technically, we lived in Boulder City, Nevada, in small town just west of Arizona,” I lied. He nodded, saying nothing else, though his eyes stayed with me as I went back out to the reception area. Book and Tess walked over to the vending machines in the hallway.
I’m busted. I stood, shaking, at the desk, waiting for Cole to finish up with the nurse.
“Hello, beautiful.” Cole came over and planted a kiss on my cheek. “You okay?” He stroked my jaw with the back of his hand.
“I’m fine,” I smiled tightly.
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