She stopped his next kiss. “Territorial much?”
“Very.”
He kissed her again and someone cleared their throat.
Judy jumped back.
Debra Miller stood by the cubicle wall. “Is this a kissing booth and where do I buy tickets?”
“Ms. Miller.” Judy felt her cheeks warm as Ms. Miller’s smile grew wider.
“So good to see you back, Judy.”
“Thanks.” Judy glanced at Rick, who leaned against her desk as if he belonged there. “And sorry. Rick just wanted to make sure I made it here safely.”
“That’s understandable.”
Judy made introductions.
“So a bodyguard and a boyfriend? Isn’t that a conflict of interest?”
“Not to us.”
Ms. Miller didn’t question further. “Security has been escorting all the women to and from the garage during off hours and most of us leave in groups. We’ve all been on edge.”
Judy hadn’t thought of that. She wanted to tell her boss that the attack felt personal, that she didn’t think anyone else needed to worry. Instead, she kept that to herself in case she was wrong. She’d hate to have something happen to someone and be the reason they weren’t watching their backs.
“Rick wants to look around the office. We cleared it with Mr. Archer, but are you OK with that?”
“Be my guest. Why don’t you show him around?”
“A quick tour, and I’ll get to work.”
“Great. I’m looking forward to that project we talked about.”
When Ms. Miller walked away, Judy felt much better about being back.
Meg glanced up from the computer screen and pushed away from the desk. “I think a temporary move of the business is necessary,” she told her boss, who directed her son to the backyard and balanced her not-quite-two-year-old daughter, Delanie, on her hip.
Samantha shifted Delanie to her other hip. “I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.”
She clicked a few links and brought up the database. “If Rick and Neil are right, and the police manage a search warrant, all this information would make it into their hands.” It wasn’t that Alliance itself had anything to hide. The clients that used Alliance, on the other hand, had plenty to worry about going public. “The move will be temporary. Once Rick clears his name in this we can move everything back.”
“You’re right. I know you’re right but it feels crazy to have Alliance anywhere but here. We’ve considered an office location more than once but it didn’t feel safe.”
“So skip a storefront. The phones all forward to the mobile. Keep the number here. Since I’m your main girl on the computer, I’ll take this baby home and set up an office. It will be better for all of us for a while.”
Delanie rejected her mother’s arms and Samantha placed her on the floor and shadowed her while they talked.
“The more people coming in and out of Michael’s home right now the better. The security is stepped up there.” Meg continued to plead her case.
“Fine. I can’t say I’m in love with the idea, but I know you’re right.”
Eddie ran in from the backyard, a handful of flowers with plenty of dirt-covered roots dangling from his fingertips. “Look what I found for you.”
Meg laughed at the trail of dirt the boy brought into the house.
Samantha knelt down, scooped her flowers into her hands, and hugged her son. “Thank you so much. They’re lovely.”
“Daddy says boys give girls flowers.”
“They do.”
Eddie’s big eyes took in Meg’s presence and he turned around and ran back outside.
Samantha put into motion a team of movers to come to the house and, with Meg’s direction, remove the files and everything Alliance, and move it to Beverly Hills.
With a handful of dirt-filled flowers, Meg waved good-bye to her boss and waited for the additional help.
It was after noon when Rick made his way into the house. He stopped at the office door and frowned. “What’s going on?”
Meg continued to pack a box and seal it with packing tape. “What are the chances of this place being searched?”
Rick dropped his keys and cell on the top of the desk with a sigh and helped her pack.
“Hey, babe?” Rick said when Judy walked into the foyer of her work at the end of the day. In his hand were three pink roses.
“You didn’t have to.” But she had to admit she was happy he did.
“I told you I was picking you up.”
She sniffed the flowers and smiled. “The flowers, you didn’t have to.”
“Doesn’t that make them more special?” He handed them to her and removed the tube from her hand.
“Thanks.”
He turned to Nancy, who was packing up her things. “Are you walking out?” he asked.
“I-I’m in the garage. Just waiting on the group I walk out with.”
The office buzzed about the attack in hushed tones all day. Judy knew her presence would get people talking, but for the most part, no one treated her differently.
Like when he’d dropped her off, he parked in front of the building in what was usually reserved for loading and unloading. The security guard outside the building waved and smiled at Rick as he walked by.
“I take it you made some new friends.”
He opened her door and tucked the tube in the backseat. “I’d rather not be responsible for your car getting towed.”
Rick pulled into the mass exodus of traffic and drove in the opposite direction of home.
“How was your day?”
He looked over the rim of his sunglasses. “I’m much more interested in yours.”
She reflected on it as she watched the cars around them. “Good. It was nice to get back to work, do stupid meaningless crap most of the day that kept my mind away from . . . well, away.”
“You went to lunch with someone from the office like I suggested?”
“Nancy. She wanted to know all about you.”
He lent a smile but didn’t comment.
“Where are we going?”
He inched through the street traffic at a crawl. “It’s not the Getty. Just a dinner date to celebrate you getting back to work.”
“You used to ask and now you’re just going for it, eh?”
She really did love his smile. “Yep, that’s about it.”
Cozy and tucked back from the main road, Carino’s tempted her taste buds the moment she stepped from the car. “I love Italian.”
“Much as I want you to think I’m a genius, I asked Meg. She said you and pasta were like this.” He lifted his hand and crossed two fingers.
They walked hand in hand into the restaurant, where the aroma seeped into her pores.
The hostess seated them immediately when Rick told her his name. There was already wine at the table. “Wow. Impressive.”
“That’s me, Mr. Impressive.”
While she settled behind the table, Rick poured the wine and lifted his glass. “To saying good-bye to the word babe.”
Judy held her glass but didn’t clink his. “To first dates.”
She wasn’t a huge wine drinker, but the red was light enough to tempt her into another taste shortly after the first. “I don’t know what impressed me more, the fact that you asked Meg what I liked, or that you confessed asking her for the information.”
“It’s useful having your girlfriend’s roommate working within shouting distance. It will be strange without her there.”
Judy opened the menu. “Where is she going?”
“She and Samantha moved the office today.”
“Why?”
The waiter arrived to tell them the specials before disappearing. Rick’s lack of answering the question made her think he’d forgotten it. “Why did they move?”
He took a sip and looked inside the glass. “This isn’t half bad.”
Now she knew he was avoiding. “Rick!”
He toyed with his
glass. “The nature of Alliance is all about privacy. They’re a little concerned about the police searching the house.”
Oh . . . oh. “You’re really worried they’ll try and pin this on you.”
“I’m not worried. Not about me.”
That made one of them.
He reached for her hand and squeezed it. “Let’s talk about something pleasant. Something we can actually control.”
“There has to be a way we can control this.”
“If you figure it out, you need to let me know. Now, tell me about the project you brought home with you.”
Thankful for the distraction, she launched into her design ideas and really loved how Rick listened and asked questions. “I know Ms. Miller won’t pick my design, but to think something grabbed her attention enough to ask me to work on it is huge.”
“Don’t doubt yourself, Utah. Zach and Michael have both told me how talented you are. Who knows where this will take you.”
She pushed her plate aside, surprised at how much she’d managed to eat. Rick eyed her leftovers and she pushed the plate closer to him. That man really packed it away and yet didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. “Where do you put it?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “It’s the workout.”
She knew he must dedicate some serious hours to keeping himself in shape, but she’d not seen him actually do anything but drive her around and come to her rescue. “What’s your routine?”
“My workout?”
The wine gave her a nice little buzz, which beat the headache that seemed to plague her daily since the attack. “Yeah.”
“A little cardio, a little weights, a lot of laps through the boot camp track at the park.”
“Boot camp track? What’s that?”
“I’m sure it’s not called that. There’s a hill course by the house with stops every quarter mile with different activities. Pull-ups, push-ups, stuff like that.”
Her gaze ran down his thick shoulders and a nice hum of appreciation of how he filled out his shirt spread heat throughout her body. Peeking out of one of his sleeves looked like a graphic inked into his skin. Unable to stop herself, she reached over and lifted his short sleeve to see a tattoo wrapped around his biceps. “From your military days?”
He glanced at his arm. “This one is.”
“You have more than one?” She never wanted a tattoo of her own but was always intrigued about the draw for those who had them.
“A couple.”
The desire to lift his shirt to see them herself was strong. “Not going to tell me where and what?”
He shoveled more food in, swallowed. “If you want to see me naked, Utah, all you have to do is ask.”
She gave his shoulder a playful slap.
“I’m serious,” he told her.
“I’m sure you are.” Behind his laughing eyes was a thin layer of heat that if blown on, would probably blossom into a ball of fire. “Can I join you on your workout? Meg and I used to do an organized workout in Seattle that was called Boot Camp. There are programs here, but they’re so expensive.”
“Are you up to working out again?” His gaze softened.
Her bruises were gone, all the soreness of the attack nothing more than a nightmare. “I’m ready.”
“You can join me on one condition.”
“Oh, I’m given conditions now am I? OK, Mr. Negotiator . . . what’s my condition?”
“You bring Meg and let me teach you both some self-defensive moves.”
His request took her back a notch and removed some of her smile.
“I want you safe and I can’t be at your side every second of every day.” It was more than that. He was worried about when and if the police were going to pin the crimes of another man on him. Yeah, Judy had met Russell and Dennis, both “colleagues” and both watching her anytime Rick wasn’t. But Rick was invested.
“I think that’s a great idea.”
“I work out early.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Trying to talk me out of it?”
“I’m like a drill sergeant.”
“Hello, Mr. Marine . . . I’d expect nothing less. If I get to call you my boyfriend, I can’t go getting all soft.”
His dimples put fire in her belly.
Suddenly the restaurant was entirely too busy and home felt too far away.
Chapter Seventeen
The conversation back to Beverly Hills was as platonic as it came, though Rick had a hard time concentrating on anything other than the image of Judy in skintight workout shorts and a skimpy shirt. The date had been everything he wanted. Easy conversation, no secrets, heat, and promise. It killed him not knowing when the world was going to crash down. Killed him not to know how much time they’d have before the detectives either took him away or placed doubt into Judy’s mind.
There didn’t seem to be any doubt now. Not in the tiny glances she offered when she didn’t think he watched her. Not in the way she fanned her skin in a car that was cooled to sixty-seven degrees. Not in the disappointed sigh when she mentioned Meg being home.
A gentleman would thank her with a kiss for the perfect date and promise to call.
Only Rick never thought he was soft enough to be labeled a gentleman. He carried her design plans into the house and set the alarm behind them.
“How was the pasta?”
“I’m stuffed,” Judy told her friend while Meg turned down the volume on the TV.
“What? No leftovers? You must have been hungry.”
Judy nodded his way. “Leftovers aren’t possible with this one.”
Meg laughed. “That doesn’t surprise me.”
The girls chatted briefly about her first day back and Rick took the opportunity to do a sweep of the house.
With everything clear, he glanced at the clock on Michael’s side of the house. In two hours, Dennis would begin his shift of watching the house. Even if Rick stayed on the inside, the new rules were clear. If Rick left the house at nine, the night patrol would come inside the gates and keep watch from the inside. If Rick stayed . . . which he sincerely hoped he would, even if it was across the hall, then the night team would watch from afar. At least for now.
He clicked off the light and moved into the main living area of the huge home. With Rick’s presence, Meg abruptly ended her conversation with Judy and jumped from the couch. “Wow . . . would you look at the time.”
Judy growled at her friend and Rick hid a smile. It was early . . . really early.
“I’m in the middle of a good book?”
“Meg!”
“Whatever! You two kids have fun.” She grabbed not one, but two beers from the refrigerator, and moved down the hall to her bedroom. Just when it appeared Judy was about to regain her composure, Meg yelled, “The walls in this house are really thick.”
“Margaret Catherine!”
Meg laughed until Rick heard a door shut.
“Margaret Catherine? Really?”
Judy hid her face behind her hand, her pink cheeks a testimony to her embarrassment. “Sorry about that.”
“The only roommates I ever had were in the Marines. I think Meg would make a good Marine.”
“Fit right in, would she?”
“Probably.” Rick removed the space between them and ran the backs of his fingers across her cheek. “Did you ask her to leave?”
She studied the buttons on his shirt. “I-I . . . yes.”
He didn’t even try to hide his grin. “It’s the ink, isn’t it?”
“You’ve figured me out,” she said with a giggle.
He cupped the back of her head, careful with the tender parts left over from the abuse she’d gone through. When she met his eyes, his smiled slipped into something more serious. “Not worried about plan A any longer?”
The gold flecks in her brown eyes seemed to glow in the dim light of the room. “Most guys would freak if a woman they hadn’t even started dating told them what I told you. But you’re still here.”
“
Well, we’re now officially dating, and plan A doesn’t scare me at all.” He wasn’t even sure why.
“Would you tell me if it did?”
“I see no reason we can’t be completely honest with each other, do you?”
She placed her hand on his chest and lifted her lips closer to his. “Honesty is a good thing.”
He molded his body to hers and offered a grin. “What do you want to do with the rest of the evening, Judy?”
She sucked in a deep breath, for courage, or maybe she was finding the oxygen in the air thinner than normal like it was for him. “I want to see you . . . all of you,” she said.
He hardened with her words and tightened his grip on her neck. “You sure?” he whispered.
Her answer was a timid kiss and Rick responded with a hunger he didn’t recognize. Her lips passed over his like a feather of an angel tempting everything inside of him, and he threatened to engulf her like a devil staking his claim.
He cautioned himself and eased his grip but held her closer. Her tongue matched his, searching and tasting. A hint of the wine they drank flavored her scent.
Judy lifted her knee and slipped off her shoes. He had a good foot on her and had to lean over to keep their lips together. Rick’s palm met the small of her back and moved lower.
Her moan of approval shot through him, threatening his ability to go slow.
He lifted her hips and her legs wound around him. The maze of shoes and living room furniture didn’t deter him as he carried her down the hall to her bedroom. The low pounding of the bass from Meg’s TV met his ears. Once closed in the room, that bass reduced to a soft drum. Thick walls.
He kicked the door closed behind them and crossed to the massive bed in the middle of the room. Without effort, he pushed Judy into the soft mattress and almost lost it when she lifted her hips to touch more of him. She squeezed his ass and tugged at his shirt, all the while attempting to suffocate him with her lips.
Their kiss broke, both of them gasping.
Plump with his kiss, her lips were as round as her eyes when she spoke. “I don’t see that ink yet, babe.”
Taken by Tuesday (Weekday Brides Series) Page 15