by Wendy Haley
“Rae,” he muttered against her open mouth.
“Don’t talk,” she whispered. “Just kiss me.”
Gabriel obeyed. His pulse roared in his ears, and for a moment he felt as though he’d fallen off a cliff. Then she moaned deep in her throat, and his whole being centered on her. Oh, my, he thought. She was sweet and hot and incredibly responsive, and he’d never met a woman to compare. Rae slid into a swirling haze of arousal. She ran her hands along his back, tracing the ridges of his ribs, the long, strong line of muscles along his spine. She couldn’t stop. Didn’t want to stop. Sensation rippled along her nerves as he pressed his open mouth to the wildly throbbing pulse beating beneath the skin.
She wanted him there, everywhere. Sinking her hand in his hair, she urged him downward. He slid his tongue into the hollow at the base of her throat. With his forefinger, he traced the edge of her top, leaving fire in his wake. Then he drew the fabric down, revealing the beginning swells of her breasts.
“Ah, that’s pretty,” he breathed.
Rae felt no embarrassment as he smoothed the top over her breasts, delineating the proud jut of her erect nipples. There was something reverent about his gaze, and the sight of it tore away all possibility of shame. Simply, he found her beautiful. The knowledge of that aroused her immeasurably, and she arched her chest, offering herself to the man she loved.
Bending, he explored her flesh, nibbling, sucking, licking.
Rae couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything but hang on. She gasped with pleasure as his hands shifted to her thighs, spreading them. Her gasp turned to a sigh as he moved to stand between her legs, pressing hot and hard just where she wanted to feel him most.
She didn’t know he’d moved his hands until she felt cool air on the skin of her back. Then she realized he’d pulled her shirt out, and had deftly undone her bra. Heat replaced coolness a moment later as he spread his fingers out across her back.
The phone rang, and the shrill electronic tone stabbed deep into the passionate haze that gripped Rae. She slid her hands down to Gabriel’s chest and gave a push.
“Ignore it,” he growled.
“I can’t.”
He heaved a sigh. Then he bent once more, kissed her with gentle intensity and let her go.
Rae felt abandoned, bereft. Her hands shook as she stuffed her top back into the waistband of her pants. But the phone rang again, reminding her that reality truly did exist, and that she had a role in it.
She picked the receiver up. Gabriel went to look out of the window, ostensibly giving her a modicum of privacy, but she knew better. The cop had returned. With a mental grimace, she thumbed the Speak button.
“Boudreau Process Service,” she said. “Rae Boudreau here.”
The caller was a lawyer, one of her regulars. “I’ve got a job for you,” he said.
“Who are you abusing this time?” she asked. “Did I tell you that the last guy started to cry when I gave him the papers?”
“Very funny,” the lawyer retorted. “Meet me at my office at five.”
“You’re on,” she agreed, and hung up.
That left Gabriel to deal with. As though he’d read her mind, he turned and met her gaze. Her heart did a flip-flop before dropping into her stomach.
“I guess the mood’s broken,” he said.
“I guess so.”
He raked one hand through his hair. “Things got a little out of hand there.”
“Yes, they did,” she agreed. “But it wasn’t all your fault. I got carried away, too.”
His brows went up. “I never said it was all my fault, Rae. Passion like that is a two-way street. Even if it weren’t, I’d have to be crazy to be sorry for it.”
“Now just a minute—”
“We’ve got a real thing on our hands,” he growled. “You can stick your head in the sand and pretend you don’t see it, but I guarantee it’s going to burn you anyway.”
Her temper kicked in. Jamming her fists on her hips, she scowled at him. But oh, he was a lovely man, standing there with the sun shining off his thick dark hair. Too bad he had such stiff-necked male arrogance.
“So we made a mistake last night,” she retorted. “And another one today. I look at this like getting pregnant—if you know what causes it, and you don’t want it to happen, then it ought to be very clear what you have to do.”
“Right,” he snarled, his own brand of temper flaring in his eyes. “I agree.”
“Great,” Rae snarled back. “Fine.”
“Fine!”
He stalked out, slamming the door behind him. Rae stood stiffly, buoyed for a moment by indignation. Then her breath went out all at once, and she let herself sink back against the desk.
Her heart had betrayed her, making her want something she couldn’t have. Gabriel MacLaren was too hard, too honed by his years as a cop. He couldn’t bend. He couldn’t see.
She couldn’t have him. Of course, she’d known that from the beginning.
Hadn’t she?
Chapter 11
Rae pushed her chair away from the computer and glanced over at the clock—4:33. She’d better get over to the lawyer’s office. No matter how much satisfaction she might get out of finding Peter Smithfield, bills had to be paid. She had five extra mouths and a tail to feed these days.
She retrieved the bribe envelope and thrust it into her purse. Just in case. She wouldn’t put it past the cops to sneak in here and go through her things. Now for the computer. She encrypted everything on her hard drive, left a cyber-raspberry for anyone who might be tampering and turned the machine off again.
The Taurus was waiting outside, of course. Gabriel looked gorgeous in sunglasses, and her heart did another of those almost painful flip-flops. She reined herself in sternly. The time had come for a new philosophy as far as Gabriel MacLaren was concerned.
Tough love, she’d call it. If she was tough enough, she’d get a handle on her love for him.
“Going somewhere?” he asked.
Tough love, baby-cakes, she told herself. She made a detour toward the car. He smiled, his eyes hidden beneath the dark glasses. Reaching into her purse, she took out her own sunglasses and put them on. There. They were even.
“Does it matter whether I tell you or not?” she asked.
“No. But it would be a lot less trouble if you’d just give me the address.”
She repressed the urge to tell him to go straight to hell. Instead, she gave him her sweetest smile. “Nine-oh-one Gilchrist Lane,” she said. “Then I’m going home for a while. We’re having hot dogs for supper. I love hot dogs. Done to a crisp, so they swell up and split. Barbara calls them Chernobyl dogs.”
“That’s disgusting,” he said.
Possessed by a crazy impulse too powerful to resist, she reached into the car and ruffled his hair just the way she’d ruffled the puppy’s earlier.
“What the hell are you doing?” Gabriel demanded.
“An experiment in behavior,” she replied. “The dog wagged his tail when I did that. And drooled.”
One corner of his mouth went up. “Darlin’, I’m perfectly willing to wag my tail for you. But drooling is out. Now, if you want to experiment with a judicious application of my tongue to—”
“Taxi!” she called.
A passing taxi screeched to a halt. She strode around the front of Gabriel’s car, determined to escape. She did not want to think about his tongue, which he surely did know how to use. In fact, there had been one time when he’d—
“Stop it,” she snarled, jerking open the taxi’s door.
“I am stopped,” the driver said.
“Sorry. I was talking to myself,” she replied.
After giving him the address, she leaned back against the seat and watched the city go by. She didn’t need to look to know that Gabriel was following. Crazy as it seemed, she could actually feel him there, as though her body had a special MacLaren-radar.
The taxi turned a corner, and her interest perked up. This was
the street on which Mike Doukas’s deli was located. Mike was a peach, and she decided to stop to say hello.
“Stop at that deli, would you?” she asked, pointing. “Wait for me, please. I’ll only be a minute.”
The driver pulled over. Rae slid to the curb side of the taxi and got out. The deli’s front window sparkled, and an enticing aroma of freshly cooked pork wafted out. Even at this hour, the place was crowded. Someone else might have been harried. But Mike beamed at everyone with indefatigable good humor and worked like three men, waiting tables and manning the counter, too.
A light bulb went off in Rae’s mind. She found a space at the edge of the counter and waved to attract his attention.
“Hello, beautiful Rae,” he said without stopping work.
“Hi. You’re drowning.”
“But cheerfully.”
“You need help. I know somebody.”
His mustache quirked upward. “Reliable?”
“Salt of the earth,” she said. “She’s got three kids, one preschool age, and an ex-husband who doesn’t like to pay support. She’s broke and can’t afford child care.”
Maybe she’d just ruined Barbara’s chances. But Mike had the right to know exactly what he was getting.
“Good kids?” Mike asked. “They could occupy themselves here while Mama works during the rush?”
“Yes.”
He pointed at the phone, which hung on the wall behind the counter. “Call her.”
Smiling, Rae obeyed.
Barbara answered on the first ring. “Hello?”
“Do you have any objection to schlepping food?” Rae asked.
“I’ve got three kids,” Barbara said. “What do you think I do several times a day anyway? What is it?” Excitement crept into her voice. “Do you know of a job for me?”
“Can you start now?”
“Can you pass up hot dogs for supper?”
Rae eyed a mile-high barbecue sandwich that Mike was making for one of his customers. “I’ll try. Look, bring the kids.”
“What?”
“He needs you to work certain hours, and is willing for you to bring the kids while you do it. Now, get over here. He’s got people standing in line.” Rae gave her the address.
“Give me fifteen minutes,” Barbara said, and hung up.
Rae turned back to Mike. “She’ll be here as soon as she can. Hey, what are the odds of me getting one of those sandwiches?”
“Can you make your own?”
“Honey, just hand me a roll.”
A few minutes later, she had one of those mile-high feasts tucked into a bag ready to go. She even figured out how to ring her own sale on the cash register.
“Hey,” Mike said. “You don’t have to pay for that. Consider it a finder’s fee.”
“Don’t be silly.” On impulse, she looped her arm around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. “You’re a doll. And don’t worry, I won’t ruin your reputation by telling anybody.”
The taxi was still waiting for her outside. She glanced down the street and spotted Gabriel’s Taurus parked against the curb. She’d half thought Gabriel would have paid the cabbie off and sent him away, but he hadn’t. She wasn’t sure if she felt relief or disappointment. Something primitively female in her wanted to be desired, pursued, claimed. But self-preservation was a powerful instinct, too, one she intended to listen to more often.
Glancing out the window as the taxi started forward again, she saw the Taurus follow about a block behind. Gabriel stayed at a distance while she got her summons from the lawyer and then headed for home. But as she walked into her apartment building, she saw Gabriel’s tall, lean reflection in the glass door.
She waited for him at the elevator. He looked as tempting as sin itself as he strode toward her. She felt her nostrils flare in pure physical reaction.
“Don’t waste your time coming upstairs,” she said. “I’m only going to be here long enough to collect the dog.”
Gabriel smiled. Her eyes were flickering with desire and dismay, and he knew she didn’t have a handle on herself at all. Well, that wasn’t a surprise; he was feeling rather inside out himself. “I don’t mind.”
“I’d think you’d want to take the chance of running into Marlene Britton again,” she said.
“Can’t I count on you to protect me?”
“I left my ruby slippers at home,” she said.
His brows went up, and laughter sparkled in his blue crystal eyes. Of course he’d get the Wicked Witch connection; no dust settled on this vice detective’s shoulders.
“Of course, you’d like this opportunity to ask Barbara Smithfield a few questions,” she said.
“I hadn’t thought of that,” he said with complete false innocence. “But it’s a good idea.”
“Too bad,” she said with relish. “She’s not here.”
“Then I’ll just talk to you,” he replied.
The elevator doors opened, and Rae stepped inside. He came with her, his vitality all but overwhelming the small space. Needing a diversion, she opened the bag from the deli. A powerful waft of barbecued meat filled the elevator.
“Wow,” Gabriel said.
“It’s mine,” she growled.
“When did Mike start doing barbecue?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. But the word has gone out, and half the city wants one of these.”
“Me, too,” he said. “Come on, sweetheart. Share.”
“In your dreams, MacLaren.”
The elevator stopped. Gabriel accompanied her to the apartment, then waited while she fished for her keys. Inside, she heard a bark, then the sound of claws scrabbling at the wood.
Rae smiled. Tom the Dog had had time to become territorial about the apartment and those in it, and it was possible he might object to Gabriel’s presence. She looked forward to finding out.
The puppy came pouring out the moment Rae opened the door. He did not attack Gabriel. He launched himself at Rae’s legs and all but climbed her pants, trying to get to the food bag.
“Traitor,” she said. “Ouch!”
Laughing, Gabriel scooped the puppy up from the floor. Tom wriggled madly, trying to lick the detective’s face. Gabriel gestured for Rae to precede him inside.
“I knew I was safe,” he said. “When I started in vice, my first partner was this craggy old guy who knew every trick in the book. Know how he managed to get into places where we knew there were mean dogs?”
“How?” Rae asked, unable to resist.
“He’d buy a pizza. Pepperoni or sausage. By the time the dogs finished the pizza, they thought he was God.”
Rae shook her head and went into the kitchen. Cops, she thought. She divided the sandwich evenly, plopped each half onto a paper plate, then opened the refrigerator to see what liquid offerings were inside.
“What would you like to drink?” she called. “We’ve got milk. Kool-Aid, ah, Juicy Juice.” She glanced up at the doorway. “What the devil is Juicy Juice, anyway?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Read the label.”
“Food labels scare me. How about some good, old-fashioned cola stuffed to the gills with caffeine and refined sugar?”
He chuckled. “Sounds like heaven.”
She filled two tall glasses with ice and cola, balanced a plate carefully on each one and headed for the living room. On the way, she stopped to pick up a bag of sour-cream-and-onion potato chips with her teeth.
“Ah, domesticity,” Gabriel said, taking the bag of chips from her with one hand, his meal with the other.
She sat down in the recliner, giving him no chance to get close. Gabriel gave a mental sigh. Maybe it was for the best. He sat on the sofa and looked around, cataloging his surroundings. The kitchen was cramped, but the living room was big and sunny, and the parquet-tile floor gave it personality. The furniture didn’t look used at all.
“You don’t spend much time here, do you?” he asked.
Rae shrugged. “I’m trying to make a livi
ng.”
“Is it working?”
“Well enough,” she said. “I’m working toward getting my private-investigator’s license, and then I can expand my horizons, so to speak.”
He sat back, regarding her thoughtfully. “I’m surprised you didn’t go into law enforcement.”
“I don’t like—”
“Cops,” he finished for her. “I know.”
“I was going to say ‘authority,’” she said.
“Ah. Sorry.”
They lapsed into silence then. But it was a companionable silence, which surprised Rae. So much of their time together had been spent in feint-and-parry conversation. She might even have enjoyed her meal if the dog hadn’t kept staring at her.
She’d never been stared at in quite that way before. Those-big blue eyes watched every bite; that pink-brown nose quivered as though he might be able to actually inhale the sandwich from a distance. She felt as though the very air had become thick with doggy desire. Every bite became more and more of an effort.
Gabriel couldn’t help but enjoy this. Tough, tenacious Rae Ann Boudreau had been laid low by a wagging stub of a tail. It showed him a new aspect of her. Dogs, kids... She’d gone way above and beyond the call of duty in trying to serve Peter Smithfield. Failing that, she had taken Barbara Smithfield and her kids into her home, apparently without a hope of being repaid.
Obviously, Rae wasn’t quite as tough as she’d like everyone to think. A generous heart beat beneath that tough exterior, a heart capable of kindness, loyalty and love.
Try as he might, he couldn’t reconcile that woman with the one who’d ruined her husband’s career. Things didn’t add up. He’d learned long ago that when things didn’t add up, he’d better start looking for some new numbers to plug into the equation.
But that could come later. Right now, he was enjoying the sight of her trying to eat in front of that poor, pitiful, master manipulator of a dog, and failing miserably.
“Ignore him,” he said. “If you let him start with that stuff now, you’ll be dealing with it for the rest of his life.”
“How can I ignore him?” she asked. “Look at him.”
Gabriel scratched his jaw, eyeing the puppy. He had to admit that the little beast had talent. “You’ve got to be strong, Rae.”