Up All Night Long: From Lust to Love (Romance Anthology)

by Ali Parker

  She popped the lock on the back door, walking out and shielding her eyes as the noonday sun beat down into the alley. A soft yelp left her as a large man rose from a squatting position and turned toward her.

  Short dark hair, deep blue eyes and lips that demanded attention took her breath. His cheeks and chin were dusted in black hair, forming a well-manicured goatee. It was fitting and made him masculine and beautiful all in the same moment. She smiled and extended her hand.

  "I'm sorry. You scared me. I'm Kate. Can I help you with something?"

  He reached out and shook her hand, his eyes narrowing slightly, his grip a little too tight. "Nice to meet you, Kate."

  Fear rushed from the pit of her stomach to her chest. His voice said he already knew her and it wasn't something he would brag about. His light blue t-shirt was fitted, long hours in the gym the result of the hard body under the soft cotton. His jeans hung low on his hips, his posture relaxed and yet screaming of military or cop. It was just the prideful way those guys carried themselves. He was definitely one of them.

  "You didn't answer my question."

  "Did you ask one?" His voice was low and almost ominous, his eyes moving across her face, but going no lower. Definitely a cop. Something about him tugged at her hard.

  "What is it that I can do for you, or what is it exactly that you're doing back here?" She let the friendliness fade from her voice. If he was there to ask questions, he would need to produce a badge and soon.

  She let her eyes scan across the handsome planes of his face, his appearance mature and yet young enough for her to place him in his thirties at most. He was sexy by all standards and seemed like the kind of guy most women would be attracted to, but something dark and deadly lay just below the surface of his demeanor. She'd been around too many killers, drug dealers and psychos not to be able to quickly discern that she was now in the presence of another. He looked so much like... Adam.

  "Fuck," she whispered just as he started to respond.

  His eyebrow lifted as a smirk tugged at his mouth. "I'm good, but thanks."

  She scoffed and walked toward the door of the bar. "I wasn't offering. Don't flatter yourself. Get the hell out of my alleyway or I'll call the cops. I'm not interested in whatever you're selling mister."

  "No need to. I'm a detective." He pulled out his badge and walked toward her. "I'm Jon Peterson. It was my brother you killed."

  Chapter 7

  Jon

  Damn if she wasn't every bit as gorgeous in person as she was in the photo, even more so. He swallowed desire as it rose in his chest, his body wanting to react to her almost immediately. He cursed himself, pissed that he was responding like a junior high boy with a crush on the school librarian.

  He walked toward her and held out his badge, his confession to being Adam's brother never part of the conversation he had let play over and over in his head as he walked through the alley looking for clues most of the morning. He found nothing but darkened blood and bad memories.

  His brother was the victim of a blood money run. The question was whose run was it. Kate's or the man she sold for?

  "Adam's brother. I assumed you'd look a little nerdier. No pocket protector or tie?" She shrugged as if completely uninterested in him and turned to walk back into the club.

  He moved in and held the door, stopping and watching the sway of her small hips. The jeans she wore were beautifully revealing, her ass tight and pert. He exhaled softly. He needed to pull it together. She looked like she was Hispanic or Italian, the creamy caramel-color of her skin adding to his attraction to her. Long hair brushed by her upper back, the strands appearing wet. The pink bra she wore bled through the small white tank top, her mid drift on display, but he tried hard not to notice.

  "I'm coming in. I have some questions for you."

  "Good." She looked over her shoulder, her expression screaming dominance. "I have some for you too."

  He walked quietly behind her, keeping his distance. He wasn't far enough due to the fact that the air smelled like strawberries, clean and fruity. It must have been her body wash. He closed his eyes, the visual of her wet little body brushing along his mind, her hands soapy and sliding all over her.

  What the fuck is the matter with you?

  It was like Seth had crawled into his head and done a number on him. He needed to get laid and soon. She was everything he wanted beneath him on a cold night and trying to remain focused was going to prove to be challenging.

  Running his fingers through his short hair, he walked out onto the club floor behind her. She turned and pinned him with another stare, Jon unable to tell if she was flirting or angry. She was more woman than he had encountered in a while. She might actually be capable of murder. He wouldn't be surprised. Not after all he had encountered in his short life.

  Kate moved behind the bar, picking up a white terrycloth towel. "You first of course. Ask away and anything my lawyer would be good with me answering, I will."

  "Who owns the bar?" He knew the answer, but wanted to start simple. See how truthful she could be in the small things.

  "I am the owner." Her voice was strong and confident, the sex kitten he almost imagined her to be, gone. This was more the woman he could see pulling out a gun and laying waste to his brother.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pad of paper before nodding to the barstool next to him. "Mind if I sit down?"

  "Help yourself."

  He slid onto the seat and pressed his forearms against the wood, his eyes moving across her pretty features. She was model material, the perfect pin-up for all the boys to groan and lose their loads to. Chances are she knew that good and well.

  "How long have you owned the bar?"

  "Couple of years. Gift from my old man."

  "Thought you were a run-away."

  "I was. My stepfather watched me sleep every night and licked his lips every time I walked in the room when I was a girl. I left before he could touch me. It was just a matter of time." She shrugged as if her heart-breaking story were simply a fact of life. "Marcus found my biological father about three years ago. The old man pulled me off the street and gave me and Marcus a place to work."

  "Marcus is?"

  "My dad passed not long after that and the deed to the place went in my name." She picked up another towel and started drying glasses, steam lifting in front of her and somehow making her appear more ethereal.

  "Marcus is?"

  "He's my partner."

  "Your boyfriend?"

  "That's none of your business nor does it have anything to do with why you're here. Stick to the script. I have lots to do today and I've been acquitted. Unless there is new evidence..." Her voice dropped off as a smirk lifted Jon's lips. Pretty, ballsy and smart.

  "The DNA came back with yours and Adam's blood mixed together. Your gun wasn't used, but the murder weapon hasn't been found yet. Your story seems to be consistent, but I'd like to hear it again."

  "Don't you have a partner you should be working on this case with?"

  "Why do you ask?"

  "Because it seems odd that you would be working on it alone."

  "His name’s Seth and he's too much of a pretty boy to be involved in things this dark and tainted." Jon shrugged, enjoying the expression on her face more than he should.

  "Sounds hot." She smirked and turned the conversation. "The murder weapon wasn't found because it's still tucked in the back of the mother fucker who did its pants. Find him and you'll find the weapon."

  "Give me details."

  "He was your brother. You want to hear how I held him as he died? How he didn't have a life before that because your parents were assholes? How about that? That what you came for officer?"

  "I haven't ruled out anything yet, Miss Jarret. You're still very much a suspect and the only one with the victim when he bled out. Play your games, but it will be me who is your judge and jury."

  She tilted her head to the side, her hair covering her shoulder as her eyes narr
owed. His body hardened as she glared at him. What was it with this woman?

  "Do you think by referring to Adam as 'the victim' that you can stay clearheaded in finding his murderer?"

  "Did you kill my brother, Miss Jarret?"

  "It's Kate and of course not. He was a friend of mine."

  "Then tell me what happened that night." Jon put his pen down, leaning in and watching the bombshell closely.

  "She's already given her statement to the cops. Pull the record and stop wasting your time and hers." Marcus's voice sounded by the back door, the large man walking in and heading toward the bar.

  He was quite a bit bigger than Jon, but he didn't flinch or respond other than looking back over his shoulder.

  "Marcus the partner boyfriend, I suppose?" Jon called out to the other man, his impression of the giant less than positive. The big guy was a thug. The teardrop tattoos under his right eye screamed of gang activity, his size of steroids.

  "Who I am is irrelevant. I was in the club with a million alibis and Kate's story checks out. So... get out." Marcus moved to stand beside Jon, the look on his face a serious warning. Jon pretended not to notice.

  "The lady let me in and until she tells me to leave, I'm not." Jon looked up at him as if Marcus was a fifteen-year-old kid bitching about a hangnail.

  "Marcus, it's okay. Let me just answer his questions and then he'll go."

  Jon looked over at Kate as he tapped his pen on the wooden tabletop before him. "The lady is right. I'm not trying to mess up your Sunday afternoon. Just trying to do my job."

  "Are you new on the case because your questions are old and tired. They have a file of all the shit they asked."

  Jon turned to the behemoth and looked up at him. "Us cops, the good guys, ask all sorts of repeat questions. It's to catch you criminals, the bad guys, in your lies."

  Marcus laughed and looked at Kate. "Holler if this prick gets on your nerves. I'm happy to throw his ass out."

  "Will do." Kate leaned over, her gaze locking on Jon's as he worked hard not to take her in. The bright pink of her bra called to him as her shirt opened. He looked back down at the pad of paper, the visual of her breast the only thing on his mind for a few seconds. He was so assured that she was the killer and now she flashes a little tit and smiles a few times and he's not? Kate started talking again.

  "I had a feeling that something was off. I don't know how to explain it, so don't ask me to. I went out back, Adam was beating on the door. I went out and pulled my gun, making sure there wasn't anyone but him in the alley. He fell and I caught him, going down with him. I called 9-1-1 and tried to stop the bleeding. He was hit five times in the chest and there was nothing I could do." She glanced down as Jon looked up at her, the sadness on her features not hidden well. She let out a shaky breath and looked up. "He was a good kid and got into some really bad shit. Drugs are everything in the world he was playing in. He fucked with the wrong guys and I would assume didn't pay them back. We didn't talk about it."

  "When was the last time you saw him before the other night?"

  "A year ago I guess? I got cleaned up a few years back, but some of my friends are still deep in that shit." She reached up and ran her fingers through her wet locks, her breasts rising with her efforts. His eyes moved down, the faint line of her hardened nipple tearing his focus down quickly.

  "Are you doing drugs now, Miss Jarret?"

  "It's Kate and no. I smoke weed as much as the next guy, but nothing more damning. I'm not a part of that life anymore. I can't be. It takes too much of your soul away."

  Jon sat back, his curiosity getting the better of him. "Did you ever sleep with my brother?"

  "What? No. What does that have to do with anything?"

  "Just trying to establish the relationship between the two of you. You react like he meant something to you and yet you guys hadn't seen each other in a few years? Seems odd."

  "He was a kid and we were friends." She leaned forward, her hard stare more attractive than intimidating. "When is the last time you saw him?"

  "I'm not on trial for murder. You are."

  "I'm not on trial. I've been released from this."

  "Not exactly. The evidence at present shows that it's less than likely that you pulled the trigger. My job as an investigator is to determine if you're going to be brought up once again on assisting in first degree manslaughter charges. Your history screams that you’re guilty, that you are the same trash now that you were back then."

  "Once a criminal, always a criminal?"

  "If the shoe fits..."

  She laughed and turned to walk around the bar, her voice losing all warmth. "Good day, cop. Go pull your judge and jury card somewhere else. I've given all I'm giving to you. Perhaps as Adam's brother you should start thinking outside of the box and looking for clues that he left just for you. Oh wait... you're too busy condemning innocent people. See yourself out. I have things to do."

  Jon watched her go, the soft sway of her hips only outdone by the stiffening of her shoulders. She hated her past. That much was apparent. Good. Maybe she wasn't the same riff-raff that he thought she might turn out to be. He got up and tucked his notepad in his pocket, walking behind her as she made a turn into one of the rooms down the hall. He moved past it in time to see Marcus wrap his arms around the beautiful woman, the large giant devouring her mouth much to Jon's displeasure.

  Of course they were together. It only made sense that they would be.

  He pushed the door open, something inside of him roaring to life. He didn't like her with Marcus and wanted to go back in the club and put his foot in the dude's crotch.

  "What's wrong with me?" he grumbled to himself as he walked down the alley, the sun warming his face and arms. She had been right in her accusation, as much as the preacher had.

  "God didn't make you judge over the world. He is the supreme redeemer and he alone will judge each of us. You have no place or right to impose your subjugation of those around you. You deserve death for your sins as do the rest of us."

  "What sins are you hiding, Kate Jarret?"

  Chapter 8

  Kate

  Kate let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as he left, her mind racing. He played a dangerous game working his brother's case. Surely the police department was ignorant to his relationship with Adam. No way would they allow him to investigate his own brother's death. She wanted Adam's murderer found too, but knowing that his life was forfeited for blood money changed things - a lot.

  Not having been involved in the narcotics circle for a long time, she wouldn't really even know how to point Jon in the right direction. Not that she would. Losing Adam was a huge tragedy, but the cop would lose his life, no doubt, if he fucked with the drug lords that gunned down his brother. Did she care? Because the handsome detective was Adam's brother... no other reason.

  Kate reached the store room and walked in as Marcus looked up, his brow glistening as he set a box down.

  "Is he gone?"

  She stopped in front of the large man and slid her arms around him, lifting to her toes as he moved down to kiss her. They weren't intimate outside of sex, but she didn't need the cop questioning truth. She had implicated Marcus as being in a relationship with her. She needed to make sure that's what the detective saw.

  "He's coming down the hall. Kiss me like we're lovers."

  "We are, Kate." Marcus slid his hands into her wet hair and molded his large body to her as his lips pressed softy against her mouth. His thick, wet tongue slid into her mouth, Kate opening her lips and tilting her head as she pulled him closer, the soft moan from her not part of the show. He pressed his fingers against the back of her head, the pressure causing her to relax. His tongue worked magic, his lips and teeth leaving her wanting more.

  She pressed her hand to his chest, moving back with dizziness. Marcus was sex incarnate, the most pleasure she had ever experienced. He took her arms into his hands and looked over her shoulder.

  "You all right, ba
be?" He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers again.

  "Yeah, just taken by you, you bastard."

  "Take off your jeans and I'll eat you out before we get busy. I wanted to taste you last night. Fucking meetings."

  "Not now. It won’t stop there and I need to get everything ready for the crowd tomorrow." She breathed in a quick, shallow breath as her body tingled in all the right places.

  "I offered." He moved back and shrugged before starting to sort through boxes again.

  "That you did." She turned and walked back into the club, her imagination opening up to the possibility of kissing Jon. How aggressive was he? No one was Marcus, but she couldn't shake the desire to see if Jon measured up.

  Her hormones whispered that perhaps she should find out.

  Having worked all afternoon on decorating the front entrance for Mardi Gras, Kate needed a break, a nap and a cheeseburger sounded right too. She slipped into the darkness of the back hall, walking to see if Marcus might want to go with her to grab something to eat. Moving quietly toward her office, she heard Marcus speaking in hushed, muffled tones.

  She stopped just outside the door, her sense of loyalty to the man that had protected her back forcing her to push the door open, though eavesdropping would've been much more settling. Did he know anything about Adam's death or the guys that did it? She hadn't even thought to ask him.

  Of course he did. He was the right hand of the biggest drug lord in New Orleans. Marcus was working his way up in a universe that scared her far too much to consider being part of it anymore.

  He looked up and shook his head, alerting her not to speak until he was done. He motioned for her to sit in the chair in front of him, his large hand moving from the motion to touch his lips in an effort to remind her of the need for silence.

  "... Yes, I'm quite aware. The cops were here again today, harassing Kate. No, she doesn't know anything and didn't answer any of their questions." He ran his fingers over his bald scalp as Kate's eyes widened. His eyes moved slowly across her face, concern touching his brow. "I think this would be better if you talked with her about it. I don't sell for you... I sell for me. I didn't know the boy and Kate didn't either. Got it?"