by Sandra Owens
Business first, though. “I also talked to the Liberty City detectives. They knew Linda Harding, had busted her a few times, but they hadn’t heard she was dead. They also haven’t had any complaints from their known prostitutes about anyone suspicious.”
“Like any of them would go to the police,” she said.
“Yeah, I didn’t figure they would, but it was worth a try. They’re going to keep an eye out and let us know if anything catches their attention.”
“Based on their arrest records, Alana worked out of the Hialeah area and Stacy downtown.”
“Unfortunate that our man doesn’t stick to the same hunting grounds.” She’d surprised him again by not busting his chops for taking off without including her.
“Yeah, it is. Harder to predict where he’ll pop up next.”
He pushed his beer aside and leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “I owe you an apology.”
“For?”
“For being an ass yesterday.”
She laughed. “That’s pretty much your usual self. No reason to apologize.”
“If that’s true, why do you even like being friends with me?” He’d never given it much thought, but no matter how moody he got, it didn’t seem to bother her. She was always her happy self, mostly ignoring his grouch. That was one reason he liked her. She let his shit roll over her, and more times than not, he forgot to be grumpy when he was with her. But what did she get out of their friendship? He couldn’t think of much.
“Because someone needs to be your friend.” She smiled as she reached across the table and touched his arm. “Because I like you. Other than your brothers, I’m probably the only person you don’t scare. I don’t know why. Just one of the mysteries of the universe, I guess. Because I think you need me in your life.”
“I don’t even know what to say to that.” He hadn’t even cried when his mother had left, but this woman’s words had him blinking his eyes against the sting in them.
“You don’t have to say anything.” She took her hand away from his arm, and he wanted to grab it back. “So when are you going to agree to have an affair with me?”
He choked on the beer he’d just swallowed. “Just get that right out there, why don’t you?”
“Well, when it’s what we both want, why not?”
“Yeah, why not?” He stared into blue eyes that he could drown in. “Because I’ll only end up hurting you.”
“I won’t let you.”
“You can’t know that.” If he could believe she wouldn’t let him hurt her, he’d scoop her up this very minute and take her straight to his bed.
She peered at him over the rim of her wine glass. “And if I do? Then what’s stopping you?”
His integrity, what little he had? “I’ll never marry. If you fall in love with me, that’s what you’ll want. Since I can’t give that to you, I’ll hurt you.”
The biggest grin he’d ever seen on her face appeared. “Already you’re refusing a proposal I never asked for or wanted. Another reason why I like you, Nate. You’re amusing even when you don’t mean to be.” Her smile faded. “So here’s the thing. I’m not husband shopping. I just lust over your body.”
“You’re testing my limits, tiger. You know what they say. Be careful what you ask for.”
She sighed as if he were clueless. “I’ve had two boyfriends in my life. One turned out to be a total douchebag. The other one I’m still friends with.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Yeah?” He didn’t like that at all. Did she still have feelings for the dude?
“Oh, drop the snarl. He’s happily married with kids. The thing is, neither one had what it took to send me into the stratosphere. I think you can do that.”
“Christ, Taylor.” Did she even have a clue what she was doing to him?
Taylor was trained to observe, and observe she did. Why else would he be squirming in his chair if she weren’t making him hot and bothered? She swallowed a smile. “Just putting it out there. If you were like any other man, I could be all coy”—she fluttered her eyelashes—“and girly.” Ah, the ghost of a smile, there and then gone, flitted across his face.
“Please don’t ever go all girly on me.”
“I wouldn’t know how if my life depended on it. Give me one good reason we shouldn’t give in to this thing between us? And don’t say you’re afraid of screwing up our friendship.” She believed that was a part of it, but there was more to his reticence than that.
“Isn’t that a good enough reason? It’s one you should be worried about.”
“But I’m not. It’s chemistry, Nate, nothing more. We’re consenting adults, intelligent, and all that. There’s no reason we can’t enjoy each other for however long we want and still be friends when it’s over.” And yes, she was saying what she thought he wanted to hear. If she told him she loved him, he’d probably ask for a transfer to the other side of the world. She waited, watching him spin his beer bottle, sensing that she was finally going to find out why he’d always held back.
He lifted his eyes to hers. “What if you fall in love with me? I’ll never marry, and I won’t ever change my mind about that.”
“Not a problem, but why not? What if you do eventually meet someone and fall in love?” And that would kill her.
“I won’t.” He stared at her with the kind of intensity that was so him. “When you say not a problem, how can you know that for sure?”
She didn’t. “I’m not looking for a ring on my finger. There’s too much on my plate as it is what with my job and the girls. The last thing I need is a man wanting me to take care of him, too. Or, God forbid, trying to tell me what to do.”
“And you think I would?”
No, he was a man who wouldn’t make those kinds of demands from her. He was also the one man she thought she could love for the rest of her life. But she’d cut her tongue off before ever admitting that to him.
“I don’t intend to find out whether you would or not, since I’ll never give you that kind of power over me.” He still hadn’t explained why he was so adamant that he’d never marry, but she’d drop it for now. “So, what do you say?” She reached across the table and trailed her finger over his arm. “Are we going to do it or not?”
He laughed. Actually freaking laughed. She felt like she’d just won the lottery, but she didn’t make a big deal over it. Knowing Nate, if she did, he’d never laugh again. Her heart pounded as she waited for his answer. She hadn’t intended to push the issue tonight, but she only had so much patience. If he said no, it would be the last time she’d ask. If nothing else, she had her pride.
“Well?”
Without answering, he pulled a twenty out of his wallet, dropped the money on the table, and then grabbed her hand, tugging her up with him. Mere seconds later, they were outside. He kept walking, not saying a word, and even with her long legs, she had to jog to keep up with him. She figured one of two things were about to happen. First option, he was going to put her in her car, tell her to stop asking to have sex with him, and then send her on her way. What she hoped would happen was that he’d finally cave.
When they reached her car, he backed her against the door, put his hands on the roof, caging her in, and said, “I give up.”
Then his mouth came down on hers. Like the first two times he’d kissed her, this one was possessive, demanding, and hungry. But so much more, as if now that he’d agreed to this, he was all in. He tasted like malt beer and wintergreen. Tangy and delicious.
Her legs lost the will to hold her up, only the car at her back and Nate pressed against her front keeping her on her feet. When he pulled away, she growled in displeasure, and another ghost smile curled his lips, gone as fast as it had appeared.
“Go home, tiger.”
What? “But I thought—”
“And we will.” He trailed his thumb over her bottom lip, damp from his kiss. “But not tonight.”
Staring into his eyes, she sucked his thumb into her mouth. She wasn’t abo
ve using all her tricks—although her arsenal was sorely lacking. When she licked his finger, he groaned.
“Not tonight,” he said again, pulling his thumb out of her mouth. “Will you go out with me Sunday? Dinner and dancing.”
The vulnerability she saw in his eyes made her sad. Did he not realize any sane woman would gush an excited yes at that question? “You don’t date.” Why had she reminded him of that? That was just stupid, Taylor.
“Not until you.” He stepped away. “Wear something sexy.”
“Bossy man.” Inside, though, she was a quivering mess. She’d probably spend every spare minute between now and Sunday night trying on everything in her closet in an effort to find the perfect seduction dress.
“I have a feeling you’re going to like me bossy.” With that said, he walked away. Before he reached his car, he pivoted, walking backward. “No falling in love? We’re straight on that?”
“Yeah, we’re straight.” Or not, but that was her problem.
“Alex told me Nate asked you out on a date,” Madison said.
Taylor grinned. “Yeah, he did.” It was Friday night, and she, Madison, and Lauren—only a few days back from her honeymoon—were having drinks and then dinner. She’d been surprised when Madison had called to invite her, since she’d never socialized with either woman before.
It had been a nice surprise, though. She didn’t have any female friends. Between her job and the time she spent with Rosie and the girls, she didn’t have the energy or opportunity to cultivate friendships. And when all your coworkers were male, where was she supposed to find friends, even if she’d wanted them?
She liked both women, and she could see why their husbands had fallen hard for them. Madison was gorgeous with her red hair and mischief-filled green eyes. It was easy to see why she’d caught Alex’s attention. She was fun to be around; they both were.
Lauren wore her hair short and spikey, the ends pink-tipped. Taylor couldn’t imagine wearing her hair like that, but it totally worked on Lauren. She was the more serious of the two, but she’d been terribly abused by her ex-husband, and Taylor thought she was still fighting her way back from that. It was obvious by how her eyes softened whenever she mentioned Court that she was head-over-heels in love with him.
“I’ve never known Nate to date,” Lauren said. “Although maybe I haven’t known him long enough to say that.”
“As far as I know, he doesn’t.” Madison grinned at Taylor. “Until now, anyway. Alex always said the two of you had the hots for each other.”
“I haven’t tried to hide that. It was always Nate holding back. But it’s just a date. Don’t be expecting wedding bells.”
Madison waggled her eyebrows. “You never know. His two brothers have wedding rings on their fingers. No reason Nate shouldn’t be next.”
“Court said Nate swears he’ll never marry,” Lauren said.
“Did he say why?” She could make some educated guesses, but she’d like to know the real reason.
Lauren shrugged. “No. I don’t think guys talk about stuff like that, even brothers.”
“You know they were abused pretty badly growing up?” Madison said. “That might have something to do with it.”
“Yeah, Nate told me their father was, in his words, ‘an effing son of a bitch’ and that the happiest day of his life was when he died.”
“I think they all felt like that.” Madison picked up her wine glass. “But we’re here for a fun girls’ night out, so enough about all that. It makes me too sad.”
“Me, too,” Lauren said. “So, where are you going on your date?”
“I don’t know. All Nate said was to wear something sexy.” Taylor grinned. “The guys won’t be home until they close the bar. Want to go shopping with me after dinner, help me find a sexy dress?”
“Oh, yeah,” Madison said, clicking her glass against Taylor’s.
Well, this should be interesting. She’d never gone shopping with girlfriends before. By the time the mall closed for the night, she had her dress, along with some sexy panties and bras they’d talked her into buying. Having girlfriends was expensive.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Nate was nervous as hell, which was stupid. Taylor was his best friend. He’d spent more hours with her than he could count, so why was his heart beating as if it might go into cardiac arrest as he walked up to her door? He hadn’t lied when he said he’d never been on a date. No proms or school dances, as there had never been extra money for nice clothes and other date-related expenses.
Then he’d held down two part-time jobs through college, and what spare time he had was dedicated to studying and raising his brothers. Sometimes he’d been jealous of his classmates when hearing them talk of their dates for football games or other school events, but he’d shaken the envy off by burying his nose deeper into his textbooks.
After graduating, he’d managed to achieve his goal, landing a job with the FBI. His experience with women consisted of hooking up for a few hours of pleasure. Now here was Taylor, shaking up his world. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. A part of him was excited, but the other part wanted to know just what he thought he was doing.
He popped a Tic Tac into his mouth and then knocked on her door. When she opened it, whatever words he’d been about to say disappeared. The woman standing in front of him in a killer black dress was the most gorgeous, sexiest thing he’d ever seen. He swallowed hard as all the blood in his body took a direct route south. Instead of telling her to wear something sexy, he should have told her to wear a burlap bag. Although she’d probably manage to look great in one of those, too.
“Here,” he finally managed, pushing the bouquet of red roses wrapped in tissue into her hands. Along with her being his first-ever date, she was the first woman he’d ever given flowers. He’d spent an hour in a florist shop debating what to buy, until the owner had assured him he couldn’t go wrong with roses.
She lifted them to her nose, inhaling deeply. “They’re beautiful. Thank you. Come in while I put them in water.”
Tell her she’s beautiful. He stood inside the door, watching her fill a vase. He could have taken her straight to bed the other night when he’d finally given in to what now seemed inevitable. She’d made it clear she would have been fine with that. But she deserved more than a quick roll in the sack. He snorted. There would be nothing quick about it.
“That dress is a killer. You look beautiful, Taylor.” The black dress hugged every curve, the hem stopping about two inches above her knees. He particularly liked the bodice, his eyes falling on the hint of breasts visible above the straight line of material. The two-inch-wide straps fell over the tops of her arms, giving the illusion that the dress might slide down her body at any moment. He was good with that.
But it was the back of the dress—or the lack of—that had him thinking he might need oxygen if he wanted to continue breathing. It ended in a v at her lower spine, and his hands itched to touch all that creamy skin. His gaze lowered to the strappy black heels and her cherry-red painted toenails. He was going to enjoy peeling her out of that dress later, but he might let her keep on the do-me shoes.
She glanced over at him, a shy smile on her face. “Thank you.”
He liked how she accepted a compliment. No trying to deflect it, or no coy eyelash fluttering as if she’d expected him to pay homage to her beauty.
“You clean up pretty nice, too.”
“I try.” Although he preferred jeans and T-shirts, he owned a few suits, mainly worn to weddings, funerals, and the few times Rothmire made him attend a meeting with the brass. He’d spent more time than he ever had before on deciding what to wear, finally settling on a suit and dress shirt. That was it, other than his ruby earring, a watch, and his hair banded in a ponytail. No tie. He hated the damn things.
Taylor carried the vase to her minuscule living room, setting it on the coffee table. His eyes tracked how her body moved in her dress. He tore his gaze away before he started panting like a Sa
int Bernard in the middle of August.
“There you go, Henry,” she said. “Something pretty to look at while I’m gone.”
Nate eyed the fish that had his nose pressed up to the glass. “I didn’t buy the flowers for the damn fish, Taylor.”
“No you didn’t.” She walked to him, her hips swaying in a seductive way that he’d never known she had in her. “The flowers are all mine, Nate.” She slipped her finger inside the v of his shirt, giving a little tug. “I’m just letting him enjoy them for a while.” She gave another tug, lifted onto her toes, and bit his bottom lip. “I might even sleep with my flowers after I get home . . . Unless something better comes along.”
He grinned. Who was this woman? Taylor had never been shy about speaking her mind, but she was blowing his tonight.
“Ah, you can smile.” She let go of his shirt, walked to the door, glanced over her shoulder, and said, “Coming?”
“You can count on it.” With that one word, she’d put an image in his head that did nothing to help him get blood circulating back into his brain. He’d known Taylor for two years. She’d been his best friend for the past year, and he’d always liked her. He really liked this new version.
After she locked up behind them, he put his hand on her lower back, not because she was incapable of walking by herself, but because he absolutely had to touch her. Her skin was soft and silky, and her body heat seeped into his fingers, warming his palm. When they reached his car, he opened the door for her, then before she could slide in, he kissed her. Because he absolutely had to do that, too.
“Mmm,” she murmured when he lifted his head. “I don’t usually kiss on the first date.” Then she smiled. “But for you, I’ll make an exception.”
He cocked a brow. “Any other rules I should know about?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact. No checking out other women when you’re with me.”