The interview didn’t start well. The first thing he asked for was identification. When Casey told him her wallet which held that was inside her car back at the warehouse he paused from typing into his computer to give her a tired look. After a sigh, he said she could show it to the officer who took her back there when he was finished taking her statement and proceeded with his questions.
“Hey Phillips, sorry to interrupt but I need to steal Ms. Carmichael for a minute,” Rick announced, suddenly appearing beside her.
“Yeah sure, Jensen. Take your time.” The detective didn’t even bother to look up. “I could use a smoke anyway.”
“This way please.” Rick indicated that she should follow him. Casey might have been upset by his cool demeanor had he not winked. “In here,” he said, tugging her behind him into what turned out to be a supply closet after looking around to make sure they were unobserved. “Casey.”
Before Casey could say a word Rick had her pinned to the door and was kissing her. He had his entire body pressed against her and she felt his cock swell when one of her hands dropped to his hip. Without thinking, Casey wrapped her thigh around his and grasped his ass, pulling Rick in even closer.
“Damn, it feels like forever since I kissed you.” Rick devoured her mouth like he was starving for her.
“Oh God,” Casey moaned when his hand slipped beneath her shirt to cover her breast.
“Sh,” Rick cautioned. “We need to be real quiet here.”
His warning brought Casey to her senses. “Oh no, we can’t do this here.” She tried to squirm away but he didn’t budge.
“Sure we can. The mop and broom won’t mind. And there’s no camera in here,” he told her, reclaiming her mouth until she was once again breathless. “Long as we’re quick about it.” Rick opened her jeans and shoved them halfway down her thighs. “You deserve better, Casey, and I promise I’ll make it up to you.” His fingers delved into her already soaked core. “Damn, you’re wet.”
“Mm,” Casey ground herself against his hand. “All your fault.”
“You been thinking about me, darlin’? Like I have been about you.”
“Yes. I was afraid you’d forgotten me.”
“That’s never going to happen.” He lifted his head to meet her eyes. “Never, Casey. Now that we’ve met you will never be out of my mind,” he declared seriously. “Trust me?”
“I do, Rick.”
He chuckled. “Good.” He curled his fingers as his thumb covered her clit. “Now where were we?”
Casey gasped but Rick instantly smothered the noise with a kiss. His tongue plundered her mouth as his hand continued to work its magic. In no time Casey felt the sweet pressure building to the point where she was ready to explode. How did he do that so easily? It was only the second time he’d touched her and already he knew her body better than anyone else ever had. It was so good now that she couldn’t begin to imagine what it would feel like after they really got to know each other.
“Come for me, darlin’,” Rick whispered harshly. His breathing was almost as ragged as hers.
“No,” Casey moaned, struggling to resist. “Want your canoe again. Please. Let me ride it.” She couldn’t believe she’d said it but now that she had she was determined. She somehow forced her hands between them and found his buttons. It was difficult to concentrate with how Rick kept spearing her G-spot but Casey wanted to feel his cock pumping into her again and damn it, she was going to. “I saw you put condoms into your pocket.”
For a moment Casey thought Rick might refuse. His movements slowed. The hand that had been tormenting her breast stilled. He lifted his head enough to look into her eyes and when he did she could see that his hunger matched hers. So why was he hesitating? Casey decided she wasn’t taking no for an answer. She’d already demanded his cock and it couldn’t get much more embarrassing than that. Finally, with tremendous difficulty she was able to free his bulging shaft from his jeans. Stroking him firmly, Casey leaned forward and nipped his lower lip.
“I want you Rick. I need you,” she declared between kisses. “Please,” she repeated.
“Fuck,” Rick swore. He released her to dig in his pocket. “Don’t help.” He batted her hands away when she attempted to assist him with the condom. “Turn around,” Rick ordered, already spinning her toward the door. “Push your ass out so I can get to your pussy.”
“Yes,” Casey groaned, doing as he said. “Now,” she pleaded. With one solid thrust, Rick buried himself completely. “Oh God, yes.”
“Quiet,” Rick reminded her as he began to pump his rock-hard cock steadily in and out of her clenching sheath.
“Rick,” she moaned, resting her head against her folded arms. “More.”
“Sh,” he panted as he wrapped one arm around her torso. Holding her tightly, he slipped his hand up to her face.
Casey sucked Rick’s fingers into her mouth. They were the ones he’d just had in her pussy and she could taste herself on them. She ran her lips over them, drawing them in and out of her mouth, matching Rick’s rhythm. When she did, he went wild, thrusting harder and faster, pounding his cock deep into her over and over again. It was like nothing she’d ever experienced before, too much and not enough all at once. Her pussy gripped him tighter as if trying to hold him inside. She could feel every hard inch stroking back and forth.
“So good, Casey. Too good,” Rick gasped. “Come with me.”
That little bit of encouragement was all Casey needed to push her over the edge. She bit down on Rick’s fingers to keep from screaming. Her climax triggered his and they rode out the waves of pleasure together. He slumped against her back, pressing himself deeper into her spasming sheath.
When Casey could breathe again she released Rick’s fingers and rubbed her cheek against his hand. “Wow,” she sighed.
Rick kissed her neck. “Hell yeah, wow.” He slowly eased away, making sure she was steady before he let go. “You okay?”
“Mm, I sure am.” Casey turned and tilted her face for a kiss. “That was amazing.”
“No, you’re amazing.” He kissed her more thoroughly. “Beautiful.”
“Rick.”
“I mean it, Casey. You are beautiful. I’m going to tell you that as often as it takes until you believe me.”
Casey blushed and rearranged her clothes. “Hey what did you want me for anyway?”
“Nothing official. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Of course I’m okay. I’m in the police station.”
“So? Something else you need to get used to is that I’m still going to have the urge to protect you even when I know you’re perfectly safe. That’s how I am with people I care about. And I do care about you.”
“I care about you too.” Casey’s heart swelled. What an unexpected day it had turned out to be.
“Thank you, darlin’. Now I better get you back there before they come looking for you. Ready?”
“I guess. You know I’d rather talk to you.”
“I wish you could too but you’ll be okay. Remember what I said. Phillips is a good guy. Tell the truth and give him as many facts as you can about your ex.”
“I will.”
“C’mere.” Rick pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her forehead. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. I promise. You can do this. Hell, you faced down the whole Diego clan so this’ll be a piece of cake.”
For a minute, Casey held on tight. Then she forced herself to smile. “Okay, I’m ready.”
For over two hours, Casey repeated her explanation of how she happened to be inside the warehouse, how she was familiar with the names of the Diego brothers but had never met any of them, who her ex was, how long he’d lived with her, when she’d thrown him out, who his other friends were, everything she knew about any of them, and all the information she could supply on the possessions he’d stolen from her. Finally, Phillips announced he was finished with her and told her they’d be in touch if they had any addit
ional questions. He made a call and a uniformed officer appeared to take her to her car.
Back outside the warehouse, Casey got in her car, locked the doors and cried. She couldn’t believe the day she’d had. She’d started out making herself closer to out of debt but literally penniless. Then she’d almost managed to get herself shot with her impulsiveness. And she’d had sex with a total stranger. Twice! Well, that part wasn’t so bad. Nope, not bad at all since he’d made her feel better in those few stolen minutes than her ex had in the last year they’d actually had sex. Still, he was someone she didn’t know and would undoubtedly never see again no matter what he’d said. To top it off, she’d been in the middle of a major drug raid and now had her fingerprints on file and was associated with major drug dealers. Yeah, hell of a day all around.
Suddenly Casey was laughing instead of crying. Hysterically. Not that she would ever tell anyone anyway but even if she did who would believe her?
Chapter Four
It was Wednesday and Casey still felt like she was on an emotional roller coaster though not quite as much as she had. When she went to work Monday morning she spoke to her boss and arranged to have the week off. She had vacation days coming and this seemed as good a time as any to use it especially since she wouldn’t be taking any trips that year. Armed with the newspaper article that boasted of the largest drug coup in the city’s recent history, it didn’t take much more explanation for her boss to approve the time off.
Casey had all but convinced herself it was ridiculous to feel rejected. She was being foolish, daydreaming about him nonstop as she was. The taste of his lips, the feel of him under her hands, the way he’d touched her, the things he’d said to her, the way they’d teased about his canoe-shaped cock. She and Rick had both been caught up in the moment. Even though he had given her the most incredible experiences of her life it was still just sex. It hadn’t really meant anything. To either of them. She was silly to even think for one second that it ever could. No reason to sniffle about it. After all, he had given her the opportunity to say no and she hadn’t. She had encouraged him instead. The truth was she had wanted him, there was no denying it. They’d used condoms so there was no problem. It was over and that was that. Probably for the best since that kind of beginning was not the sort of thing to build a lasting relationship on anyway.
After abandoning the idea of vacuuming, Casey was in the process of choosing a book when the doorbell rang. She was tempted not to answer but her curiosity got the better of her. Opening the door, she got the surprise of her life. Standing there was Rick in full dress uniform along with two other men, one obviously another policeman, probably his captain judging by the decorations on his sleeves, the other she had no idea about.
A moment later she was still there, gawking so Rick came to her rescue. Again. “Ms. Carmichael, this is my boss, Captain Walsh, and this is Ted Fisher from Crime Watch. May we come in and speak with you for a minute please?”
“Oh, yeah. Sure. Come on in,” she mumbled, stepping aside to give them room to enter. As he passed, Rick winked, his knuckles brushing hers, his brief touch enough for Casey to release the death grip she had on the doorknob.
“I may as well begin,” Ted spoke first. “Ms. Carmichael, on behalf of the local Crime Watch organization, I’d like to thank you for the information you came forward with.” He shook her hand enthusiastically.
“Huh?” Casey glanced at Rick who just smiled.
“It’s citizens like you who are helping make this city a safer place for all of us. Thank you.” He handed her a sealed envelope.
“Um, you’re welcome,” she replied, clearly confused.
“I’d like to extend my thanks too,” Captain Walsh took over. “”Detective Jensen filled me in on how instrumental you were in broadening the scope of our sweep last week. The tips you provided helped us pull several more established links of the drug chain off the street. I wish there were more people brave enough to get involved like you did.”
“Well, uh, thank you, Captain Walsh. It was nothing. Really.”
“Told you she was modest.” Rick grinned.
“That you did. Since you were such a tremendous help to us, I wanted to personally make sure your canoe got back to you.”
“M-my canoe,” Casey gasped. He wasn’t serious? He brought her Rick? What the hell had the man told them? Her face was burning and she couldn’t speak which was fine since she had no idea what she’d say if she could.
Rick coughed but she could tell it was to cover a laugh. “Yes, your father’s canoe, Casey,” he managed with a semi-straight face. “It’s on my truck. You can show me where you want it in a minute.”
“Oh, right. My dad’s canoe.” Casey fought back a giggle. “Thank you.” She couldn’t look at Rick.
The captain exchanged a look with Rick that said he knew there was something going on but that he wouldn’t ask. Rick nodded his appreciation and opened the door, seeing the men out for Casey without delay, sensing how much trouble she was having containing herself. As soon as the door closed, she burst into laughter and flung herself into his open arms.
“Oh my God,” she could barely talk. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
Rick was laughing as hard as she was. “You’re too much.”
“I thought he meant you.”
“I know. You should’ve seen the look on your face.” He had to stop for another outburst as he hugged her tightly to him. “What were you going to say?”
“I have no idea. I couldn’t imagine what you told him that he would say that.” She dissolved into giggles again. Eventually they slowed and then stopped altogether when she noticed how he was looking at her. “Hey,” she whispered, smiling up at him.
“Hey yourself.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Officially, returning your canoe and helping to thank you on behalf of the city along with my captain and Crime Watch.”
“That’s it?” she prompted when he didn’t continue.
“Nope.”
“You going to tell me?”
“You need me to, darlin’?”
Casey studied his expression and frowned. “I, uh, yeah. Could you? Please.” Hope swelled within her heart but she squashed it quickly. Rick had said a lot of things in the warehouse that day. But it was just to get her calmed down and distracted so she wouldn’t panic over the situation she’d gotten herself into. And then, in the police station, it was the sex talking. She couldn’t expect him to actually mean any of it. Could she?
Rick sighed. “Sure. As often as it takes for you to believe me.” He cupped her face and kissed her forehead. “Why don’t you tuck that away somewhere safe and then we’ll talk?”
“Oh. Okay. What is this anyway?” She’d forgotten all about the envelope the Crime Watch man had given her.
“Open it and see,” Rick suggested cryptically.
Casey tore open the envelope and stared. “It’s a check.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“For ten thousand dollars.” She had to be dreaming. This couldn’t really be happening. Rick being back in her life was overwhelming enough. His arranging it so she could finally be out of debt was too much to believe.
“Yes.”
“Made out to me.” She refocused on the check to ensure it really had her name written on it.
“Yes.”
“From Crime Watch. Ten thousand dollars for me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?” She was totally baffled as she stared blankly up at him.
“Because, darlin’, the information you provided really did help. We busted a whole other crew, including your ex, two of his brothers, and three of his friends from what you gave us. They were all tied in with the Diegos but not directly enough for me to hear about them even from the inside. It was a splinter group through Carlos and your ex.”
“You’re serious?” she squealed. “He’s going to jail?”
“Sure is. I’d say it’ll be at least fiv
e years before he’s eligible for parole. Tomorrow I should be able to take you to where he was staying and let you look around to see if any of your things are still there. Don’t get your hopes up but there’s always a chance…”
Casey didn’t let him finish before she was crying all over him. “Rick.” There was so much she wanted to say but she didn’t know where to start.
“Sh, I know.” He held her tightly and rubbed her back. “I know.” He took the crumpled check from her hand, put it on the nearby bookshelf, urged her to the sofa and pulled her down with him. “It’s okay now, Casey. It’s over. He can’t hurt you anymore. You don’t have to worry about bumping into him anywhere.”
“It’s over. And with that money, it’s really over,” she sobbed. “Oh my God, Rick, it’s over. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, darlin’. You did it.”
“Me? All I did was barge into that warehouse like an idiot.”
“And then tough it out like the brave woman you are. I read your statement. You had a lot of facts.”
“But I wouldn’t have told if I hadn’t ended up there.”
“I’m not so sure about that. You might have eventually. Anyway, it’s done now. You can put it behind you. Or did your dad have a camper or something else you didn’t mention that you might pass on the street one day that I have to worry about?”
Casey laughed as she knew he’d hoped for. “No, just the canoe.” After a moment she added, “But why would you worry about that anyway?”
“Because I like you. I told you I want to get to know you, remember?”
“Well, yeah.”
“But you thought I was just saying that.”
Casey nodded, feeling guilty. “I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t apologize.” Rick’s finger caught her chin before she could lower it. “You had a rough time before me. You’re not going to learn to trust again overnight especially after I disappeared on you Friday. I hated doing that. I wanted to call but I wouldn’t have had time to do more than say hi and when I talked to you again I wanted to have enough time to really talk. Was that wrong of me?”
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