Shot in the Dark

by Jennifer Conner

  He couldn’t hide from this man. Mac knew him inside and out.

  “Fine. You’re right. You happy?” Dev said blowing out a breath. “Luci’s great. I’ve never met another woman like her in my life. She was robbed by knifepoint the other night, because I didn’t spot her attacker waiting for her. That bastard was in her apartment tonight. He’s come back for her. I knew it in my gut. I’ve been over these files a hundred times, and I can’t find the connection.” Dev slammed his fist on the desk, almost knocking over his coffee.

  Leaning forward, Mac slid the file across the desk and flipped it open. “I think maybe you need a fresh set of eyes on the case. I’m off duty, and it looks like I have some spare time, since my woman’s over at your house.” Mac grinned widely. “Well it’s about damn time you found a woman who could whip your ass into shape. I’ve been whipped for a long time by Michelle. But I like a little S&M when it comes to love.”

  “I never said anything about being in love.”

  Mac chuckled. “One day it sneaks up on you, and then it’s all over. And I think whoever this Luci is, she’s reeled you in hook, line, and sinker.”

  Dev felt the corners of his mouth curl. “Listen to the expert on relationships. The man who’s terrified of asking the woman he loves to marry him.”

  “You’ve lost your edge, partner. You used to notice so much more.”

  Dev shrugged his shoulders. “I’m lost here.”

  “Michelle has a rock on her hand. I asked her to marry me while we were in Frisco this weekend. So…” Mac’s words trailed, “I guess I need a best man AND a partner.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  When Dev pushed open the front door, he found Michelle tucked under a handmade quilt. She smiled, looked up from the book she was reading, and drew her finger to her mouth to silence him.

  “Luci fell asleep about an hour ago,” Michelle whispered and pushed to her feet. “Let’s go out front so we don’t wake her. She’s had a long night.”

  She followed him out the door and to the front lawn. Her shoes were looped over her thumb, and her purse was slung over one shoulder.

  “How’s she doing?” Dev asked, leaning his weight on his cane. His leg was telling him he’d had a long night too.

  “She’s fine, but she needs you.”

  Dev looked at Michelle, surprised. “She told you that?”

  She grinned. “She didn’t need to. That’s a great girl you have in there. How’d she end up with you?” Michelle punched him lightly on the arm.

  Whacking her back in the butt with the top of his cane, he nodded in agreement, adding, “I’ve been asking Luci that since the first day. I keep expecting her to come to her senses and take off, but she’s still here.”

  “Dev… what am I going to do with you?” Michelle smiled, and shook her head.

  Cracking his neck to one side, he pulled in a deep breath. “I know what an ass I’ve been since the shooting.”

  “You weren’t an ass, you were just invisible.”

  “Same thing,” he paused. “I just want to say I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have treated you guys like that. Mac was always there for support when I needed him. I shouldn’t have shut him out.”

  “He’s missed you.” Her dark brown eyes met his. “He wishes that night never happened, just like you do. He blames himself for the kid’s death and letting you get shot.”

  “Letting me get shot?”

  “Dev, it was just a terrible accident. When you were so distant, Mac assumed you didn’t want him as your partner because you blamed him for what happened.”

  Dev pulled in a shaky breath. “If I ever get back on active duty, Mac would be the only partner I’d ever want.” He tried to lighten the conversation by adding, “No one else would put up with me.”

  “Or vice versa with Mac. Luci’s hoping that after a few weeks of therapy, you can get rid of the cane and back on active duty.”

  Dev looked at the glow of the lights through the living room window. “She has a lot of faith in me.”

  “She has more than that for you.” Michelle patted his arm. When he looked at her, she just smiled. “Did Mac come into the station?”

  “I couldn’t get rid of him.” Dev grinned. “It must have been the great coffee.”

  “Any leads on Luci’s break-in?” Michelle asked.

  Dev shook his head, and then added, “We’ll find him.” Dev reached for Michelle’s hand. Lifting it, he inspected the ring on her left hand. “Mac told me he finally got the nerve to pop the question.”

  “He’s such a romantic!” Her cheeks glowed pink in the dim overhead streetlights.

  “I don’t think we’re talking about the same guy. Are you sure it was Mac who proposed, and not some other guy?” Dev laughed. It felt good.

  “It looked like him. The lights were pretty low in the restaurant. I’ll double check when I get home.” Michelle tipped her hand from side to side, surveying the stone on her finger. “Did he ask you about being his best-man?”

  “Yeah. I said I’d do it.” Dev pulled her in for a hug. “I’m really happy for the two of you. And thanks for coming over here at the last minute.”

  Michelle pushed a tumbled lock of his hair off his forehead. “Anytime. Really, I mean, anytime. I hope now that the water’s been smoothed over we see you much more often… and Luci.”

  “That’ll be up to her.”

  “Dev, don’t let her slip away.”

  He stood listening to the sounds of the night around him as he watched Michelle get in her car and drive away. The pain in his leg was beginning to pound as he reentered the house and turned off the lights.

  Making his way to the kitchen, he reached for the bottle of whiskey. Stopping, he set the bottle back down and placed the cork back in the neck.

  His leg hurt, but it wasn’t unbearable like before. In fact, he felt better than he had in months. After six months of living off greasy food, prescription drugs, and alcohol, he’d been off the whole lot since he’d been with Luci. His mind was clearer and his pain was manageable.

  After the conversations he’d had with Mac and Michelle, Dev also felt like one of the huge emotional burdens he’d been carrying was lifted from his shoulders. Now, he didn’t want to be that half-drunk, pathetic SOB he’d been a few days back.

  He wanted to be a better man… for Luci.

  Taking the whiskey bottle off the kitchen counter, he opened a corner cupboard and shoved the bottle to the back. He couldn’t quite bring himself to pour out a nearly full bottle of twelve-year-old, single-malt, Scotch whiskey. But he made a silent pact that the next time he took a drink, it would be for a damned happy occasion and not feeling sorry for himself.

  Maybe Michelle and Mac’s wedding? Dev shook his head, still not able to believe everything that happened in the last few hours.

  Quietly, he strode down the hall and pushed open the bedroom door. Bracing his shoulder against the jam, he stood for a long moment watching Luci sleep.

  Her cheek rested on her crook of her arm and her blonde and pink streaked hair tumbled over one eye. Her mouth was pursed slightly, her face relaxed. Even though her face was pushed into his pillow, she still looked exquisite.

  This is what Dev had imagined, dreamed of, since he’d first agreed to take Don’s house and move in. He’d dreamed of not coming home to an empty house night after night. Don never had a family, but he’d always been surrounded by those who loved him. Dev knew this was different… but it was close enough to make him happy for the moment.

  This old, forties-style bungalow, had character. You could almost feel the happiness from the people who’d lived here. That was one of the reasons why it had been so hard for him to come home these past six months. The feeling of happiness was something he’d cra
ved, but he’d been alone.

  Luci was here because she needed his protection. She was a self-sufficient woman. She didn’t need him hanging around her neck like a trained circus monkey. But she’d be here at least for a few days. That’s what he’d concentrate on, making sure to enjoy the time they had together.

  Back at Mac and Michelle’s, he’d called her sweet. She’d obviously taken what he’d meant wrong. He was only trying to protect her from getting hurt.

  Now he had a second chance to catch the bastard who’d put so much fear in her life, and a second chance to prove that he could be the man she needed. His captain told him as soon as he could walk without the cane, he could go back on active duty. Now he had a reason to truly want that.

  Luci opened her eyes. When she saw him, she smiled. Dev felt his heart stutter in his chest. He always felt that way when Luci looked at him.

  Crossing the room, he sat on the edge of the bed. He ran a strand of her hair between his fingers and asked, “How are you doing?”

  “I tried to stay awake. What time is it?” she asked, attempting to rub the sleep from her eyes.

  He’d lost track of time himself. Glancing at the clock, he said, “It’s late. Go back to sleep. I’m happy you’re here in the bed. I’ll let you get back to sleep.” He started to stand, but felt her fingers grasp his upper arm.

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  Dev slowly sat back down. Turning to gaze into her sleep rumpled face, he wanted to kiss her until the night was forgotten, but he held his ground. “I didn’t bring you back here to have sex. I wanted you to be somewhere you felt safe.”

  “You could have dropped me at a hotel, but you brought me here, because this is where you feel safe. Thanks.”

  He nodded. It was true, no matter what was happening in the outside world, Dev always felt that his house was a safe haven for him.

  Her fingers were still curled around the bicep of his upper arm. Looking down, he absently ran his fingers over the delicate pulse point at her wrist.

  “Why don’t you come to bed?” She scooted over, patting the left side. “I even warmed it up for you.”

  Luci’s words were so gentle. Dev wanted to protest, but he couldn’t seem to find the energy. He hoped he hadn’t misread her words this time.

  He’d just get in bed with her, and they’d sleep. There wasn’t really anyplace else for him to go; he didn’t have a guest bedroom.

  Standing, Dev pulled his T-shirt over his head and tossed it towards the wall. Kicking his shoes to the corner, he peeled off his socks and pushed down his jeans and boxers.

  Should he at least put on pajama bottoms? He watched as she undressed and slid naked into his bed. He would have to rely on his willpower.

  They were just going to sleep.

  Sliding next to her under the cool cotton sheets, he flipped off the light. The tensions of the day were taking their toll, and he suddenly felt exhausted. He wrapped his long arms around Luci and pulled her, spooning, against the curve of her back.

  He buried his nose in the dip of her collarbone and inhaled. He loved the smell of her. His body was drained of every ounce of energy, but his cock seemed to have a mind of its own. With her pressed this close, he grew hard in seconds between the cleft of her soft, round rear end.

  “Sorry,” he muttered, against her ear. “You just feel so damn good.”

  Rolling towards him, her breasts pushed against his chest, and he felt her breath on his face in the darkness. Dev sucked in air between his teeth as she stroked her hand down his midsection taking his rigid cock in her hand.

  “Luci.” He sighed her name. So much for willpower.

  “Shhhh,” she said, quieting him with a kiss on his brow. “It’s just the two of us right now… and it’s good. I’ve tried to convince you. I’ll never let another man take advantage of me again in my life. This is what I want, and I hope it’s what you want too.”

  Her fingers felt like fire against his skin as she stroked him along the vein of his erection from base to tip. Using his own lubrication which had seeped from the tip, she smoothed it in her palm and down his length.

  Dev pulled her against him, taking her mouth in a long, slow kiss until the images of violence, and his own frustration, left his body. He needed sleep, but not as much as he needed Luci.

  Rubbing himself against the apex of her thighs, he continued the strokes of the inside of her mouth with his tongue. Grasping her waist, he lifted her effortlessly with his strong arms and placed her to straddle his waist.

  He pulled her down, his arms wrapped securely around her back as he rubbed his nose against the silken skin of her cheek, just holding her.

  Dev rained kisses over her face, teasing the corner of her lips, using the darkness to get to know her body by touch. By feel.

  The sex between them was great. The best he’d had in his life. But this is almost better than sex, he thought. For the first time, Dev realized, he would have been satisfied just by holding her in his arms. But the thought of being buried in Luci’s welcoming heat was beckoning him like a siren’s call as she moved her hips against him.

  Her breath hitched as Dev slid his hands down the front of her neck, and over the swell of her breast, fingering her erect nipple. Pulling her close, his tongue snaked out and drew her breast into his mouth. Dev took his time, lavishing each nipple, hearing her breathing grow labored.

  By the time he released the taut bud with a small pop of his lips, his cock pressed against the moist heat pooling between her legs.

  She kissed him again. One second Luci was so full of hunger, while the next, gentle and caressing. She threaded her fingers through his short hair; her nails grazed his scalp, holding him against her. When she was this close he couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe.

  “I want you so much it hurts,” Dev confessed. His balls were so tight, he thought they’d burst. “Condom,” he choked out, fighting to regain a thread of control.

  “You’re a cop, so you’re medically checked out on a regular basis?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll get a condom if you want, but I want to feel you. All of you. I haven’t been with many men, but I’ve been on the pill for a while. No secret babies, I promise.”

  He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had unprotected sex with a woman. The thought sent skitters down his spine. Usually he’d never known anything about the women he was in bed with, and they never stayed around long enough to achieve the level of trust he’d achieved with Luci. He believed her. He knew it would be safe for both of them.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, gazing up at her. Her beautiful body was silhouetted in the moonlight coming through the bedroom curtains. He ran a tentative hand over her bare hip, feeling the pucker of scar tissue there.

  “I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t sure.”

  When she straddled him and rocked slowly back, he was hard enough that he didn’t need guidance, sliding easily inside her. The sensation of skin against skin, with no barriers, made his vision blur.

  As Luci took him out to the tip, then back in, all he could think of was how perfect this moment was. After so many months of seeing blood and brains when he closed his eyes, all he saw was Luci. All he felt… was Luci.

  Dev reached between them, gently rubbing the bundle of nerves between her slick fold. Taking cues from her moans, he increased the pace. Their rhythm at first had been slow, but now the desperation built between them, as she ground her hips and took him full hilt.

  Luci kissed him with hunger. He could never seem to get close enough, deep enough for her. Flicking the tip of his finger against her clit, he felt her muscles begin to contract along his bare shaft, and knew they were both ready. Gritting his teeth, he waited until he felt the first convulsion of her or
gasm begin.

  She rode him without mercy. Luci threw her hips back plunging him deep inside, one last time. Dev came long and loud, shuddering, as she milked every ounce of the strength he had left.

  They both fought to regain their breathing patterns. “Now, let’s sleep,” was all she said. He could tell she was smiling.

  Dev felt himself drift off to sleep, but he wanted to stay awake a few seconds longer so he could feel her in his arms.

  For the first time since the shooting, he saw a future for himself.

  That future included Luci.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Luci slipped out of bed and padded to Devan’s office. Sitting in the chair by the window she gazed out at the small manicured backyard, and sighed. The plants and flowers were in rich greens and multitudes of other colors. Dew from the early morning still clung to the leaves.

  Devan must spend time taking care of the yard and flower beds. Again, this was something she wouldn’t have guessed about him. But the man was always full of surprises. Luci assumed he lived a certain way, like she assumed he’d be hard and cold like the men in her past. At every turn, she’d been wrong about him.

  How could her life be in such conflict? She felt as though she was on a giant roller-coaster; one minute up, one minute down. Her time with Devan was great, but the rest of her life sucked.

  “Luci? Are you okay?” Devan’s voice held an edge of concern. Looking up, she tried to smile. Devan had pulled a pair of low-slung pajama bottoms over his lean hips, and stood in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest.

  Coming to her, he knelt in front of her on the floor. “You’re safe here. I know the guy’s still out there, but—” he stopped, probably not sure what else to add.