by Erin Rylie
Afterwards, they stayed that way for a moment longer, both of them panting, Rafe still inside her, before she wiggled to get down. Sophie pulled her dress up to cover her breasts and did her best to smooth her hair. The last thing she needed was for Carlos and Kelsey to notice her disheveled state and ask questions.
Rafe pulled off the condom and wrapped it in a paper towel (the one good thing about supply-closet sex—the supplies) before tucking it in his pocket. Once he had zipped back up, Sophie opened the door to leave. She looked over her shoulder, the light from the hallway shining on Rafe’s face. His hair was standing on end from her fingers, and his lips were kiss swollen. He looked devastatingly handsome, but he still hadn’t apologized to her for the way he’d insulted her career. He started to open his mouth to say something, when she cut him off.
“Never again,” she said fiercely. Sophie turned around and left him there, standing in the supply closet, with their used condom still in his pocket. She needed to find Kelsey and get the hell out of here.
Sophie woke up Friday morning to the blissful sound of silence. She stretched out, unfolding her limbs and basking in the warm sunlight filtering through the windows. Kelsey’s ex-husband would have James until Monday, leaving Kelsey with three full days of sleeping in. Because Sophie wouldn’t be shadowing Rafe and Carlos on music festival duty, her boss had assigned her a feature on the bands playing this weekend. June in Houston would definitely be miserable, but some of her favorite bands were performing, and she was really looking forward to her weekend. Her blessedly Rafe-free weekend.
What the hell had happened last night? One minute she was pissed at him, the next he was inside her. The sex had been incredible, easily the best she’d ever had. She had never had such a powerful orgasm with so little foreplay. Something about the raw power in Rafe as he had fucked her set her off, and she felt herself flush just thinking about it. She was about to reach into her bedside table and pull out her vibrator when she heard a laugh. A distinctly masculine and somewhat familiar laugh. She had to be mistaken; there was no way Kelsey had brought home Carlos of all people.
Last night when Sophie had left the storage closet, she’d gone in search of Carlos and Kelsey. The pair had been sitting at the bar talking like old friends. It was nice to see the easy smile on Kelsey’s face, and Sophie had silently applauded Carlos for bringing it out of her. She’d told Kelsey she was calling it a night, to which her friend replied that she’d like to stay out for a bit longer.
Getting out of bed, Sophie cautiously poked her head into the living room. A small gasp left her mouth at the sight of Kelsey in a robe walking Carlos to the door. Carlos turned around, looking for the source of the sound, his eyes landing on Sophie.
“Shortcake! I was hoping I’d see you this morning.” He grinned. “How’d you sleep? Muscles a little sore from last night? I’m pretty sure half of the bar heard you in that supply closet. I briefly considered charging for listening privileges. Could’ve made a damn fortune.”
Sophie opened her mouth and just as quickly closed it, looking accusingly to Kelsey who had turned her head into her shoulder and was trying to stifle the sounds of her laughter. Sophie took one last look at the pair, shook her head, and closed the door to her bedroom. She clearly wasn’t ready to get out of bed yet. She crawled back under the covers, pulling them over her head, and tried like hell to erase the visual of Kelsey and Carlos together from her mind.
Chapter Nine
Rafe hated festival weekends. The twelve-hour shifts were a pain in the ass, and something about the atmosphere made people downright stupid. The thing he hated the most about festival weekends, however, was the heat. The temperatures had been in the high nineties all three days and though officers in Houston were permitted to wear short-sleeved uniforms and shorts, Rafe refused. Nothing about shorts screamed, “Respect me as an officer.” Of course, Carlos happily wore the damn shorts, bragging all weekend about how much more comfortable he was than Rafe.
In the back of his mind, Rafe had spent the last three days going over Thursday night in excruciating detail. He still didn’t know what had come over him. When Sophie had walked up to Rafe and slapped him, the fire in her eyes did something to him, and the little summer dress she’d been wearing set his blood boiling.
She’d been right to smack the shit out of him; he’d been an insufferable ass. The Easter comment had been one step too far, and he’d been planning to apologize to her the next time they spoke. The moment he’d seen her in that dress, all thoughts of apologizing fled his mind, a singular thought taking over: how quickly can I get inside her?
Rationality had left the building and he’d turned into a caveman, taking her hand without a word and having the best sex of his life in a damn storage closet of a bar. When they’d finished, she had cut him off before he could apologize again. Rafe still wasn’t willing to talk about his past, but he could certainly be more cooperative than he had been.
Unfortunately, Sophie had left the bar before he could catch her, and he was no longer sure how to proceed. Rafe wasn’t great with words—he didn’t always say or do the right things, but he wanted to make this better. Sophie was right—she was just trying to do her job, and he was making it as difficult as he possibly could. He’d considered calling the Houston Reporter to request her number, but thought that might come across a little stalkerish. He’d just talk to her tonight during their ride-along. He would answer her questions, while kindly steering the conversation away from his past.
Plan in place, Rafe went about his day as he always did. He ran to the gym, worked out, and grabbed a dark roast coffee on the way home. He spent the next few hours cleaning his apartment, and before he knew it, it was time to go to work.
He pulled into the precinct parking lot, searching for and failing to find Sophie’s car. He assumed she was running behind, but when he came out of the locker room, she was nowhere to be found. He spotted his partner lingering at the reception desk, and walked over to see what was going on.
“Ramirez,” he barked, frustration making his tone harsher than he’d intended. “Where the hell is Sophie? Shouldn’t she be here by now?”
Carlos scratched the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable for the first time in Rafe’s recent memory. “Oh, well Cap said she called this morning. Something about food poisoning or some shit.” He dropped his voice to a near whisper, “Are you that bad in bed, man? Ten minutes with you and the girl is bailing on the job? Doesn’t bode well.”
Rafe glared at Ramirez before stomping off. At least without Sophie around he’d get his patrol car back. With a cage in the back he’d be able to make some arrests tonight. Maybe putting some criminals away would improve upon his suddenly dour mood.
“So what did you do to piss her off, Rafe?” Ramirez asked an hour into their patrol. A couple of routine traffic stops had not improved Rafe’s mood; he had hardly spoken two words since leaving the station.
“Nothing,” he muttered.
“Maybe she’s avoiding you because you banged her in a fucking supply closet. I mean, shit, at least when I did the dirty with her roommate it was on a bed. I’m not a goddamn caveman.”
Rafe pulled into the nearest parking lot at that. “Wait, did you say her roommate? You fucked her roommate? Carlos, are you telling me that you know where she lives?”
Carlos shifted a little in his seat. “Well, yeah? I guess so.”
“You fucking guess so? You either know or you don’t know. Which is it, asshole?”
His partner sighed heavily. “I know where she lives, man. But I’m not taking you there. It’s like an invasion of privacy or some shit. If she wants to avoid your ass, let her.”
“Do you want me to tell the guys on the force about the incident at the rodeo cook-off?”
“Woooow, that’s a low blow, man. I swear, you get lost one time at the rodeo and you never live it down.”
Rafe chuckled. “Hey, getting lost at the rodeo happens. But having to have them cal
l your best friend over the speakers to come pick you up from will call? There are toddlers out there who would be embarrassed over that. You’re a thirty-year-old man.”
“The layout of the carnival grounds is confusing! And you know I lost my cell phone. How the hell else was I supposed to find you? You were my ride home, dude!”
“You didn’t have to wander off in the first place. If you hadn’t gone in search of funnel cake, none of it would’ve happened.”
“Well, who the fuck doesn’t like funnel cake?!” Ramirez exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air before shifting in his seat to look at Rafe. “Wait! Did you just call me your best friend? You did, didn’t you? Awwww, Rafey, I love you too!”
Rafe scowled, pulling the patrol car back onto the street. “Oh fuck off, it’s only because you’re around so much. You’re a proximity best friend. Now are you gonna tell me how to get to Sophie’s place?”
“Fine, anything for my best friend.”
Carlos directed Rafe to a small one-story house in the Heights. He was inexplicably pleased to note that her home wasn’t at all far from his. The building was an older house, with a small wraparound porch. It was painted a simple robin’s egg blue and had a well-maintained yard. Rafe grinned when he spotted Sophie’s car in the driveway. At least she hadn’t lied about being home. He parked the cruiser on the street and stepped out of the car, telling Carlos he would be just a few minutes.
“Aw, man. Are you really gonna leave me in the car?” Carlos whined.
Rafe didn’t dignify his question with a response, closing the car door and approaching Sophie’s house. As he walked he tried to think about what he would say to her. If she really was avoiding him because of their shared time in the supply closet, he had an easy fix for that. He could take her out on a date. Of course he wanted to see her naked again, but he’d be just as happy sitting across from her at a dinner table. He wanted to learn more about her, see her head thrown back as she laughed unguardedly; he wanted to see the teasing glint in her eyes when she said something just to rile him up. The closer he got to the door, the more sure he became. He would ask her on a date. Maybe then he could explain to her what it was about his past that he didn’t want in the papers. Surely she’d understand, and maybe she’d grant him a little more time to explore the delectable body he knew she was hiding under those dressy clothes.
He knocked on the door, wincing as he realized that he had used his “cop knock.” He wasn’t trying to scare her, so that amount of force might not have been entirely necessary. It wasn’t until he heard shuffling on the other side of the door that he remembered that if he really was here to check on a sick person, he would’ve brought soup or tissues—anything really. Before he could sprint back to his car and head to the store to remedy his social faux pas, the door was opening.
Sophie looked up at him with bright green eyes, her lips tipped down in displeasure. She looked both confused and unhappy at his arrival. Her long, blonde locks were pulled into a bun on top of her head, and she was wearing a baggy Astros T-shirt over yoga pants. Her feet were bare, toenails tipped with pretty pink polish.
“Mr. Pierce, I called the station this morning. I’m not feeling well and can’t make it for the ride-along. Didn’t your captain pass along the message?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
Rafe shuffled his feet and cleared his throat. “Yeah, he told us that you were sick. I just wanted to, uh, check on you. I also wanted to apologize for what I said to you the other night. It was uncalled for. I know you work hard, and I respect that.”
Sophie’s mouth parted, her lips forming a small “o” of surprise. “Well, thank you for that. I’m sure I’ll be feeling fine tomorrow, so I’ll see you at five.” She moved to close the door in his face, and he thrust his hand out to stop her.
“Sophie, wait. I also wanted to make sure that you weren’t avoiding me after Thursday. What happened in the supply closet was—”
She cut him off before he could finish, nodding her head as she continued his sentence. “A mistake, definitely. Like I said, it can’t ever happen again. I mean, can you imagine us together? We would be a train wreck. It’s not like I would date a guy like you anyway. Let’s just pretend it never happened.”
Rafe could feel the hurt building up in his chest, and he fought for calm, willing her to clarify before he lost his temper again. “A guy like me?” he asked tentatively.
“Yeah, you know, a pretty boy. You’ve got this—” She gestured to his face. “—whole thing going on. I’ve dated guys like you before. I don’t think either of us wants to make that mistake. We traded some alright orgasms. Let’s call it good and part as acquaintances.”
Rafe could feel his brow furrowing. “Alright orgasms? Alright? That’s the word that you’re using to describe them?”
Sophie shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Right, well. Glad you’re feeling better. I guess I’ll see you around.” Rafe turned to walk away, salvaging what was left of his dignity.
It’s not like I would date a guy like you…
He heard Sophie’s door click softly behind him as he headed toward the car, her words playing on a loop in his mind.
Chapter Ten
Over the course of the next few weeks, Sophie managed to find some semblance of peace with Rafe. She had completed her two weeks’ worth of ride-alongs with him and Carlos, and while Rafe still wasn’t the most forthcoming, he finally answered all of her questions with actual sentences. She had already written three of the four feature pieces she had planned, and was wrapping up the final one this evening. Kelsey and James were having dinner with Kelsey’s parents tonight, so she was on her own.
When her stomach rumbled loud enough to wake the neighbors, she set aside her laptop and called her favorite Jewish deli to place an order for pickup. A Reuben sandwich sounded like just the thing. When the to-go server ensured her that her meal would be ready in fifteen to twenty minutes, she threw on some flip-flops, grabbed her purse, and headed to the restaurant. She hadn’t really eaten much all day; her stomach had been a little too sensitive.
Fifteen minutes later, she walked into the restaurant and headed to the to-go stand. She had almost made it there when she spotted Carlos and Rafe in a booth near the kitchen. Carlos was waving happily, and she smiled at him before heading over to say hello.
“Hey, shortcake. Looking fine, as always.”
Sophie laughed and looked down at her sweatpants and wife-beater combo. “Whatever you say, Carlos.”
She felt the need to steel herself before meeting Rafe’s eyes. Though they had managed to work together for the last couple weeks, there was an aloofness about him that she had been unable to shake. She had lied to him that night at her house; the orgasm he’d given her was more than alright. It was the best she’d ever had. Multiple sessions with her vibrator had proven that even she wasn’t capable of getting herself off that powerfully. But as much as she wanted a repeat, she knew better. She would have great sex with him for a few months, would start to fall for him, and he would get bored. He’d either end it with her or he’d cheat. It was just the way that things worked with men who looked like him, and she refused to set herself up for more heartbreak.
He met her gaze briefly, heat flaring before he lowered his lashes, hiding those gorgeous blue eyes from her.
“So, um, are y’all on your dinner break or something?”
“Yep,” Carlos replied, popping the “p” at the end of the word. “This place has the best smoked salmon sandwich in the city. I make Rafe treat me at least once a week.”
Sophie snorted and turned to leave. She was still starving and had a lot of work left to do tonight. Before she could walk away, the server came over to the booth with two plates of food. One whiff of the salmon sandwich on Carlos’s plate had her stomach lurching. She covered her mouth as she heaved, trying to keep the vomit from coming up.
Knowing she wouldn’t make it to the restroom in time, Sophie did the
only thing she could do. She opened her purse, turned her back on Rafe and Carlos, and vomited the contents of her stomach into her leather Kate Spade tote.
Chapter Eleven
Rafe immediately jumped up, rubbing Sophie’s back in small circles as she purged the contents of her stomach. When it seemed she had finally finished, she straightened up and wiped her mouth, looking sheepishly at Rafe.
“I think I’ll go to the bathroom and try to salvage my purse. Excuse me,” she said, her cheeks flushing prettily as she turned in the direction of the restrooms. Rafe turned to Carlos, who was wearing a shocked expression, looking from his sandwich, to Sophie’s retreating back, and then to Rafe.
“Hey man, I’m gonna go pay for her dinner. I doubt she will want to pull her wallet out of that mess. I’ll be right back.”
He walked over to the to-go stand, paid for Sophie’s order, and returned to his table with the bag. Plopping himself down in the vinyl booth, he looked up at Carlos. His partner was still wearing a shocked expression, once again glancing from his sandwich to the bathroom door.
“Guess she got food poisoning again.” Rafe shrugged. “She should really watch where she eats.”
Carlos gaped. “You’re fucking with me, right? Rafe, I bet she’s pregnant. I’ve had food poisoning, and the scent of a sandwich has never caused me to throw up. When my sister was pregnant, though, fish made her sick constantly. We couldn’t even have it in the house when she came over.”
Rafe shook his head. “We had sex a couple of weeks ago. That’s way too soon for morning sickness, dude. Besides, we used a condom.”
Even as his said this, he pulled his smart phone out of his pocket and searched morning sickness. His stomach dropped as the search results populated.
