MaryJanice Davidson - UC Anthology - Sweet Strangers

by UC Anthology(lit)

  Eric got up and checked the locks one last time. Renee filched one last truffle, then reluctantly closed the box and put it on the bedside table. "You're not still worried, are you? I mean… it's over. Right?"

  "Right. Old habits. And I don't like the way Peter Random disappeared and left Jekell holding the bag. I'd prefer not to let you out of my sight until he turns up again."

  Actually, Renee quite liked the way Peter had done a quick fade when things started to go bad. Thus, there was no one to corroborate Dr. Jekell's version of events: namely, that Renee had stolen company property and tried to kill him. Since he was waving an empty gun at her as he said this, the police were skeptical, to say the least.

  And when Eric showed them his credentials, and they made a few phone calls to verify his bona fides, things looked considerably worse for Dr. Jekell, who was by then shrieking like a madman.

  Although she was the thief, Dr. Jekell had been arrested. The charges were attempted kidnapping, reckless endangerment, attempted murder, possession of an unlicensed handgun, and eventually assaulting a police officer. Every time Renee thought about the look on Jekell's face when the cops read him his rights, she felt like breaking into song.

  "I asked you last night, before we went to sleep, but you dodged the question—where is PaceIC?"

  "Right now? Your shaving kit."

  "Oh. That's good. I thought—what?"

  She mimed shaving her chin. "What, I have to get out hand puppets? I put. It in. Your shaving. Kit."

  "The vial worth billions is next to my Remington?"

  "Calm down. I'm giving it to Jennifer Hildebrandt tomorrow morning."

  "Where was it before? When we were running all over the place?"

  "Your shaving kit."

  Eric, who had been pacing, now stopped and put his head in his hands. "You're killing me. The whole time?"

  "I figured you'd never guess that when I left your room in a rage, I left PaceIC behind. Figured you wouldn't even bother to look. I'm trying to erase all tones of smugness from my voice as I say this: I was right. And with Random MIA, Jekell in jail, and Dr. Foster firmly on our side, it'll be safe there for one more night."

  He laughed, shaking his head. "You're one woman in a million."

  "I'm a woman in sixty billion. I liked Foster's idea. Give it to someone who can reverse engineer it, which will force Anodyne to put it on the market ASAP. Everybody wins. Except that SOB, Dr. Jekell. When he gets out of jail, let's go break his kneecaps."

  "It's a date."

  "I suppose I should head home tomorrow morning," Renee continued as he shut out the lights and climbed into bed. Funny how it seemed perfectly natural to share a bed with this man. If he hadn't been there, the bed would have seemed much too big. "Haven't been to my apartment all week. My cat would be dead, if I had one."

  "Come with me," he coaxed. His hand slipped into her robe and cupped her left breast. "We can fly out to DC tomorrow."

  "Now, why would I do that?" she teased. "We've agreed it's over."

  "Wrong, m'dear. It's just beginning."

  She groaned. "I can't take another week like this last one."

  His thumb was rubbing over her nipple, coaxing it into stiffness. "Oh, come on," he said, and she knew he was smiling at her in the dark. "It wasn't all bad."

  "There might have been one or two less sucky spots."

  "How's your ankle?"

  "Not too sore for what you're thinking. So that's it, huh? Good-bye, Minneapolis, hello, DC?"

  "Just for a while. I want to show you the sights, introduce you to my family."

  "You have family out there?"

  Now his hands were sliding lower, and she wriggled closer to him and let her own hands do some wandering. "Yes. See, there's so much we don't know about each other. And I think we should spend the rest of our lives finding everything out."

  "Well… I know you're pretty good in bed. Not that we've actually done it in a bed. And I know you don't like heights, but you don't hesitate to jump out windows for me. And I know you—ah. Yes. That's—um. Don't stop doing that."

  "I won't if you won't. Say it, Renee."

  "I love your dick."

  A sigh in the dark. "Renee…"

  "Oh, and the rest of you, I's'pose. But not because you've got great hands. And not because you're ridiculously good looking."

  "Oh? Then why?"

  She kissed him softly, sweetly, breathed in his scent, and was completely happy for the first time in a very long time. "I think, Eric, it's because you caught me," she whispered. "Now, what do you think about that?"

  He showed her.