Touching Silver

by Jamie Craig

  “That’s good.” She began to the massage his stiff tendons. “What time does their plane land? Maybe we can all meet for dinner, if they’re up to it.”

  He finally opened his eyes again, and when they turned toward her, some of the flinty anger had gone. “Even if Nathan gives us shit the whole time? I haven’t been in a serious relationship in a decade. He’s got ten years of wisecracks to use on me.”

  Serious relationship. They had known each other for a week, and they were in a serious relationship. She didn’t disagree with the assessment. It was how quickly this had happened that left her flummoxed. But that did remind her she wanted to ask Isaac about any recent girlfriends—or one night stands. Maybe later.

  “I can put up with it if you can.” Unable to resist, she kissed his mouth softly. “I was in the middle of cooking dinner. Oh, I have something for you.”

  “Tell me it’s edible off your skin and I’m your slave for life.”

  Olivia smiled. “Not edible, no. But I’ll keep that in mind.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a newly cut key. “I had the locks changed this evening.”

  Some of the amusement faded from his eyes. Closing his hand around hers, Isaac pulled it up to his mouth to kiss her knuckles. “I’m sorry your place got targeted. You didn’t sign up for this shit.”

  “No, actually I did sign up for it when I insisted you stay here instead of sending you to a hotel. Besides, this is just a precaution.” She took his hand and pressed the key into his palm. “I don’t know how long you’ll be here, and I know we don’t have anything like normal schedules.”

  He looked at the key for a long time, long enough to make Olivia uncomfortable. Giving him the key was purely pragmatic. She’d repeated that to herself all day. The way he regarded it, however, threatened to undermine that.

  “Thanks.” He slipped the key into his pocket. “I noticed you got a new floodlight installed outside. Anything else I should know about?”

  “I’m not keeping Tiberius in his room. Which means he might end up sleeping on the bed with us. Which is a problem for you, because you’re in his spot. You two will have to fight it out, I guess.”

  Isaac glanced down to where Tiberius slept at their feet. “It’s worth it. Even though I know I’m totally going to lose that fight.”

  Olivia kissed his jaw, just below his ear. “Well, since I don’t want to see either of my guys get hurt, I’ll encourage him to stay on the floor.”

  When she began to pull away, Isaac caught her, tugging until she sprawled across his lap. His body was hard beneath her, but the hands that roamed along her waist were gentle, tender even, and the mouth at her neck was warm.

  “You’re the only thing I had to look forward to all day. Every time I thought I was going to blow, I’d think about you. About kissing you. If I had my way, I’d keep you in bed until dinner with Nathan tomorrow night. Forget all the shit out there. Just you and me and a bottle of wine. Or eggnog. We’ll make it fit the season.”

  The season. Oh shit.

  “Isaac? I totally forgot, but I can’t do dinner tomorrow night. I’ve got other plans. It’s a whole family Christmas thing.”

  He was frowning when he pulled away. “Your family’s local?”

  “I’m an Angelino, born and raised. Most of my siblings and cousins and extended family are spread across the country. But everybody flies home for Christmas. Or, for December. It’s hard to schedule a dinner that works for everybody, so it’s not usually on Christmas. Anyway, my mom would kill me if I missed it.”

  “Oh. Well. Of course, you can’t miss it. We’ll just have to get together, the four of us, some other time.”

  “Yeah. Maybe the night after tomorrow.” She knew her announcement disappointed Isaac. Hell, it disappointed her. “Though trust me, I’d much rather have dinner with Nathan and Remy. My mother has gone insane and turned the family Christmas party into date night.”

  His frown returned. “Not for you.”

  “Specifically for me. Apparently my uncle found somebody I would just love. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t the only one bringing an extra guest.”

  “Are you allowed to bring a guest?”

  “Well, yeah. It’s more of an informal party than a big formal dinner.”

  “Well…” Isaac fidgeted beneath her bottom, his fingers drawing lazy patterns on her leg. “You could save yourself a night of hassle by taking me along as your date. If you wanted.”

  Had she hurt his feelings by not inviting him? It never occurred to her that she should. Serious relationship or not, meeting the family was usually reserved for when she wanted to force a break-up, or when she was about to get married. The latter had never happened. She rarely brought boyfriends home. It also never occurred to her that he’d want to go.

  “I’d be more than happy to bring you as my date. I just didn’t want you to think you were obligated to spend time with my family or something.”

  His mouth canted. “Maybe not, but if you think I can stay home and know you’re surrounded by your own harem that doesn’t include me, you’ve got another think coming.”

  She laughed. “You know, I’m quite capable of fending off the suitors my mother chooses for me. I’ve been doing it for years. She started getting nervous about the possibility of grandkids when I hit twenty-five without a wedding ring.” She brushed her lips against his. “But I do like the fact you want to be part of my harem.”

  Isaac laced his fingers through her hair to keep her from pulling away. “Is dinner at a point where you can stop and take a break? Your harem boy would like to thank you for not kicking him to the curb for being such a shit when he got home.”

  “Considering I’ve been taking a break for the last twenty minutes, I think a little while longer won’t make a difference.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Take me to bed, harem boy.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Olivia got her height from her father and her good looks from her mom, but dissecting where else she might have gotten certain traits was next to impossible. The large, welcoming home was stuffed to the rafters with people, most of them friendly, all of them drinking. Well, except for the kids that always seemed to be underfoot, though the way a few kept hanging out at the end of the buffet table made Isaac want to flash his badge and put the scare in them about spiking the punch bowl.

  But for the most part, the people were nice, the food excellent and the ambience not too over-the-top for Christmas. Isaac slipped into conversations with more faces than he could remember, including an odd discussion about celebrities voicing audio books with an elderly woman who hadn’t seen eighty in at least a decade and a debate with an eighteen-year-old about which video game platform was the best. It was relaxing and almost fun, and if he occasionally saw Olivia casting him an odd glance out of the corner of his eye, he figured it was worth it.

  No clouds hung over their heads, no worries about what step they were going to try next to get Gabriel, no urges to be Detectives Wright and McGuire. Here, she was just Olivia—or Livvie, as one older aunt kept calling her, much to Olivia’s obvious chagrin—and he was just Isaac, the center of her mother’s attention for being the first man in a very long time her precious daughter had brought to meet the family.

  “It’s not so much that she brought me to meet you guys.” This was the third time he’d helped Candace fill the ice buckets. Olivia’s family liked their drinks cold and often. “It’s that she told me how everybody is always trying to fix her up at these things, and I needed to come to stake my territory.”

  Candace laughed and slapped at his arm. “If Olivia would tell us to she had someone staking her on a regular basis, we wouldn’t try fixing her up all the time. But when it comes to her private life, that daughter of mine zips up tighter than my jeans from high school.”

  It was his turn to laugh. He decided then and there he wasn’t missing any more of her family gatherings.

  “What are you two laughing about over here?
” Olivia asked, slipping her arm around him.

  “The story of how we caught you in the basement, roller skating to You Light Up My Life when you were ten,” Candace said without pause.

  “Well see, now I know you’re lying. First, I was nine. Second, it was I’ve Never Been to Me.”

  Isaac grinned. “Doesn’t make it any less funny.”

  “As long as she doesn’t tell you about the time she caught me playing doctor in my room with the boy from next door.” Olivia stretched to whisper in his ear. “I was sixteen at the time.”

  One look at Candace’s face told him even if she didn’t hear what Olivia said, she knew exactly what her daughter was saying.

  Isaac pulled her closer to his body, kissing a path along her jaw. “So do I get to see your old room? Or do I just get to have bad, naughty thoughts about you in a nurse’s uniform?”

  Olivia took his hand and slowly began to guide him away from Candace. It seemed as soon as they stepped away, three people rushed to fill the void they left. He’d be surprised if Candace noticed they were gone at all.

  “So have you met Jasper yet?” She paused to pick up a glass of eggnog from the side bar.

  Isaac frowned. “Who’s Jasper?”

  “My date.” She nodded across the room to a tall blond man. “The one my Uncle Rich brought.”

  As he followed her gaze, his frown deepened. “Something is telling me you already have. Did you tell him, ‘Sorry, but my boyfriend’s a cop who’ll throw your ass in jail if you look at me wrong? Or at all?’”

  Her smile widened. “I told him my boyfriend’s a cop, so if he comes by it should be during the day when my cop boyfriend is at work.”

  He stepped in front of her, blocking the view. His jokes about territory were rooted mildly in truth. But he could play along if that’s what she wanted.

  “And this sounds like yet another reason to cuff you to the bed and do all my investigating from the house.” Deliberately he let his gaze drop, drinking in the way her black jersey dress clung to her breasts and displayed her gorgeous legs. “Not that I think I’d get much investigating done. Not with somebody like you in touching distance.”

  “You’re getting awfully possessive.” She slipped her arms around his neck and pressed against his chest. “Maybe I should cuff you to the bed, teach you a lesson about territorial boyfriends.”

  “I can be taught.” He bent and nuzzled her neck, resisting the urge to do more than let his hands splay across the small of her back. “I think you’ll find I’m a very quick study.”

  “I don’t think this is appropriate talk for a family Christmas party. Let’s go upstairs and we can finish the conversation there.”

  He stayed close as she took his hand and wove a path through the throng. “I think you’re going to have to give me the full lecture on what’s appropriate for such large gatherings. With flow charts. And one of those lecture sticks you use to point to things.”

  “It’ll be one of the many lectures you receive while you’re cuffed to the bed,” Olivia said, once they reached the staircase. “What’s not appropriate for Christmas parties, how not to be a territorial boyfriend, the best way to walk Tiberius…” She stopped and looked over her shoulder, back down to the party. “Where is my dog?”

  “Playing Kentucky Derby with a Basset Hound and a couple of kids looking to be the next Scorsese. I saw them sneaking the dogs downstairs a little bit ago.”

  Olivia just smiled and shook her head. “Kentucky Derby is his favorite game. Come on.” She led him down the hallway at the top of the stairs and paused outside a closed door. “My mom hasn’t touched a thing since I left for college. I keep telling her she should make it a regular guestroom. Don’t laugh.”

  The room was spotless, with a twin bed set between two large windows. The navy comforter was barely visible with a mountain of stuffed animals obscuring most of it, as if she’d kept every single one she’d received since birth. Trophies, pennants and ribbons, all of an athletic bent, cluttered the top of the dresser. He let go of her hand to cross and examine them more closely. Sports of every nature, first places, state championships, even one honorable mention for a national team. He had known she was athletic, had felt the proof with his own body, but this was more than even he had envisioned.

  “I’m dating a jock,” he joked. “I guess I should start taking the threats to pin me a little more seriously, huh?”

  “I could probably take you.” She joined him at the dresser. “My older brother, Max, wrestled. He made me practice with him.” She reached out and touched the sharp tip of one of her trophies. “You’re not having an awful time, are you?”

  She stared at the wall, her tone deliberately casual. Unable to resist, he turned away from the dresser and leaned against it, wrapping his arm around her waist to pull her between his legs. “Just because I choose not to have much to do with my family doesn’t mean I break out in hives around others. In fact, yours is remarkably sane. It’s nice to be around good people with normal lives. It helps keep things in perspective.”

  “They are pretty good and normal.” She kissed his jaw, trailing her lips from his chin to his ear. “And I’m really glad you came.”

  His hands slipped to her ass, tugging at the soft jersey until it was bunched up under his wrists and his fingers were stroking the lower swells of her buttocks. She wore garters and stockings instead of hose, and the heat from the exposed skin of her thighs made him hard in seconds.

  “So am I getting that lecture on what’s appropriate behavior in your parents’ house now?”

  Olivia shook her head, lifting herself to wrap her legs around his waist. “Only if you stop.”

  It took just a small tilt of his head to capture her mouth. Leaning against the dresser, he found a balance for her weight, but the sensation of her hard nipples pressing into his chest through their clothes drove him almost as crazy as her pussy grinding against his groin.

  “We need a nurse’s uniform next time.” He fumbled in his back pocket for his wallet.

  “For you or me?” She slipped her hand between their bodies to find his zipper. She pushed her fingers into his pants, gripping him through his boxers. She squeezed gently, her fingers hot even through the material.

  “You let me use my cuffs on you, and I’ll wear the uniform.” With one hand, he grabbed the condom and let the wallet drop to the floor, groaning when her nails scratched lightly across his balls. “Fuck, Olivia, you touch me like that and I can’t even think…”

  She fumbled with the small button holding his boxers closed, and then there was nothing between her hot hand and his cock. He moaned again as she pumped her wrist, her thumb sweeping across the tip to collect the liquid already gathering there. “Sounds like a fair deal.”

  No more room for talking. He slammed his mouth back to hers, hungry for kisses as hot as her fingers tight around his shaft. Awkwardly, he tore the foil on the condom behind her back, but once he freed the rubber, Isaac slipped his hand between their bodies to join hers. They rolled it over his cock together, smoothed it down together, moved to push her underwear out of the way together.

  “How quiet do I have to be?” he rasped as he angled toward her opening.

  “The walls are thick, and that music is loud. We should be…” The last part of her sentence was lost in a long moan as he thrust into her. Her arms and legs were like a vise, and when he turned to push her against the wall, the force drove him even deeper into her tight flesh. “Oh God…do that again.”

  He didn’t have to be told twice. He pumped in and out of her wet heat without holding back, each stroke pushing her more firmly against the surface behind her. His mouth crashed to hers, thoughts of possible discovery mingling with the need to devour every inch of her. His skin sizzled, his heart raced. Beads of sweat made his shirt collar stick to his neck, but still, each added sensation only spurred him to fuck her even harder.

  Isaac caught her shouts and moans with his mouth, each muffled sound
pushing him closer to the edge. He loved how much she got into it, loved her sounds and the scrape of her nails against the back of his neck and the way she tasted. The tips of her long heels pressed into his upper thighs, and he wished he could tear the dress off her, touch every inch of her smooth skin.

  She tensed, the muscles in her arms and legs rigid. “Don’t stop,” she panted. “Don’t…”

  “Wasn’t planning on it,” he ground out.

  She was close, teetering on the edge of her orgasm. They had been together often enough now for him to start recognizing the signs—the way her eyes rolled back as the pleasure ratcheted through her, the way she caught her lower lip between her teeth as if trying to stave off the inevitable. He shifted his weight a fraction higher, and his next thrust drove right into her clit, eliciting a sharp cry from her throat that he immediately swallowed down in a kiss. He did it again, and again, and with each push closer, Olivia clenched tighter around his shaft.

  He exploded when she bit his lip.

  They rode out their orgasms together, their tongues and teeth clashing. She stopped shaking first and slowly unwound her legs from him. Isaac lifted his head, eager to see the flush of her cheeks and the satisfaction in her eyes. He blinked, and the room plunged into darkness.

  “What…?”

  The unmistakable sound of screams coming from downstairs cut off Olivia’s question.

  She reacted first, tearing away from him to yank the door open and disappear into the dark hall. Cursing under his breath, Isaac stripped the sticky condom from his cock, but without being able to see an inch in front of his face, he had no idea where to toss it. He clenched his teeth as he shoved it into his pocket, more willing to deal with the mess than to have Olivia worry about her mother finding it later. Tucking himself back into his pants, he bolted through the door, only to collide, shin first, into the narrow table in the hall.