by Jo Leigh
It wasn’t what they did.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice sounding weird in the quiet of the room.
“Enjoying you.”
“Do you need a nap?”
Liam shook his head, although his gaze stayed steady.
She blinked. She blinked and she started pumping him. Just the way he liked it. In a minute, she’d go down on him.
His moan was low, and his eyes rolled back, finally breaking the spell, but he didn’t stay lost for long. Gently teasing fingertips slipped inside her pussy.
She grinned. “Okay, Copper. It’s on.”
His smile didn’t change but his head dipped for a kiss. Not like before. A brush of lips, a caress of breath. Although she was doing her job well enough for him to grunt and his hips couldn’t stay still, he found her earlobe. First it was panting, hot and wet, but then—
“You are amazing, Ms. Hayes. Talented. Beautiful. Smart. Captivating.”
She closed her eyes and stopped her hand. There was nothing she could do but be as still as possible as she tried with all her might not to believe him.
He couldn’t possibly know how those words were going to hurt her when this all ended. Which it would. The ending had been the important bit. It was what had convinced him to be her muse at all.
So she’d force herself to forget what he’d said. The look in his eyes. How his touch made her heart ache.
It was time to take a big step back. All she’d asked him for was sex. Not this. Never this. Because the memory of this would kill her.
Chapter Eight
“No, you go on ahead,” Aubrey said. “I’m too…” She smiled a little and shrugged.
“Lazy?”
She nodded and snuggled down under the blanket.
Liam hoped that was all it was. After a quick kiss he hurried to the bathroom. As he jumped in the shower, the memories of Aubrey telling off Ricci hit him again. He’d been so worried she’d do something crazy, but she’d been great. Really great. The fact that she’d spent so much time with him when she could have been working was a hell of a thing.
He couldn’t wait until she finished the damn window. It wasn’t that he minded being at her service, but with his hours and her deadline, they spent most of their time together fucking. Not that he was complaining, but he looked forward to getting to know her better, which would only happen after Christmas Eve Eve.
Funny how the thing that had convinced him to get involved with Aubrey in the first place felt superfluous now. A gimmick that had about run its course. For him, at least. He wasn’t going to change anything, not when the clock was still ticking, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t look forward to later.
He threw his damp towel into the hamper just as his stomach grumbled loud enough to wake the neighbors. It had been hours since lunch and he was starving.
Instead of finding Aubrey curled up in bed, she was standing by his dresser wearing red panties and boots, her corset pressed up against her chest, but not tied.
“Oh,” he said, disappointed but trying to hide it. He’d had the feeling something was off. He shouldn’t have kept her from work.
When she turned, she smiled. Kind of. At best, she seemed distracted. “I need to go back to the store. I haven’t done any work today, and my meeting with Yvonne is coming up fast. I’ve go to hit the drawing table.”
Her decision to leave shouldn’t have mattered, but it did. In truth, he hadn’t asked her to spend the night or have dinner with him, so there was no reason for him to be bothered. But it felt awkward being naked now. He crossed the room and she scooted to the right when he opened his top drawer to grab a pair of boxers.
“Don’t get dressed on my account,” she said. “It’s snowing out, and I’m probably going to work for hours. You should sleep.”
“I don’t mind.”
She cupped his cheek with her free hand. “You need rest. It’s been a long day, and you have to talk to the mean district attorney first thing in the morning.”
Turning his head, he kissed her palm. “I don’t want you to leave.”
“I know. But I don’t think I’ll have a true minute’s rest until I nail down the design.”
“You know how much I like the sleepover one. And the subway thing. They’re both genius.”
“Thanks,” she said, lowering her hand and her gaze. “I can’t get past the feeling that there’s something better. I know there’s no time, but I have to keep trying. Just for a couple more days until the meeting.” Looking up at him again, she said, “I shouldn’t have come to see you when you were working. It was fun, and great, but it was foolish when I’m this tight on a deadline.”
“So I didn’t inspire you at all?”
The warm smile, one of his favorites, lightened her whole face. “Of course you did. You always do. Unfortunately, I’m on my own for the execution part. Trust me, I wouldn’t be good company tonight. But I got to tell off a detective, saw where you worked, had lunch with you and then there was all the canoodling. That’s a great day, right?”
“You’re absolutely correct. Which doesn’t mean I can’t want more.”
Her eyes got serious for a few seconds as she scanned him from forehead to chin. Then she kissed his cheek right before she turned around. “Do me up, please? Just lightly, though, enough to keep it legal. I need to untie it when I get to the store.”
He had to. No choice there, but it seemed a damn shame to lace her up only to send her away. “I don’t like you going out at night wearing so little. Anything could happen.”
“Then do me a favor, call a taxi? You can walk me down, and if you don’t like the looks of the cabbie, we’ll send him on his way and call another.”
His sigh sounded exactly as disgruntled as he felt. “Fine. I suppose you don’t have time for me to make you coffee before you leave?” He skipped every other stay on the corset, leaving the lacing long so she’d have no trouble.
She turned to him again. “No, thanks, I’ve got coffee at the store. You really are too good to me.”
She wasn’t joking. He could tell. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“You’re awfully serious, considering you owned Tony Ricci, the most obnoxious detective in the 18th Precinct.”
“I did, didn’t I?” she said, smiling, and there she was again…for at least a moment. The window design must really be getting to her.
“I love my tree. You’re amazing.” He squeezed her shoulders as he bent to kiss her. Only this one wasn’t a quickie. Tasting her again brought back the ache in his chest, the twitch in his cock. Before he went nuts, he pulled away. “I’ll go make that call.”
“I can’t believe you guys.” Aubrey took another bite of the falafel Sanjula and Caro had brought to Le Muse even though her appetite wasn’t happening. She’d spoken maybe five words to Caro in the cab ride from Liam’s, but her two friends had still shown up, dinner and strong shoulders at the ready.
“You’re such an idiot,” Sanjula said in her most sympathetic voice. “Seriously. Aubrey, I love you, but you’re a moron.”
That brought a smile. Unfortunately, Sanjula was right about her being a dope, but not for the right reason. “I should have known the minute I met him. I mean, you’ve seen his trading card.”
“Yes, we have,” Caro said. “And being gorgeous doesn’t automatically make him the wrong guy.”
Caro didn’t get it, either. “It’s not the pretty that’s wrong.” Aubrey stood up, walked away from the blank sketch pad on her desk. She hadn’t put one mark on it, and she’d had thirty-five minutes to work before the troops arrived. “He’s a detective for the NYPD. It’s what he lives for. He wants to be the chief of police someday. I mean, come on. I know us both, and I can’t even imagine us together.”
“You’ve only known him a couple of weeks. No one said you have to marry the guy,” Caro said. “But you also don’t have to throw him to the curb because you guys made love.”
Aubrey shook her head, wishing they’d brought a bottle of vodka instead of a venti latte. “I didn’t kick him to the curb. We agreed that this thing between us was only until the window was done. Christmas Eve Eve comes, and he’s gone.” Damn it, even she could hear the catch in her voice. She stared at a box instead of at her friends. “That’s the only reason he’s with me in the first place. Remember ‘lots and lots of sex with a time limit’? The part that’s screwed up is that it was only supposed to be sex. Not…not what happened tonight.”
She sighed as she turned back. Who was she kidding? Her friends had seen her drunk off her ass, sick as a dog, crushed by jobs, by unrequited lust, by her own weaknesses. There was no use trying to pretend she wasn’t exactly as crazy as she was.
“Let me get this straight,” Sanjula said, putting down a too-cute-for-words baby-doll nightie that was supposed to be on a mannequin. “You had an amazingly hot quickie, then he changed things up and took his time, and now you’re convinced that the whole thing is the worst mistake since denim shorts with black tights.”
“He didn’t just take his time.” Tears threatened, but Aubrey didn’t care. “The way he looked at me was…I mean, he was probably just looking at me all normal and stuff, but I took that look and ran with it all the way to church. I mean it. Whatever the switch is that flips from a simple hookup to a major mistake? That’s what happened. I know, because I’ve been there before. Do I need to remind you both of Phillip? I was practically picking out wedding dresses before I overheard him talking about his ‘freshman piece.’”
The girls groaned in stereo.
“Well, this is Phillip times ten.”
“Oh,” Caro said. “Wow.”
“Yeah, wow.” Drinking the last of her cold coffee, Aubrey ran her hand over her sketch pad, knowing she wasn’t going to be inspired tonight. “Somehow, I have to turn that switch off. Right now. Before I see him again. Or else, I can’t see him again.”
Sanjula jumped down from the shelf where she’d roosted. “Wait just a sec. Before we go flipping switches all over the place, let’s think this through. So, you got more invested in Liam than you’d meant to. Why is that such a bad thing?”
“Detective for the NYPD, Sanjula. Serious detective with upward mobility plans.”
“So? Why is that a deal breaker?”
Aubrey blinked at the woman she used to think knew her better than almost anyone. “Because I’m me.”
Her friend crossed her arms and gave her a withering look. “The only one who doesn’t believe any man, including the bloody president of the United States, if he wasn’t married, would be lucky to have you is you.”
Aubrey spun toward Caro. “Would you please tell her why that is a ridiculous—oh.”
“What?” Caro was clearly confused.
“I didn’t tell you. You guys are on the internet a lot. Do you remember a meme from last year about a ridiculously good-looking cop?”
“Yeah,” they said in tandem. They should really go on the road.
“That was Liam. Before he made detective.”
“No way.” Sanjula pulled out her cell. “I knew I recognized him. That is awesome,” she murmured, already searching. She wouldn’t come up for air for a while.
“Not for him, it’s not. The other detectives won’t let him forget it. They’re horrible. They bully him. And he’s so good at his job. He busted a whole money-laundering operation basically by himself. And they all diss him like he’s a rookie. He takes it so hard. I can tell. He’s a tough guy, he really is, but this has been going on for over a year. I wish I could do something, but I don’t know what.”
“Aubrey, sweetie?” Caro said in her “I’m going to tell you something you won’t like” voice.
Aubrey’s chin dropped to her chest.
“I’m pretty sure that switch got flipped before you guys made love tonight. I’m not sure you can flip it back.”
That one hurt. Deep down, straight to the heart. “Don’t say that. Please.”
Caro pulled her into a hug. “But we can do damage control.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s your ball game. You call the shots. No more nights at his place. Whether you guys do it here or even at our tiny hovel, quickies only. Keep it light. No lingering. Tell him you have to work. It’s not even lying.”
“Got it,” Sanjula said, looking up from her phone. “But we can look at his picture later. Caro’s right. You set the pace and the tone. Girl, you just need to be on top for the rest of your run.”
“Won’t that get a bit repetitious?”
Sanjula rolled her eyes. “My God, you do have it bad. Metaphorically on top. Idiot.”
“Okay,” Aubrey said. “As much as it pains me to say it, you’re right. I’m taking this too far. I can pull it back as long as I’m in charge. I’ll miss Caveman Liam, but it’s worth it. Frankly, the idea of giving up the next two weeks was depressing the shit out of me.”
“Good girl.” Sanjula lifted her cell. “Come check out what a damn hottie he is in his uniform. And, Aubrey? Please, please, please, just leave yourself open. Don’t make any permanent decisions when you’re so wound up by a deadline, okay? Just let it end when it’s supposed to.”
Aubrey let her head drop onto Sanjula’s shoulder. “I’ll do my best. God, he still has that uniform in his closet. Why didn’t he wear it tonight?”
“See,” Caro said. “There’s still a little time left to get in a few rounds. As long as you don’t freak out.”
“Don’t freak out,” Aubrey said. “Check.”
Chapter Nine
“The first round’s on me,” Harry Bigalow announced from the center of the bull pen. “As long as it’s what’s on tap.”
“Cheap bastard.” Stan Whitset, who’d been a detective for a couple of years, turned to Liam and Ernie Rogers. “You guys comin’?”
Rogers nodded. “Free mediocre beer? Who could pass that up?”
Liam thought about staying to make some calls, but the White House was on the way to his apartment, and he’d have to stop there before he met up with Aubrey. Besides, he could use a beer, mediocre or not. “Yeah, sure.”
Rogers lifted his eyebrows. “Glad you’re joining us.”
“What?” Liam shrugged. “Oh, yeah, I have time for one.”
“Want a ride?”
“Sure.”
They talked about one of their current cases on the drive over. Liam had never felt this relaxed with Rogers before. Maybe it was because while Liam was paying attention to the conversation as they’d inched along through traffic, Aubrey lingered in the back of his mind. Scattered thoughts about tonight. About how he’d picked up a coconut cake at the market this morning because he’d finally been invited to her apartment. He wasn’t sure why she’d asked him over, especially this close to Christmas. Her roommates would be there, she’d told him that much, but she’d seemed nervous. It was a step up the dating ladder, if he could call what they did dating. Hell, the personalized Christmas tree, now meeting her friends. Maybe he should think about inviting her to his folks’ holiday brunch.
He definitely needed a drink.
“So,” Rogers said after they parked and were walking to the bar, “you decided to lift your ban on this hole in the wall, huh?”
Liam slowed at the question. He hadn’t realized anyone had noticed his reluctance to go to the White House. Rogers probably wasn’t the only one, either. Shit, no wonder Tony Ricci was so smug. “Yeah,” Liam said, keeping it casual. “Tonight’s for Bigalow. Besides, I have plans so I won’t be staying long.”
“Good for you. Life shouldn’t be all about the job.”
Funny that Rogers should say that. Just this morning Liam had been thinking the same thing. Although he’d also wondered if his feelings for Aubrey had more to do with the thrill of their agreement than anything else. He had no idea how he would feel if they’d met under normal circumstances.
He definitely would have been att
racted to her no matter what, but he doubted he would have considered getting into a serious relationship with her. Thank goodness for that mysteriously appearing trading card. He’d have hated to miss this.
Once inside, he spotted a couple of detectives from the 18th already at the old mahogany bar. He recognized a number of other cops and support personnel from their precinct. A few badge bunnies were circulating, looking hopeful.
He even saw the waitress Tony’d been so infatuated with, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Everybody needed to just get over it already.
Bigalow entered the building to a smattering of shouts, and the crowd waiting for drinks cleared a path for him. He’d announced his retirement today, hence the round. The official party would take place after his last day. Liam didn’t know Bigalow well, but his record was good and even though he’d called Liam Ridiculous, he’d never belittled the work.
Rogers handed Liam a glass and they headed for their precinct’s section of the bar. It was an informal setup, several tables, a booth, a bunch of chairs. Nothing special, but it was far away from the jukebox so at least it wasn’t too noisy.
Ricci was already sitting in the booth, and while he didn’t break into song when he caught sight of Liam, he didn’t look as if he was itching for trouble, either. Stan waved Liam and Rogers over to a couple of empty chairs. Even before they sat down Stan looked up at Liam. “I gotta know, Flynn. Was that your girlfriend?”
Flynn. That was a surprise. “Kind of,” he said.
“How do you kind of have a girlfriend?”
“Long story. She’s…not easy to pin down.”
“She sure as hell tore Ricci a new one. That seems pretty pinned down to me.”
A quick look at the booth told Liam that Ricci did not appreciate the topic. “Yeah, she’s something, all right.”
“Whatever she is,” Rogers said, “if she’s the reason that big stick has come out of your ass, you hold on to her.”