Love's Hot

by Karen Deen

  The look in his eyes tells me he knows I’m baiting him. The little smile that comes to his face tells me he’s about to challenge my little flirt.

  “Well, there’s this one girl that I have that’s really into whips and chains. So, if you see a sex shop, let me know and you can help pick them out.” He’s so proud of himself, trying to get a rise out of me.

  “Fuck you’re weird,” Xavier says, taking Alesha’s hand and walking towards the shop. Grant just glares at him and doesn’t even warrant him a comment.

  “Can’t say I would have any idea about that but to each their own, I suppose. She must be a little wild one, Kane?” I stare him down with a sly grin.

  “You have no idea how wild she can be,” he says directly at me then walks past leaving me standing there fumbling to think of something smart to say back. Bastard. I’m supposed to be the one who wins at these games. Not him. Plus, I’m still reeling at the thought of whips and chains. The spanking was good but not sure I’m into anything that hardcore.

  “Hurry up, Lilly, otherwise you’ll miss all the fun,” he calls over his shoulder, winking at me knowing that he has purposely used the word fun so I can catch the double meaning.

  Asshole!

  I should have said no flirting when I laid out the rules for the morning after. He’s not making this any easier. I giggle to myself as I start after them. Well, at least it isn’t awkward, that’s one plus. Not sure how long I’ll last with the in-your-face smartass. I need to up my game and I think I know just the place.

  ***

  We spend the morning shopping and listening to the boys grunt, groan and complain at every stop. The only time they shut their mouths was when we were shopping for the coat for Zara. Grant was focused and glared at them which was enough to shut them up straight away. Mission accomplished with a long deep burgundy coat with a tie in the middle. The color will look fabulous with her dark hair and Grant was happy because it wasn’t black so it would be safer in the dark. This man has it bad with playing the protective boyfriend. The safety was the last thing I thought of as I picked it. It looked beautiful and stylish and I knew it would suit her. No point arguing with my brother. We all just nod and move on.

  Lunch was spent sitting in a little restaurant where we all shared a Thai banquet accompanied by some wine and beer. Now that the boys are fed, I think I can stretch them out another few hours at least before they really let loose with the complaining.

  Kane became a very handy bag carrier for the day. Now it’s time to put my plan into action. Spotting a Victoria’s Secret shop, I walk with a mission towards it, calling over my shoulder that I won’t be long. Grabbing Alesha by the arm, we enter the shop with Xavier calling out to us, “Don’t spend too much, baby, they never stay on long enough anyway.” Alesha blushes bright red and Grant thumps Xavier on the arm, growling about too much information on his sister.

  “Lilly, I don’t think this is the type of shopping we need to be doing with the boys waiting for us,” she says shyly.

  “On the contrary, this is the perfect shop. Xavier will love the anticipation. You’ll thank me later.” She walks away from me to mask her embarrassment. I’m hoping, though, that Kane will enjoy the show he is about to get from me. He’s the real reason I’m in here shopping.

  I start picking up different lace panty and bra sets in red and black. Lifting them up to the light and holding them out in front of me in the direction of the window. Where of course Kane is propped up against a pillar staring straight at me. The other two have their backs to me so I can really play it up. Holding it against my body to pretend to size it up and letting him picture what it might look like. He didn’t get to see me in any underwear last night, so I hope this is driving him crazy. He likes to think I’m wild, let’s see how wild I can drive him.

  Moving to the satin and sheer little baby doll outfits, I pick up a white one with satin bra cups and trimmed in lace. The rest is sheer with a lace edging around the bottom. I slowly run the satin along my cheek to feel the softness on my skin. Kane shifts his stance and straightens up with his full attention on me. The boys could be talking about orange elephants walking on the moon with rainboots and he would have no idea. Seeing him getting so restless has me feeling proud of myself. Judging from the reactions, I know exactly what I’m buying and making him carry back to the hotel. I don’t know why I bought them because it’s not like he’ll ever get to see them but there is no way I can walk out of the shop without them.

  With my purchase wrapped and packed in the beautiful bag, I walk out with Alesha looking a little flushed with a bag she quickly hands to Xavier and starts walking away with her arm hooked in his. She didn’t show me what she purchased but I’m just glad she’s getting her sexy on.

  I hand my bag to Kane, finding it hard to contain my cheekiness. “Do you need me to hold those while you adjust yourself there, big boy? You should know better than to play with fire.”

  “Walk,” is all he says in a strained voice that means business. The one that he knows makes me weak for him. I turn and follow the others, but on the inside, I’m mentally giving myself a point on the scoreboard. One point to Lilly, zero to Kane. I love playing this game.

  I hear Kane behind me growl under his breath.

  “So much for no fucking awkwardness the day after, I knew you’d be trouble.”

  Oh Kane, you have no idea how much.

  8

  Kane

  EVER TRIED WALKING a few blocks in and out of shops with a hard-on that won’t seem to back off? It might have something to do with the hot piece of ass that keeps walking in front of me. Tight black jeans with knee-length boots. Hips that are swaying just that little bit harder which I’m sure is for my benefit. Knowing that hiding under those jeans are my handprints on her pale skin is keeping my cock raging. Thank god Grant and Xavier have finally cracked and had enough shopping. Or should I say, following the girls while they shop. Grant is heading off to see Zara in between shows while we all head back to the hotel for drinks before dinner.

  Once I dump these bags, I’ve decided I’m out of here. One drink and I’m done. I can’t spend another night with Lilly. I need to walk away now and put some distance between us. She’s winding me up like I’ve not been before. Little vixen knows exactly what she’s doing to me.

  The girls head to the elevator with their spoils from their day while I head into the bar with Xavier, for a well-earned beer. He keeps looking at me as I’m downing it quicker than normal.

  “What?” I glance over at him.

  “Nothing.” He smirks lifting his beer to his lips.

  “Yeah right. Spit it out.”

  “Nothing, just enjoying my beer and thinking about dinner then what dessert I’m getting that might be wrapped in a Victoria’s Secret package. How about yourself?” Now his smirk has cracked into a full-blown laugh.

  “Fuck off,” is all I can manage.

  “What, no dessert for you tonight? Thought you were sorting that last night. How did you mess that up? She looked keen when we left. You were practically dry humping her on the dance floor.”

  “Not sure, just leave it alone.” I hate lying to Xavier, we usually don’t keep anything from each other. He knows all my deepest darkest thoughts. I have no problem keeping a straight face from plenty of practice, but I don’t want to be doing it to him. I need to change the conversation and get out of here. A night in front of the television in the hotel room watching some trashy movie is sounding inviting, right after I shower to take care of myself.

  Damn her for being such a sexy woman.

  Room service and a few beverages from the mini bar will have to keep me company.

  “Right, I’m not sure what happened but I’ll leave it for now. I’m sure there’s a good reason. You ready for another night on the town?” Xavier looks at me a little puzzled. He can see right through me.

  “Nah, man, I’m going to bail and head back to the hotel. Been a big few days. Got an early flight
and I’ve already heard that there are a few things happening back at work that will need my attention as soon as I’m back.”

  “Really? Thought you were looking forward to hanging out for the weekend. You can find someone else tonight to take your mind off your upcoming stress.” He takes the last gulp of his beer and then waits for me to answer.

  “Yeah, sorry. Just all caught up with me today. You have fun with the girls, though. Tell them I said goodbye and will catch up with them back home.” I stand, getting ready to leave and throw money on the table to cover the drinks. “Tell Lilly I covered that round of drinks she was supposed to buy, so she owes me, and I’ll let her know when I’m ready to collect.” With that, I pat his shoulder and walk out into the chaos of New York City and blend into the crowd. Lilly owes me more than the cost of the drinks. More like something to ease the pain in my pants she created. I can’t help but chuckle as I walk back to my hotel. That woman is one hot firecracker. I knew it the first moment I saw her. The last twenty-four hours just confirmed that.

  God help any man who tries to ever pin her down.

  She is a wild spirit that’s not ready to be contained.

  Good on her for living her life the way she wants.

  Walking another block helps to wear off some of my pent-up energy. At least I might be able to settle down to relax tonight and not be thinking about my little red vixen.

  Who the fuck am I kidding?

  It’s going to be a long night!

  ***

  The papers on my desk are starting to blur together. My hands are in my hair, pulling lightly on it to try to kickstart my brain. I must be missing something. Working the case of a missing woman is really getting to me.

  The exhaustion of the last few shifts is really kicking in tonight. It’s been a week since I got back from New York. Between this case playing on my mind and Lilly invading my sleep, I’m really wound up. Shutting off my computer and lamp on my desk, I know the best thing for me is to hit the gym in Xavier’s apartment. Hopefully he’ll be home and we can have a few beers when we’re finished. He’s my sounding board. I can tell him anything and it never leaves his lips or gets spoken about outside his apartment. Well, anything except that I fucked his future sister-in-law. That one needs to be kept on lockdown between me and Lilly and go no further.

  “Hey Kane, you leaving for the night?” my commander calls across the room from his office.

  “Yeah, boss. You need me for something?” No matter how exhausted I am, if the job calls, I answer.

  “It’s alright, son. Head home for the weekend. It’ll wait until Monday.” He looks at his computer screen like he’s checking something before he speaks to me again.

  “You sure, boss? I’ve got time. Is it something about the Woodley case?” Sheree Woodley has been missing for ten days. Went to meet an online date and never made it back home. Woman in her early twenties, quite pretty, successful job, plenty of friends but too easygoing with dating. Didn’t give anyone any details of where she was meeting this guy, his name or even an indication of how long they’d known each other. Our forensic IT guys have been looking into her search history but are struggling to come up with much at the moment. Except for the last mobile tower her phone pinged off before it went into radio silence.

  “Well, yes and no, but it’s not important tonight. Go home and switch off. The night watch has got this, and will continue to work on your notes over the weekend. Get out of here and try not to think about work for at least two days.”

  I roll my eyes at him. “Sir, how long have you been a cop? Over thirty years if my memory serves me correctly. How many days in those thirty years have you not thought about work?”

  He starts to smile as he looks up from his computer screen. “Five, to be exact. My wedding day and each of the days my four children were born. Not another day since that work hasn’t been in my head. But if my wife ever asks, you better answer every day I spend with her is work-free too. Got it?” He laughs and points his finger at me to make sure I understand. “Now get out of here and try to minimize the amount you think about work, will you? I need you around for a long time to come so don’t burn yourself out. Sometimes we just can’t save them all no matter how hard we try. Remember we’re only human. Time to switch off. See you Monday.”

  I know that’s it, the conversation is over. One thing about my boss is he doesn’t waste time. If he thinks the conversation is over then it’s over. His hand will just wave you away if you try to continue.

  “See you Monday morning.” Walking out to the parking lot, my mind is trying to figure out what he wants to talk to me about. I wish he hadn’t said anything until next week if it wasn’t urgent. I already feel like my head is on overload.

  I need a good run, pound the pavement for a while and then I’ll hit up the gym. I know Xavier trains clients until after seven pm on a Friday night so that’ll give me time to get my run in before he gets home. That’s if he’s home at all tonight. Half the time he ends up at Alesha’s apartment. I’ve got a key to his place, so it won’t matter if he doesn’t show. Though the way I’m feeling tonight, it would be great to catch up with him for a chat or, better still, a debrief, which is what it really is.

  ***

  One thing about running is the repetitive sound of your feet hitting the pavement that’s mesmerizing. It puts you into a type of trance that helps your mind to switch off a little. I can’t run with earphones. I need to be able to hear every sound around me. Plus, the sound of nature is relaxing. Reminds me of the beautiful things that are around us, if we just take time to look. If we can take off the dark shades that we all try to hide behind, there is hidden beauty everywhere. Feeling the light spits of rain, I make the decision to cut my run short. I head back to my apartment before I get saturated as the rain falls heavier. I’ve run kilometers in the rain before when I was so wound up, I just needed to run regardless of the weather. Tonight, I’m not that desperate. I’d rather be working out in the gym giving Xavier shit to pass the time.

  Normally on a Friday night, I would have a date lined up and be heading out for drinks shortly. My phone was buzzing constantly all afternoon, which is usual, woman looking for a date or just a hook-up. Not often I’ll date a woman more than once, but sometimes if she piques my fancy and it’s been a while, we might have a second go around. Tonight, though, it’s making my skin crawl just thinking of going out with any of them. Must be too much work on my mind that it’s screwed with my sex drive. Maybe it’s because the case is a suspected dating murder, I don’t know. Just thinking about sex or dating anyone in my little black book makes me feel anxious.

  Entering Xavier’s apartment, it’s empty and dead silent. Time to crank up the stereo with some heavy music full of bass. I know how much he loves me to annoy the neighbors, who complain to him, not me. I mean, what are friends for, right, other than to piss off your neighbors for you. My playlist is blasting, I hit the punching bag to warm up before I move to the speed ball. Tonight calls for a fierce kickboxing session when my partner arrives home. If Xavier is lucky, he might walk away from this one without too many bruises. I won’t say none, because that never happens for either of us. But fuck it feels good when we’re finished.

  I’m in the groove of punishing the poor speed ball and my arms are hurting from being pushed so hard. Stopping to take a quick breather, I hunch over with my fists snug in the boxing gloves resting on my knees. I totally zone out. When the music is changing songs, I hear the sound of a female voice and that makes me stand up straight. Someone is in the apartment and I haven’t heard them come in. Normally when Xavier comes home, he calls out loudly, so I know he’s here. It must be Alesha, who’s also got her own key. Maybe she’s meeting Xavier here tonight when he finishes.

  I walk out to the living room, shirtless, sweaty and looking like shit, nothing she hasn’t seen before when Xavier and I work out. I hear her trying to convince whoever it is with her that she won’t be long and just needs to grab a few
things. She smiles as she turns into the hallway and sees me.

  “Hi, Kane, sorry to interrupt, just grabbing some clothes for Xav for tonight. We’re staying at my place and he didn’t pack anything for a dinner out with Mom and Dad. They’re bored so I’m the lucky child who gets to entertain them tonight. I won’t be long, and I’ll be out of your hair.”

  “Hey, no drama, you aren’t interrupting me, plus it’s your boyfriend’s apartment so you have more right to be here than I do. Also, that answers my question whether he’s going to be here tonight.”

  “Why, did you need something? Did you need to talk to him about anything important? I can cancel dinner.” She looks a little concerned. I know Xavier has told her sometimes we just need time to talk without her here and she totally understands. She is an amazing woman, quiet, but with a big heart and secret strength.

  “Nah, I’m all good, just a shit week and was looking for my sparring partner to beat the shit out of. I’ll catch up with him tomorrow. You go and get what you need, I’ll get back to it. Tell him he owes me a beer for making me box on my own.”

  She laughs as she walks into his room, looking over her shoulder she smiles. “Lilly is in the living room waiting if you want to say hi.” She disappears into the room.

  Fuck. Lilly.

  She’s the last person I was expecting to see tonight. I’m not sure I’m in the mood for the ear bashing I think she’ll let loose on me for leaving her in New York without saying goodbye. May as well get it over with. It will top off the shit week it’s been.

  “Kane.” She looks up quickly from her phone and then back to typing on it and not paying an ounce of attention to me.

  “Lilly, how are you?” Trying to be polite and make conversation, she slowly looks up after a few seconds.

  “Fine, thanks. How about you?” Now I might not be the smartest guy with women, but even I know that when a woman uses the word ‘fine’ you usually need to run. Fine means they’re pissed at you and if you value your life, you either apologize in a general fashion for whatever you may have done. Or, get out of there before the knives come out and she starts screaming at you. If you’re getting the silent treatment and then she says she’s fine, that’s heavy shit and you really need to beg for forgiveness for being born. Maybe it’s not quite that dramatic but it is dangerous territory, that’s for sure.