by Marlie May
“So many people trooping around on nefarious missions under the moonlight, I’m starting to believe you’re dealing drugs.” Elwin chewed through the words.
“What?” I gasped out.
“But you haven’t tasted my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies yet.” Elvira shook her finger at Eli. “They disappear by the plateful at the church suppers.”
“Saw it on 60 Minutes.” Elwin yanked on his button-up shirt collar. “Doctors prescribing for each other all the time, then turning around and selling the drugs to school kids.”
“I’m not selling drugs to kids!” I said in horror. “I’m training to be a cardiologist.”
“Even Anna-Marie, who owns a home on the water, buys my cookies.” Elvira nodded pertly. “Despite the fact that we’ve got a new teahouse in town and the owner’s a trained baker. She even once said—”
“That’s what the doctors interviewed on 60 Minutes said. They’re in prison, now, and maybe you should be there with ‘em. You won’t be bringing that kind of shenanigans to our neighborhood. I’m telling you right now”—Elwin poked his finger forward, nearly impaling my chest before Eli tucked me behind him. “I will not stand for it. You shut down your meth lab or whatever you’ve got going on here that calls people out at night when they should be sleeping snug in their homes, or I’m reporting you to the police.”
“The sheriff has already been out today,” Eli said.
“I guess it’s okay to share, considering you’re a new neighbor. I have a secret ingredient I use in all my treats.” Elvira clucked her tongue. “Not that I’ll tell anyone what it is. Even on my deathbed.”
“See? See?” Elwin’s voice rose in volume. “The sheriff has been out, filing reports? Knew it. You’ve had one run-in with the law already and before you know it, your lawn will be overgrown, drunks will be sleeping in your bushes, and property values in the neighborhood will tumble.”
“Now, you can’t make me tell,” Elvira said with a sly grin. “Some folks swear by a pinch of vodka, but I—”
“You put vodka in cookies?” I asked, both appalled and intrigued at the same time.
“Someone broke into Mia’s home.” Eli’s words might come out soft but they contained a palpable edge of steel. “I assume you told the sheriff that when he interviewed you, Elwin?”
Elvira leaned close to me. “Okay, you twisted my arm. I’ll share. It’s coffee powder. Makes chocolate taste more chocolately and my pumpkin cookies? Gives them that extra something that plain old makes them pop.”
“Haven’t spoken to the sheriff yet, but I intend to.” Elwin nudged his pointy chin toward Elvira. “Come on, now, mother. It’s time we were back in our home.” He added to me, “Be aware I keep my doors double locked at night. You and your druggie friends won’t invade my home while you’re stoned out of your minds.”
My eyebrows rising all the way to my hairline, I was unable to do more than sputter.
“Now, Elwin, don’t you think we should be getting home?” Elvira beamed at me. “You want anything, love, you just let us know.”
“Fair warning.” Elwin’s scowl deepened. “I don’t take time to ask questions when someone skulks onto my property at night.” His curt nod drove his final point into my bones. “My shotgun’s always loaded.”
12
Eli
“That was completely fucked,” I said, shutting the door and engaging the locks.
Mia shook her head, and her breathing shuddered from her lungs. “I’ve never had such a bizarre conversation in my life. Elwin was beyond creepy and Elvira? I have a feeling that woman needs a big hug.”
“People skulking around at night,” I said with a laugh, though having what I already knew confirmed was not something to laugh about. After scoping out Mia’s backyard earlier, it was clear whoever broke in last night wasn’t the first to seek entry, though the tracks peppering the fence between her and her neighbors’ properties were old. A few days at least. The hedges spanning the back of her house had been trampled, especially beneath her windows. And someone had forced their way into the side door of her detached garage. From the prints I’d found, a variety of individuals had been on the premises. Before Jax installed the exterior security system, which meant we had nothing we could use to identify the perp.
The big question was: why were they so eager to get at Mia?
Mia tossed the container of brownies on a table near the door and snaked her arms around her waist. “He saw people in my backyard.”
“Yep.”
“And he thinks I run a meth lab and I’m dealing drugs to kids. Or both.” Her worried green eyes met mine. “What’s going on here? Elwin’s 60 Minute-inspired drug theories aside, we know something’s up. Someone broke into my house last night and fled when I investigated. And then today, this person or someone else tried to kidnap me. If it wasn’t for the painted numbers, I’d think the two events weren’t connected.”
They were. I was convinced of it. I took her hand and led her into the living room. We dropped onto the sofa again and she bumped Walter over to sandwich between us, snuggling into my side. I buried my fingers in the floofy, multi-orange fur on his neck and rubbed. His satisfied purr rang between us.
“I don’t like any of this,” she said.
“Me, neither.” I tucked my arm along her shoulders.
“It doesn’t make sense.”
The pieces of this random puzzle needed to come together soon or I was going to go rogue. My 9mm dug into my spine but no way would I set it aside. Keeping it ready to use in Mia’s defense at any given moment had become my sole focus. “We’re assuming your ex is somehow involved.”
“Not sure who else it could be. Although…” She frowned.
“What? Any other ideas?”
“Not possible.” She shook her head and a shudder ripped through her frame. “That was far from here, and I’ve done what they…”
“What are you talking about?”
“Nothing.” Her face had gone completely blank. Pale, too. I wanted to press her but she’d dealt with enough today already. “Other than Russell, I can’t think of anyone who’d want to hurt me.”
“We’ll know soon whether he’s locked up or free.” If he was loose and after Mia, he was about to get a taste of what he’d delivered. Tenfold.
“Doesn’t matter. Even locked up, he could find a way. His friends weren’t happy with me after the trial.”
“They threatened you?”
“Twisted lips, long stares, and mutters that sounded suspiciously like, watch your back were enough to make me want to take a new name and move to the other side of the world.”
“Give me their names, and I’ll call the sheriff and ask him to find out where they are and what they’re up to.”
“I will.” Her yawn broke through her quiver.
Ten o‘clock. We should go to bed soon. “What time do you want to leave tomorrow?”
“Ashland’s a three-hour drive away, and check-in for the conference is from eleven to noon, followed by lunch and then the first presentations, so maybe we could head out by seven, seven-thirty?”
I kissed the top of her head then closed my eyes and took in the flowery scent lingering on her curls. “Tomorrow, we can stop by my place on our way north and I’ll shower and pack. Suggestions for clothing?” I doubted jeans and a tee would suffice.
“How do you guys dress when you’re doing bodyguard services at a function like this?”
“Depends on the function. Will this one be casual or formal?”
“Caught ‘ya.” She blinked up at me. “I knew there was more to Flint’s business than kiddie drones.”
“We do provide security on the side,” I said carefully. “Casual stuff. You already knew that.” The moment this situation calmed down, Flint and I were going to talk. Mia didn’t need to know every facet of what I did for a living, and I would never share top security clearance information with someone not working for the business, but I was done with hiding. B
eing dishonest with her about my job ripped through my bones like a chainsaw.
She sighed. “While I’d love to wear yoga pants and a tee, they won’t fit in well with cocktail parties and the first night’s formal ball. I’ll be wearing fancy dresses and heels.”
I wiggled my eyebrows. “Spiky heels?” Damn, but I was picturing her wearing nothing but those spikes propped on my shoulders while I…
“Eli?” She waved her hand in front of my face and laughed. “I lose you there for a minute?”
No, she’d found me.
“You’re going to make me think I’m boring.”
“Not a chance.” Turning to face her, I cupped her pretty cheeks and gave her a slow, deep kiss. If only I could keep on kissing her forever.
“We need to go to bed, but you don’t need to sleep on the sofa,” she said after we parted.
That made my breath hitch…and my body respond.
“You can sleep in my bedroom.”
Double wham. She couldn’t be inviting me to her bed for a hot round of sex. Could she?
Wait. Sleep in the bedroom. She’d been careful to enunciate the words. Not sleep in her bed.
“You suggesting your floor instead?” I teased.
“Since you can’t have slept a wink last night on the sofa, you can share my bed with me.” She stroked Walter, who purred, but her hand soon stilled on his fur. “We don’t…”
“Have to do anything,” I finished for her. My body needed a strict reminder that my primary duty tonight was ensuring her safety, not making her shout out my name. “I wouldn’t mind keeping a closer eye on you.”
She scooted forward on the sofa and stood, staring down at me. “You don’t plan to sleep?”
“Not deeply.” With someone eager to tag Mia with a number three, I’d be foolish to relax my guard for even one second.
“You’re going to be exhausted if the police don’t figure this out soon.”
Rising, I clasped her hands. “Sleep’s overrated.” At sea, the norm was twelve-hours on and twelve-hours off, seven days a week. Free time was spent getting ready for your next shift. Being on a boat in the middle of a rough ocean didn’t provide much to do or anywhere to go during your free time. The highlight of your life became getting back to work, so we often worked over.
Who needed sleep?
“I’ll scoot into the bathroom and do my teeth and everything else,” she said.
Chuckling, I swept my hands toward my body. “I really need to get out of these damp clothes. I’ll sleep in my boxers if that’s okay with you.”
“Sure, though I might have a few of Flint’s things around you could wear, if you want. A t-shirt? Maybe shorts.”
At home, I slept in nothing, but that could prove embarrassing in Mia’s bed. “I’m happy to take a look.” If only for something to wear until I could get to my place in the morning. With high humidity this time of year, there was no guarantee my jeans would dry overnight. “Unless I can use your dryer.”
“Of course. It’s in the basement,” she said from the doorway leading to the hall. “I’m glad to run your things downstairs if you’d like.”
“I can do it while you’re in the bathroom.”
“Then I’ll see you in my bedroom,” she said softly and disappeared down the hall.
Fuck. I’d about kill to find a way into Mia’s bed, but not like this.
I followed her, making sure she was secure before I took the basement stairs two at a time to the dryer where I hauled off my jeans and tee and threw them in. While they tumbled, I returned to the first floor and leaned on the wall outside the bathroom, feeling conspicuous in my boxers. I tried to tell myself this wasn’t much different than lounging on the beach in swim shorts.
Except for my partial woody.
Protection. Protection. Protection. That was my primary directive. I repeated the litany in my mind.
The door opened and Mia walked out, pausing to glide her gaze down my slouched form.
“Damn,” she whispered. “How the hell do you expect me to…” Her wide eyes met mine. “Okay. Well.” She blinked fast then said softly, “I am so screwed.”
Nudging off the wall, I eliminated the short distance between us and stroked her hair. I was having my own hot damn moment. Did Mia have to wear such a short nightgown to bed? “Silky,” I said, feathering my fingers along the side of her waist. Beyond sexy.
So much for the partial woody.
“It’s just…umm. I don’t own any flannel nightgowns.”
I snorted. “That, I’d have to see. But you’d look hot in anything.” As well as nothing except those heels.
Stepping back before I could haul her into my embrace and devour her, she said, “I put a toothbrush on the sink. I keep spares for friends. You’re welcome to anything else in the bathroom, naturally.”
“Thanks.” I eased around her and went inside, where I was tempted to take a cold shower.
Joining her in the bedroom, I found her nesting underneath the covers with Walter splayed out by her feet. He winked at me, and I told myself I found acceptance in his gaze, because I was going to do my damndest to someday be welcome in Mia’s bed for reasons beyond protection.
“My bed’s a king. I don’t imagine we’ll even know the other person’s here,” she said lightly.
I was going to be fully aware of her delectable body lying nearby the entire night through.
“No bundling board, then?” I said with a laugh.
“Do you need one to behave?”
“Honey,” I said as I turned off the light, pulled back the covers, and climbed into the warmth beside her. “You need to know right now I never behave.”
“A promise or a warning?”
“Take it whichever way you’d like.” Dropping my head onto the pillow, I left the covers down around my waist. I was hot enough to burn down a building.
Mia scooted over until she lay snug against my side, and I tucked my arm underneath her waist to draw her even nearer.
It felt good to lay with her in the dark.
But sleeping beside her without touching her was going to fuckin’ kill me.
* * *
A long night passed, during which I sported a half-woody whenever Mia snuggled closer, sighed, or just plain existed. The old house creaked and groaned, but nothing and no one provided a decent challenge.
I roused to the soft chirp of the alarm.
Heaven laid my arms.
Do not touch.
Not too much, that is. Would kisses on her head and face be considered strikes against me? Couldn’t help it. I’d never be able to resist her.
Mumbling, she rolled onto her back, and I followed, rising partway over her, propping my head on my elbow.
Even in sleep she stunned me with her soft curls, a riot around her face, her smooth, freckled skin peeking above the rounded neckline of her nightgown, and her rich, honey scent.
She hummed when I nibbled her collarbone. “Eli.”
I loved that my name was the first word from her lips when she woke.
“Time to rise and shine, honey.” With my teeth, I slid her nightgown strap aside to give me better access and kissed her exposed shoulder. “We’ve got a road trip ahead of us.”
“I don’t want to get up.”
Okay with me. I’d be happy to spend the entire day here, tasting Mia.
The stretch she released sent flames roaring through my veins and solidified a whole new dilemma my boxers would never completely mask.
“You want the shower first, or should I?” I tossed back the covers. Time to get this show on the road or I’d be crawling all over her, begging to touch her skin.
Aw, hell, her nightgown had ridden up during the night. And she wore a lacy scrap of fabric she might call underwear but I called pure seduction. I could rip it aside with my teeth as I explored.
Did oral sex count as providing bodily protection?
Flint sure as hell would never agree.
“How abo
ut you shower first while I make breakfast?” Focus on the physical tasks, Eli, not her endless physical attributes.
But hell. I’d much rather savor the feast I’d found here in the bedroom. My gaze could not be dragged away from the juncture of her thighs. “Mia?”
“Hmm?” Her eyes remained shut, blocking out the world.
“While I should go make breakfast, I’m beyond tempted to climb back in bed and lick every inch of your body.”
Her eyes popped open and the heat I found there—just for me—made my body go fully rigid.
With a smirk I could not define, though I was eager to discern its meaning, she scooted over to the side of the bed and slid to the floor.
Walter stared at us benignly before hopping off the bed to wind between her parted ankles.
Mia’s gaze centered on the front of my boxers and fuck, her tongue peeked out and slid along her lips. “Maybe I should call dibs on licking.” With a giggle, she raced from the room, shouting over her shoulder, “Too bad we’re short on time!”
I growled and gave chase, shouting, “You are so going to get it, honey.”
She beat me to the bathroom—though honestly, I let her—and shut the door in my face, calling out, “How about pancakes this morning? There are blueberries in the freezer.”
I chuckled, more than satisfied with how she kept me in line. I did love a woman who could give it back to me as fast as I dealt it out.
After thumping down to the basement and hauling on my jeans, I returned to the first floor and strolled into the kitchen. I opted not to wear my tee. Mia wasn’t the only one who could tease.
The low simmer in my veins told me we were both going to savor the inevitable volcanic explosion.
I’d mixed up some batter and was shifting my hips while singing about painting with the colors of the wind when someone knocked on the front door.
Elwin again?
My cheery mood sunk in an instant.
After tapping my gun tucked into the back of my jeans, I stomped down the hall barefoot. If Mia’s jerk of a neighbor thought he could come back here with his shotgun and make further threats, he’d learn I didn’t put up with shit like that from anyone, especially directed at the woman I…
