by Virna DePaul
Her brows lifted in surprise before she glanced away. “He’s—interested.”
“And what about you? Are you interested in him?”
Her gaze whipped back to his. “Why wouldn’t I be? He’s handsome. Sweet. I’m open to something developing.”
Ah. The relief almost made him dizzy. He hadn’t realized, however, that he’d smiled until she snapped, “What are you smiling for?”
“Sorry. It’s what you didn’t say that I’m smiling about.” He leaned forward until his nose was just inches from her. “You didn’t say you were interested, Mattie. And if you were, you’d be more than ‘open’ to something developing, wouldn’t you?”
“You’re wrong.”
No, he wasn’t, he thought, but all he said was a mild, “Okay.”
She looked suspicious for a minute, then said, “How about you? Are you seeing anyone special?”
“No.”
“Well, that was a quick answer. Quick and firm.”
He shrugged. “My career keeps me busy. Besides, after you, I guess I never found another woman who even remotely made me think of settling down.”
She took a deep breath, looking stunned by his statement. When she couldn’t seem to come up with a response, he took pity on her and changed the subject. “You wanted to be an artist when we were together, Mattie. What happened to that dream?”
She hesitated, then settled back into her seat. “I still paint. I just grew up and realized that to support myself, I needed to do something more practical.”
“I guess it would be hard to be an artist with a daughter to raise.” It was subtle, but he saw the way her eyes immediately shuttered. “What, you don’t want to talk about your daughter, either? Why?”
The angle of her chin became mutinous. “Why do you?”
“This isn’t a police station or a courtroom, Mattie. I’m not interrogating or cross-examining you. Who knows, if this evening goes well and we can put the past behind us, maybe I can even meet her sometime.”
“That’s never going to happen,” she said.
He stared at her, hurt despite himself. “Which part? Putting the past behind us or meeting your daughter?”
She said nothing for several tense moments, then forced a smile. “Look, Dominic. We had two months together ten years ago. You’re practically a stranger to me now. But despite how I’ve been acting, there’s no reason we can’t be civil to each other for the rest of the month. You’ve done your part to try to mend things between us and I can do the same.”
Reaching out, she covered his hand with hers. “Okay?”
He immediately curled his fingers around hers. The sight of their joined hands made his chest hurt. So did her comment about them being strangers. It made him want to pull her against him and remind her just how intimately acquainted they were and could be again. Instead, he squeezed her fingers once more, then let go to sit back. “You’re right, but as coworkers we shouldn’t be strangers either. So ask me something. Get to know me again.”
“Anything?” She looked dubious and he didn’t blame her in the least. “And you’ll answer? Truthfully?”
“I’ll answer unless there’s a job-related reason why I can’t. How’s that?”
“Not much of a guarantee, that’s for sure.” She seemed to ponder his words before shrugging. “What the heck. It’ll be nice to be the one asking questions for once. How long have you been rock climbing?”
Surprised at her choice of question, he said, “About eight years.” He held up a hand and grinned sheepishly. “And yes, before you ask, I deliberately followed you to the gym that day. Seeing you again blew me away and I just didn’t want to let you go yet. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
She arched her brows but let his comment pass without responding. “Do you ever climb real mountains without a safety line?”
He hesitated for a second but eventually opted for the truth. “I have a few times, but lots of people do it. It’s called bouldering, Mattie. And I’ve worked my way up to it. I wouldn’t do it if I truly thought I’d be at risk.”
“Right.” She studied him for a minute before continuing. “So what about this job? Why are you here temporarily? Why at all? Somehow, I think your talents are being wasted here.”
Relieved that they’d somehow gotten past the last disastrous minutes, he thought about her question. He hadn’t made any headway on Joel’s murder. Hadn’t found anything implicating Judge Butler, his staff, or Guapo. But he couldn’t say any of that to Mattie. Instead, he simply said, “It’s a standard rotation for all sheriff’s deputies. Like I told you before, I go where I’m needed.”
“Until something better comes along?”
He sighed even though there’d been no edge to her words, only curiosity. “Until my usefulness is tapped out,” he corrected. “Sometimes it’s not about moving on to better things, but about no longer being needed. Or about doing more harm than good if I stay.”
He hoped Mattie heard what he was really trying to say. That he’d left her to insure her own happiness as much as his. But if she understood, she didn’t say anything.
She took another sip of water. Then, with a small, teasing smile on her lips, leaned toward him. “There’s something else I’ve been dying to ask you, Dom,” she murmured.
His muscles tightened and his gaze dropped to her lips, slick and shiny with the water she’d drunk. “What’s that, Mattie-mine?”
“What the heck is mole sauce actually made with?”
Dinner passed quickly and enjoyably.
Mattie discovered mole tasted better than she would have expected based on Dominic’s description. Even more surprising, the more time they spent together, the closer she got to indeed forgiving him. And herself. They had been young. As he’d said, they’d both made mistakes.
He paid the bill—getting a dangerous look in his eyes when she tried to pay her share—and walked her back to the parking garage, his hand resting comfortably at the small of her back. To her dismay, she found herself walking slower to enjoy his company a while longer.
Words piled up in her throat. She wanted to tell him more about her life. To brag about Jordan. To unload her fears about her and Tony. To tell him she’d been wrong in trying to pressure him to give up his dreams.
Instead, what she said was, “My husband was a cop.”
He stopped on the sidewalk, obviously as surprised by her comment as she was.
Feeling foolish, she twisted her hands together and focused on a point just over his shoulder. “After you left, I was so angry. At you, but also myself.” She swallowed and faced him. Faced her own part in their breakup. “I drove you away with my stupid fears.”
“They weren’t stupid, Mattie—”
She shook her head. “Don’t. Please. I need to say this.”
After a second, he nodded, encouraging her to continue.
“I started hanging out at cop bars. I don’t know, I guess I thought if I met someone who was already a cop, I’d—I’d be that much closer to having a part of you, too. And then I met John and I thought, don’t mess this up again. Maybe he’s your second chance.”
The muscles in his jaw ticked before he asked, “What happened?”
She smiled sadly. “John wasn’t just a cop, he was an adrenaline junkie. He bought a motorcycle, and kept upgrading to the newest and fastest thing. Even though we couldn’t afford it. Even though I kept telling him it was too dangerous—”
“You ended up being right, didn’t you?”
“He wrapped his motorcycle around a pole a few months before our sixth anniversary. It wasn’t because of the job. He was off-duty at the time, fooling around with some friends. So I learned my lesson, Dom. It’s not a person’s job that gets in the way of our choices, it’s what a person’s willing to do and not do. I just didn’t know how to say it back then.”
Reaching out, he took both her hands in his. “I’m sorry.”
She stared at their joined hands before slip
ping hers away. “So am I. He was a wonderful person. But it was a long time ago. Almost another lifetime.”
“You never married again?”
“I had Tony to help me with Jordan. Friends…”
“But a husband. A partner—”
She shook her head. “I couldn’t go through it again.”
“The heartache of losing a partner?”
“No, the heartache of losing a partner I was too boring to satisfy on my own.”
He stared at her. “Is that what you really think?”
“It’s what I know. You were the first one to teach me that lesson, Dom. My pressuring you to give up your dream only made it easier for you to leave me, but it would have happened eventually.”
Eyes narrowing, he stared at her, his eyes focusing on the spot that joined her neck and shoulder. It made her insides explode with heat. She’d loved it when he’d kissed her there. More times than not, she’d go wild from that touch alone, acting in ways no one would dare say was boring.
“Come here, Mattie.”
Her eyes widened in alarm. “Wh-why?”
He stepped closer, making a low sound in his throat—something that almost sounded like a growl—when she stepped back. “Because I want to show you just how boring you can be.”
She gasped. The way he was looking at her, with pure sexual drive flaring in his eyes, made her achy and wet between her thighs. The temptation to walk into his arms and let passion take them was almost unbearable. She bit her lip and dug her nails into her palms, hoping the pain could somehow pull her back from the very dangerous edge she was balanced on.
For all her complaints about him, some people might say that Mattie had too easily replaced him. After all, only a few months had passed before she’d started dating John. Not long after, they’d married. Of course, she’d been pregnant and scared, and John had been kind. Did that make her weak? Was it so bad to want a man to build a life with?
When she was young, Mattie had naturally gravitated towards being in a relationship. She liked being part of a couple. Going on dates and holding hands. Having a man pick up the bill and hold the door open for her. The slight teasing banter when you knew the night was going to end in close, physical contact with someone you loved. She’d missed that in the past few years. Missed sex. Missed being held and having a man inside her.
Apparently, if she asked for that right now, Dom would give it to her. But he still couldn’t give her what she really wanted. What she really needed. Because whether he admitted it or not, he was an adrenaline junkie, too. If she gave herself to him physically, he’d take her heart, as well. And she’d have to risk losing the only man she’d ever truly loved a second time. That thought enabled her to break free from the spell he’d cast. Shaking her head, she stepped back. “I can’t do this,” she said.
“Of course you can,” he countered, looking undeterred. He stepped closer, and she held her palms out pleadingly.
“Let’s say I did. Then what?”
As she’d known it would, the question froze him in his tracks. “Why do we have to answer that question?”
“Because I have a daughter to take care of,” she reminded him. “And quite frankly, I’ve already been burned by you. You can’t give me what I need.”
His face tightened and she released her breath, thinking she’d finally made him see reason. Instead, he moved closer, placed his hands on her shoulders, kneading them softly. “I think I can give you exactly what you need. And what you want.”
She whimpered at his words, unable to deny their veracity. Of their own volition, she lifted her arms and placed them around his neck. “We can’t,” she whispered, still trying to be logical even if her body wouldn’t.
He slowly lowered his head, until all she could focus on were his blue eyes, blazing at her with masculine intent, and his hands, showing her what she could have.
Strong but gentle.
Hungry but generous.
She tilted her face up. Just the tiniest bit. Yes, she thought, as his lips met hers.
The first contact undid her. Doubt and resolve gave way to a blessed forgetfulness and left her solely a victim to sensation. Again, she thought in contrasts. His lips were so much softer than she remembered, but the way he opened them and angled his head for better positioning made her shiver. The way he used his tongue made her moan.
He’d always been an accomplished lover, but she could tell he’d gained even more experience. Before, he’d been controlled by a young man’s passion. Now, he knew better than to invade when teasing would work so much better. His tongue dipped, then withdrew, tracing the bow of her lip before he nipped at the bottom.
“You taste the same,” he whispered against them, not bothering to lift his head. “So damn sexy,” he growled. “Like honey and cream, melting on my tongue.”
She raised her hands to his face, cupping the hard planes of his jaw. Even that simple touch seemed to inflame him. Suddenly, his kiss wasn’t so teasing anymore. His mouth widened. His hands lowered to her hips, pulling her body into his and she sighed with relief as her aching breasts rubbed up against him.
Wrenching his lips from hers, he buried his face in her neck, struggling to catch his breath. She tangled her fingers in his hair and unthinkingly soothed him, even as her own heartbeat threatened to pound out of her.
He lifted his head. “I want to do that again.”
His blatant honesty compelled her to give the same. “I—I do too. But—” Her words were interrupted by the sound of breaking glass.
Mattie jerked and Dom’s arms dropped away. From the direction of the parking garage, a horn began to honk repetitively. “Car alarm,” he muttered. “Yours?”
She shook her head. She had a beat-up old Toyota that she couldn’t get someone to steal even if she wanted him to.
Instinctively, she stepped forward but Dom put his arm in front of her. He activated the radio on his shoulder. “This is Deputy Jeffries. There’s a disturbance in the south parking garage. Send someone out.”
“Nichols will be out in three,” replied the voice on the other end.
“You’re not going to go in?”
Dominic looked sideways at Mattie. “I would, but then I’d be neglecting you. I’m just not that kind of guy.”
“I thought that’s just the kind of guy you were.” She tried to sound teasing, but with her senses still sizzling from his kiss and her own desperate response, she sounded more accusatory than anything else. What had she been thinking? The instant the glass had broken and she’d seen that hard look come into his eyes—the cop look—it had snapped her back to reality, clearly reminding her why she needed to stay away from men in general. This man in particular.
His gaze sharpened. “Meaning?”
“Never mind—”
“What kind of man am I, Mattie?”
Feeling penned in, she raised her chin. “You and John had one thing in common, Dom, and it wasn’t just being a cop. It’s your need for adrenaline. You’ll always take risks—”
“That’s not true—”
“You climb walls without a harness. And you got pumped restraining that inmate Dusty. Admit it.”
Before responding, he waved to a uniformed man who walked out of the courthouse and into the parking garage. Then he brought all his attention back to her, his eyes blazing. “I’m not admitting anything. I told you, I only take calculated risks and I don’t climb without some kind of safety measure in place. As for Dusty, he deserved far worse than what he got for touching you.”
Yowza. She had to admit the he-man protector bit he had going made her insides melt, but of course she couldn’t let him know that.
Before she could respond, a voice on his radio interrupted them. “This is Deputy Nichols. I need an ambulance, stat.”
Dominic engaged his radio. “What do you have?”
“I’ve got an unconscious woman here. She’s been beaten bad.”
“Did you find ID?”
“
Government issued. She works here. In the D.A.’s office.”
Mattie gasped, panic going off inside her like fireworks. Dominic placed his hand on her shoulder and spoke into his radio again. “What’s her name?”
“Linda Delaney.”
“Linda!” Cupping her hand over her mouth, Mattie lunged forward, her only thought that she needed to get to her friend. A heavy arm clamped around her waist and she screamed in frustration, trying to pull away.
Dominic lowered his head closer to hers. “Shh. Mattie, stop. Listen to me. Someone’s with her, and an ambulance is on the way.”
Whimpering, Mattie shook her head. “I need to go to her. Let. Me. Go!”
“Mattie!” Dominic shook her gently, then cupped her face in his hands. “Look at me, Mattie. Look at me.”
She stopped struggling and stared into his eyes. Her panicked breaths heaved in and out of her, and she couldn’t hear past the pounding of her heart. His eyes, though—his blue, blue eyes. They grounded her. Gave her something to focus on so that the soft caress of his hands on her face finally registered. “The area isn’t secure. The ambulance will be here soon and we’ll get Linda to a hospital. But I need you to go inside.”
“Ambulance,” she breathed.
He nodded and straightened. “Yes. Now, let me get you inside. I’ll go to her immediately and find out her condition, I promise. But first I need to make sure you’re okay. I have to keep my promise to Linda and keep you safe. Okay?”
“Yes. Okay.” Tears burned her lids and she grasped at the front of Dominic’s shirt. “Please check on her and tell me she’s okay. Please.”
“I’ll check on her. Find out if anyone noticed anything or anyone suspicious.”
“Like what?” Even to herself, she sounded like she was barely holding it together. But Linda— “This place is always crawling with thugs.”
His jaw clenched. “Some thugs are more memorable than others. Now come on, let’s get you inside.”
Chapter 10
Mattie paced in the hallway just inside the courthouse’s lower level glass doors. It had been five minutes since Dominic had disappeared to check on Linda. An ambulance as well as several police cars were now parked on the street in front of the parking garage. Every once in a while, someone in a blue or tan uniform would move into her view, but not one of them was Dominic. “Where are they?” she moaned, referring not just to Dominic, but the two paramedics she’d seen jump out of the back of the ambulance with a gurney. “Why hasn’t he checked in with you?”