by Freya Barker
"Listen." The rumble of his deep voice gave her goose bumps. "Did you hear me when I said I had no idea it was you until you showed up on the burglary call? And do you remember what took place before that?"
Tentatively she lifted her eyes to meet his. His warm, deep chocolate brown eyes that carried laugh lines at the outer edges, were soft and kind, so she nodded, an indication for him to go on.
"When you came to the diner to drop off your pies, I had no idea who you were; not one. All I saw was a gorgeous, ripe and vivacious woman who obviously took life by the balls, no matter what. I saw all that in the two minutes it took you to get out of your car and to the door of the diner, and I hadn't even talked to you yet. When you opened your smart mouth, and that rich, full-bodied sound came out, it rippled down my back. You gave me attitude, then joked around a bit. Darlin', phone call or not, I was attracted to you already. Finding out that was you on the phone? I'll admit, that was a very welcome surprise."
Slowly stroking his thumbs down her cheeks, he could feel Emma's face relax in his hands.
"You okay, darlin'?" He needed to know.
Looking up at him with her head tilted, Emma frowned a little. "Who is Katie? Is she your wife, your girlfriend? I would feel pretty shitty if knew I had been stepping all over someone else's territory."
What the fuck? That was what she comes back with? Amazing. He just about spewed his guts all over her kitchen counter, and she wanted to know who Katie was. Fine. Letting go of her face, he straightened up, schooling his features for this disclosure. This should be fun.
"Katie is just a friend I call from time to time."
"Ahh. So she’s a booty call then?" Glancing up at him, she looked to be enjoying making him squirm a little.
"Booty call? Umm... well, she... we've known each other for a long time, but it's not like that, we just hang out sometimes. Or call. Or something, ya know." This was so uncomfortable, and the more he wanted to get out of this conversation, the more Emma seemed to brighten up.
"You know, we should get going on the office area, and then we have to make some arrangements for you." He tried to steer things in a different direction.
"What arrangements. What do you mean?"
"You can't stay by yourself, and I don't want you staying with Arlene either, because it might put her at risk as well. Frank doesn't have the manpower to have someone assigned to you full-time, and I’m pretty sure whoever came, will be coming back. They'll figure out there is nothing stored on your laptop and they will need some way to get the information, or, well, whatever. Point is, you can't be alone."
"Are you serious? What the hell? Look, I don't even understand half of what’s going on, and I certainly don't understand what any of it has to do with me." Her earlier warm and fuzzy feeling was slowly starting to make her hot under the collar. This was getting ridiculous. What was she supposed to do? Not being in control really pissed her off. "You know, I already can't stand not having any control over my bloody body, now fucking everything feels like it's running off the rails!"
Loudly slamming the remnants of lunch in the sink, she didn't notice Gus coming up behind her until she suddenly felt a hand between her shoulder blades, sliding up to grab her firmly by the neck. He leaned in to her line of sight, so close, Emma could count his eyelashes.
Gus's deep voice soothed over her, "Easy, darlin'. I hear ya, and we'll get this sorted as soon as we can, but let's be smart about it, Okay?" Leading her to a stool, he nudged her to sit and grabbed the stool next to her. He turned to face her; bracketed his knees around hers, holding her legs.
"This Ernst Corbin I’m looking for has a bit of a criminal history. He was about to rat out a bigger player and either got cold feet, or he was found out and decided to run. Either way, he’s running scared, and that is always dangerous, so I’m not gonna take any chances with you, Emma."
"But how long will this take? I mean, how do you know for sure he isn’t running for the border already and you’re just wasting time here?"
“'Cause if my guess is right, that truck you described for the sheriff, the one that's been following you into Cortez, is the same truck I saw peeling out of your drive last night. Someone who spends that much time casing you is not gonna give up now unless he found what he was looking for. I would assume that given the state of your house, plus the fact that I interrupted his business, he isn't done yet. So for now, you're gonna have to put up with me."
Emma had a hard time concentrating on what Gus was saying, but was acutely aware of what he was doing. He was slowly rubbing his thumb over her knee as he talked, mesmerizing her. It felt good. Crap.
"Okay. I’ll put up with you, alright." She muttered as she was enjoying being distracted.
******
Fucking adorable, Gus thought as he was pulling out of the driveway on the way to the diner for some dinner. She's fucking adorable, and she doesn't have a clue. For all her tough cookie exterior, it was obvious he flustered her and he liked it; liked having that effect on her. Being a bit of an ass, he held her a little longer than necessary when helping her into the truck, getting her all flushed. Of course then he had to adjust himself again while making his way around the Yukon, but that was his own doing. Well, technically no, it was all Emma's doing. Fuck. What that woman did to him was unbelievable. Here he was, forty-five years old, for all intents and purposes, his dick should be getting old and tired, but instead it's was fired up and ready to go like it was his first time. Wise? Probably not. Hell, he was too tired and too old to play games, or to pass up on good things when they would come along. He just needed to make sure to keep his head in the game and keep her protected while he got this asshole off the streets. Good thing he'd had a chance to fill Joe in today, and had the support back from his office because he had a feeling he might be busy tonight.
Feeling Emma's eyes on him, he glanced over at her. "What's up, darlin', you hungry?"
"Getting there. Pretty wiped out to be honest. Been a long day, but I'm glad it's done. There’s not too much damage, and I feel better with that security system in; although I still can't figure out how you managed to get them out here so quickly. I'm not buying for one second that they “owed you one”, so you better hand over the bill when it comes, because I'm aiming to pay for it."
Looking at Emma, he shook his head. "No, darlin', that is on me. Call it part of the service. I toss these guys business all the time, and they work from Cortez as well as Grand Junction, so it wasn't that hard to get someone out to the house on short notice. Don't sweat it, ‘cause I don't wanna hear about it." Then he broke out into a grin, saying, "But if you really wanna pay me, you can bake me a pie. I'll take that as payment any day of the week." That drew a snort from Emma, who gave him a half-assed slug to his arm.
"Fine, but you pick what kind." She smiled.
Pulling into Arlene's Diner, he could tell there was a decent dinner crowd. He also spotted Emma's SUV still sitting in the handicapped spot.
"Why don't I drop you off at the door and see if there is room around the back. Place is busy."
"Just take me around the back with you and we'll go in through the kitchen. Seb won't mind so there’s no need to make an extra stop here."
Luckily, there was plenty of parking space in the back.
"Do you mind if I grab your arm and leave the walker? It's a pain to move around with that thing when it's this busy."
"Yeah, sure, hang on. Let me get you down safe first." Opening up the door for Emma, he reached up to help her down, but instead of putting her down, he simply held her wrapped in his arms with her feet dangling just shy of the ground. For once he was looking straight in her eyes.
"Short little thing, aren't ya?"
"Gus, what are you doing?" Emma breathed out.
"Holding you. Feels good having my arms full of woman. Are you gonna smack me if I kiss you?"
Before Emma had a chance to respond, his mouth settled firmly over her half-opened lips. Pulling back, he looked
at her slightly stunned blue eyes, and moved back in at an adjusted slant. With a strong swipe of his tongue, he claimed access to her mouth.
Oh yeah, that woke her up. Her two small hands grabbed the hair at the base of his skull, while her tongue gave as good as it got.
Her body slowly slid down until her feet touched the ground, leaving his hands free to roam over the luscious curves of her ass; more than just a handful and feeling so fucking good. He couldn't help but rock his rejuvenated hard-on against her body, letting her feel exactly what she did to him. Fuck. That woman could kiss thirty year old paint of the walls. Her sweet taste and spicy little tongue seemed to satisfy a hunger he didn't realize he had. Her small, but strong hands were kneading the contours of his back and ass, making his skin tingle and his balls draw up tight.
She was rubbing her breasts up against his chest, eager for friction. She made little groaning noises that drove him wild. His hips were involuntarily dry humping into her and he felt so fucking sexed up and hungry to come. He hadn't felt this way since he was about sixteen and had his first taste of a girl's pussy.
The slam of the trash can lid by the backdoor had them jumping apart. Seb was standing with the door in his hand and a big-ass grin on his face.
"Coming in, folks? Or am I gonna sell tickets?"
"Fuck off, Seb." Emma said, turning all shades of embarrassed. She could barely look Gus in the eye, but the level she was looking at now wasn't much better... holy cow! Lifting her eyes to his face, he was standing there looking all smug down at her.
"Not gonna apologize, darlin'. Although, I came close to throwing you back in the truck and taking you here."
"Seriously? You have no filter! Do you say everything?"
Gus just smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "Pretty much. Don't see the point in beating around the bush, do you? We had an orgasm together, Emma, it's not like we're complete strangers. And that kiss was fucking hot. I look forward to more."
She just shook her head and laughed it off because seriously, what else do you do with a declaration like that? Emma grabbed his arm and started moving for the back door where Seb had disappeared inside.
*****
"So what were you and the hunk doing out in the back? Seb said something about walking out and interrupting you? Interrupting what? Dish, bitch." Arlene had followed Emma into the bathroom, of course wanting to hear all the latest.
"Not much of anything. Just parking the car and he helped me out, and instead of taking the walker, he walked me in ‘cause it's too busy. Why?"
"Well, let's see. You came in the kitchen all pink and flustered with big swollen lips, looking like you just ate the biggest slice of chocolate cake. Then there was Mr. Hunk, walking beside you, looking like he was feeling mighty good about himself.”
"Fine. A kiss, Arlene. Just a little peck."
"HA. A peck, my ass! Tonsil hockey is more like it. That I'll buy, given the way you two looked. Just be careful, okay? Don't want my bestie hurt, even if I do want her to get laid good!"
"Christ, would you drop it already? I'm not twelve years old, Mom. I just want to eat some dinner and, whatever. I don't wanna talk about it anymore. This is freaking me out... All of it."
Washing her hands at the sink and looking up at the mirror, Emma scanned her face, suddenly seeing her reality reflected back at her. Not bad looking, but definitely aging. There were wrinkles around her eyes and a bit around her mouth, with ugly lines in her neck. Oh no, is that a double chin? Fuck!
Turning to Arlene, who was standing there quietly observing for once, she said, "I'm not made for this. I'm too old and too broken... unappealing. I won't be able to think of anything but that!"
"You're an idiot." That's all Arlene said before turning on her heels and walking out of the bathroom.
Sucking in a deep breath, she pushed her way out the door and saw Gus already getting up to meet her halfway. Damn. He's not gonna make it easy on her.
*****
With the food already on the table, they settled in for a relatively easy conversation. Gus asked her about Boston and Kara, and she told him how proud she was of her girl graduating and finding her way into a great job. She talked about how she struggled a while with the decision to come out here and leave her in Boston, but that Kara had urged her to follow her heart, and so she did.
He told her about his office in Grand Junction and the people that worked for him, but it wasn't until she found out that he was forty-five that she instantly lost that relaxed feeling that had started to settle over her.
"You're younger than I am?" She looked at him with abject horror on her face, making him chuckle.
"Two years, so what?"
"Well, that's just great." Shaking her head, her shoulders sagged a little. "Something else to add to the list," she mumbled.
"What was that?" Gus demanded.
"Nothing. Forget it, it's silly."
"I don't think so, Emma. Answer me. Add to what list?" The angry tone in his voice had her looking up at him tentatively.
"Well, don't get pissed at me! It's just..." She let out a big sigh, not quite able to formulate what she was feeling, "I just always... I feel so damn inadequate already! And you! You're like Mr. Perfect or something. You come along and make like some fucking knight in shining armor; all hard, good looking and fit, and... and now you're only forty-five!" Her volume went up towards the end of her little tirade, and Emma was noticing how quiet the diner suddenly was. Looking around, she could see eyes quickly turning away from her, where they were obviously focused.
Shoot me, please, someone shoot me.
Eyes sliding over to Gus in front of her, she saw his head focused down, his shoulders shaking, but as his eyes slowly came up, he was obviously steeling his resolve not to laugh out loud. All she could do now was close her eyes and pretend she was on a beach in the Caribbean. Then she felt his hand grabbing hers. The rough pad of his thumb was rubbing the skin between her thumb and index finger, almost making her groan. She'd just pretend he's a cabana boy.
"Emma."
A cabana boy with a very deep, rumbly voice, making her all tingly.
"Darlin', open your eyes."
Hmmm, cabana boys in the Caribbean give good massages. His thumb was doing amazing work... "Ouch! You pinched me!" She pulled back her hand, rubbing the tender skin.
"I had to. You weren't listening."
"I didn't want to listen. I had a cabana boy, and I was perfectly happy!"
"I'm not even gonna pretend I understand that, but I have something you need to hear."
"Last time we did this, last time I listened to something you had to tell me, you completely freaked me out. I think I have had enough freak outs over the last twenty-four hours to last me a lifetime, thank you very much!"
"Emma, I think there are some things you still aren't clear on that we need to talk about, or perhaps I should say, things that I need to make clear to you somehow. Trust me. I will find a way to make myself very, very clear to you."
Each word he uttered, he moved closer into her space, so that by the end of his speech, she could feel the vibrations on the air. He moved his mouth only slightly to touch her lips, and even that hint of a touch turned her on. She was so screwed.
"But I think we need less of an audience for what I have to say..." Gus leaned in even closer, his lips touching her ear, "and do to you." He promptly moved back into his seat, leaving her blushing, wet, and damn-near panting in a booth in the middle of a damn diner.
Getting up, he held out his hand and said, "Let's head out, darlin'."
Chapter 6
The drive home was silent; each lost in their own thoughts, but Gus never lost the connection with the woman beside him. Having his hand firmly on her thigh, he rubbed his thumb back and forth, trying to soothe the tense muscles he could feel underneath his hand. He got her apprehension. He got it, but he was not going to let her run with it.
Figuring it must have been a while since she put herself out th
ere and not liking how vulnerable it made her feel, she was doing a good job talking herself out of something they obviously both wanted to explore. He had no time for that kind of nonsense, not that he had any idea what he was doing. All he knew was that he wanted inside of her badly. Ever since finding out it was her on the phone, he started recognizing the vibrations in her voice that he now automatically associated with sex, which obviously meant a constant hard on.
"Why don't you wait in the car while I check the house." He said to her as he unbuckled the seatbelt and got out of the car. "I'll just be a minute, then I'll be back to get you, okay?"
Just nodding, Emma kept her hands clasped in her lap. She still hadn't said a word since leaving the diner.
Quickly checking each room and flicking on the lights, he made sure doors and windows were still secure before going back out to get Emma.
"I don't get why I couldn't have brought home my own car. Now it's at the diner for another night." Emma grumbled as he let her pass into the house before him.
"Don't pout, darlin'," he chuckled, "We'll end up at the diner tomorrow at some point anyway, and I don't really want to let you out of my sight. Besides, for tonight, I want to pull my truck into the treeline so it's not visible from the road, or the drive."
"I just don't like not having my wheels. I feel out of control in this situation as it is. We haven't even had a chance to go through all of the files on the server yet like you suggested."
"We will, but first priority was to get fed and get ourselves secure for the night. I'll bring in my laptop so you can sign onto the server and we can make a start. That is, if you're not too tired."
Emma slumped down on the large grey sectional in the living room, kicking her shoes off and putting her feet on the chaise.
"Exhausted really, but I don't think I could sleep; too much is going through my mind, so I think doing something productive will make me feel better."