by Vella Day
When she ran a nail down his hard length, he pulled her on top of him. “Not fair,” he said. “I’ve got to have you now.”
“I was wondering when you’d make the suggestion.”
Dominic rolled them both over until he loomed above her, and then kissed her with what felt like years of pent up passion. She spread her legs, and he slid right into her.
She gasped at his size.
He stopped. “Does it hurt?”
“No, but I wasn’t expecting you to fill me so completely.”
“Why don’t you ride me instead? That way, you can go at your own speed.”
She’d never straddled Ralph. He’d always wanted to have total control. Dominic’s willingness to relinquish the role of love leader sent her over the edge. “Okay.”
Dominic dropped back onto the mattress, and Tessa crawled on top on him. When she positioned herself over his jutting member, the power position enthralled her. “I’m going to like this,” she said staring down at him. Her hair landed on his chest.
“I hope so. I certainly plan to.”
Tessa slowly slid down his shaft him until he filled her completely. Dom closed his eyes and sucked in a breath, acting as if her deliberate approach was killing him. Good. She tested his fullness by rising up until she reached his tip, and then slid down on his thick shaft again inch by wonderful inch. A fresh flow of lubrication stopped all discomfort.
With the headiness of being in charge, she palmed his chest. The soft down of his hair tickled her palm. As much as she wanted to take her time, her need overcame her. She rose up and down his tumescent cock, faster and faster, thrilling in her building climax. The scent of their sex filled the air.
Dominic grabbed her hips and held her still. Frantic from the loss of movement, Tessa tried to slip further down on him, but he held tight.
“Wait. I don’t want to come too soon. You deserve to come first.”
The absence of movement drove her crazy. Finally, he drove his hips upward, filling her with his being. Blood pounded in her ears as her heart threatened to burst. She let loose a primordial scream as Dominic’s fluid exploded.
She clamped down on his sex, squeezing the last drop from him. Tessa had never reached the clouds before. When he let go of her hips, she dropped down on his chest, exhausted. She could lie there forever.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered a moment later.
She bolted upright. “You’re sorry? For what? For having sex with me?”
“No, no. What I meant was, I didn’t use a condom. I didn’t come prepared. I never dreamed I’d be with you like this. It happened all so fast.”
The sincere look on his face made her laugh. “I forgive you. I think it’s safe though.”
Mandy began to cry and Dominic smiled. “Whoops. I guess we were a little loud.”
“You mean I was a little loud.” With care, Tessa rolled off him. “I’ll get something to clean us up, and then check on her. I bet the noise did startle her.”
“I imagine so.”
Dominic’s brow was smooth, and the smile on his face told her he’d needed their heady affair as much as she. What a great way to start the day.
After she washed them off, she pulled on her clothes, this time making sure to put on underwear. Mandy had quieted, but she wanted to hold her niece.
Tessa shuffled back into the bedroom with the baby in her arms. “Do you know where I’ll be staying while you try to find Ralph?”
He winked. “Yes. With me.”
12
Ralph was still pissed. As soon as Tessa called the cops this morning, he figured it was time to get the hell away. Christ. He’d felt like a whipped dog skulking down the road, but he knew his day would come.
At least he’d gotten to listen to his ex-wife’s cries of distress when she found the photos. Her fear gave him great satisfaction. Boy did he love yanking her chain.
He’d thought about confronting her right then and there, but he decided he’d get more joy letting her stew before he showed his face. She deserved to suffer for what she’d done to him.
Tessa’s words kept echoing in his head. “I’m too afraid to look around the house,” she’d whined to the cop. “Can you come over?” Jesus Christ. What had he ever seen in her?
Oh yeah, her hot bod—and those magnificent breasts. A guy needed a chick with great boobs.
Tessa would get her due if it was the last thing he did.
Right now he was on his way to the Blue Moon. She’d have to come to work sooner or later. He’d wait for her to arrive, and then follow her back to wherever she planned to hide. Tessa was such an easy read. She’d do anything to keep the kid safe. And herself. She always was a coward.
Tessa called Annie to see if she could find a safe haven for Mandy. Twice during the conversation Tessa had to ask her friend to repeat the directions to the rendezvous spot. Remembrances of Dominic’s naked chest and sexy body kept distracting her.
“She’s welcome to stay with me,” Annie offered. “I haven’t had a baby in the house in five years.”
Hope bubbled up. “Are you sure? I’d feel so much better if you’d watch her.”
“Of course. I know how much Ralph’s return scares you, and I promise I won’t let her out of my sight.”
“You’re wonderful.”
Annie laughed. “Just wait until you get your PhD. I’ll take my fee out in trade.”
“You know I promised to help counsel the women for no charge.”
“I know, but I’d feel better if I knew I’d be helping you out in the process.”
“Well, you are.”
Tessa hung up and wrapped her arms around her waist. The control she’d desperately sought, seeped in. Mandy would be safe—and so would she.
“It’s all set, then?” Dominic asked, as he stepped behind her and pulled her hair behind her shoulders.
Oh, how his touch soothed her. “Yes.” She turned to face him. Wow. Even with his rough beard, and her libido temporarily satisfied, he turned her on. “Here are the directions where we’re supposed to drop off Mandy. I’m not very familiar with New Tampa.”
He stepped back and studied the piece of paper. “I know the place. It’s not more than thirty-five minutes from here. Once Mandy is in safe hands, you can follow me to my place.”
“Okay.”
Tessa wasn’t sure why she wasn’t more enthusiastic. Now that Mandy would be safe, Tessa should be thrilled to be staying with the hot detective. Maybe with everything else hanging over her head, like her dad’s funeral, Chelsea’s life dangling by a thread, and her ex stalking her, joy eluded her.
She shivered.
“What’s wrong?” Dominic asked.
She loved his solicitous attitude. “I feel like a damn puppet with Ralph pulling the strings. I’m so mad, I could scream.”
He gathered her in his arms. “Don’t worry. I’ll find the bastard for you.”
She reached up and kissed him. “I can hardly wait.”
“Then we need to get out of here so I can do my job. Why don’t you put Mandy in the car?”
“Will do just as I soon as I finish dressing.”
Tessa grabbed her sweater from the sofa and pulled it on. Next she gathered her niece and a few of her toys. “Are you ready for a little ride?” she asked Mandy.
Her adorable niece looked up and grabbed Tessa’s thick sweater, apparently distracted by the little pearls sewn in circles on the front. She let Mandy tug away. Tessa didn’t have the heart to deny the little girl anything.
Someday, when the danger had passed, they’d talk about how the two of them had run away from the bad man.
“Let’s go,” Dominic said, his hands and arms filled with suitcases.
Maybe she shouldn’t have bothered with the cooler, but leaving food in the refrigerator to rot wasn’t her style.
“I got it.” Tessa pulled open the door. The depressing gray day greeted her. She needed sun. Sun and warmth were the eternal balm to one�
�s soul.
While Dominic loaded her suitcases in the back of his trunk, she placed Mandy in the car seat. Tessa couldn’t help but glance up and down the street searching for any strange cars. Even though Dominic was with her, she wouldn’t put it past Ralph to be looming somewhere nearby. Goose bumps shimmied up her arms.
Pushing aside her fears, Tessa raced back to the refrigerator, stuffed as much as she could into the cooler, returned to the car, and climbed in. She took one last look at her dingy rental. It wasn’t much, but she’d called it home for the last few years.
Dominic backed out her drive, and Tessa followed closely behind.
Tessa’s silence worried him. Dom thought being in his house would have calmed her fears. Mandy was safe and sound with her friend Annie, and Tessa was hidden from her ex-husband.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
Tessa stood in the foyer, glancing around. She looked up at him. “This place. It’s so...grand.”
He’d hardly label his twenty-five hundred square foot home, grand, but in comparison to her rental, he could understand. “And the problem is?”
She hugged her arms around her waist. Her security pose, he called it.
“Nothing. I’m surprised you could afford to live in such a nice place, that’s all.”
Dom considered telling her about his trust fund, but the last woman who’d learned of his wealth had become obsessed with spending his money. He’d loved her anyway. All his money couldn’t cure Lisa of cancer so why not spend it?
“I’ve invested wisely and had a little luck.” Tessa wasn’t coming clean, so why should he?
“You invested in the stock market? I always thought that was akin to gambling. You don’t seem the risk taker type.”
“Ouch. Am I that stodgy?” A smile escaped. He placed his palm on the small of her back and didn’t wait for her response. “Let me show you to the spare bedroom.”
Her eyes widened for a moment before looking away. “Okay.”
He would have asked her to put her things in his room, but he didn’t want to rush her. Their one escapade would make his seven-wonders-of-the-world list, and he planned on having many repeat performances, but Dom wanted Tessa to set the pace. Anxious women held little appeal for him in bed.
“Here you go,” he said as he pushed open the unused bedroom door. “You should find everything you need. I have to get to work. Will you be all right by yourself?”
She looked at her watch. “I’m not staying here. I do have a business to run, remember?”
He took hold of her shoulders. “I don’t think you understand, Tessa. The only way I can keep you safe is if you stay put.” He took a calming breath, not wanting to scare her. “I’m sure someone can run the business when you’re not there.”
“Yes, but—”
“But nothing.” Dom stepped back and studied her. “What’s the real reason you want to leave?” From the moment she’d walked in his house, Tessa’s attitude had turned cold and suspicious.
She shrugged. Dom wanted to brush away the long reddish blond strand that fell across her eyes, but the fire that spat from her eyes made him beg off.
Tessa lifted her chin. “I refuse to let my life be ruled by a maniac.”
Was that all? He admired her guts, but he didn’t dare grant her wish. “Until I find him, you’ll have to stay hidden, I’m afraid. End of discussion.”
Between gritted teeth she said, “I appreciate you letting me stay here, I really do, but...” She took two nose-widening breaths before relaxing her shoulders. “I’ll be safe as long as I’m at work. Ralph wouldn’t make a move with Charley, Mick, and Roger around, not to mention all the patrons swarming around on a Friday night.”
She had a point. “I still don’t like it.”
“It’s not your life, Dominic, it’s mine.”
Like a drop of water on a hot stove, her anger seemed to evaporate. She closed the gap between them, and when she ran a finger up his arm, his resolve softened, but he refused to bend. He recognized her ploy to use sex as a means to an end.
“I need to go to work,” Tessa begged in the sexiest voice he’d ever heard. What a little siren.
“No.” That one little word took all of his control.
She stepped into the small bedroom and plopped down on the bed. Her foot tapped some unknown rhythm on the hard wood floor.
“Okay. How about this?” she said, her face lighting up. “You drive me to work and escort me inside. Then you go to work. I’ll call when I’m ready to come back here. I won’t leave the restaurant for any reason.”
Women. Tessa seemed determined to go to work no matter what he’d say. She’d probably call a damn cab the second he left. “Fine, but on one condition.”
“What?”
“You temporarily shut down the Blue Moon until I find the creep who’s killing your customers.”
Her mouth opened then shut. He’d never seen her speechless before.
A full minute passed before she spoke. “I can’t do that.”
“Tessa, you have to or you aren’t leaving this house. Think about it. If someone is picking off your customers one by one, you have to close down.”
She bit her lower lip. “It’ll kill Judd.”
Her brows furrowed and her chin trembled. The urge to take her into her arms grabbed him, but he pushed it aside. Given her frame of mind, Tessa would no doubt push him away if he dared comfort her.
“He’ll get over it.” He failed at sounding sympathetic.
“No, you don’t understand. Without the income from the restaurant, he won’t be able to afford his after treatment medications once he gets the transplant. The hospital told him his anti-rejection drugs will cost at least forty thousand a year.”
Dom whistled. “Doesn’t insurance cover the liver transplant?”
“Some of it, yes, but not all. Then he has to pay something like ten grand a year in insurance costs in addition to the medicine costs. That’s a lot of extra money.”
“I’m sorry, Tessa. Do you really think you can live with another death on your hands?”
She dropped her head into her hands, and her shaking body tore him up.
“Okay,” she said. “We’ll do it your way. I’ll tell everyone I have to shut the doors indefinitely as soon as the lunch crowd leaves.” Her response came out close to a whisper.
“It’s for the best.” Cop out answer.
“Easy for you to say.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Nothing.”
Her trembling lip almost made him relent, but he held firm. She could do something. “Why don’t you sell the bar?” He held up a hand. “And don’t tell me Judd would have nothing to do with his life if you did.”
She stood up and squared her shoulders. Her lips pinched. “I’ll figure something out. Now, can we go?”
He couldn’t stop the anger roiling in his gut. “Fine, but this is the last time I let you out of my sight.”
She saluted and marched out the door.
Every time the restaurant door swung open, Tessa tensed, thinking Ralph might have somehow followed her. Exhausted, she slipped into her office to perform one of her final tasks.
She stared at the computer screen, trying to decide how to phrase her sign. Should she go with “Closed for renovations until further notice” or just plain “Closed. Will reopen soon.” She figured, “Murderer on the loose—too dangerous to stay open,” was a little over the top.
Once she opted for the first choice, Tessa hit print. Tears dribbled down her cheek as she withdrew the sheet from the printer. She swept a hand across her checks, grabbed the tape dispenser, and left her office.
A dull murmur permeated the restaurant. Only two tables remained occupied, and no one sat at the bar while her favorite Carole King oldie was playing on the jukebox. The upbeat tune should have buoyed her spirits, but the song had the opposite effect today.
An image surfaced of when she and Judd once sat up until
dawn talking. He’d just come home after a six-month stint overseas. She’d played Carole King’s album over and over again, until he promised to buy her more music to add to her collection. Even though he was fifteen years her senior, he was the best older brother she could have hoped for.
Then Judd left the service, and his lack of focus caused him to take up drugs—at least that’s what he’d said. Maybe that’s why she still could taste the anger from the day Judd had asked her to give up her life’s dream and run the restaurant.
Funny, how things had change. Now, she didn’t want to let go of their one connection.
Sucking up her courage, Tess stepped outside and taped the “Closed” sign to the door. As she returned to the dimly lit restaurant, the last of the customers swept past her.
“Good bye. Come again,” she chirped in her usual refrain, forgetting there wouldn’t be a chance for them to come for a while.
Bottles clanked and chairs scraped the floor, drawing her back to her task. Charley was stacking the liquor along the back counter, and both Barb and Krystal were wiping down their tables.
Poor girls. Barb had come in on her day off to cover for Chelsea, and Tessa had hired Krystal only a few days ago. Tessa didn’t know what was worse, telling the help they no longer had a job, or letting Judd know his prized possession no longer could remain open.
She stepped over to the bar. “Would you mind going in the kitchen, Charley, and asking Mick and Roger to come in here?”
“What’s up?” His brows furrowed.
“I have an announcement to make.”
“Okay.”
Her expression must have let him know not to ask any questions.
The moment Charley disappeared into the back, Tessa called to the waitresses. “Hey, girls? Mind stepping over here?”
The next few minutes were the longest in her life. Mick came out of the back wiping his hands on his apron, followed by Roger and then Charley. They gathered around her.
“I have some bad news,” she announced, barely able to keep her voice from trembling. “I’m afraid I have to close the Blue Moon.”
A collective gasp went up.