“We fight and you run to an old boyfriend?” The harsh edge to Eric’s voice remained but he looked down the menu nice and calm, like nothing was wrong.
“That’s your style, not mine.”
He peeked at her. “We’ve been through this. I didn’t invite Deana to my house.”
“Yet, there she was.”
The menu dropped with a whack as he slid his body around to face her. “She came there to talk with me about some issues in my campaign.”
“The part about how the two of you aren’t sneaking around? Here’s a hint: that would be more believable if you didn’t actually sneak around.”
Eric started to say something, then stopped. When his fists unclenched he spoke again. “I’m not taking the bait. We’re talking about you.”
That made one of them. “I’m not.”
“You can be friends with whomever you want—”
“Gee, thanks for the permission.
“—just don’t run to some guy as a way to punish me. And stop pretending I’m trying to control you.”
“That’s what it sounds like.”
“This—” he motioned his hand between them. “Whatever it is, it’s exclusive. We already established that.”
Her head was on the verge of exploding. “Let me out.” Katie pushed against his shoulder but he didn’t budge. “Move.”
“No.”
“It wouldn’t be good for your campaign for me to start screaming.” She stuffed the ball of paper into the back of her shorts while she talked.
“Try it and we’ll see.”
She slumped back into her seat. “Just admit there’s a part of you that wants her back. It’s okay. You need to put it out there so you can deal with it.”
He didn’t pretend confusion. Didn’t get angry. No, he snaked his arm across the top of the booth and touched Katie’s hair. “Not anymore.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because I’ve never lied to you.”
That simple declaration shot right to her toes, burning a path through all the fear lurking inside her. He wasn’t crowing about how perfect he was. He was telling her something much more basic and important.
His reaction took the sting out of her temper. “I had a brother-in-law who insisted the same thing.”
“You’re comparing me to a man who walked out on his wife and little girl?” His eyes narrowed. “Really?”
“No.” She rubbed her hand across her forehead. It was either that or get a good look at the disappointment on his face. “Sorry.”
Eric’s hand moved to her neck. “Hang out with whatever friend you want, but don’t bait me because you’re pissed off.”
“I wasn’t trying to make you jealous.”
“You did.”
Air hiccupped in her lungs. “I didn’t know I could.”
“I’m with you. Only you.”
The words took her right back to that place where seeing him wiped all the bad away. “Are you?”
“I’m not hiding.” He held out his arms. Didn’t bother lowering his voice either. “I’m sitting right here, in a very public place, trying to convince you I’m not a total jackass.”
She glanced around and saw more than one set of eyes staring back. Talk about bold.
“I never said total.” She rolled her eyes in exaggeration as she spoke.
The corner of his mouth turned up as he leaned in closer. “I gave you the key because I wanted to see you. Sex in a catering kitchen is hot, but I thought we could try a movie on the couch and a night in a bed.”
He still didn’t know the story behind their first meeting, and she still wasn’t sure how to tell him. Amazing how rough the truth sounded in her head. “I’m the wrong girl for you. You know that, right?”
“Let me decide what’s right for me and what isn’t.”
She owed him the chance to run while she could still let him go. “You don’t know about the things I’ve done. I’m not the kind of woman who spends her days working for charity. Not that I wouldn’t try at some point, but it’s not something that ever dawned on me.”
“I think part of the problem here is that you jump to conclusions. You see the way people’s lives look on the outside and decide you know the inside.”
“What are you talking about?”
He slid closer. “We all have things in our past that we’d prefer to forget.”
“Even you?”
“Even me.”
He had no idea. He grew up in a solid family, in a solid community, and now led a solid life. There was nothing wishy-washy or unlikable about him. No secrets or skeletons.
“What, did you get a B on a test once?” she joked.
“I used to steal cars.”
He could have told her he liked to drown tourists in his spare time and she would have been less surprised. “What?”
“Not to resell them. To drag race them.” He took a long sip of her water. “I was twelve at the time.”
“You are making that up.”
“My form of rebellion. Did it for almost two years.”
This story just got weirder and weirder. “Did you get caught?”
“Got scared straight when a judge sentenced me to time at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility.”
“Juvenile Hall?” She practically screamed the answer, then slapped her hand over her mouth to keep from saying anything more.
“My parents let me think I was going away for three years. In reality, I was there for a week. It was enough. Believe me.”
She felt a begrudging kick of respect for the parents she didn’t know. They’d seen Eric straying and pulled him right back in line. “That’s tough love.”
“That’s my parents.”
“Is that why you became a lawyer?”
“That, and I couldn’t do anything else. Arguing seems to come naturally to me.”
She doubted he’d ever failed at anything. He’d probably excelled at being a teen thief. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Not to circle back to a rough subject, but why did you really meet with Jimmy today?”
A half-truth was better than no truth. “I had to tell him something about a job.”
Eric’s gaze flashed on her fist, then moved back to her face again. “Fair enough.”
“But your big bad boyfriend act was impressive.” She tasted the word, let it roll around on her tongue. Boyfriend. Yeah, it felt right. Also helped that he didn’t go running off screaming in terror the second she slapped a name to their odd relationship. If anything, his sexy little smile grew bigger.
“I was hoping you’d like that bit of male showmanship.”
“Don’t make it a habit.” She brushed her fingers down his coat lapel, trying to keep her hand hidden from the eavesdropping crowd around them. “Now what?”
“We go back to my place.”
The second he said the words, she knew she’d been waiting to hear them. “Does that mean we’re done fighting?”
“I sure as hell hope so.”
“And now you’re propositioning me?”
With a gentle touch, he tucked her hair behind her ears. “I’m thinking we’re back on the same wavelength.”
“I think you’re dangerous.”
“Count on it.”
Chapter 13
Three hours later, Eric rolled over and felt nothing but warm sheets under his hand. He sat up fast enough to get dizzy. The mix of shiny hair and long legs caught his attention. Katie stood in front of the windows at the end of his bed, wearing his white dress shirt, and even that was unbuttoned except for one spot in the middle.
The material fell off her shoulder, revealing the same tan skin he’d spent minutes licking a short time ago. His mouth had traveled all over her. Having the full run of her trim body made him wonder why he’d waited so long to get her naked in a bed. Balancing against counters held a thrill, but kissing and caressing her while her heels dug into his mattress was sexy as hell.
> “Like the view?” he asked.
She chuckled as she shot him an inviting smile over her shoulder. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”
“The image of you standing there, almost naked, will stay in my head all day. Can’t imagine I’m going to get any work done tomorrow as a result.”
“Good.”
“That pleases you, does it?” He threw off the covers and walked over to her. He didn’t bother getting dressed since he planned to drag her back to bed and make love to her one more time.
“Every woman likes to know she can bring her man to his knees.”
Her man. He liked it.
He wrapped his hands around her waist from behind, sneaking his palm inside the shirt to cup the smooth skin of her breast. “Then you should be delirious.”
“I’m halfway there.”
“That’s what a man likes to hear.”
“Did you miss the part where I squealed and shouted your name a half hour ago?”
If he closed his eyes he could still hear it. “I plan to play the mental video in my head as often as possible.”
“The lights are beautiful out there.” Her head fell back against his shoulder. The faint scent of ginger lingered in her hair. “Makes me want to stand here forever.”
“Do you ever miss living on Kauai?”
“It was a place to escape to.”
“That doesn’t sound so good.”
“I was so angry about losing my parents. Getting out and away and not being anywhere that reminded me of them was the goal.” Her voice vibrated with a faraway echo. “My life amounted to surfing and hanging out. That’s about it.”
“Regrets?”
“A ton of them. Friends who turned out to be anything but and a loser guy who lied to me about who he was and what I meant to him.”
Eric didn’t like hearing about the other men in her life, but he wasn’t clueless. She might be young but she’d lived a life before him. It was the now that concerned him the most. “Ouch.”
“Yeah, no kidding.”
“Men suck.”
She laughed. “Some do.”
“Should I apologize on behalf of my sex?”
She snuggled in closer to his chest. “Since you don’t suck, no.”
They gazed out over the night, comfortable in the quiet. At this height, the noise of the streets faded, leaving behind a series of buildings following a path to the darkness beyond. He’d originally wanted to look at the mountains, but seeing this view won him over. All that action below mixing with the deceptive calm of the water. It filled him with a sense of peace at the end of some hard days.
“I took this place because of the second floor. Through there, when it’s light outside, you can see a sliver of ocean.” He pointed to the small crevice between two buildings. “It’s far away, but amazing.”
Her hand moved over his, guiding his fingers to her nipple and rubbing the tips over it. “And to think I questioned why a single guy would live downtown.”
He had to swallow twice before he could answer. “Work.”
“You make yourself sound so dull.”
“Am I?”
The last lonely button slipped open, leaving her bare body open to his touch. He used his thumb to shape her nipples into tight balls while his other palm wandered down her body to her upper thigh.
She groaned as his finger dipped inside her. Just like every other time, she was wet and ready for him. “You feel so damn good.”
She lifted her arms over her head, tipping her breasts upward and sliding her fingers into his hair. “Can you take me again?”
He pressed his mouth against her neck. “I love when you talk like that.”
“I want you inside me.”
The whisper slashed across his senses. “Where were you when I was eighteen and horny every second?”
“I was too young for you back then, buddy.”
He pushed that reminder aside. “Probably still are.”
She turned around in his arms. Her hands captured his face right before she lifted her mouth to his. The combination of the kiss and the friction of their bare bodies rubbing together ignited his exhausted body. Somehow his dick sparked to life again.
She pulled back as his erection grew against her. “Looks like I’m not the only one who wants another round.”
“Heart attack be damned. The hospital rest will do me good.”
“And what a fabulous story that would be.” Her palms smoothed over his shoulders. “But we can avoid all that if you let me do most of the work. I’m willing.”
“Are you now?”
She shrugged out of his shirt. “You can sit back and enjoy.”
“I’m listening.” Because he’d lost the power of speaking.
With her hand wrapped around his, she led him to the bed. She pushed against his chest until he sat down. Before he could blink, she was on her knees in front of him. Then her mouth covered him. Hot and wet, her tongue moved over him, swallowing and stroking.
Seconds blended into minutes until he lost all track of time. When she took him deep, his nerve endings caught on fire.
She told him to lean back; he didn’t argue. His shoulders hit the mattress as her hands moved over him. Licking and sucking, she brought him back from the edge. The fatigue left his body. He was humming with power and energy now.
With each pass of her tongue, he grew thicker and his muscles tightened. She branded him from the inside out until he needed her more than he needed a breath. And when she crawled up his body and fit his cock to her, he lost all sense.
“You still with me?” she asked as she brushed her hair off her shoulder.
His hands found her thighs and climbed higher. “Nothing prepared me for you.”
Her legs opened wider, giving him the access he needed. His fingers slipped inside her. Teasing, testing, he kept up the caresses until her hips pumped in time with his hand.
Then she was gone. She jumped up and off him. On her knees on the bed beside him.
“What are you doing?” He almost shouted the question, the loss was so sudden and unexpected.
“You’re taking over.”
“So?”
Her smile took the edge off the rough pound of sexual frustration inside him. But not by much.
“It’s still my turn,” she said in a flirty tone.
“Your…oh.” When her hair fell across his thighs, he got it. She was running this show. If that meant torturing him with her mouth and hands, she was going to do it. And he was not going to complain.
“Smart man.”
He held her hair back so he could watch her move over him. He did not want to miss a second of this. “Damn, I’m sorry. I almost missed this.”
“Tonight, you’re mine.”
Once she lowered her head and flicked out that tongue, he didn’t care who was in charge.
Jimmy climbed into the front seat of the black luxury sedan. The cool tan leather felt good under his legs. Almost made him feel bad about his wet shorts dripping on the expensive upholstery. But it wasn’t his fault one of those freak Hawaii storms had blown in. It dropped a light rain across the island, then moved out just as fast. Already the bright blue sky had reappeared.
He fiddled with the buttons on the armrest. “I have some news.”
His client hit the child lock button. “I got that from your text. Talk.”
“I know you don’t like me contacting you, but this is an emergency.”
“It better be significant. I can’t afford to be seen with you right now.”
They had arranged to meet in the parking lot at Aloha Tower, where the cruise ships docked. None were in now, but people still milled around. Most took a minute to stare at a ninety-thousand-dollar car sitting by a bunch of beat-up warehouses instead of with a valet at one of the expensive Waikiki hotels.
It was the middle of the afternoon on a Tuesday but his client wore a loose silk shirt and black pants. Jimmy thought he looked more like a u
sed car salesman than some big-time lawyer, but no one dressed up in Hawaii except people who worked for the government.
Since his client had that fidgety look to him, Jimmy got right to the point. “I know who our boy is dating.”
The man’s face turned red. His jaw clenched along with the rest of him. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ve been asking the wrong questions. It’s not about whether he’s seeing Deana. It’s about who he is seeing.”
“Stop talking in circles and get to the point.”
Jimmy didn’t much like the other man’s attitude. “He was with her at the wedding.”
“Who?”
“His new girl.”
The client’s fists clenched against the steering wheel. “I need a name.”
“I got one. Katie Long.”
“The same woman who works for you.” It was a statement not a question, and a furious one.
“Apparently she’s been running both sides of this. Or should I say both sides of our boy.” Jimmy knew he should have been pissed off for being used as a step to bigger money, but he was too busy being impressed. Katie saw an opportunity and snatched it. He gave her credit.
From the way his client slammed the heel of his hand against the dash, he wasn’t feeling as charitable toward Katie. “You set him up.”
“Whoa.” Jimmy hadn’t expected that turn. He had seen guys go from anger to violence, and he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of that. “You’ve got this wrong. I had nothing to do with this.”
“You put her in there. There is your fault.” The client pointed to emphasize his anger.
Jimmy put up his hands. He didn’t expect a blow, but he needed this dude to calm the hell down. People passing by were starting to look. “That’s not what went down.”
“Explain it to me.”
“She went on a job and…and, I guess, figured out a better angle.” He kept pressing his hands down, trying to take the tension out of the moment. “You’ve got to hand it to her. She wormed her way in.”
“Meaning?”
“I saw her with our boy. He’s got it bad.”
If possible, his client got even hotter. Much worse and the wheel would crumble under his tight fists. “You met with Eric?”
“It wasn’t my idea. I was talking with Katie at a diner and our boy hunted her down. Was pretty ruthless about it, too. He wasn’t happy about the idea someone might be poaching his woman.”
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