by Rebecca Rose
“Nope.”
“I’ve worked with Dave for five months and all I’ve seen is the straightest most generous man on the planet. Heck, he swore in front of me the other day and apologized.” Kathy picked up her cold coffee and drank. Despite everything she said, the image of Dave’s sexy body bending over in front of her and his tight buns beckoning to be squeezed materialized in her mind. But maybe she shouldn’t mention that to Sophie.
Sophie’s laughter rang through the phone. “I think you might need to get to know him a little better. Yes, he a good guy but he’s—”
“He’s like the best big brother in the world. Look what he’s done for Jake! Dave’s kind-hearted and I don’t want to break that.”
“Kathy, trust me when I say Dave feels he’s paying a debt to Jake and their parents. Besides what the hell are you looking for? Another man to treat you like shit?”
“No!” Kathy startled at the knock at her office door. “Hold on a minute, Sophie. Yup?”
At the sight of Dave in the doorway her body refused to move while her brain began to scramble for something to say other than, “Ahhh… Hi.”
“I’m going home. To my home. Can you give me a ride?”
Did he just ask me something? She had seen his lips move but hadn’t heard a thing he said. No, her eyes were too busy looking at his good arm where the sleeve was rolled up. The boa constrictor winding its way from his elbow to his wrist demanded her attention. Mixing that with his disheveled hair he looked absolutely rugged and downright delicious. When the scent of his cologne snaked its way to her senses, Kathy’s toes curled and her leg muscles tightened. Aggg, this would be so much easier if he didn’t always look and smell so good. She couldn’t quite pin down the right way to describe his scent but it always reminded her of rebels and wild nights.
“Umm, yeah. Just a minute… or two… I think.” Jesus, he must think I’m a total nutcase!
“Great. Thanks.” Dave hesitated briefly then closed the door.
“I’m bringing Dave home. Damn that man confuses me. I don’t want to be attracted to him. Do you hear me, Sophie? I shouldn’t be ogling him and yet here I am talking to him like I left my brain at home this morning when he only asked a simple favor of me. I’ve always been able to talk myself out of being in love, like, and anything in between when it comes to a guy. Why is it not working with Dave? Well?” Kathy could hear the misery in her own voice.
“Because you should give him a chance and open yourself up to the possibility of real love.”
Kathy let a long exhale go before she replied. “I need time and he needs you and Jake to lay off of him. Apparently you’re driving him nuts.”
“I saw it coming this morning when he growled at me. Even Schnitzel is sick of him.”
“Schnitzel is the fattest cat on the planet and has an attitude anyway.” A small chuckle escaped Kathy as a smile turned up the corners of her mouth.
“I rolled over in bed yesterday and my foot touched him. The cat had the audacity to hiss at me. Jake says it’s gonna take time for him to get used to me. I say if the cat keeps it up, he’s finding a new place to sleep.”
“Your first lovers’ quarrel. How sweet.”
Sophie scoffed over the phone. “Our first. Yeah, right. Okay, you have a man waiting for you. And, Kathy?”
“Yeah?”
“Give Dave a chance. He might surprise you. That’s all I’m gonna say.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ll find out.”
“Sophie, this isn’t fair. You can’t leave the conversation after saying something like that.”
“I will.” Then she hung up.
“Damn you,” Kathy ridiculed.
Being in the car alone with Dave was going to be tough because she couldn’t figure out how she was going to convince them both that there was nothing happening between them if he started cracking jokes and melting her heart. After grabbing her jacket and purse, she walked into the bar area dragging her feet. The Lion wasn’t hopping but it wasn’t deserted like a few weeks earlier when a deep freeze had shut most businesses down for the day. New England spring had finally broken through the icy shell of the last storm and raised the temperature to a nice sixty-three degrees. The winter cleanup had now begun with large lumbering trucks fixing pothole-ridden streets while other work vehicles were trimming trees and grinding their fallen friends. The winter had been a long, snowy, cold one and the relief of it being over was evident in the way people were smiling. Well, most people. Dave sure doesn’t look happy at the moment.
“Well, if you think of anything, Mr. Sanders, it would be appreciated. Not that I expect much from you.”
Kathy glanced at the police officer talking to Dave, then to the two Hungry Lion regulars, Louie and Stuart. They were leaning forward on the bar watching with obvious interest the interaction happening before them.
“Sorry, detective. I can’t help you.” Dave appeared more than defensive. He looked downright obstinate, from the way he stood with his legs braced apart, to the arrogant tilt of his head. Kathy found it intriguing to see that her good-guy boss had a temper.
She shot the two men at the bar a warning look, then asked, “Can I help with something?”
“This doesn’t concern you.” Dave’s response brought a raised brow from Kathy.
“Well—”
“It doesn’t matter anyway. The officer was just leaving. Weren’t you?”
Not knowing what to say, Kathy remained quiet as the officer nodded to them both. “I’ll be in touch.”
“I’m sure you will and the answer will still be the same. I can’t help you.”
Anger rolled off him while his body stood rigid and the arm resting in the sling had fingers fisted tight. She placed a hand on his shoulder and Dave shrugged it away.
“Can you just take me home?”
“Fine,” she told him with a scowl.
They walked to her car in silence. What could the cop have said to put him in this bad of a mood? “Did it have to do with the accident? Is the guy getting off?” she asked curtly.
“No. Nothing to do with that.” Dave kept his eyes focused straight ahead on the road.
“Okay… well what did it have to do with?” When Dave opened his mouth, Kathy sneered, “Oh yeah, it ‘doesn’t concern’ me.”
Dave remained silent.
“Well, you don’t have to be a jerk about it.” So much for being a nice guy.
Kathy shifted uncomfortably in her seat while Dave continued to seethe. The silence coexisted between nerve-racking and pleasant. I don’t want to talk to him anyway, she told herself. That was until they arrived at his home and another cop stood there waiting.
“Really? What the heck, Bennett?” Dave yelled as he got out of Kathy’s car and marched toward him.
“I told that detective you weren’t gonna have anything for him,” Bennett said.
“Well, I don’t.” Dave unlocked the door then turned to Kathy. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Fine, thanks. You can go.”
“And miss this?” she snickered. “I don’t think so,” she said, in hopes of breaking the tension and staying with him a little longer.
Dave visually ground his teeth. “I don’t want you here.”
Despite all the self-pep talks Kathy said, “I don’t care. I’m concerned.”
“Bennett, please tell the lady she needs to leave before you remove her from my property.”
Kathy turned a wicked glare at the officer.
The officer looked at Dave then back at Kathy. “Ma’am, I think you should go.”
Dave didn’t turn to look at her, only opened his front door and went inside. “Come on, Bennett.”
Fury swelled up so fast, so potent, Kathy thought she would spit nails at the both of them. He was just like all the others before him who said they cared and then treated her like crap. Well she wasn’t going to take being walked ov
er anymore. “You son of a bitch!” She raged while stomping into his house.
“Look, Kathy, this isn’t the time. You’ve made it clear that you don’t want anything more than friendship with me—that distance is what you want. Now I’m giving it to you and you’re pissed.”
“I care, Dave, and don’t deserve to be treated the way you’re treating me right now.”
Dave visibly took a deep breath. “When I came into your office you hardly talked to me. You acted as if I was just bothering you. Sorry if I inconvenienced you, Kathy, it wasn’t my intention.”
Oh, he hadn’t “inconvenienced” her at all. He had totally surprised her into silence with that tattoo that made her mouth water. But she wasn’t going to tell him that. “And what was your intention?” she finally asked.
“You know what? It doesn’t matter now because I see how wrong I was.”
His hurtful words and insolence caused Kathy to rethink the forwardness of her actions. Was she doing this because she wanted to know what was going on or because she had actually started to care for him? She could only stare at Dave, her mind blank, waiting for someone to write on its canvas so she would know what to say next. His sudden anger was frightfully tantalizing and sent a quiver of desire rushing through her body. Dave wasn’t the dull, normal type of man she usually dated. There wouldn’t be any “Let’s sit and talk about this.” Or “We should meditate so we don’t turn our energy dark.” No, Dave seemed to be equally as sour as he was sweet, and it would have been a refreshing change if insecurity wasn’t roping her back into the box she had fought for years to get out of.
As he popped a beer, Dave looked at Bennett. “This is my new manager slash accountant at the Lion, Kathy Smith. Kathy this is Officer Bennett. Bennett and I have been friends for a really long time. If you need any paperwork, Bennett, my books at the Lion are clean—”
“That won’t be necessary.”
Dave fixed his eyes on Kathy. “Bennett and I have some things to go over. Thanks again for the ride.”
Kathy trumped down her inexplicable disappointment. “Nice to meet you, Officer Bennett.”
“I’ll see you around, Miss—”
“Kathy,” she told him while ringing her hands. “Goodnight, Dave.” She turned and dashed out the door and to her car. Choking back tears, Kathy wondered what she was thinking.
“Kathy?” Dave’s hesitant voice came from behind her just as she reached the car door. “I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve to be treated that way.”
She kept her eyes focused on the ground because the last thing she wanted to do was look at him and begin crying. “I don’t know what I was doing. I had no right to be forceful with you.”
His hand cupped her chin and raised it so their eyes met. “I don’t want you involved in this.”
She nodded her head as her heart skipped and her body became keenly aware of how close he was.
“I liked seeing you getting all aggressive with me, Kathy. You’ve got more spunk than you let on. Very, very sexy,” he whispered and brought his face closer to hers.
She pressed her lips together to prevent a smile from fully forming. When the tingle deep inside her body rose up to heat her neck and settle on her cheeks, she knew she was done for. “Well damn, Dave. What am I supposed to say to that?”
It showed in his eyes—the intent before the action. Her mind told her to move, avoid the kiss by putting a restraining hand to his chest, yet her heart allowed her to do nothing. And just a fraction before their lips touched she closed her eyes, tipped her face up in invitation. Yes, she had been dodging his advances but something had changed. Now she wanted Dave to make her feel what no other man ever had. As his lips caressed Kathy’s, a deep craving to be touched shook her soul and propelled her heart into conflict with her mind. Her hands shot into his hair as his body pressed her against the car.
“I don’t want a relationship, Dave,” she said against his impatient lips.
“Then maybe you should stop kissing me.” His challenging eyes stared into hers. “Go ahead, try to stop.”
Her brain told her to push him and his arrogant dare away while her hand fisted the front of his shirt and brought his tempting mouth back to hers. What was she doing? This wasn’t part of the “stay away from Dave” plan.
“I thought you didn’t want this?” he asked before shifting his mouth and fastening it on her neck.
“I don’t.”
“Then maybe we should stop,” he said with a smirk.
Kathy could feel the heat of the humiliation on her cheeks for him to see. “What? Oh my God, you’re a jerk. You did that because you knew you could and I’d… I’d—”
Dave rocked back on his heels with a smile on his face. “Enjoy it? Want to kiss me, too? What’s so wrong with that?”
“Everything!” Kathy jumped into her car and peeled out of his driveway. Getting away from him was the smartest thing she could do for herself. Dave had just proven that he could take advantage of her and she’d go willingly.
“Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” she yelled at herself even as the thought of him taking advantage of her body and them laughing in bed afterward became a very real and welcoming vision.
* * *
“Still making a good impression on the ladies, I see,” Bennett announced as Dave walked into his kitchen.
“She says she’s not interested in me.” Dave could see Bennett trying to hold back a chuckle.
“That’s not what I saw.”
“Yeah, well, you’re an old man who needs glasses.”
“And you’re a guy who trouble likes to find, even when you’re on the right side of the law.”
Dave rolled his friend’s words over carefully as Bennett sat down at Dave’s kitchen table. Why did his past always have to sneak back up and remind him of the man he used to be? He should just stay away from Kathy and save them both from wasting their time.
Bennett looked around the kitchen and shook his head. “I didn’t think you’d be able to change your life around, Dave. No offense but there’s very few people in this world who have the kind of strength and determination it takes.”
“None taken.” Dave sat across from him, beer in hand. “What the hell is going on?”
“Trouble. It ain’t got nothing to do with you. They’re only followin’ every lead—old and new. There’s been a series of break-ins lately and you’ll most likely see Detective Owen again. He’s in charge but don’t worry; as long as you’ve been on the up and up there’s nothing to worry about.”
“I can’t get any more normal, Bennett.” Dave studied his drink before taking a sip. “Strange that after all this time I still feel like running when I see you at my steps.”
Bennett laughed loud. “Just as strange as me still thinking you’re gonna.”
It was an hour later, while walking Bennett to his car that Dave thought about how he had run for too long and for all the wrong reasons. Even as Dave watched Bennett drive away, appreciation overcame him. That man had busted the rowdy kid Dave had once been too many times to count. Bennett told him that if he didn’t straighten his act out he would end up in jail—that happened—or he was going to die—that happened—or he could be “the lucky son of a bitch who turned his life around”—that happened, too. But there was still a void in Dave’s life that he couldn’t shake.
And suddenly his thoughts had returned to Kathy. She brightened his world whenever she came around. He found himself searching her out at work to ask silly questions, just to hear her voice, see her smile, hear her laugh. He felt complete when around her. As if nothing in the world mattered except her, him, and what could be. What he felt for her pushed him to do things he would never have done to or for any other woman. And the spell she cast upon him only seemed to get stronger with every intimate touch they shared.
Dave let out a long, low whistle. That kiss in his driveway had been hot and proved to him that despite every excuse she laid out, despite her hesitation toward them being m
ore than friends, she must have felt what he did. He only hoped she still did when she found out about his past.
Chapter Three
Kathy was tired and cranky after the sleepless night spent thinking about what happened with Dave. She looked in the Lion’s bathroom mirror and sighed. Really Kathy. You’d think you could’ve done a better job with the makeup this morning. She waved herself off with disgust. Maybe she should see a shrink. Only a crazy woman wouldn’t want a man like Dave. He was funny, dependable, loyal, and obviously had a wilder side she hadn’t seen yet. The image of his tattoo was one Kathy still couldn’t get over, causing her to wonder if there was more to him that she might someday discover.
“Aaggg.” She had been so pushy with him yesterday. What the heck had gotten into her? Never in her life had she been that demanding. If someone said to stay out of it, that it wasn’t any of her business, she walked away. Why couldn’t she do that with Dave? And when he kissed her, her persistence increased to whole new level. WOW. The lingering effects were enough to jumble her thoughts of him. Kathy was slowly realizing the more she discovered about Dave, the more she wanted to get to know him, kiss him, touch him, run her fingers over his—“Stop. Stop. Stop. He’s your boss and, and…” She couldn’t think of anything else to finish the sentence because the image of them naked, sweaty, and panting popped into her mind. “I’m sunk,” she told herself in the mirror.
Kathy exited the ladies’ room and walked smack into a patron. Her hands went instantly to the man’s broad chest while her feet backed her up against the wall.
“Careful,” the man smiled. “You almost ran me over.”
His charming smile and face were pleasant enough but Kathy felt no enticement toward the stranger. Maybe I’m defective. The thought depressed her as it always did whenever her lack of physical attraction to the opposite sex reared its ugly head—in defense she crossed her arms tight.
“Sorry.” She looked down at her feet, not knowing whether to run or flirt with the man.
“No worries. You come here often?”