She looked at him, so touched by his words. A pool of unshed tears wet her eyes while a smile floated over her lips. Then she got up and moved over to him, straddling his lap.
“Don’t ever just up and leave me, Mike,” she admitted. “And if you ever want to, let’s talk about it first. Don’t cheat on me, okay?”
“Whoa. Where did that come from?”
She shrugged. “Just thinking of what a clusterfuck of a relationship I had with Scott.”
“Listen to me. No one’s leavin’ and no one’s cheatin’. I will never do to you what he did, Em. Ever. Even on my worst day. Period. We’ll always talk it out. You have my word on that.”
She pressed her forehead to his. “Good. Because if you did –”
“I know. You’d cut me into little pieces and stick me down the garbage disposal.”
She looked at him. “That’s gross.”
“You’d be surprised what people do in fits of rage. Trust me, I’ve seen it,” he said. His tone changed to one of mirth when he continued. “If you have any pent up rage, I’d much rather you take it out on me in different ways.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“On the mat.”
“Or in bed, against the wall, in the shower, on the sofa, straddling me on a dining chair…” He said that last part while wiggling under her, giving her a hint.
“Mm, hm. I’ll remember that.” She got quiet then finished her statement from before, feeling courageous and vulnerable for perhaps the first time. “What I was going to say was if you did ever cheat or leave,” she looked at him, “it would really hurt.”
He cupped her face, soothing her immediately. “I love you, Emily White. I’m in love with you. It kills me when you talk like this, baby, because I need you to understand how much I want only you.”
“I do know,” she nodded. “I just really wanna make sure our communication stays open so we can always have our fingers on the pulse of how we’re doing. I have a feeling you’re gonna be better at that than me, so I’ll apologize now if you have to drag stuff out of me at times.” She took a deep breath and finished with, “But you have my word that I will always work on this. I’ve waited for a relationship like this my whole life. I’ve longed for it. And I don’t wanna mess this up.”
“You can’t think about it that way, Em. We’re both gonna mess up. But let’s agree right now, there will be no cheating or intentional hurting. We’ll figure out the rest as we go.”
Emily smiled. “I’m glad you’re with me.”
“I’m here to stay so get used to it.”
“I already am and I like it,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck and inhaling his scent. “I think it’s time we made our way back to the sofa. I wanna cuddle, Detective.”
He chuckled, picked her up and said, “You got it, GC.”
……
When Friday came, Emily was super excited. Joe let her take a half day so she could be at the Academy for the first mentoring class. Even though she wouldn’t be with the students, she and Rene planned on making themselves available in case anything happened during the class time. It would also give them a little time to debrief with the guys right afterwards.
By 1:45, all of the guys were gathered in the guidance office conference room getting all of their last minute details figured out.
“You guys are gonna be great. The students have been talking about it all week,” Rene said.
“Listen, since we haven’t had a chance to just relax and hang, Ryann wanted to know if you all wanted to come over for some appys tonight,” Jeremy said, then directed the next comment to Rene and Maurice. “She’d love to meet you both as would some of our other significant others. I know it’s last minute, but Jon’s girlfriend and my cousin,” he interrupted himself. “Do you remember Mike and Robbie’s sister, Janie? Well, both Janie and Jon’s girlfriends are chefs and they have these recipes that they’re dying to try out. We’d love it if you all could make it. It’ll be at our place in the West Village. Bring whomever you’d like.”
“Someone’s gonna cook? I’m there.” Maurice turned to Mike and teased, “I’m flyin’ solo, but hey, if your sister isn’t seeing anyone, my mom always said I needed to find a woman who could cook. I’d starve if it wasn’t for Chinese food, pizza, and knowing how to boil water for my Ramen noodles.”
“Actually, she’s very available, my friend,” Mike chuckled then sat back waiting for the reaction he knew would come a second later.
As if on cue, Luke said, “What happened to Gonzalez?”
Jeremy, Jonathan, Emily and Mike all said, “Fernandez,” at the same time.
Luke ignored the correction. “They called it quits?”
“Yup,” Mike said happily. “Thank the good Lord above. And hey, why don’t you bring Vanessa?” Mike said to Luke.
Luke shrugged. “I’ll see if she’s available.”
“I have rounds later at the hospital,” Drew said, “but I can probably swing by around 7.”
“I’ll call my husband to make sure I’m not missing anything on the calendar and let you know after class if we can make it. Thanks for the invite,” Rene smiled.
“Perfect,” Jeremy said. “Let me text Ryann and Janie really quick so they know.” He started tapping on his phone.
“I’ll get the address later,” Rene continued. “But for now, we should probably get going. You guys know my extension if you need to call for anything during class time but I doubt you’ll need to. It’ll be a fun and loose class this first time so I know you’ll all be fine. You’re really just getting to know them today. The bell’s gonna ring in about five minutes, so if you wanna head down to your rooms and set things up a certain way…”
“Got it. Wish us luck,” Jon said. “Come on, men,” Jon joked. “I’ll lead the way.”
“Have a good time,” Emily said with a smile.
Without caring who was watching, Mike leaned down and kissed her soundly on the mouth, tweaked her nose, then left with the rest of the guys.
Rene’s eyebrow was raised while she gave Emily a look. “Well, well. Looks like someone has some ’splaining to do. I wondered when I saw you come to the training last Saturday but I didn’t get a chance to say anything.”
Emily giggled then cleared her throat. “We’re seeing each other.”
“There’s a shocker. That was quite a kiss for two people who are just ‘seeing’ each other.”
“I don’t know what else to call it.”
“Are we talking boyfriend and girlfriend? The L word? What?”
“Yes and yes. It’s moving pretty fast, actually.” Emily frowned wondering if it was going too fast.
“Don’t get that look. Guys like the detective aren’t capable of moving slowly, not once they find what they want. Enjoy it, honey. You’ve got yourself a good one. And so does he, I might add.”
Emily reached over and squeezed Rene’s hand. “Thanks for that.”
“I mean every word. Let’s go hang in my office and wait for the guys. We can talk about boys and have some coffee,” she winked.
They did and waited to hear how the first day would go.
Chapter 22
“This is incredible,” Mo said as he chewed the delectable bite of appetizer Janie had laid in front of him.
All of the men in the program were present in Jeremy and Ryann’s brownstone that evening, as were Ayanna, Janie, Tiffany and Emily. Rene and her husband, a Port Authority Police Officer, were also able to make the impromptu gathering.
“Thanks!” Janie was genuinely excited to hear everyone’s thoughts and sat down next to Mo. “Yan and I are trying to perfect two or three recipes for the catering menu, so we’re looking for honest feedback.”
“Is this brie?” Mo asked.
“Yeah.”
“What’s the sauce? It almost tastes like wine.”
“It is,” she smiled. “Brie with roasted grapes on top and a wine and maple syrup reduction. All on a bite size piece of French toast.
”
“God, how do you even think this stuff up?” He devoured the one that was in his hand.
Janie shrugged like it was no big deal. “We’re chefs. Food is what we think about, flavors, colors, textures. Plus, we read blogs, see stuff online, TV, or just come up with flavors we like together. Play around with it.”
Jeremy finished off his bite. “This one is definitely a keeper. Great combo of flavors.”
Ayanna walked in on the tail end of his comment and high fived Janie as she walked in.
“Alright, now this one has a twist too. Let’s see what it reminds you of.”
Everyone looked at it, examined it then took their sample pieces.
Luke moaned a little. “Thanksgiving stuffing.”
“Nice! Two for two,” Janie said, clapping her hands in excitement. Emily wondered if part of Janie’s excitement was the fact that Vanessa had been absent from the gathering. “Whattaya taste, Luke?” Janie asked.
“A mixture of sausage, sage, caramelized onions and,” he thought while chewing, “apples? And I can’t make out the cheese.”
“Good job,” Ayanna said. “That’s turkey sausage with sage and rosemary, then sautéed apples. A little bit of celery that was caramelized with the onion all in a mini croissant. And the cheese? Any guesses?”
“Is it Brie again?”
“Nope, but good guess. Cream Havarti, another mild buttery cheese. You like?” Ayanna asked.
Everyone ‘mmm-ed’ with pleasure, then Jon deadpanned, “Have I told you how much I love you today?”
“Not today, you haven’t, no.” Ayanna walked over and planted a huge kiss on him in front of everyone.
“I’m gonna need to get my ass to the gym more if you keep feeding me like this,” Jonathan said after the kiss.
“You’re ass already looks pretty good to me,” Ayanna said, kissing him one more time.
“This one is perfect for the fall,” Luke said referring to the ‘Thanksgiving’ one, “and this other one I wanna eat for breakfast,” he said pointing to the French toast. “The wine syrup combo is a killer.”
“Good. We wanted it to have a sophisticated breakfast feel. I’ll go get the last bunch. I’m excited about these,” Janie said, wiggling her eyes at Luke. “It’ll only take about 10 minutes. And thanks for letting us borrow Manny, Jem,” she said before walking out, referring to Jeremy’s driver. “It was easier than loading up the catering van. Okay, talk amongst yourselves. I’ll be back.”
Janie got up and both Luke and Mo watched her leave.
“I could’ve lent her Kenneth if she needed help,” Luke mumbled, mentioning his own driver.
Emily smiled and cleared her throat to cover up her chuckle. She wasn’t the only one who noticed Luke’s comment or the looks both he and Mo sent Janie’s way. Most of the crew of friends watched with interest.
They continued talking about the day until Janie came back in. “I need Luke and Tiffany to try these first,” Janie said with anticipation and brought the serving dish over to them.
Tiffany gasped with delight and clapped excitedly. “It’s the dates, Luke!”
Luke looked up at Janie with a brilliant smile. “You remembered.”
Janie looked sheepishly at them both. “Whenever your mom brought the tapas on holidays, I always loved them. This one I obviously enjoyed during my pre-vegetarian days, but how can anything wrapped in bacon be wrong?” she giggled.
“Amen to that,” Luke said, and grabbed a chorizo filled date wrapped in bacon and popped it in his mouth. He let out a deep groan of pleasure. “It tastes like ‘home’.
“It does,” Tiffany said around a mouthful. “It’s perfect, Janie.”
Janie blushed a little as she walked around with the plate. “A couple of these are filled with Manchego cheese instead of chorizo.”
“That’s a nice touch,” Luke said thoughtfully. “Let me try one of those too.”
“Your mom was very helpful when I called,” Janie said, all smiles.
“You called our mom?” Luke asked.
“Yeah, I wanted to make sure it was just like hers,” she said, taking the plate back to him and Tiffany so they could try the other tapa with Manchego.
“These are great Janie,” Luke began, then as if remembering Ayanna was involved as well, turned to her too, to acknowledge her talent.
As everyone ate, they all moaned in ecstasy. It was actually pretty funny to see them all in various stages of orgasmic delight.
“Luke’s right. These are out of this world, you guys. I hope you brought business cards with you tonight, because I’ll personally be suggesting you to everyone I know. What’s the name of your catering company again?” Rene asked Janie.
“The Local Yokel. All or most of the food is organic and locally grown. Well,” she hesitated with a self-effacing smile, “not the dates of course. And yes we have business cards,” she smiled, a twinkle in her eye. “And some of our current menus. We’re always at the ready.” She gave a handful to Maurice and Rene.
“Great. With the holidays coming up, I’m sure you’ll be hoppin’.”
“I actually want to talk to you about our annual holiday party,” Luke said to Janie. “Let’s set up a time to discuss, okay?”
“You got it,” she said happily and sat down next to him.
Rene turned to the men in the group. “So I was able to hear about how the classes went, but the only person I didn’t get the full story from was you, Mike. How’d you think it went? I know you talked to Kevin afterwards. Anything happen there?”
“He waited until everyone left the class then asked me why I gave him my card the other night.” Mike explained for those who didn’t know how they saw Kevin and Vincent the week before when they were out walking. While they all sat in the living room munching on culinary delights, Mike described the scene from that night as well as the one after class that afternoon when the first mentoring class finished.
“What did you say?” Tiffany asked, having already been filled in on what was going on with Kevin. Drew had sat next to her when he’d arrived and they had been talking throughout the evening.
“I said sometimes we all need a little help from people who care and if he ever needed to get in touch with me, I wanted him to have my number. Then he said it wouldn’t do him any good even if he did need to contact me, because, are you ready for this?” Mike waited until everyone was looking at him. “He doesn’t have a phone. Dear old stepdad won’t let him have one.”
“Are you frickin’ kidding me?” Rene burst out.
“I asked him what would happen if he was ever in an emergency and needed help, and he just shrugged and said Vincent didn’t think he needed to have a phone. It was obvious he wanted to say more, but was a little nervous I was asking questions.”
Emily had heard most of this when she and Mike talked briefly after the class. She’d waited at the school for him while he ran to the store for Kevin. Mike was now explaining that part of the story.
“So I told him to stay at school for a half an hour and I ran and got him a throw away phone. You should’ve seen his face when I gave it to him.” Mike looked at the people scattered around the living room. “I’m probably overstepping my bounds, and I realize now that it probably looks a little creepy for a grown man to give a kid his business card then a phone, especially when we’re not sure what’s going on in his house,” Mike said in a wry tone.
They all chuckled uncomfortably, understanding Mike’s point.
“Well, first of all, you’re a cop. Second of all, you’re part of this mentoring program. And thirdly, we’re pretty sure that something is going on. Did he hint at all about anything after I left?” asked Jon.
Mike shrugged a little. “He thanked me for the phone and said he had to get home to his mom before his stepdad got there. Whatever that means.”
“I checked before I left the hospital. Strover was on until 7 tonight,” Drew said.
Emily glanced down at her watch. It was
approaching 7:30.
There was a collective sigh in the room, each person thinking about the possibilities of abuse behind those closed doors. Conversation moved to comfortable chatter in various areas of the room. Mike was on the floor next to Emily’s crossed legs where she played with his hair. He looked up at her then leaned over to kiss her knee.
“Guess what I’m thinkin’ about right now,” Mike whispered against her knee cap.
She felt a zing go through her while his breath tickled the sensitive area just inside her thigh. “What you’re always thinking about,” she said.
He looked at her. “Which is?”
“Thinking of ways to get into my pants.”
He leaned forward and nibbled at her knee. Arousal slammed into her.
“How right you are, Counselor. I don’t mind getting into your shirt either, though. Or that mouth of yours,” he murmured. “How long is an appropriate amount of time to stay, do you think?”
She played with his hair, wanting to leave right then. “Probably a little longer.”
He sighed and nuzzled her leg. He looked over at his sister then turned up to Emily. “Mo’s hittin’ on my sister,” Mike said quietly but with unrestrained glee.
They directed their attention over to the two of them sitting on the sofa. It was quite an amusing picture, Janie sitting between Mo and Luke on the sofa, but her body turned toward the strapping and good looking resource officer from the Academy, completely ignoring Luke who was turned away from her talking to Ryann.
Luke was trying to act like it didn’t bother him, but to those who knew him, the tightness around his eyes and jaw gave him away, as well as the obvious way he was trying to appear nonchalant and unperturbed.
“You seem pretty happy about that, Detective.”
“Mo is a hundred times better for her than Fernandez. And she might as well have some fun while Luke tries to figure out what the hell he’s doing.” He looked at his sister and said dryly, “And she does look like she’s having fun.”
Revelation: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series) Page 35