“Let me get this straight.” Xavier’s voice was ominously soft. “Are you saying you don’t trust the other members of the team to do their jobs, Tucker?”
“I’d trust them with my life.”
“But not with this woman?”
Put like that, his objections seemed unreasonable. Bergstrom and Middleton were good men, and they’d never given Sam any cause to doubt their competence. But he couldn’t imagine either one of them working with Audra.
“I know it wasn’t what you wanted, but I made a judgment call,” he said. “Given the circumstances, it seemed to be the best option.”
For the next several minutes, Xavier steered through the traffic in tight-lipped silence. Finally, he pulled up in the parking lot where Sam had left his car and turned to face him. “The damage is done. You’re in now, so we’ll just have to play this out and hope Fitzpatrick’s men don’t recognize you.”
“They won’t Like I told you before, they knew me as Tindale the bookkeeper. Those two B-and-E guys aren’t out yet, are they?”
“No.”
“And Fitzpatrick isn’t about to dirty his hands by paying for their bail or their lawyer.”
“Not so far.”
“Then the risk is minimal. And the McPhersons’ policy of only hiring family members works in our favor. Once I’m working for them, I’ll have security clearance for the wedding.”
“So you’re already part of the company?”
“Not yet. I’m working on it.”
Xavier hesitated, his eyes troubled as he held Sam’s gaze. “I don’t like it, Tucker. We still don’t know enough about this Audra McPherson. I’ve never liked involving a citizen in an investigation. They’re too unpredictable.”
“We can trust her. She’s smart, she thinks on her feet and she’s highly motivated.”
“Oh?”
“She’s counting on that reward money the insurance company’s offering so that she can open her own restaurant.” He twisted to open the door. “I’m on top of the situation, Xavier. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Be careful, Sam.”
The quiet tone surprised him. He paused, his hand on the door handle. “I always am, Lieutenant.”
“Don’t let this woman distract you from your job. I’ve seen it happen before. When a cop loses his objectivity, when he gets personally involved in a case, he’s a risk to himself and anyone around him.”
“I know that. I have everything under control.”
His gaze intent, Xavier watched him for another minute. Then he nodded once and put the car in gear.
Sam stood on the pavement and watched the unmarked sedan pull away, hoping he could convince himself of what he’d just said as easily as he seemed to have convinced Xavier.
Audra hung up the phone and wiped her palms on her apron. That made five out of six. The only sister-in-law who hadn’t yet called was Geraldine, who was seven months pregnant and undoubtedly had more important things on her mind.
The calls had started the minute Sam had brought her back after their dinner last night. She’d heard the phone ringing even before she’d unlocked her door. Her mother had been the first. She’d been so pleased by the news that she had almost forgiven Audra for not telling her immediately.
Evidently the doting, love-at-first-sight, couldn’t-keep-his-hands-off-her act that Sam had put on for Norm and Judy had done the trick. Her own involuntary response hadn’t done any harm either. Judy had told everyone about Audra’s blushes and flustered, sappy stares. And now the unrepentant matchmakers in her family were overjoyed to think that their relentless campaign to change Audra’s opinion of marriage had finally worked.
It was what she wanted, of course. She wanted the deception to succeed, because she wanted that reward money. So why wasn’t she pleased?
Frowning, she moved back to the stove and picked up a wooden spoon, mechanically stirring the milk and chocolate mixture that heated in the double boiler. For five years she had been telling her family that she would never marry. She’d tried over and over to explain how she preferred to be independent, and that she didn’t intend to fall in love and make herself vulnerable to all that pain again. But obviously, what she had said and how she had lived her life hadn’t meant a thing.
People believed what they wanted to believe.
At least Sam understood about her desire to remain alone. She’d seen it in his eyes when she’d told him about Ryan. She’d felt it in the way his fingertips had touched her so gently, sharing sympathy that was supportive, not smothering.
Her hand stilled. She hadn’t talked to anyone about Ryan in years. His accident and his eventual death had been subjects that her family scrupulously avoided. Whenever the conversation threatened to go in that direction, the subject was quickly changed.
They meant well. They always meant well. Her family was as protective when it came to her emotions as they were about all the other things, like where she lived and how she made her living. That’s why resenting them made her feel so guilty.
She should be thankful for the love they gave her. She should appreciate the fact that she had such a strong, closely-knit family who cared so deeply. It was petty and ungrateful to resent the way they refused to acknowledge her opinions and continued to treat her like a not-too-bright child.
At the knock on her door, she sighed and set down the spoon. Her thoughts had been looping around this same track for more than a day now. But it would all be resolved once Sam’s investigation was over and she had the means to finally do what she wanted.
Another knock sounded as she moved the double boiler off the element. That was probably the air conditioner guy—he’d promised to come over sometime this afternoon. Good thing. The heat wave showed no signs of letting up.
She unlocked the door and pulled it open. “Thanks for coming,” she said. “I hope you can...” Her words trailed off as she caught sight of the wildly patterned Hawaiian print shirt. She lifted her gaze. “Oh. Hi, Sam.”
“Who were you expecting this time?”
“The air conditioner repairman.”
“Audra, you really should check to see who it is before you open your door.”
“We’ve had this conversation before.”
“And we’ll have it again, unless you start being more careful”
“I am not a child. I am a twenty-eight-year-old woman who has lived on her own for several years now, and I’m quite capable of taking care of my—”
“Whoa!” Sam angled his hands into a time-out sign. “I’ll call before I come over next time, okay?”
She took a deep breath, then shook her head. “Sorry. Bad timing, that’s all.”
“You’re busy.”
“Just trying out a new recipe.” She stepped back to let him in. “I’m right in the middle of it, so we can talk while I work.”
He closed the door behind him and followed her to the kitchen. “Are your relatives giving you a rough time over our engagement?”
What could she say? That her bad mood was because they had accepted it too easily? “Not really. Mom’s thrilled, but Dad has been kind of reserved about the whole thing. They’ve invited us to dinner on Wednesday. My father wants to meet you.”
“Good. It’ll give me a chance to ease into the subject of a job.”
She picked up a whisk to beat the egg yolks with the sugar she’d measured earlier. “Don’t you think that might be too soon?”
“Trust me, Audra. I’ve been thinking about what you’ve told me about your family, and I’ve decided on the best approach.”
“Oh?”
“I won’t say I’m broke and desperate for a job, since that wouldn’t go over too well with a prospective father-in-law. I’ll say I have a good severance package from the computer company, but that I want to work for McPherson Catering for a while to help ease your workload so that we’ll have more time together.”
“That sounds...reasonable.”
“We’re so much in love that we
can’t bear to be parted from each other.”
“Okay,” she said, lifting the double boiler’s top pot off its base. She poured the milk and melted chocolate gradually into the yolks, beating with one hand. “Mom would probably buy that.”
“And since your father’s so protective, I’ll tell him that I’m concerned about you traveling on your own to and from jobs, so I want to come along to make sure you’re all right.”
Well, he’d certainly picked the right buttons to push when it came to winning over her parents. “That just might work.”
“I’m counting on it.” He crossed his arms and leaned a hip against the counter as be watched her. “What are you making?”
“Chocolate custard sauce.” Transferring the mixture back to the double boiler, she returned it to the stove. “It’s one of the fillings I wanted to try with the cream puffs I made this morning.”
“It smells delicious.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m partial to chocolate.”
“Isn’t everyone?”
He smiled. “Yeah. Cinnamon, too.”
It took her off guard, the way her pulse made that quick jump when he smiled at her. After yesterday, she should have been used to it.
Who was she fooling? If she lived to be a hundred, she wouldn’t get used to it. Even in a setting as mundane and unromantic as her kitchen, with the humming fan and the bubbling pot providing the only background music, Sam could set her pulse racing with no more than a look.
But this wasn’t what either of them wanted. They had both agreed that their relationship was simply a business arrangement. A certain amount of...awareness was bound to occur because of the act they had to put on, but she was mature enough to handle it, right?
She turned her attention back to the sauce. “I have to stir this for another few minutes until it thickens.”
“Is this for the retirement party at that office we were in yesterday?”
“No. They only wanted hors d’oeuvres, so Esther and Christopher are handling the food for that.”
“Christopher’s one of the hotheaded twins, right?”
“Uh-huh. He and Jake are also trained chefs.”
“You’re pretty good yourself.”
“Thanks. I’m testing out some new desserts for a high school reunion we’re doing next week. The organizing committee I met with favored everything that was fattening.” She stirred around the side of the pot. Thick folds of rich chocolate followed the spoon. “Anyhow, I don’t usually do the food preparation for a job here. This kitchen’s too small.”
“Then where do you work?”
“It depends on the particular job. Sometimes we use the kitchens on site, or if that’s not practical, we prepare the bulk of the food at Christopher’s. He has a kitchen to die for. Stainless steel gas range, double refrigerator and acres of counter space.” She smiled. “I’ll be lucky if my restaurant has equipment that good.”
“How are you working the Fitzpatrick job?”
“We only started the menu planning yesterday, but it looks as if we’ll need to do a lot of the work there because of the number of guests involved and the location of the estate. I’ll know more when we have our first meeting.”
“Is there any chance of holding the meeting at the Fitzpatrick estate?”
“There’s a very good chance. Most of our clients find it’s more convenient for us to visit them than the other way around.” She stirred the sauce one last time, judged that it was done and took it off the heat. “You’ll want to be included in that, I guess.”
“Absolutely. So the sooner I can talk to your father and get hired on, the better.” He shifted closer, leaning over her shoulder to inhale the fragrant steam that rose from the pot. “What did you say you wanted to do with this stuff?”
Although he didn’t touch her, every nerve in her body hummed with awareness. She inhaled sharply. Over the scent of chocolate she caught the clean aroma of his soap and lime aftershave, and a hint of the man underneath. “What do I want to do?”
“With the chocolate.”
“Oh. It’s for the cream puffs.”
“Those little yellow things?”
She glanced at the wire rack where she’d placed the golden pastries an hour ago. “Yes. There’s a space inside them that needs to be filled. Once the sauce is cool, I put it into that bag and insert the...tip in the...opening and then... squeeze—” She stopped, aghast at the blush that was creeping into her cheeks. There was nothing suggestive about piping filling into cream puffs. Nothing at all.
His voice dropped as he moved beside her. “Sounds tempting.” He reached out to run the tip of his index finger over the wooden spoon she had put down on the counter.
“It’s still hot,” she cautioned.
“Can’t resist,” he said, lifting his chocolate-covered finger to his lips. “Do you mind?”
“No, the whole point of making this sauce was to test it, so I...”
She forgot what she was going to say. Actually, she forgot what they had been talking about. She watched, spellbound, as Sam dipped his finger into his mouth and sucked the chocolate sauce off the tip.
This time, the sudden thump of her pulse didn’t take her by surprise—her heart rate hadn’t entirely returned to normal since Sam had walked into her apartment.
A low sound of pleasure rumbled from his throat as he withdrew his finger. “That tastes even better than it smells.”
“I’m glad you like it,” she said. She heard the soft, breathless note in her voice but was powerless to stop it. “I, um, used part bitter, part semi-sweet and added a dash of cloves.”
“Aren’t you going to try any?”
Her gaze strayed to his lips, and the tiny dot of chocolate that was left on the bottom one. She’d felt those lips on hers twice. More than twice, if she counted all the times she’d replayed those brief kisses in her imagination. “No, I’ll wait for it to cool, thanks.”
“It’s good hot.”
“I’ve never tried—”
“Then allow me.” He swirled his finger in the sauce that had dripped from the spoon to the counter, then lifted his hand toward her.
It was only an innocent gesture. She’d done this kind of thing with her nieces and nephews countless times when they visited. Heck, they usually fought over the right to lick the bowl clean. There was no reason for her to make a big deal of this by refusing.
Parting her lips, she leaned toward him.
The instant she felt his finger touch her mouth, she knew she’d made a mistake. Hot, thick and sweet, the chocolate burst over her tongue. But the sinfully rich sauce accounted for only a fraction of the sensations that flowed through her. She felt the texture of Sam’s skin, the hard edge of his nail and the cool moisture that was left from his own mouth. She sucked lightly, drawing his finger a tiny bit deeper.
Tension sparked in the air between them. At Sam’s whispered oath, she raised her gaze to his.
That was her second mistake. Looking at him. His eyes locked with hers, awareness and arousal swirling in the blue depths. There was nothing innocent about what they were doing now. And there was no one else here. They didn’t have to put on an act. There was no need for this to go any further.
He pulled his hand away and looked at her for a breathless moment. Then slowly, deliberately, he scooped up more chocolate sauce and returned his finger to her lips.
Holding his gaze, she closed her mouth over his finger, and sucked the chocolate off the tip. A tremor traveled up his arm. A muscle jumped in his cheek. Audra released him and smiled, pleased that she wasn’t the only one who was affected by this sensual game. Recklessly, she dipped her own finger into the warm sauce and dabbed more chocolate on his lower lip.
His eyes gleaming in silent challenge, he licked off the sauce with his tongue and smiled. His expression didn’t bear any resemblance to a mischievous boy now, it was pure predatory male. He tugged the rounded neckline of her blouse lower, dunked his finger in
to the pot of chocolate and touched the spot at the top of the cleft between her breasts.
She gasped. “Sam! What are you doing?”
“Testing out the sauce,” he murmured, lowering his head.
Audra felt her knees go weak. This was crazy. He wouldn’t actually...
Oh, God. He would. He did. His breath feathered across her chest, warming skin that already burned. His lips settled over the place he’d touched, a light caress, as sweetly gentle as the kisses he’d given her the day before. But then he opened his mouth and she felt the stroke of his tongue.
Pleasure shot through her, headier than ten potsful of chocolate custard. She grasped his shoulders, feeling his muscles shift and tense beneath the thin cotton of his shirt as he slipped his arm behind her waist to hold her steady. He pressed closer, turning his head to drag his lips across the upper curve of her breast.
Her nipples hardened with a swiftness that verged on painful. Closing her eyes, she tipped back her head and arched toward him, mindlessly wanting more, afraid he would stop. Afraid he wouldn’t.
Sam slipped his hands downward, curling his fingers around her buttocks. Pressing his face to the side of her neck, he tightened his grip and lifted her against him.
She shuddered at the intimate contact. She’d felt his body on hers before. His naked body. On her bed. But she hadn’t felt all of him until now. Oh, Lord, he really was a big man. Heat gathered between her legs in a response that left her shaking.
“Audra.” His voice was rough, as bold and hard as the rest of him. “I—”
Whatever he was going to say was drowned out by the sudden shrill from the phone on the wall.
He muttered a short, crude word and raised his head.
She blinked her eyes open. Sam’s face was close, his lips only a breath away. Desire tightened the lines beside his mouth and darkened his eyes. But as she watched, his expression gradually changed. The desire faded. His gaze cleared.
Engaging Sam Page 8