Riley pinched the bridge of his nose tightly. He hated the idea of her running around in that crowd. He had to go get her. His chair scraped against the linoleum floor as he stood.
His attention was diverted, though, when the squad room was suddenly filled with a riot of motion and color.
“There he is! Thief! You menace! Thieeeeeeeef!”
The shrill screams echoed off the walls. Detective Carroway jumped so badly, he spilled coffee all the way down his tie. Activity in the busy bay was disrupted as the braying woman waddled her way across the room.
“You scoundrel! How dare you take my things? You lowdown, common criminal.”
Riley quickly rounded his desk as the woman bore down upon them. “Ms. Gellar. Thank you for coming down. If you’ll just wait over here—”
She moved a lot faster than it seemed. She scuttled around Carroway, behind a hooker being charged with solicitation and past two uniformed cops. Yelling as she was, she attracted attention. Still, no one expected it when she let loose with her purse and walloped Brent Harrington III alongside the head.
“Ow!” he howled, his feet lifting from the floor in surprise.
“Ms. Gellar!” Riley launched himself at her. “Stop that. I can’t let you— Ramona!”
The old lady got in two more good whacks before he was able to get the purse away from her. “Really, ma’am. I can’t let you attack him like this.”
Even though it was nice to see. He’d wanted to kick the shit out of the jerk for weeks.
Harrington held the back of his head as he looked up in total stupefaction. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
The woman bristled until red streaks of fury glowed from her cheekbones. “Don’t you use that kind of language with me. If you think the police are bad, wait until I get my hands on you, you overgrown hoodlum.”
Riley’s weight transferred to the balls of his feet when she suddenly turned on him.
“Have you arrested him yet?”
“No, ma’am.” He fought not to flinch when her mouth pursed in dissatisfaction. “We’re still trying to piece together all the facts. Mr. Harrington claims that the New Covington Cat Burglar planted your paperweight in his briefcase.”
“And you believe that dreck?” Ramona said in a huff. “My pretties are very, very valuable. No thief worth his salt would take one and give it to somebody else.”
“It wasn’t a man,” Shelli said self-importantly. “The Cat Burglar is a woman.”
That earned Brent a pinch on the ear.
“Ow! What was that for?”
Ramona leaned over him like an avenging angel. “Don’t think you can get away with lying, Mr. Snooty Pants. I’ve known you since you were wiping snot off your nose with your sleeve. If there’s a woman involved, you’re working with her.”
“Ms. Gellar,” Riley said firmly. He caught her by the arm and led her around to the other side of the desk. “You have to stop doing that. If you don’t, I’ll be forced to arrest you.”
“Arrest me? He’s the one who needs to be behind bars. He’s partnering with that Cat Burglar person, I tell you. That’s what he’s doing.”
“He is not!” Shelli trilled. “You wouldn’t say that if you’d seen what she did to him. She left him tied to our balcony with a…with a five-dollar bill shoved up his private parts!”
The scandalous whisper echoed throughout the room. Silent laughter rolled in waves but Ramona Gellar wasn’t amused. “Don’t you get foul with me, missy. I’ll tell your mother.”
“Mother is already on her way here,” Shelli sniffed impudently.
And so, the battle was on.
Riley lifted a hand to his aching temple and wondered what he’d done to deserve this special kind of hell. He couldn’t deal with this now. He needed to get out of here and—
That was when he felt her.
He didn’t see her enter the room and he certainly couldn’t hear her over the din.
He just felt her presence.
Looking toward the door, he saw Talia. She was dressed to kill in a white coat and a red suit with a skirt that showed off her mouthwatering legs. His heart began to thud in his chest.
“No,” he whispered under his breath. There was only one reason why she would have come here.
She was going to turn herself in.
Everything inside him rebelled at the idea. Cop or not, he didn’t want her behind bars. His tired brain started whirring. He had to figure a way to get her out of the station before she did something stupid.
Or before Harrington saw her and put two and two together.
Too late. He watched helplessly as she began moving toward him. More than a few heads snapped in her direction. He glared at his coworkers, but found it hard to take his eyes off her himself. Even with dark circles of fatigue under her eyes, she was drop-dead gorgeous. His nerve endings began to zing when she stopped a foot away from him.
“Can we talk?” she said loud enough for his ears only.
He stared at her hard but she couldn’t meet his gaze. Instead, she focused her attention on the ruckus in the room. Ramona and the Harringtons were still going at it full-bore. She didn’t smile. She didn’t think it was funny. Something about the way her shoulders relaxed intrigued him, though. She was content with the way the socialites were tearing into each other.
A lightbulb flared inside his head.
Of course, she was content. She’d planned this fiasco! She’d planted that paperweight not only to draw suspicion away from the professor, but also to shine it on Harrington.
“Carroway,” he called. Oh yeah, they were going to have a talk but they were going to do it in private.
Beside him, he felt Talia’s nervousness crank up a notch. She turned toward him and his own tension peaked. “Don’t,” he warned. “Don’t say a word until we’re alone.”
“Wait. I came here for a reason.”
Her voice wavered but it was the look in her eyes that made him uneasy. They were filled with fear and regret, yet unwavering resolve. She thought she needed to put things right.
His muscles clenched. She was bound and determined to do something. Whatever it was, he wasn’t going to be able to stop her.
“Talia,” he said, his throat tightening.
She surprised him by pulling her purse out from under her arm. Her hands shook as she opened it and took out what looked to be a check. Tentatively, she passed it to him.
“What’s this?” he asked in confusion.
“It’s a donation,” she said. She licked her lips, but raised her voice so everyone could hear. “Despite recent news reports, not everyone in this town is unhappy with the police department’s work. This is for the New Covington Police Retirement Fund.”
“Hey!” Applause and whoops filled the air, sticking it to Harrington all the more. “That’s all right.”
Riley didn’t care. Nervous tears wet Talia’s eyes but he’d caught the way she’d emphasized “retirement”. His gut clenched. Looking down at the check, he saw that the word was circled.
His anger returned with a rush. He didn’t need to ask where she’d gotten the money. She probably thought the irony was poetic—especially with Harrington sitting not five feet away. “Damn you,” he hissed.
He knew what she was trying to tell him but, once again, she’d put him in an impossible situation.
It was enough to spark him into action. Leaving Carroway to handle Ramona and the Harringtons, he took her arm and began looking for someplace private. “Come with me. Now.”
The lieutenant’s office was empty. He led her inside and slammed the door behind them. For good measure, he locked it and closed the blinds. Turning, he walked right up to her.
“Is this supposed to make everything all right?” he asked, thrusting the check into her face. “Retirement. I get it. You’re saying that this was your last time but, know what? I’ve heard it before.”
“Riley, please let me explain.”
“I don’t need a
n explanation.” He tossed the check to the side and it fluttered to the ground. “You swore to me you were through with the New Covington Cat Burglar routine. You looked me right in the eye.”
She paled. “I know—and I knew you’d be angry with me. I just had to clean up the mess I’d made.”
“This is how you fix things?” Reaching out, he caught her by the shoulders. It was all he could do not to shake her. “How am I ever supposed to believe a word you say again?”
He stopped cold when she let out a gasp of pain. Not emotional pain. Physical.
“What the hell?”
She stepped back but he followed, pushing her coat off her shoulders as he went. She batted at his hands but he undid the buttons on her suit jacket. Gently, he slipped it off her shoulders. Her clothes dropped to the floor with a soft whoosh.
The sight that greeted his eyes made his knees go weak. “Oh, baby.”
His anger dissolved in a flash. She wore only a bra underneath but that wasn’t what grabbed his attention. The massive bruise covering her shoulder and spreading down her arm did that all by itself.
She shivered and the air shuddered out of his lungs. He didn’t trust his legs to hold him. Catching her by the waist, he pulled her with him as he settled his hips back against the lieutenant’s desk.
“God, Talia. You were hurt.”
“It’s not as bad as it looks.”
“Stop lying to me.” He pulled her close between his spread legs. With a groan, he leaned his head on her chest. The rainbow of colors marring her soft skin made him ache inside. “Harrington told me about the fight. I get queasy every time I think about you hanging from that rope. You could have been killed!”
She stood tense in his embrace as if she didn’t know how to take his sudden change of mood. “I’m fine,” she said cautiously. “Nothing happened.”
“Your shoulder is purple. That’s not nothing.” He wrapped his arms around her waist in a bear hug and buried his face between her soft breasts. He thought he’d been worried before. Now that he’d seen proof of how violent the struggle had been, he didn’t think he could handle it. The “what if”s were nearly making him sick. “You were so lucky, baby. Did you ever stop to think about what you would have done if he’d pulled a gun on you? For God’s sake, he owns a factory full of them.”
Almost timidly, she stroked the back of his neck.
“I told you I know Brent better than you,” she said softly. “His mother never allowed guns in her house. Neither does Shelli.”
Riley finally lifted his head. He could spend his whole life studying this woman and never figure her out. “But why? Why do this? Why put yourself on the line like this? Was it to clear the professor? I told you I’d handle that.”
She swallowed hard, but looked him straight in the eye. “He came after you.”
Riley went still. “Say that again?”
“He knew how I felt about you, so he went after you.” Her shaky voice hardened. “I couldn’t allow it.”
Little zaps of electricity shot down Riley’s spine. If there was one thing he knew for certain about her, it was that she’d throw herself in front of a freight train for the people she cared about.
The zaps grew until his entire body was buzzing with energy.
He had to hear it. He needed to know.
“Just how do you feel about me?” he asked hoarsely.
Color drained from her cheeks. She hadn’t meant to let that much slip.
“I know how vicious Brent can be,” she said evasively. “I couldn’t let him hurt you because of me.”
“Answer the question, Talia. How do you feel about me?”
* * * * *
Talia looked at Riley with something close to terror ringing in her chest. She’d been so afraid to come here. She’d thought she couldn’t be more frightened than when she’d approached the researcher from the Nautington Institute with the Borgia whip. Nothing, though, came close to the fear she felt now.
She couldn’t tell him.
He’d been hunting her like prey for months. One night together didn’t change that. He was a cop and she was a criminal. It could never work. He’d already told her that he couldn’t believe anything she said.
“I admire you, Riley,” she admitted. She laid her hands on his shoulders, needing to touch him just this one last time. “You’re an honest, hardworking man with morals a mile deep. I know I’ve been a thorn in your side. You must hate me but one day I hope you can look back on everything and realize how good you were for me.”
“Hate you?”
Her lips curled in remorse. “I’ve done some horrible things. You made me see that.”
“Damn it, woman!”
The world suddenly spun and Talia let out a yelp. When she regained her equilibrium, she found herself sitting on the desk where he’d been—only her skirt was up around her waist. His hands were already working on the tabs of her garter belt.
“Where did you get the idiotic idea that I hated you?” he asked, anger tingeing his voice. Her garter turned loose and he began tugging at her panties.
Talia gasped and reached for his shoulders when he rocked her back on the desk. What was he doing? She’d played this scenario a thousand times in her head but he’d never reacted like this. “I’ve caused nothing but trouble for you. I lied to you. I made your job miserable.”
“You think that’s all I care about? My job?”
She cried out sharply when he pushed her flat onto her back and thrust two fingers into her. She was dry and the penetration was uncomfortable. She looked up at him, confused and more than a little apprehensive. He braced his free hand beside her head as he leaned down over her.
“I don’t hate you, Talia. If anything, I’m a little too much in love with you.”
She jolted with shock. He loved her? Pleasure ran through her and, to her embarrassment, she felt herself cream. Wicked satisfaction shone in his eyes.
“Feels like you don’t hate me so much, either.”
He scissored his fingers inside her and her back arched. “Ah, Riley.”
“Tell me,” he demanded. “Tell me how you feel.”
She hesitated.
“Now, damn it!”
“I love you. Completely.”
His body tensed. The cop in him faded into the background and his mouth came crashing down on hers. His tongue dove deep.
Talia welcomed the rapacious kiss.
He loved her.
That changed everything.
Sudden hunger seized her and she reached for the zipper of his pants. She needed his big cock inside her. She’d thought she’d killed their chances. He’d just given her a sliver of hope but she needed more than words. She needed him.
Her hands were so shaky, he reached down to help. When her fingers wrapped around his big tool, they both sighed.
“God, yes,” Riley grunted as he started loosening his tie. “Just like that, baby.”
“Hurry,” she said, lifting her hips. She didn’t need any preliminaries. If she were any more ready, she’d be coming. “Make love to me, Riley.”
She didn’t have to beg. He tore off his shirt and threw it aside. She ran her hands up his strong arms as he caught her by the hips and lifted her. Automatically, her stocking-covered legs wrapped high around his waist.
Arousal made Talia a quivering mess. With the way he had her tilted upward, she could see everything. The muscles in his chest contracted as he took her weight. His abs clenched as he guided his pulsing cock to her opening.
Her eyes widened. The intimacy was more than a little shocking. She’d never watched him disappear into her before.
He penetrated her with just the head and their bodies shuddered.
Oh, God. That was incredible—watching it and feeling it at the same time.
The sight of his cock burrowing, inch by inch, into her cunt made Talia’s juices run. It eased his penetration and he slid in deeply. Gripping his forearms tightly, she ground her swollen
pussy lips against his tight balls. His fingers dug into her hips and her back bowed with pleasure.
“Fuck!” he groaned.
He began plunging into her and she let out a cry of pleasure.
“Shhh,” he said. Leaning down, he silenced her moans with a hard kiss. “People are going to hear.”
“I don’t care.” She had him. Her body writhed, knocking a stapler and a pencil holder off the lieutenant’s desk. Riley didn’t pause in his rhythm. With each thrust, she lifted her hips to meet him. Spellbound, she watched as he pumped in and out of her.
The effect was shattering and she felt her toes beginning to curl inside her red high heels.
“It’s too soon,” she said on a high note. Her fingernails began scoring trails down his biceps. She wanted this to last forever.
“Hold on,” he said in a low voice.
His touch was almost rough as he pulled her right to the very edge of the desk where he could get at her best. The position had him bumping hard against her clit with every thrust.
“Come on, baby,” he grunted. His hips began hammering at her more quickly and the bouncing free tabs on her garter belt clicked against the desk. “Come for me.”
He was penetrating her as deep as he could go with every lunge. Talia’s teeth clenched and fireworks sparked behind her closed eyelids. She could feel every millimeter of him as he filled her.
“Give it to me, Talia. Show me how much you love me.”
Energy coursed through her body and left though her fingertips and toes.
“Yes!” she cried as her pussy clenched.
She rode the wave as it crested. From a distance, she heard him call out her name. His back arched as his cock spurted its wad.
Exhausted, she collapsed onto the desk. Sweat covered her body and she could feel the blotter beneath her sticking to her back. Breathing hard, Riley leaned over her. Bracing both hands aside her head, he let his neck hang limp as he waited for his strength to return.
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