by Leger, Lori
She spoke, and her smile belied the tone dripping with sarcasm. “I’ve had enough of your little games for the day. Happy New Year.”
Drake watched her drive away, totally disappointed in the direction this day had taken.
He pulled the pillow over his head to block out the ringing. Someone was ringing that damn doorbell, long enough to make him want to put a bullet through the damn thing. He rolled to a seated position on his bed, rubbed the sleep from his eyes and glanced at his alarm clock. Midnight. Exhausted and unsteady, he shuffled to the front door passing his hands through his hair in an effort to tame his bed head.
“This better be damned good!” he growled, throwing open the door. “Annie?” he barely had time to ask before she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.
“When I got home I saw a strange truck parked in my driveway. I think it’s him, Drake,” she screeched, sounding near hysteria. “He’s back and he’s waiting for me.”
“Did you call the cops?”
“No!” Wild-eyed and shivering with fear, or cold, or both, her voice quavered as she spoke again. “I didn’t know what to do, so I came straight here.”
He pulled her close. “It’s all right now, I’ve got you.” He locked and deadbolted the door then led her to the sofa. “You’re freezing.” He wrapped her in a couple of throws draped over the back of the couch. He turned to get his bottle of Gentleman Jack and a glass. “Let me get you a shot of whiskey to warm you up.”
“I’d rather you warm me up.”
Drake came to a screeching halt halfway to the bar, certain he must have misheard. “What did you say?”
“I said, I’d rather have you warm me up. Would you mind?”
He turned slowly, afraid if he moved too quickly, he’d scare her away. Turned out it was a needless concern.
Annie stood, dropped the blanket and walked slowly to meet him. “Warm me up, Drake.”
“Wait, is this a set-up?”
“No set up. I want you to heat me up—from the inside out.”
He studied her, saw all the signals of a woman who wanted him. Wet, parted lips, pebbled nipples showing through the skin-tight Aggie button down shirt she had to have worn just for him. “You know what’ll happen if we start something like that, right?”
She gave her head a slow nod. “I know what I hope will happen.” Annie undid the top button of her shirt, then another, and a third. “You know, skin to skin contact is the quickest way to get warm.”
He swallowed hard, as she progressed. “It’s the quickest way to get something else, too.” He heard a low growl, realized suddenly it had come from him.
Her shirt dropped from her arms, baring the flimsiest piece of lace and elastic he’d ever seen in a chic’s bra—and he’d seen plenty. She stepped toward him, reached her hands under his white tee until she’d lifted it over and off of his head.
“Oh …” she breathed. “I’ve dreamed of seeing you like this.”
Drake sucked in his breath as her hands placed feather light touches on his chest and abs.
He pulled her close, running his hands along her back, searching for the clasp to her bra.
“Nooo…”
He lifted his hands. “This is a set-up, isn’t it?”
She chuckled, a low, seductive sound. “No, Drake, it’s a front closure.” She jiggled her breasts in his face.
He slipped the metal hook free from the loop and gasped as she spilled out before him, pale, nearly glowing in the moonlight streaming in from his windows. Before he could touch them she ran down the hall to his bedroom. They both slipped out of their jeans and met on the bed, where she forcefully pushed him back to straddle him. Clasping his hands in hers, she leaned forward in an agonizingly slow motion that had her petal soft nipples lapping gently at his chest.
Drake closed his eyes, groaning at the touch of Annie’s soft mouth against his neck. He didn’t know how or why this was happening, but who the hell was he to question this sudden change of luck? Nope, this Texas transplant was more than willing to sit back and enjoy the ride—in the purely sexual sense of the word.
She turned loose of his hands and lifted her breasts, pushing them together for his perusal.
Filled with searing heat, he reached out to touch—to grasp the perfectly shaped globes—his mouth watering for a taste of them. The doorbell rang again.
“God! I don’t want to answer that,” he groaned.
Annie pulled her mouth away from his neck just long enough to whisper in his ear. “Then don’t.” Her mouth returned to his neck.
It rang again.
“I have to.”
“Why?”
“Hell, I don’t know.”
It rang again, this time sounding more like a cell phone than a doorbell.
She pulled away. “You have to answer that.”
He groaned at the loss of her mouth against his skin. “Why?”
“Because I’m not here, and neither are you.
“Don’t say that, Annie.” He reached for her. She faded before his eyes, transforming into a translucent, ethereal glow. “No. Don’t go. No. Arrgghh!” Drake bolted to a sitting position on the couch, the roar of frustration still on his lips, hands outstretched, grasping for what wasn’t there.
He grabbed his cell phone, wanted nothing better than to hurl it at the wall. He came to his senses in time to save himself the cost of another phone. Red’s number flash across the screen, he raised the phone and growled into the mouthpiece. “I could—kick. Your. Ass.”
“Bro. What the hell?”
“Sheee-it.”
“What’d I interrupt, or do I even want to know?”
“You don’t.” Drake winced, put one of the throw pillows from Tiffany’s couch over his painful erection.
“Uh, okay, I was hoping to get the scoop from you about what happened at the station, but you bowed out. You, ah, sound kind of—are you in pain?”
“You have no idea,” Drake grunted, praying for something to loosen up. The sound of Red’s amused chortle reached him, adding fuel to the fire. “Not cool to laugh, bro. Not cool at all.”
“Says you,” Red snorted. “I lived through my dry spell, buddy. This one’s on you.”
Drake took three deep, cleansing breaths and promptly yawned into the phone. “What’s up, McAllister? I’m wrung out, and you’re keeping me from my beauty sleep.” Not to mention some damned sweet dreams.
“That’s Annie, man. You’d just as soon get used to it.”
Drake dropped his head back on the couch and closed his eyes. “Lay off your sister, man. She’s not that bad.”
“You’ll figure it out. Mom always says she can suck the energy right out of a person like a thousand watt light bulb. Anyway, Annie told us all during lunch about her interview with the detective, but I wanted to get your spin on it.”
Drake sat up straight. “Did you say during lunch?”
“Yeah, we had all the traditional fixings—black eyed peas, cabbage, pork roast, and a huge green salad. Tiffany even made a batch of pralines. She saved some for you.”
“Annie was there—today?” Drake teetered somewhere between anger, disbelief, and where-the-hell-else-would-she-be?
“Well, yeah. She showed up just after you called to say you couldn’t make it.”
Drake passed a hand roughly through his hair while chuckling into the phone. “Sneaky little shit.”
“For future reference, she doesn’t like guys handling her problems for her. She likes to take care of herself.”
“Yeah, I got the impression my interference wasn’t welcome.”
“So, you decided to give her some space to let her cool off today? That was a pretty smart move.”
Drake drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. “That’s right.” He’d skin her alive when he saw her. “Hey, give me her number so I can call to see if she’s okay.”
Annie put down her mug of cocoa to answer the ringing phone. When Drake’s name flashed a
cross her caller I.D., she drew in a deep breath and released it. “What can I do for you, Mr. LeBlanc?”
“I wanted to see how your afternoon went. You feeling okay? Did you get any rest?”
“Sure did. I had a nap and woke up a few minutes ago.”
“That’s strange. Red just told me you were at his and Tiff’s place for lunch.”
She smiled at the irritation in his voice. “I was. Stuffed myself with all that good food and took a nap as soon as I got home. I seem to get my appetite back when you’re not around.”
“Was it your intention to guilt me into skipping lunch?”
“I said I wouldn’t go, and I simply changed my mind—woman’s prerogative and all.”
“Bullshit. You played me.”
Annie shrugged on her end of the phone. “All’s fair—”
“In love and war? Is that what this is all about? You ready to admit you have feelings for me?”
She chuckled. “I have so many feelings where you’re concerned, Drake. Annoyance, extreme aggravation, bordering on loathing. None of them flattering.”
“You could never loathe me, Annie.”
Annie blew out her breath in exasperation. “Don’t bet your annuity on it, counselor.” She waited, while he seemed to consider her answer.
“What happened to turn you off of all men and relationships?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth, Drake, and don’t lump all men together. That gigantic ego of yours may have to accept the fact that maybe I’m just not that in to you. It’s obvious that you’re spoiled rotten and used to getting your own way.”
“I’m not spoiled, and you can lie to yourself honey, but not to me. I was there on that dance floor, remember? We were mutually in to each other.”
Annie squeezed her eyes shut, wishing for the billionth time she could take back that night. “Look, I can take you in small doses, but I don’t want to have to see you at every family function. They’re my family.”
“Tiffany is my family.”
“You are so seriously outnumbered when it comes to actual body counts, it’s ridiculous.”
“Why don’t you answer my question?”
“What question?”
“About the guy.”
“What guy?’
“The reason you don’t want to commit to anyone now. Who was it? Some kid in high school that broke your heart?”
“That’s none of your business, and it has zilch to do with you. The fact is, you have to control every situation you’re in, and I don’t like that.”
“Whoa—spoken by little Miss Mission Control herself.”
“I admit I like being in control of my own life, but I don’t try to control everyone else around me, as you do.” Slow building anger coursed through her.
“Oh, stop exaggerating. That officer had no right to ask how you’d dressed last night, and the attorney in me came out.”
“Which would have been all well and fine, had I asked you to be my legal counsel, but I didn’t. You just showed up on your own and tried to take over the entire situation.”
“I wanted to give them an accurate description of that maniac.”
“And you did.” A chill came over her as she remembered how accurate it had been. “But, once you were done, you should have left. I know how to handle people like that detective.” She heard him sigh in surrender and slightly relaxed her guard. “Just so you know, I do appreciate what you did for me. Everything from beating that animal unconscious to the sketch.”
“You’re right,” he finally admitted, sounding reluctant at first. “You obviously found a way to bring him to heel. What did you tell that guy when you were alone with him?”
“That I have the right to dress however the hell I want in a public dance club, as long as I’m not breaking any dress code, whether it was ‘suggestive’ to someone or not. I told him I’d never laid eyes on the guy before he followed me outside, where, despite my protests, he threw me over his shoulder like he was auditioning for Clan of the Cave Bear.”
“Was he more sympathetic after that?”
“No, but then I noticed of couple of snapshots of him with his teenage daughters, both showing a lot more skin than I ever have, this side of a bikini. I pointed out if I was ‘asking for it’ that some other guy could easily say the same for his girls. Then I told him if he didn’t adjust his attitude toward female victims, he was begging karma to come back and bite him on the ass. He was the perfect gentleman after our little talk.”
“I gotta admit, I’m impressed. You handled that with finesse, and I apologize for underestimating you. It won’t happen again.”
“I don’t plan on spending enough time with you to let it happen again.”
“Annie, don’t spit up in the air—it’s liable to fall back on your nose.”
Lewis began to make a loud ruckus in his cage. “Aaannie! Aaannie! Aaannie!”
Annie turned her attention to her bird. “What, Lewis? You feeling neglected, my love?”
“Lewis is bored! Squawk! Where’s the prick?”
Annie giggled as Drake’s groan carried over the line.
“He’s not still talking about me, is he?”
“Afraid so; he has a very good memory. Did I mention how intelligent he is? He’s an excellent judge of character.”
“Aaannie, where’s the prick?” Lewis squawked.
“The prick’s on the phone, Lewis.”
“Prick’s on the phone. Prick’s on the phone. Squawk!”
“Aw, you’ve gotta make him stop. Please!”
Annie erupted into uncontrollable snorts of laughter.
Lewis switched to channeling Pete McAllister. “Annie Nicole! Get off that damn phone!”
Annie wiped tears of laughter from her eyes as she tried to catch her breath. “Lewis, my love, that’s the smartest thing you’ve said to me all day.”
“Lew-is, sharp as a tack!”
“Yes, you are, baby. Goodbye, Drake.”
Drake barely had to time to say goodbye before he heard the line go dead. “Damn bird,” he grumbled. “I wonder how he’d taste in a gumbo.” As he rose from the couch his phone rang again.
“Hello?”
“Well, hey there. We missed you at Tiffany and Red’s today.”
“Hey Melinda. Yeah, sorry about that.”
“I wanted to let you know that we’ll be at Giselle and Jackson’s in Kenton this evening. They said to have you come over since you passed on lunch. Greg and I are leaving in the morning and we’d love to get in another visit with you. Tiffany and Red will be here too.”
“There’s food, you say?”
“Oh Lord, yes. A traditional southern New Year’s Day feast.”
His stomach growled. “I’m on my way.”
It was right at five o’clock when Drake pulled into Jackson and Giselle’s driveway. The ominously dark sky brewed with the undercurrents of a winter storm. Drake stepped from his Denali truck, pulling his leather jacket closer to his body. Jackson met him at the door, and ushered him inside.
“It looks like we’ve got a bad one coming our way.”
Melinda approached, arms outstretched. “Thanks for driving over, Drake. I’d have been upset if I had to go back without seeing you again.”
“Me too, Melin. Thanks for calling. What time’s your flight?”
“We’re flying out of the Lake Coburn airport at eight a.m. It breaks my heart to leave here.”
Greg walked up and hugged his wife tightly. “It won’t be for long, though, just until we get some things squared away.”
Drake smiled as he watched his former nanny cuddle with her husband. “You two are really going to leave Washington to live here permanently?”
“Absolutely!” Greg answered.
“Nothing’s more important than being with our child and grandchildren,” Melinda added, watching Giselle’s two girls help their mom in the kitchen.
“So, it’s official? You got the DNA test results?”
Greg’s face nearly split from the grin he wore. “We have grandchildren.”
Drake hugged Melinda again. “Damn, I’m glad y’all found each other. It’s good to see you happy.”
She nodded and wiped at a tear. “Are you hungry?”
“I’m starving.” He rubbed his stomach in anticipation.
Luckily, the storm gave them just enough time to finish supper before moving furiously into their community. The lights flickered once, twice, before going out completely.
Drake pushed himself up from the table. “Damn that was some good grub, ladies. You need help finding flashlights, Jackson?”
“Nope, they’re right here in the utility room.” Jackson opened a door off of the kitchen while Giselle, Tiffany, and Melinda calmed the panicking children. Within minutes, the living area glowed with the soft lighting of oil lamps and candles.
Drake surveyed the cozy atmosphere, watching as the three women sat with cups of tea or coffee on the sofa while Mac and Lexie cuddled with their newly found grandmother. He smiled to himself, amazed at how quickly their lives had changed. He nodded at Melinda as she pulled Lexie on her lap. God sure had his own way of making things happen.
He slipped into his coat before joining the other men out under the covered patio. “Looks like the whole town’s out.” Drake stared out at the all-engulfing pitch blackness. “I wonder how Annie’s handling this.”
Red grunted, reaching for his phone. “Little sis always hated being in the dark. I’d better check on her.”
Annie hauled the last of the boxed ornaments and Christmas decorations into the storage room off the garage. The end of the Christmas season always left her feeling empty and depressed. She made a mental note to pick up a few Mardi Gras decorations for her door, knowing the bright purple, green, and gold colors would lift her spirits.
After dragging her dying noble fir tree to the curb for recycling, she disposed of the needles and stood at the door, gazing out at the threatening sky. The lights flickered twice, then went out, throwing her home as well as the entire neighborhood into an eerie, early-evening darkness.
Great.
Annie stood in the dark, still clutching the broom and dust pan. “Oh crap!” Lewis began to chatter. “Oh, crap! Aaannie! Who turned out the lights? Aaannie!”