by Style, Linda
She shook her head. “But if the police hadn’t come when they did…” Her voice cracked.
“Do you have any reason to believe it was anything other than a burglary?” one of the officers asked.
Macy looked at the man, her eyes dark. “He smashed down the bedroom door. I heard him say, ‘Where are you, bitch!’ and he was searching for me when I hit him.” She took a shaky breath. “So, yes, I think he had something else in mind.”
“Do you know anyone who’d want to hurt you?”
“Can’t this wait?” Rico asked. “I mean you’ve got the guy and from what I understand, he’s not going anywhere.”
The officers eyed each other. One shrugged. The other said, “I guess so. I think we have enough information for now.” He looked at Macy. “I’m sorry, miss. But we’ll need to talk to you tomorrow, and we’ll need a list of anyone you can think of who might want to harm you.”
She nodded.
“You’d better get your locks replaced, too.”
After they left, Macy went limp in Rico’s arms, a small sob shaking her shoulders. He held her even closer.
“I should have stayed,” he said, his chest tightening with anger. Anger at himself for leaving and anger at the son-of-a-bitch who’d done this to her. “If I had…”
Sniffling, Macy pulled back. “It’s okay. I think I handled things just fine.”
She’d just had her life threatened and still, she had to assure him she could handle herself. “I meant that if I had stayed, if someone else was here, maybe the guy wouldn’t have even come inside.”
She stood, wiping the palms of her hands on her shirt. “They said he was critical. Th-that he might not make it.”
“Well, don’t expect me to feel sorry for the guy.”
She rattled on as if she hadn’t heard him, “What if he dies and all he wanted was money? I didn’t need to hit him so hard, but I thought he wanted to hurt me, and I heard Herc yelp in pain and then he…the man broke down the bedroom door…I just…” She wavered on her feet. “And there’s so much blood…” Her bottom lip quivering, she waved a hand toward the bedroom
Rico launched upward and caught her in his arms. “It’s okay. You did the right thing.” Helping her down on the couch again, he picked up a glass of water someone had put on the table and had her take a sip.
“You’re going to be fine.” He sat next to her, took her hand. “You did the right thing. You protected yourself. God knows what that guy wanted.”
“I couldn’t sleep and…”
“Shh. There’s plenty of time to talk later. I think you better grab some things and stay somewhere else tonight.”
“Oh.” She shook her head and motioned toward her office. “I can’t do that. Everything I have is here. All my work.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” With the guy in the hospital, it wasn’t likely she had to worry, but he didn’t see how she could sleep here. Especially if there was blood all over the floor in the bedroom.
“I’ll call someone in the morning to fix the door and clean up the mess,” she said.
“And get new locks.”
“That, too.”
But for all she’d said, her bravado wasn’t convincing. Her eyes said she was scared to death. “Where’s your booze?”
In her skimpy pajamas, with her ponytail hanging at half-mast and dark smudges under her eyes, she didn’t look anything like the Macy Capshaw he’d met in her law office a few weeks ago. And every protective instinct he possessed filled him with a rage so raw, he wasn’t sure what he’d do to the guy if he ever got hold of him.
She pointed toward a wood credenza with glass shelves and mirrors to reflect the expensive crystal. “Over there. Inside the doors to the side.”
He found a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and poured them each a glass.
“I think I’m going to need a double,” she said.
“That’s cool. You can have as many as you want. No one’s going to give you a DUI on your way to bed.”
A wan smile tipped her lips. “But I’ll need a designated walker to get me there.”
It was obvious she was trying to lighten the conversation, probably for herself as much as him. But she didn’t fool him one bit. “That would be me. I’m staying here tonight and will gladly do the honors.”
“Only I never get drunk.”
Yeah. He could’ve figured on that. She wouldn’t want to be out of control. Not for a second. “Well, there’s a first time for everything. But I don’t think this is it.” He brought both drinks to the couch.
“Are you really going to stay?” she asked.
“Whether you like it or not.”
“The man is in the hospital.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Well, then, after this drink, I’m going to bed. I have some early appointments in the morning.”
“I know it’s not my place to tell you what to do, but I’d suggest you take the day off.”
She gulped down the whiskey as if it were water. “Thanks for the suggestion.”
But she wasn’t going to take it.
She set her glass down and headed for the hallway, which he assumed led to the bedroom. After a few steps, she turned. “The spare bedrooms are this way.” She pointed down the hall. “You can sleep in one and I’ll take the other. I don’t want to go into my own bedroom quite yet.”
She started to go, but stopped again. “Thank you, Rico. I don’t think I could sleep at all if you weren’t here.”
And he didn’t think he could sleep with her in the next room.
***
MACY AWAKENED IN a sweat, sheets damp and corded around her. Rolling over, she saw it was three in the morning. She’d barely slept at all. Then in a flash, it all came back to her. The man. The bashed-in door. His cryptic words. A body on the floor. The blood.
Her chest squeezed. Oh, God. It wasn’t a dream. Throwing off the covers, she waited a moment to get her bearings, then rose, went to the door and eased it open. Hercules followed on her heels, so she picked him up. Across the hall her bedroom door hung crookedly off its hinges, smashed and splintered. But the man was in the hospital. Rico was in the next room. She was safe.
She took a few tentative steps and peered inside her bedroom. Everything but the door looked the same. She inched her way across the room toward the night table, then taking a deep breath, flipped on the light. Blood pooled on the floor by the closet. She gasped. Then remembered the man had her security code. He knew how to get in.
He had been there to hurt her.
And she didn’t have a clue why.
She tore out of the room squeezing Hercules so tightly, he yelped. She stopped in the hall when she saw Rico’s door was ajar and she could see moonlight coming in the clerestory windows above the blinds. Pulse thrumming, she peeked inside.
Rico catapulted upright, gun in hand and aimed directly at her. Her heart stopped. She reached for the door frame for support. “It’s just me!” She could see him clearly now and hoped he saw her.
“Oh, geez. I’m sorry,” he said, and quickly laid the gun on the table next to the bed.
Her chest heaved. “I … I never thought about you having a gun.”
“I should’ve mentioned it. I’m really sorry I scared you.”
Finally able to breathe, she answered, “My fault. Detectives are known to carry weapons. I’d just never thought about it, so it…surprised me.” That was better than saying she was just plain terrified. That she didn’t want to be alone. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“I can understand why. Come here.” He patted the side of the bed.
It dawned on her then that she was wearing her skimpy nightclothes, but she didn’t care and walked over to the bed.
As if he understood her dilemma, Rico said, “Why don’t we share the bed for what’s left of the night. We’ll think of an alternative tomorrow.”
She put Hercules at the foot of the bed, but as she started to slide under the cover
s, Rico stopped her. “Uh, warning here. I’m naked.”
She barely hesitated. “I’ve slept with naked men before.” Then she slipped under the covers and tucked the sheet between them. Although she wasn’t touching him, and didn’t plan to, it felt good to share a bed with someone.
No, not just someone. With Rico. “An alternative to what?” she asked.
Rico propped himself on an elbow to look at her. “An alternative to your staying here by yourself. That guy wasn’t here for a little chat. I want to be sure you’re safe.”
His words were disturbing and yet at the same time, comforting. But did he want to make sure she was safe because he was a cop or because he was concerned about her? She wanted to think the latter.
“I’m sure it’s okay now that he’s in custody.”
“Did you recognize him?”
“No. I told that to the police.”
“Well, then, you don’t know if he was out to hurt you or if he was sent by someone else.”
The thought hadn’t occurred to her. She lay there staring at the ceiling. “No,” she whispered. “No, I don’t.”
A second later, she added, “But I don’t know why anyone would be that calculating. I’m not a witness in some high-profile case or anything.”
“I’ll find out more tomorrow. Hopefully the officers will have run the perp’s prints through the system. In the meantime, I think you should find someplace else to stay.”
He was right, of course. But her choices were limited. “I could go to a hotel.”
“That would be less safe than staying right here. Here you have some security downstairs.”
“But obviously not enough.”
“What about friends? Your parents?”
Friends. Amalia, her best friend since grade school, was gone. The rest of her friends had married and had families. They’d either moved away or drifted away because they had nothing in common anymore. She didn’t have a husband and children to talk about over long lunches, and besides, work took up most of her own time. “Nope. No friends close enough to stay with. My parents are out of town and I wouldn’t go there anyway.”
“Okay.” He looked thoughtful. “Why don’t you stay with me until we get this resolved?”
“With you?” She couldn’t imagine. And yet she could.
“Yeah. I have room. And I’d be there most of the time.”
“Oh. I don’t think—”
“What?”
“I don’t think that would look good.”
“Anyone I care about would understand and I don’t give a rat’s ass about anyone else. They can think whatever they want.”
She couldn’t help a tiny smile. “Do the police offer to share their homes very often?”
“No, but you’re a friend. Remember?”
Yes. It seemed they were friends. When had that happened? “I thought your family was coming.”
“They are, but they don’t stay with me. My place isn’t big enough for the whole gang.”
She looked at him, questioning.
“But it’s big enough for one more.”
What would it be like staying with Rico? She had to admit the idea appealed to her more than it should.
“I’d be there,” he repeated. “Me and my gun.”
That sounded good. Too good. “As inviting as that is, I don’t think it would work. I don’t know what I’d do with Hercules.”
“Bring him along. He’ll get to run around outside for a change.”
“You have a yard?”
“A small one. The house is small, too. One of those old California bungalows they built back in the twenties. But it works for me.”
His eyes searched hers. Eyes that looked even darker in the soft glow of moonlight. “So when is this barbecue then?”
“Sunday.”
“But I have so much stuff. And my computer practically controls my life.”
He arched his eyebrows. “I suspected as much.”
“You know what I mean. When I’m not at the office, I work from home.”
“No problem. Copy what you need onto a CD and bring it along. I do have a computer. In fact, I have several.”
She’d forgotten his geek side. “You should’ve been an attorney. You make a good argument.”
He coughed. “You do know not everyone would take that as a compliment?”
“Yeah, I know. But I happen to know a few attorneys who aren’t so bad.”
“So, you’ll stay then? At least until we get a fix on this guy.”
Relenting, she said, “Okay. But only if you promise not to make me obey orders.” She was kidding but there was an element of truth in what she’d said. Rico was good at giving orders, and she wasn’t good at taking them.
“Hmm. Jordan said I had a few control issues. Maybe he was right.”
Now she had to smile. “I’ve heard the same thing from various people about myself. But it’s not true, of course.” At that moment, Hercules jumped off the bed and ran from the room.
“Guess he didn’t like the conversation,” Rico said.
Macy rolled off the bed and started after the dog, a reflex reaction after what’d happened earlier. Embarrassed, she came back to bed and slipped underneath the sheet. Glancing at Rico, she saw his pupils dilate. Message received.
All her earlier apprehensions dissolved and she was suddenly acutely aware of his mouth. His perfect lips. Her desire. Her need — as palpable as the blood surging through her veins.
He trailed a fingertip gently down her cheek.
Her pulse accelerated. And in that one mind-spinning moment, she realized how desperately she wanted him. Right now, she wanted to make love with him more than she wanted anything.
She said softly, “I think it’s time to get some sleep.”
“You think?”
“No, not really.”
His warm breath fanned her cheek. Anticipation pulsed through her with every beat of her heart. She turned so her lips were almost on his.
“Me neither.”
As he breathed the words, his lips met hers. He kissed her hungrily, then gently and carefully, as if he’d suddenly decided she was a fragile China doll. She liked hungry better and kissed him back fiercely, opening his mouth with her tongue and letting him know she wasn’t at all fragile.
She reveled in the raw physical need. She didn’t want to think about this, she only wanted to feel. It had been too long since she’d lost herself in another human being.
If ever.
Now she was transported to another plane, and all that mattered was this one moment. She pressed against him, instantly feeling his arousal on her thigh. He lifted her shirt. A gasp escaped her lips when he touched her breasts and teased her nipples, first with his finger tips and then his tongue.
Somewhere between the kisses her shirt went over her head and then he slipped her shorts and panties below her hips. She helped remove them the rest of the way and then slid next to him.
His skin was hot. He was hot. And deliciously naked. “You always sleep au natural?”
“Uh-huh” was all the answer she got before he was kissing her again. Then he pulled back abruptly and muttered. “Damn. You have any condoms?”
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ve got it covered, and I have no diseases. How about you?”
“Nope. Cops get regular physicals.” That conversation taken care of, he slipped a hand between her legs, rubbing gently, making her even more crazy with desire. She arched into him, letting out a deep moan, sounding like a wounded animal.
She needed him. Maybe loved him. Too soon? Maybe, but the thought was like a bright light, a beacon leading her from doubt to certainty. This was okay. They were okay. For now.
He rubbed his fingers against her, harder and faster and yet his mouth never left hers, not even when he spread her legs and settled his body between them.
“It’s been a while,” he whispered. “And you’re driving me crazy.”
In the soft,
dim light she could see his sleek, tanned body and was fascinated at how muscular he was. Much more so than he appeared in his clothes. She wanted to give him pleasure, too, but she couldn’t think beyond his touch.
“We have all night, don’t we?” she said. “I can’t wait any longer, either.”
He was ready and, in one swift move, he was home.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
RICO WOKE FIRST, smiling and feeling as if he could fly to the moon on his own power. Macy was spooned, warm and soft, against him. He couldn’t see her face, but he felt her slow breathing, felt her chest move up and down. Last night, she’d given herself to him without reservation and he’d taken whatever she had to give.
Which begged the question, what did he have to give? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He’d wanted to make love to her and had without a thought to the consequences. And she’d been right there with him. It was mutual.
He closed his eyes. Who was he kidding? He’d felt her deep need in every breath she took, in every moan and shudder. The truth was there and he was making excuses for it.
He’d taken advantage of a vulnerable woman.
He closed his eyes, guilt growing until it felt like a rock in the pit of his stomach. She’d had her condo broken into, been attacked by some slimebag lowlife and had to fight for her life, and he’d let his lust take over.
How had he let it happen?
Hell, he knew why. Macy got him. She got him like no other woman he knew. She’d managed to find that one spot in his heart he doubted would ever be filled. Was it love? He wasn’t sure he knew what that was. Didn’t love take a long time? First lust, then infatuation and then, eventually, the real thing. He wondered where they were on the list.
If she was even on it.
In the short time they’d known each other they’d told each other things they’d never told anyone. That had to mean something, something more than just friends.
She stirred. Opened her eyes. She looked beautiful with her blond hair fanned across the pillow, her eyes sleepy and her lips full. His groin tightened, and he wanted to make love with her all over again. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Her voice was low and heavy with sleep. She reached up to touch his chin. “I didn’t think I’d sleep very well, but boy was I wrong.”