Mike couldn’t believe he’d been so caught up in Tori he forgot about the case. Never in his career had that happened to him. Work came first, everything else a distant second, until now. “Relax, the windows are tinted. They can’t see anything.” At least, he hoped they couldn’t. The thought of his buddies catching a glimpse of Tori in the buff irritated Mike to no end.
When he was satisfied she was decent, he reached for the door handle. “Just give me a minute to fill them in, okay?”
She was trying to finger comb her hair in the mirror behind the visor. “Just look at me. They’re gonna know we were up to something.”
“You look gorgeous.” And she did, so beautiful it caused a twinge in his chest.
Tori rolled her eyes. “Quit sweet talkin’ me and get your butt out there.”
He smiled. “Yes, ma’am.”
A rookie cop he had seen around the station a time or two stepped back when Mike climbed out of his truck. “Hey…” His eyes fell to the young man’s nameplate. “Roberts.”
He tipped his hat. “Evenin’, Lieutenant.”
Tony Roma, a sergeant with ten years of experience on the force, and a good friend of Mike’s, climbed out of the patrol car. “Hey, Coop, what’s goin’ on here? Dispatch said this place belongs to that little country singer, Tori Warner?”
“Yeah, it does.” He hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “She’ll be out in just a sec.”
Tony chuckled. “You didn’t tell me you were seein’ her. Man, it doesn’t get much better than that.”
Mike knew he should correct his friend’s assumption about him and Tori being a couple, but he decided to let it go. “We’ve got a situation here. Some crazy ex has been hasslin’ her, sendin’ her letters, and he broke in here tonight.”
“Hasslin’… as in stalkin’?” Tony asked.
“Yeah, looks that way.”
“Man, does he have a death wish or what?” Tony laughed. “Doesn’t he know you’re her boyfriend?”
Tori chose that moment to pop her head out of the truck and Mike faded into the background as both men immediately turned their attention to the celebrity in their midst.
“Evenin’, ma’am,” Tony said, tipping his hat to Tori. “It sounds like you had a little trouble here tonight?”
Mike waited for her to diffuse the notion they were a couple, but instead, she surprised him by slipping her arm around his waist. “Hey, y’all, thanks so much for comin’ out here.”
Tony smiled, obviously as taken with Tori as every other man who’d ever been on the receiving end of one of her brilliant, dimpled smiles. “It’s our pleasure.” He turned his attention back to Mike. “Dispatch said you mentioned Smith’s been workin’ this case?”
“Yeah, but I am now… unofficially. I’ve taken some vacation time so I can devote twenty-four seven to findin’ this dirtbag.”
“Can’t say I blame ya, Coop,” Tony said, tipping his hat back to scratch his balding head. “If it were my woman, I wouldn’t wanna let her outta my sight.”
Tori looked up at Mike, obviously expecting him to set his friend straight. Instead, he asked, “When are the other guys gettin’ out here to dust for prints?”
“Should be soon. We just wanted to take Miss Warner’s statement. We’ll pass it on to Smith.” Tony frowned. “That is, assuming you want this to be on the record?”
“Of course I do,” Mike said. “I don’t care whether I get him or Smith does, as long as one of us takes him off the streets.”
Tony nodded. “You’re right about that.” He smiled at Tori. “You mind if I take your statement now, Miss Warner?”
Her grip on Mike’s waist tightened as she offered the sergeant a tight smile. “No, not all.”
Chapter Four
By the time her home was blessedly quiet again, Tori was too wired to sleep.
Mike slipped his arms around her waist from behind as she prepared a fresh pot of coffee. “You okay, darlin’?”
“What do you think?” She knew he was just trying to help, but the last thing she needed was his kindness and compassion tonight. How was she supposed to guard her heart against a gorgeous, sexy, gun wielding man who seemed hell bent on protecting her?
He let his hands fall to his sides as he leaned his backside against the counter where she was working. His intent to invade her personal space was clearly a power play, but she wasn’t going to let him win.
Tori turned her back to him, feeling a modicum of satisfaction when she heard him sigh.
“Can we at least pretend to be mature adults?”
“I am a mature adult. Too bad I can’t say the same for you.”
“You wanna tell me what the hell that was out in my truck?”
“Call it a moment of weakness… or stupidity.” She turned around to glare at him. “We’re all entitled to make mistakes. Aren’t we, Lieutenant?” They both knew she was throwing his words back in face, but it didn’t give her as much satisfaction as she’d hoped it would. She’d been waiting two long years to tell him what she thought of his abhorrent behavior that night, but now that she finally had the chance, she couldn’t find the words.
“Look, I’m sorry I acted like a jerk that night, okay? You didn’t deserve that.”
“You’re damn right I didn’t.” She grabbed a cloth and began wiping the granite counters down. The cleaning service had been in that day, and there wasn’t a speck of dirt to be seen, but she needed something to do with her hands. The alternative was wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for another one of those bone-melting kisses he’d treated her to in his truck.
“In spite of what you may think, I don’t sleep with every guy I meet.”
He practically growled as he fisted his hands on the counter behind him. “I sure as hell hope not.”
“But that’s what you thought, isn’t it?”
“You didn’t waste any time goin’ out with that boxer, now did you?”
Tori tried telling herself he didn’t deserve an explanation. They weren’t even seeing each other. They’d shared one meaningless night two years ago, nothing more, but for some reason, his opinion of her mattered. Too damn much. “I wasn’t sleepin’ with him. Not that it’s any of your business.”
“Good.”
“I hate you.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do.” She threw her cleaning cloth down on the counter and crossed her arms when he had the audacity to smirk at her. “I’m glad you find this so amusing.”
“You’ve had one hell of a night. I’m just tryin’ to take your mind off your troubles.”
“By remindin’ me I have lousy taste in men? First, I sleep with you, then some psychopath who breaks into my house and sends me obscene letters?”
“About those letters… I wanna see them. Now.”
Tori hated he was so used to getting his own way, that he just expected her to comply, but she couldn’t very well deny his demand if she wanted this man brought to justice. “Fine, I’ll get them, but you pour the coffee. If you’re gonna be stayin’ here, the least you can do is make yourself useful.” She tried to ignore the husky sound of his laughter as she made her way down the hall to her study. He made it so damn hard to hate him.
When she returned with the letters in hand, Mike set a cup of light coffee in front of her. She frowned as she brought the cup to her lips. Two sugars, half coffee, half milk, just the way she liked it. “How the hell did you know?”
“Don’t you remember the first time we met at my old man’s place? You had a coffee, just that way, and I teased you about it mercilessly.”
“How can you remember that? I barely remember what I had for lunch today.”
He moved in closer to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “Don’t you think I want to forget? I can’t.”
Tori knew he was talking about the night they spent together. She wanted to forget too, more than anything, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t erase the memories
. “Maybe you need to get a life then.” She took a step back, just out of his reach, as the coffee nearly sloshed over the rim of her mug. “That little twit you were with at Luc’s house last month, what was her name, Bambi…? She should have been able to make you forget your own name.”
Mike smiled. “Her name is Brittany, and we’re just friends.”
She rolled her eyes. The woman was carrying around so much silicone Tori was surprised she didn’t tip over. “Whatever you say.”
“What about that drummer you were there with? What’s his story?”
Neither one of them had attended an event alone since the night of his sister’s birthday party. Their dates always seemed to act as a buffer, so they wouldn’t risk getting too close again. Their strategy might’ve worked, if they hadn’t been watching each other’s every move when they thought no one was looking.
“His name is Landon. He’s a nice guy… end of story.”
Mike straddled a stool at the breakfast bar and brought his coffee mug to his lips. “You ever sleep with him?”
Tori covered her mouth when she nearly spewed coffee in his face. “Excuse me? What the hell gives you the right to ask me that?”
“It’s a conversation we’re gonna have sooner or later. We might as well get it over with.”
Her stomach tightened just thinking about it. She knew this was part of the deal. He couldn’t do the job he was hired to do unless she gave him a list of potential suspects, but just the thought of Mike investigating and interrogating her ex-lovers about their relationship made her nauseous. “Do we really have to do this now?”
He sifted through the dozens of letters she’d set on the counter. “I’d like to get started on this a.s.a.p.” He turned the letters over. “The cops have the originals?”
“Yeah, do you need them?”
“I don’t know yet.” He reached into his pocket to retrieve the notebook he’d been using at the bar. “Okay, let’s have it. Names… dates…”
“I… uh…” She gripped her coffee mug until her knuckles turned white. She knew there was no way to avoid giving him the information he was asking for, but she couldn’t seem to spit the words out.
“Okay, let’s start with something easier. The tattoo, what is it, where is it, and when did you get it?”
He thought he’d ease into this by pumping her for information about a tattoo that served as a daily reminder that she was his biggest mistake? “I don’t wanna talk about that.”
Mike raked his hands through his cropped black hair. “I know you think you’re punishin’ me by makin’ this difficult, but you’re only hurtin’ yourself. This guy isn’t backin’ down. I think he proved that when he broke in here tonight.”
He was right. Given the choice between her life and her pride, she had no choice. “Fine, you wanna know about the tattoo. I went out with some girlfriends, had a few too many drinks, and ended up in a tattoo parlor. We all got inked. It wasn’t just me.”
He scribbled something in his notebook. “You remember the date?”
It was three weeks to the day after they made love. “I think it was August thirtieth… two years ago.”
“Great.” He scribbled the date on an empty page. “I gotta admit, I didn’t expect you to remember the exact date, but that helps narrow it down a lot. This guy mentioned your tattoo, which means he’s seen it, or knows someone who has. We’re definitely lookin’ at guys you’ve been intimate with since you got inked.” He looked up and their eyes connected. “I’m not even gonna pretend this is easy for me, Tori. Just thinkin’ about you with some other dude…” He gripped his pen tighter. “This is gonna be the toughest case I’ve ever worked. I’ve already broken the cardinal rule… never make it personal. But this is personal, whether I want it to be or not.”
She wanted to tell him that she would understand if he wanted to abandon her case, but she couldn’t. If there was one person she trusted with her life, it was Mike. “The tattoo is below my bikini line. You can’t see it when I wear a swimsuit.”
He raised an eyebrow. “So there’s no question this guy has seen you in the buff.” He shifted through the letters, obviously looking for some mention of her tattoo.
Tori panicked, trying to remember whether her stalker had ever been specific about the tattoo, what it was, or more specially, what it said. “Um, what are you doin’?”
“I’m just tryin’ to get a handle on where this guy’s head’s at. I mean, he obviously thinks he’s in love with you, but…”
Tori shuddered involuntarily when she thought about what that lunatic planned to do in the name of love. She wrapped her arms around her mid-section. “What do you think he hopes to gain by doin’ this?”
“He wants your attention. He hates you were able to cast him aside like he didn’t mean anything to you.” Mike looked her in the eye, and she got the impression they weren’t talking about the man tailing her anymore. “He wants to remind you of what you two had, whether you want to remember it or not.”
Deciding to play along she said, “Sometimes it’s best to leave the past in the past. There are times when sex is just sex, nothin’ more.”
“And there are times when it could evolve into a whole hell of a lot more, if you’re not afraid to let it.”
Why did he have to say things like that, giving her false hope and trying to make her believe she was more than just a long-forgotten one-night stand he’d referred to as a mistake? Angry, hurt, and determined to lash out, she grabbed the notepad and pen from his hand. “You want names, I’ll give you names.” She scribbled the names of the three men she’d slept with in the past two years on a blank piece of paper. “Happy now?”
“Three? Only three?”
The question stung like the slap across the face she’d taken in the eighth grade when her best friend’s boyfriend invited her to the school dance. “Nice to see you still think so highly of me.” She started heading down the hall toward her bedroom when he crossed the room and grabbed her arm.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” he whispered, looking down at her as though he truly was remorseful for speaking his mind.
“Don’t be sorry. You said what you were thinkin’. You always do.” That’s what she loved and hated about him. He knew exactly who he was, stood behind his judgements, right or wrong, and didn’t fold in the face of popular opinion.
“Sometimes I don’t think before I open my big mouth.” His full mouth tilted up at the corners. “This was one of those times. Just like that night at my place. I was actin’ like a jealous jerk ’cause I thought you had somethin’ goin’ with my brother.”
“Me and Jay?” She frowned, trying to decide whether he was serious. “Why would you think that?”
“You said y’all had gone out—”
“Yeah, as friends. I love Jay, but there’s never been anything between us.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
His fingers were biting into her skin and she tried to break free of his grip, but he slipped his arms around her waist. It felt like a chain she couldn’t break free of… drawing her toward him against her will. She made the mistake of gripping his biceps, trying to push him away, but that just reminded her of how incredible it felt when he was unleashing all of that unrestrained power on her.
“I need to go to bed,” she whispered, barely able to look at him. She’d never felt so weak, so powerless. The force drawing them together seemed too formidable to resist. “I have to get up early in the morning.” She knew she should offer to show him to the guest bedroom, but his hands were gliding lower, sneaking into dangerous territory.
“So do I.” His eyes landed on her lips and he groaned when her tongue darted out to lick them. “You don’t know what you’re doin’ to me, darlin’.”
“Mike…” She pressed her palms into his chest. It felt like he was stealing the breath from her lungs along with her objections.
“There are a million reasons why I shouldn’t even be thinkin
’ about makin’ love to you right now.”
His honesty tore down the last weak barrier that remained between them. “What are we doin’… this is crazy. I don’t even like you, so why the hell can’t I keep my hands off you whenever we’re alone together?”
Instead of being affronted, he chuckled at her honest assessment of the situation. “I’ll be damned if I know. I hate the fact you’re sassy…” He bent his head to swipe his tongue across her sealed lips. “Opinionated…” Another leisurely stroke of the tongue, this time deeper. “Insolent…” He grabbed the back of her head and delved in to her mouth like a man who’d been without a woman’s touch in years. Desperate, hungry… “But no one, and I mean no one, has ever turned me on the way you do.”
Tori whimpered, trying to grip his impossibly wide shoulders for support. She shouldn’t be getting aroused. He was insulting her, not whispering sweet words of worship in her ear, but she couldn’t deny she felt the same way about him.
“This is the reason I didn’t want you on this case.” Even as she warred with herself about the mistake she was about to make, yet again, her hands were reaching for the hem of his shirt. “I knew this was gonna happen.”
“It was inevitable,” he muttered, lifting her hair so he would have better access to that secret spot on her neck. “I can’t keep my hands off you.”
She tilted her head back, past the point of caring whether this was right or wrong. It felt too good for her to even think about stopping him now. She didn’t even hear the sound of her zipper sliding down her back; she was too busy trying to stop the room from spinning.
“You don’t know how many times I’ve thought about this, baby.” He eased the dress down, pushing it past her hips. “You fit me like a glove, like you were made for me.”
The protests and fear swirling around in Tori’s head started slipping away as her intense need for this man made everything else seem insignificant. She knew what it felt like to get loaded on liquid poison, but she had no idea a man’s touch could make her feel as reckless, as though nothing mattered beyond getting her next shot of him.
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