by Marci Bolden
He nodded, but she knew that was about as likely as convincing him to stop breathing.
Getting drunk wasn’t the answer, but Dean was tempted to indulge in the urge anyway. Vomiting hadn’t helped. Punching his pillows hadn’t helped. Maybe alcohol would ease the sickness settling over his soul. The hotel bar was only two flights down, and the menu on the desk said they offered a wide variety of whiskey. Whiskey would help.
He had just pulled his T-shirt over his head when Alexa knocked on the door. He knew it was her because no one else would be at his door. And because he had that strange knot in his stomach he seemed to get whenever she was near. When he opened the door, his spirits lifted just seeing her there. But they soared when she raised a pizza box and six-pack of beer.
“I was just debating hitting the bar,” he confessed, stepping aside.
“I figured.” She eyed the bed as she set the pizza and beer on the little table but didn’t comment on the disarray of the bedding. His attempt at napping hadn’t gone well. The blankets were bunched at the bottom of the bed, and the pillows were piled high against the headboard. “Did you sleep?” she asked, sliding out of her blazer.
“No.” In the place where her gun holster usually sat, a sheath held a three-inch blade. “Never without a weapon, huh?”
Hanging her coat on the chair back, she smiled but didn’t answer. Lifting the top off the box, she waved her hand like a game show hostess. “I didn’t know what you wanted, so I got everything except pepperoni. Gives me indigestion.”
He chuckled. “You can eat your grandmother’s posole, but pepperoni gives you indigestion.”
She grabbed the biggest slice before plopping into a chair. Leaning back, she took a bite, looking as content as either of them possibly could be given the events of the day. “Eat,” she said around her mouthful.
“Or you’ll tell Abuela?”
“Damn straight.”
Sitting on the other side of the little round table, he grabbed a slice as well. But his bites were significantly larger. He finished one slice before she was halfway through hers. Cracking open two beers, he handed her one and chugged from the other.
“Impressive,” she said. “Must have made you very popular in college.”
Using the back of his hand, he wiped ale from his lips. “That and the underground comics I drew of the professors.”
Alexa widened her eyes and turned her lips in an exaggerated and incredibly tempting O shape. “That sounds absolutely mutinous.”
A good five seconds passed before he processed her teasing words. He was too caught up in staring at her mouth. “It was so mutinous. I almost got kicked out of school, but no one could ever one hundred percent prove it was me.”
“Wouldn’t have taken you for the bad-boy type, Mr. Campbell.”
Giving her a wicked smile, he wriggled his brows. She giggled, and the sound soothed his soul. He made it through a second slice of pizza as she polished off the crust of her first. Leaning back in her chair, she put her hand to her stomach and sipped from the bottle in front of her.
“Is that all you’re eating?” he asked, checking out the slices to determine which would be his third.
“I have to let it settle before I decide. Overeating isn’t because the stomach isn’t full; it’s because by the time the stomach recognizes it’s full, the body has consumed more than necessary.”
“Very scientific.” He chose the smallest slice that remained in the box. “Here. Eat this one.”
She was clearly going to challenge him but accepted. “Thank you.” She nibbled with much less gusto than she’d tackled the first slice with.
He didn’t mind. He was glad he wasn’t eating alone. “Did you go to college?”
“I have an associate’s in criminal justice. Everything else I learned was hands-on from Holly and Eva. We’re all still learning, really. Each of us brings something so different to the table, we round the team out in a lot of ways.”
“I know you miss Lanie,” he said, picking an onion off his pizza, “but it’s got to be nice to have family in your coworkers. They’ll never replace her, but I’m sure it helps fill the void.”
“It does,” she said quietly, as if admitting it was something to be embarrassed about. “I love my team. I don’t know that I’d stay sane without them.” She reached across the table and put her hand on his. “I’m sorry you’re going through this alone.”
Turning his palm up, he wrapped his fingers around hers. “I’m not. You’re here, right? That’s what you keep saying, anyway.”
She offered him that sweet, supportive smile of hers as she returned his delicate hold. “I am here. Whatever you need.”
Something in the air around them stirred. Though the touch was light, the current that ran from her hand to his was explosive. She seemed to notice it as well. Her smile faltered just a fraction before she forced it back into place. Common sense and probably good manners would dictate that he release her hand, but he didn’t. She didn’t pull away, either. She lightly ran her thumb over his as she took another bite. Then another, until she had finished her slice and he’d finished his beer.
He wanted to open a second beer, but not at the cost of releasing her hand. Finally, though, she pulled back, and he let her go. As much as he wanted to cling to her soft hand, he’d likely made her feel awkward enough. But after opening two beers, Alexa put her hand on his again. As if on cue to interrupt the moment, her phone rang. The oxygen in the room seemed to evaporate. Apprehension made him feel as if he were about to be sick.
“Alexa Rodriguez,” she answered.
Holding Dean’s gaze, she listened for a moment before shaking her head. “Thanks for letting me know.” She ended the call and dropped her phone on the table. “Mandy didn’t show.”
He exhaled, his shoulders sagging, and dragged a hand down his face.
“I’m sorry. They’re going to try again tonight. Are you okay?” she asked.
“No. Not really,” he answered honestly. “I’m scared for her. Not just what she’s going through but how she’s ever going to recover. Mentally, physically, emotionally. How will she ever get over this?”
“With the proper help from qualified professionals and a lot of support from her big brother.” She put her other hand on his, making a sandwich of their palms. “This is not going to be easy, Dean. I’m not going to pretend that it will be. She’s going to have so many dragons to slay. All you can do is be there to help her when she needs you.”
“I will be.” Surprised by a spike of emotion, he cleared his throat and shook his head. “Do you think… I mean, after she’s home…”
“What?” she pressed.
Tightening his hold on her hand, he met her gaze as he whispered, “Even after she’s home, do you think you can help me through this?”
“Yes. Always.”
Dean was on his feet and pulling her to hers without thinking. She was tucked in his arms, his chin resting on her head, before he even recognized his actions. He didn’t pull away, however, because her arms wrapped around him as well. She stroked his back as she quietly muttered words of reassurance.
“She’ll survive this,” she said. “We just have to get her home.”
Hugging her even more tightly, he inhaled her sweet scent and the beer on her breath. Her heat seeped through his skin, warming the cold that had settled in his soul. He didn’t want to release her, but again common sense told him he should. He wouldn’t deny that he found Alexa attractive, and not just physically. He also wouldn’t deny that he was feeling emotionally broken. Her close proximity seemed to be like dangling a bone in front of a dog and expecting it to sit.
Pulling back, he muttered his apology under his breath, and she told him she didn’t mind just as quietly. Exhaling, he snagged his beer and stepped away from her. There weren’t a lot of places to sit in the small hotel room, so he dropped on the edge of the bed and leaned against the headboard. Taking a drink, he watched her busy herself with putt
ing the top on the box and wiping her hands.
With her beer in her hand, she sat on the foot of the bed. “If the girl who answers the ad the detective listed is your sister, I want you to be prepared, Dean. She may not be ready to come home with us for several reasons. Embarrassment and shame being only two of them.”
“If she chooses to stay here, I’ll come here, too. I won’t leave her alone again.”
“She may not want your support. If that’s the case, no matter how challenging it is, you are going to have to step back and give her space, trusting that the counselors can help her.” Dropping her hand on his ankle, she squeezed tenderly, her heat seeping into his skin in the gap between his jeans hem and low-cut sock. “You may not be the help that she needs right away. If that’s the case, know that she’ll turn to you eventually. Just stand back, be strong, and be there when she’s ready.”
“You’ve seen this before?”
“Not exactly a case like this, but similar enough that I know young women who have been abused are hesitant to lean on family members who they fear will judge or be disappointed in them. That seems to be tenfold when the family member is male.”
“She’s not going to trust me.”
Her hand moved up his shin, rubbing up and down, lightly stroking as she tried to reassure him. “It isn’t about you. Please remember that. Whatever she is going through now and whatever she goes through when she comes back is not about you. You didn’t do anything to cause this, and you can’t be the one to save her from the damage this has done to her. The only thing you can do, the best thing you can do, is wait and listen and take your cues from her. Don’t try to tell her what she needs or how she should heal. Survivors of this type of abuse have suffered in ways you can’t possibly understand. Telling them to get over it or trust you or believe in you are just words that mean nothing to them. She’s probably going to be more comfortable with women.”
“You?”
That damn sweet smile curved her lips. “I’ll do whatever she needs me to do.” She looked at her hand and jerked it back, as if she hadn’t realized what she was doing. Her tan cheeks took on a shade of crimson that made his heart beat a little faster. She was already pretty, with her olive-tinted skin and big brown eyes. The blush creeping up her face highlighted her cheekbones and straight nose.
Again, he moved without considering his actions. He slid to her and gripped her hands so she couldn’t leave, as he suddenly feared she’d do. “She doesn’t have strong women in her life. Not like you. Mom was a hard worker, but she never really stood up for herself. Mandy needs to learn how to be tough. Like you.”
“It will take time to rebuild her confidence, but she can get there. With patience and encouragement. I’ll help her.”
“And you’ll help me not push her too hard.”
Caressing his cheek, she whispered, “Yes. You can do this, Dean.”
He was going to kiss her. Some crazy primal urge drowned out the logic warning him against it. Lowering his gaze, he stared at her lips.
“I should go,” she announced. Dropping her hand, she stood and started for the door as if the room around her were on fire and she needed to escape.
In a sense it was, but her need to run away left him with a storm of disappointment until she stopped halfway across the small room and turned to face him.
“I…I need my coat. My key is in my coat.” She marched with a determined gait to the table, snatched her coat, and then looked at him again. “Dean, I like you. You’re a great guy, and you’re going through a lot right now. Your emotions are understandably all over the place, and…”
He hopped up and stood directly in front of her. “And maybe when the dust settles, this undeniable attraction between us won’t be as strong?”
Opening her mouth, she started to speak, but the words seemed to fail her. “Well…”
“Because I don’t see that happening.”
“You’re my client and—”
“You’re fired,” he stated.
Her eyes widened. “Excuse me?”
“For tonight.” Wrapping his arm around her lower back, he pulled her against him. “I’ll hire you again in the morning.”
“This is unethical,” she whispered.
“Not if I’ve fired you.” He brushed her long hair from her forehead, pinning it behind her ear. “You’ve had days to work on this case, Ms. Rodriguez, and all you’ve done is everything I couldn’t in the last month. I’m not sure I can justify keeping your services with a work record like that. I need time to consider my options.”
A smile played across her lips. “You’re emotionally distraught right now. I would be taking advantage of you. Once Mandy is home, if you want to see me socially, then…you have my number.”
Point taken. He released his hold on her, but she didn’t step around him. She stared up at him, leaving him to debate his next move.
“If you don’t want me to kiss you,” he said, “you should go.”
She hesitated. And he took that as his answer. Cupping her head, he held her as he crashed his mouth to hers.
8
Alexa was on fire. She had no doubt that flames were licking over her skin, heating her flesh to the point of melting. And her mouth, where Dean’s lips were pressed against hers? That was the start of the inferno consuming her. In all her time doing this job, she’d never crossed the line into inappropriate behavior with a client, never even considered it. However, not crossing the line into inappropriate behavior with Dean didn’t seem to be an option.
She parted her lips, all but begging him to delve deeper. His tongue plunged desperately into her mouth as he hugged her against him in a move that would undoubtedly lead to combustion and their ultimate demise. She decided that wasn’t such a bad way to go. Fisting his shaggy hair, she returned his passion, moving her tongue over his and nipping at his lip when he pulled away to breathe.
He whispered something about her tasting better than he’d thought, but Alexa didn’t pay much attention. She was distracted by the erection pressing against her stomach as she brushed her nose along the whiskers covering his jaw. They’d left home in the middle of the night and hadn’t rested since. The scruff looked good on him and heightened her senses as his coarse hair pricked her skin. There was no longer the hint of minty aftershave that she usually smelled on him. Now there was just the scent of his skin. She liked it. She liked it too much. Rolling her eyes closed, she moaned as she rubbed her cheek over his. She wanted to feel the roughness of his face on every inch of her.
Sinking her teeth into his earlobe, she bit, scraping her teeth over his skin and then sucking away any pain she might have inflicted. He whispered again, this time something about Jesus having mercy on him, which made her smile.
“Are you sure you want this?” she breathed in his ear.
He lifted and turned in one swift movement. Alexa was on her back on the bed before she could object. Not that she would. Pressing her head into the cool pile of sheets, she gasped as he stretched over her, his body fitting perfectly between her legs. His hands seemed to be everywhere at once, squeezing her breast, cupping her ass, pulling her thighs around him. She gripped his hair, guiding his hot mouth over her neck, down to the exposed flesh in the V of her neckline. She started working on releasing the buttons of her shirt as his prickly chin lit her skin on fire, and then he soothed her with licks and kisses.
She’d barely gotten three buttons undone before Dean had the material pushed aside and cupped her breast. She wished she’d worn something sexier than the nude satin cover. He didn’t seem to care. He pulled the top of the basic bra down and latched on to her nipple, flicking and nipping as his whiskers scraped her skin.
She pulled his head even closer. “Don’t ever shave again,” she muttered.
“Hmm?”
She shuddered as the vibration rolled through her over-sensitized skin. Arching her back up, she pulled him even closer. “Your whiskers are everything.”
A qu
iet laugh left him before he deliberately rubbed his chin over her tightened nipple. She hissed, bucked, and smirked when he pushed back, not letting her roll him over. Instead he nipped at her cleavage, licked where he’d bitten, and then moved up to kiss her mouth. Pulling back after thoroughly claiming her mouth, he sat back on his knees between her thighs and pulled his shirt over his head.
She watched him discard the first bit of his clothing.
Rubbing his fingertips over her chest, he gave her a sorrowful look. “Your skin is so red.”
“And we’re just getting started.”
The concern on his face faded into intensity. “Get naked.”
“We need a condom.”
“On it.” He rolled away and grabbed his bag from the luggage rack beside the dresser.
“Somebody had high hopes,” she observed as she pulled her shirt off.
“I’m a guy. We always have high hopes.” He found what he was looking for and toed off his shoes as he tossed a small packet onto the bed.
By the time she’d unzipped her boots and pulled them free, he was on his knees in front of her, releasing her belt. She held back the urge to tell him how good he looked in the position. Instead she ran her fingers through his hair, anticipating his next move. Her pants hadn’t even hit the floor before he gently shoved her back onto the bed. He tugged at her pants, tossed them aside, and used her legs to pull her to the edge of the bed.
Her breath left her in a quivering rush at the feel of his rough stubble pressing between her legs. The heat of his mouth and the softness of his tongue was such a stark contrast, the onslaught of sensations nearly blew her mind. His chin and cheeks burned and pricked. His mouth warmed and stroked. And in response, her muscles almost instantly tensed. Inhaling became nearly impossible.
Gripping the blanket, she moaned and panted and hissed until her eyes rolled back in her head. She was damn near climaxing when he shoved her thighs open wider, clamped down her clitoris, and shoved his fingers inside her. Fireworks exploded behind her eyes. She ground her teeth together as every muscle in her body tensed. She didn’t get a chance to relax before he gripped her hips and flipped her over. Panting, she didn’t resist as he lifted her to her feet and pressed her shoulders down so her face was in the bed as her ass was aimed in the air for the taking.
