by Tee O'Fallon
When Alex licked her lips, his heart began to pound louder than the drum section of the police marching band. Shit, but he shouldn’t have done that. He was hard as a rock. They’d have to sit there for a good ten minutes before he could stand up in public.
“My turn.” He dunked a blackberry into the chocolate then held it out for her. Anything to keep his hands busy.
Bad idea.
His eyes were drawn to her lips as she captured the berry in her mouth and daintily sucked it off the skewer.
Holy hell, I am toast.
This time, a thin line of chocolate dribbled from her bottom lip, making slow, steady progress toward her chin. He reached across the table and captured it on the tip of his finger. When he would have pulled his hand away, Alex grabbed his wrist and delicately licked the chocolate off his finger. He swallowed so loudly he heard himself gulp.
She licked her lips then smiled devilishly. “Fair’s fair.”
Jiggling from the ice bucket at a nearby table had him wondering if there was enough ice in it to chill his hard-on into submission. Instead he reached for a glass of ice water in front of him and downed it in three swallows.
It was nearly midnight when Gray walked Alex to her apartment door. He scoffed at the flimsy lock on the building’s outer door, and when they walked down the hallway, nearly all the light bulbs were out. “You need to find a better place to live.”
“I wish I could.” He heard the regret in her voice. “Police admins don’t make a lot of money, and I have too many bills to pay.”
Gray made a discontented sound in the back of his throat but let the matter drop. For now. Alex reached into her bag and dug for her key.
He gently turned her to face him. “I’d like to kiss you good night. If that’s okay.” While he waited for her answer, his heart began to race. He felt like a teenager all over again, trying to get to first base and wondering if she’d say yes.
Alex nodded. “Yes.”
His eyes dipped to her mouth, and her lips parted. He leaned in and cupped the side of her face. When he dropped a light kiss on her lips, he imagined this was what rose petals were like. All dewy and soft.
And leaving him craving more of her sweet mouth.
He increased the pressure, urging her to part her lips. When his tongue met hers, he tasted chocolate mixed with mint from the after-dinner candies they’d grabbed on the way out of the café.
She moaned into his mouth, and his entire body instantly shuddered with yearning. Explosive didn’t begin to describe it when his tongue tangled with hers.
Heat shot to his groin, and fire sped through his veins. Not to mention the crazy-ass urge to take her right there in the dimly lit hallway. Instead, he gently nudged her back against the door, sliding his hands over the sides of her face, caressing her graceful neck, then skimming down her sides to hold her by her hips.
Another tiny moan escaped her lips, and she eased her arms around his waist beneath his suit jacket. Her fingers splayed across his shirt, digging into his back. Unable to stop himself, he nudged his erection against her, showing her just how much he wanted her. Needed her.
Craved her.
Since he couldn’t make love to her tonight—not the way he wanted to, and not with a little boy and a babysitter on the other side of the door—he damn sure intended to make love to her mouth.
Uttering a low groan, he slanted his lips across hers, his tongue thrusting wildly, hers thrusting back as he savored more of her subtle sweetness.
A muffled thump came from inside the apartment, and they drew apart, both breathing heavily.
Alex’s breath was warm against his neck as she gasped for air, and with every intake her breasts pushed against his chest. Her eyes blazed with a fiery passion he hadn’t known existed in her until tonight.
One thing was for sure—she ignited every ounce of fuel in his body. Hell, he’d be burning for her well into the morning.
Gazing down at her, he glimpsed her blue eyes bright with need, just as he knew his were.
A slow, easy grin lit her face. “Thank you for dinner. And dancing.” Her smile widened. “And fondue.”
Gray lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. “I should go. I can’t wait to see you again. I have to work nights over the weekend, but how about lunch tomorrow?”
“It’s a date,” she whispered, then turned and inserted the key into her door and slipped inside.
Gray waited until he heard the deadbolt turn, then headed back down the hall. Just before pushing the outer door open, he paused with his hand on the knob. It was all he could do not to charge back down the hallway and kiss Alex one more time. Hell, he wanted to kiss her a lot more than that. Try all night long. He let out a heavy breath and pulled open the door.
A blast of cool March air brought with it a much-needed punch of sanity. Alex had a six-year-old. He’d have to be patient, but she was worth every cold shower he anticipated needing until they took things to the next level.
He trotted down the stairs, imbued by a sense of energy he hadn’t experienced in a very long time, if ever. Juvenile thought though it was, he felt as if he could fly. He loved his job, but he was looking forward to tomorrow for a completely different reason.
Alex would be there.
He snorted and hustled to the curb to flag down a cab.
Oh, man. I’ve got it bad.
The subtle smell of her perfume lingered on his clothes and would probably keep him up all night. Literally. He couldn’t believe how turned on he’d been. Like a randy kid again.
Yeah, he definitely wanted her in his bed. What man wouldn’t? She was lovely. Stunning, even.
Alex had all the makings of a Scandinavian princess. She was fairly tall, at about five foot six, and with thick blond hair and eyes as blue as the Caribbean. When he wrapped his arms around her it was all he could do not to run his hands over every one of her enticing feminine curves. But he hadn’t been bullshitting when he’d said how much he enjoyed sitting and talking with her.
Much to his chagrin, the break-room gossip Alex had alluded to was accurate. He didn’t have any problem getting a date, but thus far he’d never really connected with a woman. Until tonight. Alex was the total package. Not only was he royally turned on by her, he just plain liked being with her. Conversation between them was comfortable and exciting at the same time.
His brain still couldn’t completely wrap itself around what exactly it was he felt for Alex. The only thing he was damn certain of was that he wanted to see her again. And tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. The evening had been perfect. Almost.
Gray jammed a hand into his pocket. No way was he wrong about the panic that flitted across her face when he’d said he wanted to talk about her instead of him. Most women loved talking about themselves. Not Alex.
A yellow taxi screeched to a halt at the curb in front of him and he got in. “One Police Plaza,” he said to the cabbie. He needed to pick up his car where he’d left it parked.
As the cab gathered speed and headed downtown to One PP, Gray recalled another aspect of their conversation that had seemed odd and evasive. When he’d asked Alex about Nicky’s father, she’d shut down. She’d instantly averted her gaze and stalled for time before answering by taking one long-ass sip of wine. Alex had exhibited classic signs of lying. The detective in him had wanted to latch on like a rabid dog to a piece of steak and interrogate her until she told the truth.
Yeah, that would have made for a fabulous first date.
But she’d definitely been lying about something. He’d bet his paycheck on it.
As the cab darted through lower Manhattan, Gray considered the irony. Here he was criticizing Alex for lying, when he’d done the exact same thing. When he said he’d been waiting to ask her out because he sensed she wasn’t ready and that she needed time to get to know him, he’d been lying his ass off. He was the one who’d needed more time to get to know her.
The scars of mistrust he
’d brought back with him from Afghanistan nearly fifteen years ago were still gouged deeply in his skin, like ravines of the Grand Canyon. Until tonight, he’d thought they were permanent.
It was time to let go of the past. It was time to let go of Marina and the unspeakable things she’d done. To him. To Dom and Anika. Hell, to his entire unit. But most of all, what she’d done to those children. He would never forget how Marina had used him to set them all up for a deadly fall, but he had to let go of his mistrust or he’d always be alone.
“Pull over here,” Gray said as the cab was about to zoom past where he’d parked his car. When the cabbie stopped, he handed a twenty through the plexiglass opening. “Keep the change.”
Gray got out and headed to his car. Once inside, he pulled the door shut. He paused before turning the key. Any good detective worth his salt was suspicious by nature, and he was no exception. But he had to stop applying his professional life to his personal one. Everyone has secrets. In time, if things went the way he hoped, maybe he’d tell Alex his, and she’d reciprocate.
He laughed to himself and started his car. He was already looking forward to spending hours kissing the truth out of her.
Chapter Four
For a Friday, the squad room was buzzing with activity. Alex sat at her desk, trying unsuccessfully to type a memo for Lt. Frye. Everything seemed to interrupt her concentration.
The phone rang constantly, followed by conversations Alex could hear from across the room. Even the copier spewing out documents echoed in her ears. Probably because she’d barely gotten a few hours sleep last night.
She smiled at the memories. Exhausted though she was, last night had been wonderful. She and Gray had stayed out far longer than intended, talking until the restaurant began shutting down. By the time she’d finally fallen into bed, sleep was the furthest thing from her mind. Her body had still been tingling with excitement from Gray’s kisses and the memory of him pressed against her. It had been years since she’d been with a man, but she knew when a man wanted her, and Gray definitely wanted her.
She closed her eyes, and her belly tightened as images of the two of them kissing came vividly to mind.
Gray’s mouth lowered to hers, his breath warm on her face. Her heart beat faster in her chest, and she opened her mouth to his and—
Alex snapped open her eyes and inhaled a sharp breath. Get. A. Grip. She really, really needed to finish that memo, but concentration was impossible.
On the far side of the squad room, Gray was signing for a box delivered by UPS. It was almost noon. Time for their lunch date.
After tearing open the box and pulling out two stacks of paper, he sat and began reading them. He flipped through page after page, and she inherently understood that he might very well cancel their lunch date. In her time at One PP she’d learned that when Gray put his mind into a case, he focused on it completely—and there was no one better at the job.
Alex intended to get back to work, but her gaze instead focused on the blue-framed photo perched on her desk. The dimpled, dark-haired, brown-eyed little boy staring back at her had been strong and healthy when that picture had been taken two years ago in Central Park. Before he was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia that was resistant to virtually all known remedies.
After months of expensive treatment, the prognosis for Nicky was finally promising, but it was far from over. Pricier treatments, more pain and suffering, and an ever-growing stack of specialists and hospital bills to be paid. They’d barely been getting by before Nicky’s diagnosis. Now they were scraping rock bottom. Only her best friend, Daisy, knew of her dire financial straits.
Daisy owned a highly successful flower shop and hounded Alex on a weekly basis to accept a loan. The only reason she hadn’t taken Daisy up on her offer was that she feared she’d never be able to pay it back. It had taken Alex years to get a fresh start, and owing people made her uncomfortable. Things had gotten so bad recently that she’d finally been on the verge of accepting Daisy’s offer. Until the bizarre happened.
Three weeks ago, twenty thousand dollars was deposited into Alex’s bank account, and she had no idea where it came from. After verifying that it was a legitimate transaction and not just a weird typo, Alex requested depositor information identifying the source of the cash. The bank informed her there was a glitch in the system and the source record was permanently gone.
The money was a gift from Heaven, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Nicky’s condition was changing, and he’d needed another treatment sooner than expected. Most of her salary went toward rent, utilities, food, and buying Nicky toys to help him get through the discomfort and nausea of the treatments, and her bank account was nearly tapped out. In a moment of desperation she’d done the unthinkable and spent half the money. Ten thousand dollars.
Sooner or later, whoever that money belonged to would want it back. The day Alex made the withdrawal, she vowed to replace it as quickly as possible. She didn’t want it hanging over her head for a moment longer than necessary.
Alex glanced up to see Gray still poring through the documents he’d received. As much as she craved to spend time with him, she needed to make sure he understood that if he had to cancel, she’d be okay with that.
Sighing, she stood and walked to his desk. Her two-inch gray pumps matched perfectly with the outfit she’d chosen with great care that morning—a snug, dove-gray, long-sleeve knit dress cinched in tightly at the waist. She knew it showed off her figure and wanted to look good for Gray again.
Her heels clicked on the wood floor and Gray looked up at her arrival. He smiled, revealing a set of even white teeth. “Hey, beautiful.”
Her heart swelled. When those words rolled off his tongue, she really did believe that’s how he saw her.
“Hi.” She smiled back. “I can see you’re busy, so if you need to cancel, I’ll understand.”
“What?” Gray’s expression was one of disbelief. “This is the second time you’ve offered to cancel on me. Makes a guy wonder.”
She laughed. “I can tell you’re in the middle of something important and—”
“And nothing.” He stood and grabbed his suit jacket from the back of his chair. He shoved both arms into it, covering his weapon. “Dom,” he shouted toward the break room where his partner was having an animated discussion with Lisa, a pretty brunette assistant from the major case squad down the hall. “You mind getting started on these bank records?”
Dom chucked Lisa under the chin, and Alex wanted to laugh at how brightly the younger woman blushed.
“No prob, Gray,” Dom said as he joined them. “I got this.”
“Thanks, buddy.” Gray placed his hand at the small of Alex’s back.
“Thank you, Dom,” Alex said as they turned to leave.
“My pleasure.” Dom bobbed his eyebrows, giving Alex a glimpse of just how charming the man could be. To Gray he said, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Gray cut his partner a sharp look. “I don’t think there is anything you wouldn’t do.”
Dom tilted his head and looked briefly at the ceiling. “True. Now beat it before Lt. Frye volunteers us for something on a Friday afternoon.”
Gray glanced at Lt. Frye’s closed door. “Point taken.”
As Gray hustled Alex back to her desk for her coat and bag, she realized that Gray and Dom had the kind of tight-knit bond that she had with Daisy.
If Dom didn’t have such a ladies’ man reputation, she might think about introducing the two of them. She wanted her best friend to have that same kind of crazy, wonderful feeling she had with Gray.
The kind that gave Alex hope that there really was a knight in shining armor in her future.
…
“Get any sleep last night?” Gray asked just before he bit into his Italian sub.
He and Alex were seated in the rear of a noisy deli frequented by just about everyone at One PP. Uniformed officers and other detectives they both knew were seated around
them, chowing down and chatting.
Alex’s cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink. “Not much. You?”
“Nope.” He grinned. Hearing that Alex hadn’t gotten any sleep last night, either, stroked his ego like nothing else could. The amount of shut-eye he’d lost staying up late talking with her, kissing her, then tossing and turning in bed thinking about what had passed between them… Well, let’s just say he’d be happy for a repeat.
He took a swig of bottled water, pausing to watch Alex delicately eat a forkful of salad then lick her rosy pink lips. When she was done chewing, he swallowed. Hard. “My schedule for the weekend changed. I’ve got a family thing tonight with Cassie and her husband, but I’d like to take you to dinner and a movie tomorrow night.”
“If I can get a sitter, I’d love to.” Alex dabbed at the side of her mouth with a napkin, and Gray was tempted to say that whatever it was, he’d be happy to lick it off with his tongue.
His eyes must have been fixated on her mouth because when he looked up, she had the sexiest little smile on her face. He reached across the table to thread his fingers with hers. Her skin was soft and smooth. Looking down at their linked hands, he felt a shiver of anticipation run through him at the thought of being alone with her again.
His cell phone took that untimely moment to vibrate on his belt. He released Alex’s hand and grabbed the phone from its holder. “Yates.”
“Buddy, you still at lunch with Alex?” Dom asked.
“Yeah. What’s up?” Gray took another swig of water.
“Get your ass back to One PP.”
He froze with the bottle midway to his mouth. The tone of his partner’s voice had him instantly on edge.
“Now,” Dom emphasized.
“Talk.” Gray set the bottle onto the table. Across from him, Alex jabbed at her salad with her fork.
“You won’t believe it, and you won’t like it. I’ve been flipping through these bank records that just came in.”
“And?” His body tensed.
As if sensing something was wrong, Alex set down her fork and stared at him.