“Talk like that, woman, is bound to have an effect. I’m sure willing to give it my all. Then, we’ll see who’s anxious to pay up on that food debt.”
“Good.” She growled like a tigress and ran her tongue around the inside of his ear. That definitely sparked a response.
“Uh-oh, Cullen. We may have to cut this short. I hear Foo Manchu snuffling outside my bedroom window. That means he’s ten minutes from working his way back to the door. Which means eleven minutes max to a cold, wet nose poked…well, who knows where?”
“I’ve got the picture. Say no more,” Cullen admitted with a husky laugh as he rose on his elbows to help shorten the process.
They made enjoyable work of the time they had. Strangely, Cullen came away from that session as invigorated as Mei Lu had been previously. And now she flopped sideways like a rag doll, barely able to snuggle under the arm he stretched out to gather her tight against his damp chest.
“Ohhh,” she moaned. “Foo’s back in the house. I’ve gotta find clothes. You should, too.”
“Nobody ever told me dogs are as much trouble as babies,” he grumbled. Sliding up against the headboard, Cullen snapped on the bedside lamp without warning. He laughed wickedly as Mei Lu leaped off the bed and raced across the room to fling open her closet doors.
His laughter died soon enough. Cullen couldn’t swallow. He’d never have believed the mere sight of Mei’s love-mussed hair and curvy backside could make him hard again so soon after two tumbles across the bed.
“To hell with dogs and getting dressed.” Bounding off the bed, Cullen followed Mei Lu right into the closet and burrowed beneath the clothes. His thumbs stroked the peaks of her breasts as he nosed aside her hair so that he could do some nibbling of his own on her inviting neck.
Mei started to push him away, but then a liquid heat consumed her, turning her insides to slush.
They both had a clear idea where they would’ve ended up again had Foo not charged into the bedroom, barking his fool head off when he found them.
“He won’t give up until one of us tosses his toy,” Mei said, her head lolling back against Cullen’s shoulder. “And if he keeps on barking that loudly, my neighbors will be over shortly to investigate.”
“Damn.”
“Cullen—I honestly don’t know what—” she paused, then began again. “I’m not…this isn’t like me.”
Cullen stopped swaying with her and spun her around. “Regrets? So soon?”
She shook her head. Eyes big, she brushed a finger along a deep hollow that suddenly twitched below Cullen’s cheekbone. “Not the slightest. And that’s what surprises me most. I’ve taken so much teasing from my friends in the past six years over—well, let’s say my virtually nonexistent love life, that I really expected regret, if not plain old guilt. I feel neither,” she said slowly, turning to yank a pair of sweats off a hanger.
Scampering off, Mei Lu slipped into the bathroom, leaving Cullen to ponder her admission as he dressed, all the while trying to quiet the still-vocal dog.
He was just zipping his pants when Mei strolled out of her bathroom looking refreshed and renewed. Beautiful from any angle and in sweats, no less.
“Your turn,” she told him, jerking a thumb over her shoulder. “I’m going to go get started on the omelette, so don’t take all night.”
“Hey, I don’t welch on a bet. Anyway, I thought you had to phone your captain.”
“Darn, I should. I guess you could say I got distracted.”
Cullen grinned. “We got distracted. But I’d hate being held responsible if you don’t check in. Go make your call. I’ll be out in a flash. I’ll pour our wine and cut cheese and mushrooms and whatever else we can throw in.”
“Crumbled bacon and slices of avocado,” she called as he was shutting the door.
Taking him at his word, Mei located her dress purse and extracted the tape from her recorder. Walking over to shove it in her tape player, it dawned on her how quickly they’d become occupied with each other. A huge smile blossomed and Mei just couldn’t seem to hold it in. Crista and the others would never believe it if she told them all the things that had happened tonight. Not that she could ever tell them all of it.
How to explain such a complete metamorphosis, anyway?
After Mei Lu ran the tape, she backed it up again and again. She muted the background to pick up what Fred Burgess’s pal had said. Thursday. Mei could only assume he’d meant Thursday of the following week. Of course she couldn’t be sure of that, as Cullen had shown up and his voice drowned out the men’s conversation.
She heard him come out of the bedroom and pass through the living room on his way to the kitchen as she dialed Captain Murdock. “I’m sorry,” she told Murdock. “The men weren’t forthcoming about the exact location of the shipment, and I’m only guessing they meant next Thursday. I was lucky to get as much as I did. I didn’t expect to see a friend at the benefit. He addressed me as Lieutenant, and after that, the men were careful not to say anything I could overhear. Oh, except that Fred Burgess made a subtle threat right before I left the gala.” Mei Lu gave Murdock the gist of it. “I wasn’t careless!” she said in response to the captain’s reprimand. “I realize since all of them will recognize me on sight, you’ll have to assign another officer to tail Truesdale and Jessup. No, sir, I am not presuming to tell you how to do your job.” Rubbing at a sharp pain between her eyes, Mei glanced up as a shadow fell across the stereo. She showed no reaction as she accepted the glass of wine Cullen placed in her hand. He moved away, returning to the kitchen before she could break off her call and thank him.
Her good mood had well and truly vanished by the time Murdock finished berating her. But Mei Lu was determined not to let his surliness ruin what remained of her evening with Cullen. She slid in a jazz CD and turned the lights down low.
“Ah, you’re just in time to eat this while it’s piping hot.” Cullen deftly cut the omelette in two, depositing half on each of the plates he’d prepared with canned peaches he’d unearthed from Mei Lu’s fridge.
He set the plates on her small table and pulled out her chair. She sat, and their knees bumped familiarly as he took the chair opposite her.
“I hope it’s okay that Foo went outside again.” Smiling softly, Cullen remarked that the CD she’d put on was one of his favorites.
Nodding absently, Mei let him talk. She poked the tines of her fork listlessly into her omelette a few times and remained silent.
Frowning, Cullen set his fork down. “What’s on your mind, Mei Lu?”
Her head flew up and her eyes narrowed slightly. “You,” she said simply.
“Me? Ah…well.” Wadding up his napkin, Cullen wiped his mouth as he waited for her to elaborate. When she didn’t, he prompted her. “If I’m the subject of your thoughts, I’d prefer you didn’t look so serious.”
“According to Captain Murdock…” Mei glared down at her plate. “Never mind. It’s my problem.”
“Mei Lu, don’t do that. Don’t insinuate that I’ve caused you a problem and then not fill me in. I can’t fix something if I don’t know what it is.”
She attacked her food with vigor. “You make a mean omelette for a man who has a full-time cook.”
“Mei Lu!”
She swallowed. “I’m not trying to be secretive or coy, Cullen. My supervisor was annoyed because I didn’t get all the details I should’ve gotten tonight.”
“That’s bullshit. I blew your cover. I didn’t do it on purpose, but it happened.”
Mei Lu took another bite. After savoring it, she said, “I could’ve handled everything differently from the get-go, Cullen. The minute I saw the ticket to a benefit showcasing local artists, I should’ve realized you’d be there. The truth is, even before you barged in, I wasn’t focused on work. I’ve let you—thoughts of you—confuse me.”
The food turned to ash in Cullen’s dry mouth. He didn’t want to ask, but he had to. “That sounds a whole lot like you’re about to give me the
old heave-ho.”
Lifting her head sharply, Mei Lu reached across the table and covered his hand with hers. “No. At least not if you still want me in your life,” she said, eyes large and luminous. “I just need to find a better way to organize myself. When I’m assigned a case, I have to devote all my time to it until it’s solved. Since we share this other case, I’m sure you’ll understand and agree.”
“And if I don’t? Hell, Mei Lu. Everyone deserves a life outside of work.”
She shrugged. “Are we fighting?”
“No. I thought I was stating a fact.”
“A fact from your perspective. When a person’s a cop, Cullen, life and work are entwined.”
Cullen picked up his glass and drank some wine to give himself time to sort through the questions in his head. He’d worked side by side with cops. He knew the stats on their failed relationships. And he knew, too well, that he had one collapsed marriage behind him. Setting down his glass, Cullen twirled it idly by its stem. “Is this something you need to decide tonight?”
Foo raced back into the kitchen, tracking muddy paw-prints across the tile. He landed first on Mei Lu’s lap and then on Cullen’s knees.
“Oh, blast,” she exclaimed, jumping up to shut the door. “I forgot how late it is. I try never to let Foo out after the automatic sprinklers around the perimeter of my courtyard come on. Jeez, Cullen, first I dump wine down the front of your tuxedo and now my dog deposits mud on your slacks. I’ll pay for dry cleaning. Really,” she insisted, when he eyed her as if she had to be kidding.
“What? I shouldn’t pay because I’m a woman you slept with?”
“Mei Lu, that’s crazy talk. I gave you that look because you have no idea what this tux has been through. Are you forgetting I have eight-year-old twins? Last year, Bobby’s nose bled on the collar and one shoulder. Before that, Belinda ate too much pie at Thanksgiving and barfed all over me. She made a much worse mess of both the jacket and pants. In fact, if I didn’t have a dry cleaner who likes the amount of business I bring him, I expect he would’ve told me to burn the damn thing and be done with it.”
Mei Lu laughed at the expression on Cullen’s face as she gingerly carried her dog to the sink, where she began washing his feet. “Okay, Cullen, I’m sure you’re exaggerating, but you’ve made your point.”
“I’m not exaggerating. Tomorrow, feel free to ask the kids if those things didn’t happen.”
“About tomorrow—” Mei hedged, drying off Foo’s feet before she put him down near his bowl and fed him the remains of her omelette. “I spoke too hastily, offering to set aside our case to go kite-flying in the park.”
“No, you didn’t.” He stood and stabbed a finger toward the door. “You don’t have a car at the moment, so you can’t go investigating on your own.”
Mei Lu picked up Cullen’s abandoned plate. “Has anyone ever told you that you’d make a good lawyer, Cullen Archer? You do an excellent job of twisting a truth into something that fits your purpose.”
A rakish grin grew slowly, and he was equally slow to lean over and kiss her thoroughly. “I dare you to find fault with my logic in this case, Lieutenant,” he said in a sexy drawl.
“I can’t,” she admitted, closing her eyes in an attempt to prolong the kiss.
He obliged, but stopped when he sensed they were both getting carried away. “A good lawyer knows to quit when he’s ahead and I’m going to do exactly that. Anyway, I left my cell phone in the car. Freda won’t know where to locate me if anything goes wrong at the house or with one of the kids.”
“Cullen! Why didn’t you say so earlier? Why didn’t you go out and get it?”
“My mind was on other things,” he returned, trailing a hand down her hair and even more lightly over her breast.
Mei Lu blushed, fumbled and nearly dropped a plate.
He removed it from her hands and carried it to the sink. “You know what makes you an incredible woman? Well, one thing, anyway?”
She tilted her head and studied him through her lashes. “Now you’ve intrigued me. I shouldn’t bite, but name one thing that’s…incredible about me.”
He let her wait until he’d gone into the living room and plucked his tux jacket off the chair where he’d thrown it after he’d dressed and come out of her bedroom.
At the door, he turned and took a last look at the woman framed in the kitchen archway. Even in baggy sweats that sported muddy paw-prints up one leg, she left him aching and wishing he didn’t have to go. Wishing he could disrobe where he stood and simply take her to bed again.
“You really are going to leave without satisfying my curiosity?”
“Yes, because I’m reasonably sure that if I stopped to explain, I’d end up trying to satisfy more than your curiosity. So, this conversation’s to be continued.”
“Tomorrow?” she prodded. “On the way to the park.”
“Uh-uh! Too X-rated for the park.” Cullen pulled open the door and stepped into the cool night air. “Ask me the next time we figure out how to schedule an evening alone.”
She came to the door, using a bare foot to keep Foo from escaping into an unfenced front yard. “I don’t know when that might be, Cullen. Have you already forgotten what I said? I need to concentrate more on my assignments.”
Striding back, Cullen slid his hands into her hair. He gave her a kiss that left both of them out of breath and wanting more. His stormy eyes glittered in the porch light. “Then consider me an assignment, Mei Lu. I know what you said, but I’m not going away. And I’m not ready to be a notch on your belt, Lieutenant. So pencil me into your damn schedule.”
“A notch on my belt—” The kiss had obviously addled her. So much so that she dropped her guard and recovered barely fast enough to grab Foo by the collar, preventing his getaway. She wasn’t fast enough to prevent Cullen’s. Moments later, his car lights cut through the night and his engine broke the stillness along her otherwise placid street.
She slammed the front door. Did the man really think she—believe she—? Mei Lu was too furious to even finish her thought.
Then she stomped into her bedroom, saw the disheveled bed and sank like a sack of lead down on sheets still rumpled and musky. She remembered every last detail. Critically reviewing her part in their bedroom scenes, she understood where Cullen might have gotten the mistaken impression that she was far more practiced than simple instinct let her be.
A notch on her belt!
Should she try to combat that? Her first thought was to run it by Crista, who’d said Mei Lu should “go with the flow.” She’d done that, but seemed to have given someone she liked a lot the wrong impression.
Dragging over the bedside phone, she started to punch in Crista’s number and noticed the message light flashing. She recognized Abby’s number on her call display. Mei remembered seeing this same call earlier.
It was too late to phone Abby. Come to think of it, it was too late to call Crista, too, especially now that Alex had entered her life.
Considering the list of friends she would’ve been comfortable calling at this hour, Mei Lu realized they’d all moved on. All except Catherine. Replacing the phone on her nightstand, Mei thought ruefully that it’d be more than a little unwise to call the chief and babble about indiscretions she’d committed with a man Catherine had sent her to work with on an important case.
Hadn’t she always known in her gut that getting tangled up romantically led to nothing but trouble?
Trouble in capital letters.
Mei grabbed a pillow and curled around it, uncaring that the lights were still on in her kitchen and that she wore a muddied pair of sweats and that she hadn’t performed her nightly ritual. Her path was clear. She ought to fade out of Cullen Archer’s life. She could accomplish that by asking Catherine to take her off the case. There were any number of reasons Mei Lu could cite—all far from the real truth. If only giving him up and stepping out of his sphere were a simple thing. The longer she lay hugging a cold pillow, the more
she realized she had to discard that option.
“See, Foo,” she said to the dog who’d finally tracked her down and now sat studying her with his head cocked to one side. “I thought I could stay in control. I’ve found out I can’t.” Mei sat up, then stood and began pulling the sheets off her bed. Arms full, she marched into her minuscule laundry room and stuffed the sheets in the washer.
It was in the process of remaking her bed with sheets that didn’t smell of Cullen’s scent that her mind wandered from him to their case. A case with no leads. Well, they had photographs and two dead bodies. And a stumbling block. Her brother.
Stephen, who so wanted acceptance from his father that he was willing to do…what? Besides marry a woman he probably didn’t love…?
Mei knew without doubt that her folks, especially her mother, would hate Cullen. The difference between her and Stephen was that she didn’t care what Aun thought of her choices.
Is that a fact?
“Yes,” she said aloud, causing Foo to paw at her leg and whine. She was tied to her family by her culture’s beliefs. But unlike her mother, Mei didn’t accept that parents are owed blind respect or that family should be honored, no matter how worthless or foolish the belief, because it’s set down in the Tao. Destiny rules, Aun said often enough. Eventually, she insisted, one’s true path would be revealed.
Mei had always thought that was nonsense. Still thought so. She and Stephen used to be in total agreement on this. Now, it seemed, they’d gone in different directions. Mei wished she knew how many other values they’d ceased to share. That was the big question looming in her head—alongside her feelings for Cullen.
In her heart of hearts, she didn’t believe Stephen capable of killing or having anyone killed.
Although maybe he believed the same of her? In that case, she thought sadly, he’d be wrong. It was one aspect of Tao she had abandoned the day she’d raised her right hand and taken an oath to enforce the law and preserve the peace—even if that required the use of force. Even if it meant turning against someone she loved.
Mei switched off her light. Renewing that oath privately tonight brought with it a resolve to seek out the truth about Stephen. Mei knew she couldn’t allow her feelings for either Stephen or Cullen to sway her. She wasn’t sure why this case had been dropped in her lap by Chief Tanner. But whatever the reasons, her oath hadn’t changed.
She Walks the Line (Harlequin Super Romance) Page 18
