by Jacobs, Ann
Gray found himself paying special attention to the information about the kids who’d been caught up with their dealer and the dealer’s supplier. They should have known better than to mess around with hard drugs. They should have stuck with booze and pot for fun, the way Gray and his buddies had as undergraduates and even occasionally as law school students when they needed to let down their hair.
Still, he couldn’t see how they deserved to be charged with trafficking cocaine for the very minor roles they’d played. As though he were the one planning to defend these unfortunate young men, Gray picked up his pen and drafted an opening statement that included every piece of exculpatory evidence he could come up with on short notice.
While he was on his laptop, seeking out case law that might justify negating Florida statutes in the case of the kids who’d drawn his sympathy, Andi stepped up next to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Good morning. I see you’re an early riser. Sorry I slept so late, but you gave me quite a workout last night. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. Is there any more of that coffee?”
Gray got up and pulled her into his arms. “The pot’s in the kitchen. I was just about to go and grab a couple of the cannoli that we brought home last night.” Bending, he took her mouth and used his tongue to trace the seam between her incredibly sexy lips. When she closed the distance between their bodies, he felt himself getting hard against her soft, flat belly.
She had a way of turning him on faster than any woman in his memory—except, just maybe, when he’d been a horny teenager who had probably spent more time with an erection than without.
● ● ●
By the time they finished off the cannoli and had a second cup of coffee, Gray had impressed Andi with the depth of his insight about her upcoming trial.
“You really should think about making full use of your law degree because you’d make a fine defense attorney,” she commented as they strolled along the seaweed-littered shoreline looking for unusual shells, their buckets in hand. “You’ve got me convinced that at least two of my defendants don’t belong in prison, even though it’s my job to see that prison is where they end up.”
Gray laughed. “Funny. While you were snoozing and I was prepping to play devil’s advocate for you, the same thought crossed my mind. Somehow my reasons for choosing the DEA over going to work for Winston-Roe seem less important now than they did when I made my initial choice. I’m thinking that if I argued well enough, I could get myself assigned to the criminal division now.”
Andi wondered as she watched him sift through a stack of sand-encrusted seaweed whether she had anything to do with him suddenly seeing the prospect of practicing law in Tampa more appealing today than it apparently had been when he’d volunteered for the undercover job that would take him away early Monday morning. No, she told herself, it was a lot more likely that helping her prepare for trial had simply reminded him that he enjoyed the mental exercise involved in criminal defense.
“Look,” he told her. “It’s a fair-sized conch. They only blow up on the beach here after a good storm.”
The white shell, smooth on the outside with a conical shaped tip, measured around three inches lengthwise. When Andi looked closely, she saw something moving near the lip of the shell. “It has an animal growing inside it.”
“Want to keep it?”
Andi thought for a few seconds. The shell was beautiful—unusual too. It would make a fine memento of what was shaping up to be the best weekend of her life. “No. Whatever creature has made a home inside it deserves to live. Let’s help it get back to the water.”
“Good idea, although I’ve eaten more than a few bowls of conch stew in my time. You’ve obviously got a tender heart. I bet you dragged home stray puppies and kittens when you were a kid.”
“I still do. Just a month or so ago, I found a half-starved mama cat and three babies in the weeds next to the parking lot at my apartment building. Mom and Dad now have four new feline family members living on their back porch because I can’t have pets at my place.”
Gray smiled. “I thought so,” he commented as he carefully picked up the conch and they walked together to return it to the water. “When I was a kid, I told myself I’d get a dog or cat when I grew up and got a place of my own, but my job makes it nearly impossible to have even a goldfish or two since I’m away from home so much.”
“Didn’t you have pets when you were a child?” Andi found it hard to imagine Gray growing up without the animals that had been as loved as any other members of her family for as long as she could remember.
“I had a salt-water aquarium. And a pet grass snake until it scared the housekeeper half to death and Dad made me let it loose.” Bending, he lowered the little conch beneath the water. “There, the critter inside it ought to be okay now. The tide will carry it out to sea.”
He took her hand, and they strolled along, stopping every now and then to look at an unusual looking shell. When Andi watched Gray look longingly at a golden retriever playing in the surf while its owner waded nearby, her heart went out to him.
She hadn’t grown up living in a mansion, with fancy sailboats and sports cars at her disposal, but as she spent more time with Gray, she realized that she’d take the modest home where she’d grown up over his, any day. They may not have had a lot, but Andi had never doubted that her parents loved her and her brother—and saw that they had all the memorable experiences they could afford that children needed—including summer vacations that included their pets, in a beat-up camper trailer Dad had towed behind his truck.
They hadn’t gone far from Tampa or to any places that could be considered exotic, but those trips had been adventures that Andi was sure she treasured at least as much as Gray valued the times he’d mentioned going sailing with his dad. One summer her family had spent a week at Manatee Springs, on the Suwannee River, paddling in a canoe her dad had found at a yard sale. On another trip, they’d met some of her mom’s relatives up in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. Once, they’d splurged and stayed at a hotel on Cocoa Beach so they could watch a launch at Cape Canaveral, up close.
Yeah, Andi had a lot of memories of her childhood that would last the rest of her life. She had family who loved each other—and who treasured their time together even now that she and her brother were grown and had places of their own.
“You’re awfully quiet all of a sudden,” Gray mentioned as they reached the point where the Gulf and Intracoastal Waterway came together at the tip of the key.
“Sorry, I was remembering some of the times my family spent together during summers when I was little. We did simple things, nothing glamorous like sailing to the Bahamas—but we had fun, packing up ourselves, the dog, and the cat, and going camping for a week whenever Dad had time off from work.”
He grinned. “That sounds like fun. Not that I didn’t enjoy sailing and fishing with Dad—until he died when I was still in high school. I still miss the times we had together, just the two of us. One summer he and Mother took me to Europe. I must have been eleven or twelve then, too young to get the most out of visiting castles and museums, and resentful as hell because the trip interfered with me playing in my Little League all-star game.”
Andi turned to him and met his gaze. “I’ve never even thought about going abroad. Maybe someday . . . if I can afford the time and money to see all I’d like to see in one trip. Still, I don’t think I missed anything vital. I’ve toured castles on the Internet, not to mention looking up ancient artifacts and seeing videos of famous cities.”
“You’ve probably seen more of Europe than I remember.” He took a close look at her face and brushed her cheek with a fingertip. “You’ve also seen more of the sun than you should have, with your fair skin. We’d better head back to the condo.”
“Oh no. I put on sunscreen before we left.” At least, Andi figured, her long-sleeved cover-up should prevent a full-body lobster effect. “I’m not as sun sensitive as most redheads, so I should be okay as long as we
get out of the direct sun.”
“Here, put on my baseball cap. It ought to give you a little protection.” He sounded worried as they headed back toward his place.
Andi was worried too, but not as much about being sunburned as she was about falling too hard for Gray. I’ve got to remember this is just a weekend fling, nothing more, she told herself, but she was afraid no warning she could give herself would keep her from feeling a whole lot more for him than just the desire she couldn’t resist.
Chapter Eight
Showering off sand and sunscreen, Gray missed Andi, who was using the guest room to clean up for the evening. They could have showered together—but for reasons he couldn’t define, he wanted this weekend to be more about getting to know her, less about nonstop sex.
Not that he had anything against sex, especially sex with Andi. She was the most giving, most naturally sexy woman he’d ever made love with. Just thinking about her had him hard and ready, but he wasn’t doing anything about it now. Not until he’d taken her out for a real, God-honest date.
Before getting in the shower, Gray had called his high school buddy, Sam Kramer, and arranged to meet him and Marcy at a trendy seafood restaurant and nightclub on nearby Madeira Beach. Good thing Sam wasn’t on call tonight—because Gray wanted to show off Andi to a couple she already knew, if only in a professional sense.
He didn’t consider what he and Andi were doing was casual—or a weekend fling, as she seemed to think. If it were, he’d order dinner to be delivered from one of the very good restaurants right here within walking distance. And he’d take Andi straight to bed and keep her there until the setting sun started rising again in the morning.
It was too soon to be certain, but Gray had a feeling he’d met the woman of his dreams, and he didn’t want to make it look as if he was primarily out to get laid as many times as possible before he had to board that plane.
The assignment he’d angled to get to avoid his mother’s constant interference now seemed like an unwanted burden—and the reason for his change of attitude had a lot to do with a hot, smart redhead with whom he wanted to explore a relationship, for a lot longer than a weekend. It was a lot too soon to say for sure, but he had a feeling he couldn’t shake that Andi Young would change his life forever, for the better.
She seemed to be the kind of woman he could fall in love with, not for a weekend but for a lifetime.
● ● ●
As soon as they stepped inside the casual restaurant, Gray spotted Sam and Marcy at the bar. His arm at Andi’s back, he worked their way through a mixed crowd of college students, young adults, and retirees, and joined his friends who were working on a pitcher of what looked like mojitos.
“Hey there,” Marcy said, fishing a lime quarter out of her drink and sucking out the juice. She looked as good now as ever, still blonde and gorgeous with a sparkling smile that had intrigued him back in the day. Her white halter top and shorts showed off the tan he’d never seen any way but perfect. And she still looked at Sam as if she thought he’d hung the moon.
That used to bother Gray. It didn’t now. He liked how Andi looked with her rosy cheeks and a simple sundress whose colors reminded him of the water—some green, some blue, and a little beige in the small seashells scattered onto the print. Unlike Marcy, who wore high-heeled sandals, Andi had on ballet flats.
The better to dance in, she’d commented before they left his condo.
Yeah, Andi was practical and Gray liked that—a lot. “Is our table ready?” he asked Sam after pulling out bar stools for himself and Andi and joining the other couple.
“The host should be calling my name pretty soon,” Sam replied. “I signed up for it when we got here about a half-hour ahead of you two. “Hi, Andi. It’s good to see you again.”
Gray hadn’t considered that Andi might know Sam as well as Marcy, but he should have guessed they’d at least met since the two women worked together. “I’m guessing introductions aren’t necessary,” he commented.
“No, I occasionally insist that Sam come to the office to troll for new patients.” Marcy’s grin let Gray know she was kidding. “Andi, I like your sundress. It looks as though Gray let you get a little too much sun, though.”
Andi laughed. “The downside of having red hair. He noticed soon enough when I was beginning to roast out on the beach that he got me inside before any real damage got done.”
“Andi, what would you like to drink?” Gray asked when a bartender finally showed up and looked at him expectantly.
She glanced at the large, cardboard signs above the bar. “It seems the specialties here are mojitos and margaritas. I like either—just not by the pitcher full unless you want to see me dancing on top of the bar.”
“We’ll share a pitcher of margaritas, then.” When the bartender left, he turned back to Andi. “Rum and I don’t get along too swimmingly. I’d just as soon not have a headache in the morning, because I’ve got plans for you. Okay?”
“Okay. I’m surprised that a sailor like you doesn’t have a taste for rum. Isn’t it the favorite drink down in the Caribbean?”
“Yeah. Even the best brands give me an awful hangover, though, so I try to steer clear of everything made with it.” Gray poured some of the margaritas into two plastic glasses and handed a glass to Andi.
Just then the host called Sam’s name. They gathered their drinks and followed a jeans-clad waitress to a table overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway on one side, the dance floor on the other. “The band tonight’s country-western, and we’ll have karaoke between sets,” she informed them as she handed them menus. “Enjoy.”
● ● ●
Simple beach fare—fried jumbo shrimp and homemade French fries were served in a huge platter along with creamy coleslaw and cocktail sauce—three varieties ranging from smooth and mild to bright red and fiery hot with grated horseradish and habanero peppers. Marcy, whom Andi had noticed eating sparingly when they went out for lunch during trial recesses, put away almost as much as the men.
Marcy grinned. “Yeah, I sometimes splurge and forget my figure, especially when Sam brings me here. We’ve been coming to this place since high school—I’m a sucker for their shrimp, especially the hot, hot sauce. Good thing for me that Bennie’s doesn’t serve this, or I’d probably weigh two hundred pounds.”
Sam reached over and patted Marcy’s tummy. “That would never happen, sweetheart, unless you should get pregnant with triplets. I’d still love you, though, even if your amazingly hot body should go to pot.”
When Marcy laid a hand on Sam’s thigh and said something obviously meant just for him, Andi remembered Gray saying that Marcy and Sam had been together since high school. What they had together was rare—a couple who were obviously not only in love with each other after so many years, but whose desire for each other was palpable even to the most casual observer.
Could even casual acquaintances feel the sizzling chemistry that flowed between Gray and Andi? She found that possibility didn’t embarrass her as she’d thought it might. She wanted Gray as she’d never wanted any other man—and she didn’t care if others could see the feelings that had to be obvious from the way they looked at each other, in the casual touches that promised so much more.
Their boss’ declared lack of need for a live-in lover had made sense to Andi, until she met Gray and discovered a sudden need to pair up. “Marcy, do you think Sandra really doesn’t want a long-term relationship with a man?” she asked when curiosity got the best of her while Gray and Sam had gone to speak with one of the guys in the band.
“You’re kidding, aren’t you? Haven’t you seen that very unusual choker she always wears?”
“Yes, I’ve seen it. What does that have to do with our boss’ not being on the lookout for a lover?” Andi didn’t understand.
“Sandra Giancone is into BDSM. She has a master—he’s the only one who can unlock that choker. From what one of the older assistant state attorneys told me, the man’s a general contractor.
He’s seen them together at that posh, private sex club down in Ybor City—really together, as in having sex in public.”
Andi could hardly believe her ears. “BDSM? As in whips and chains and rubber bodysuits?”
“I don’t know about that. I don’t envision our boss being a masochist, since she’s anything but that on the job. My impression is that she’s into sexual submission—and that her partner is a Dominant. To each her own, I say. Sometimes it’s fun when Sam tells me what to do in bed, but I wouldn’t go so far as to put up with domination in other areas of our life together.”
Andi glanced over at the men, who were deep in conversation with the lead guitar player. “Sam? I’d never imagine that he’d be into kinky games.” She had no trouble imagining Gray stepping over the line from forceful lover into handcuffs and other fun and games. What surprised her was that she got turned on, thinking about him tying her up and banishing her inhibitions.
“Well, he’s not into kink, at least not by what I’ve heard goes on at those clubs. My parents would die a thousand deaths if they thought their little girl was going to that club and having sex where everybody could see—not that I think Sam would ever take me there.” Marcy grinned. “So would Sam’s parents, for that matter. Sandra’s local too—from one of the old Sicilian families that settled in Tampa years ago—but I guess she’s been on her own too long for her parents to pay much attention to what she’s doing or with whom.”