Love & Hate Series Box Set 2 (Love & Hate #3-4)

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  I can’t digest the fact that Tahlia went out with that arsehole. Moments like this are making me more human, because I’m jealous, afraid of losing her to someone like that idiot. I should have been the one dating her, protecting her from danger, comforting her. Maybe my perceptions are shifting and I’m making progress in my own life.

  But I have to work on this case. I decide to take a step back and assess the situation. I have a few reports to do, and that keeps me busy for the next few hours.

  By noon I wonder if I can meet Tahlia for lunch, but I know for a fact that she’ll slap me if I invade her space again. When she touches me, I’m not my same numb self, and that’s all I need right now, to get detached from that numbness. If I get a few moments alone with her, then I could show her that I was wrong, that I know for a fact that she didn’t do anything wrong. The case no longer matters to me, but Tahlia Sanderson does. Concealing the fact that I’m like my old self when I’m around her won’t fix the damage. I have to convince her that I believe in her innocence, and that I want to be romantically involved with her.

  There are reporters outside the station, waiting to talk to me. I sneak out the back door and use the other gate to get out. I don’t want to be followed.

  I drive through the Braxton streets later in the afternoon, feeling conflicted. My thoughts keep drifting back to that night outside the library. We didn’t talk about Suranne at all, and that night Tahlia was relaxed. The usual tension between us was nonexistent.

  The campus seems deserted in the afternoon. Now and then I spot a few lonely students by the main building. As I walk through the patio, I suddenly have a strange moment of nostalgia. My time in uni was almost a blur—I didn’t study, partied a lot and went through a destructive phase. I battled with constant anger and my inability to connect to anyone. It took me years to get where I am now, to finally understand that I have to focus on myself.

  I know that I can’t simply show up on Tahlia’s doorstep. She wants me to stay away from her, but deep down she knows that I won’t give up. There is no doubt about that; the chemistry between us is getting stronger, the air is sizzling when we clash. I have to stop worrying about this case so much, and let my emotions take charge of the situation.

  There is no doubt that students know who I am. I notice shy stares and some whispers in the corridors. The girls flash smiles. Everyone in this town reads papers and is aware of my age.

  In the end I head over to the restaurant to have a quick chat with her manager. I know that Tahlia is probably working , so it’s a good excuse to see her. Tomorrow is my first weekend off since God knows when, and I’m spending it chasing someone that clearly told me to stay away.

  It’s five, and the whole place seems quiet. Tahlia is nowhere to be seen.

  “May I help you?” asks the bald guy, the manager that I saw here a couple of nights ago.

  “Yes. My name is Micah Thomson.” I introduce myself, showing him my badge. “Is Tahlia Sanderson working tonight?”

  The guy eyes my badge. He recognises me from the other night, then frowns.

  “Detective Thomson,” he repeats back. “What’s this about? I don’t think I’m comfortable with giving out details about my employees.”

  “The recent murder at the university. Miss Sanderson was a witness. I need to ask her a few questions and clarify something with you.”

  It turns out that Tahlia has a day off tomorrow evening, so she won’t be distracted. It looks like this might be my lucky day.

  I make a few other inquiries about Tahlia’s attitude and then leave. The manager paints a totally different picture of her. According to him, she is always on time, never complains and she works harder than most of his other employees.

  I never doubted that she was hardworking, but I assumed that she would have been more problematic.

  I get back to the car and make a note of everything I learned. Tahlia is eccentric and simple. She won’t be impressed with fancy restaurants or expensive presents. I have to figure out how to impress her without making it obvious. First I take out my phone and scroll through the events in town. It’s November and there is not much going on at this time of the year.

  When I can’t figure out what to do, a silly idea pops into my mind. I can take her somewhere, and the unique place that I have in mind is a twenty-mile drive south. And tomorrow afternoon seems ideal. She doesn’t have to be in work until Sunday. It’s a small village, but very special; however, first I have to convince her to go there with me, and that might be challenging. Then I make a phone call. It takes me a while to put my plan into action, but eventually the person on the other side of the phone agrees to make it work.

  I get back to the flat and settle on the couch with a couple bottles of beer. In the end I fall asleep watching some stupid TV show.

  In the morning I feel like shit. My muscles are aching, so I take a quick shower and go out to get some grocery shopping out of the way for the week. Once I’m done with the boring stuff I jump to the car and head over to the campus. I’m off all weekend, so I need to be productive with my time.

  I lock the car and walk back down to the student flats half an hour later. My stomach makes a funny jolt and my reasonable side tells me that I’m stepping into dangerous territory, letting myself slip, just because I want to feel something.

  I buzz the apartment on the first floor, and they let me in without checking who I am. It’s probably the Woo girl. She still hasn’t learned to be more careful. When I stand outside Tahlia’s door for the third time, my mind starts to wander off to inappropriate scenes.

  Then I knock and hear steps. I have the advantage that she hasn’t got a peephole, so she can’t pretend that she isn’t there. She unlocks the lock and opens the door slightly. For one intense moment I see the deep grey angry eyes.

  She is just about to shut the door in my face, but I put my boot at the doorframe. Not a great move, Micah. That will only anger her more.

  “Are you fucking slow or maybe just stupid?” she asks revealing more of that beautiful skin of hers. Surprisingly, I have caught her in quite a moment. She has a short towel around her body, her hair is wet, water drips around her shoulders. I probably interrupted her shower. Crap, how can I keep my thoughts at bay if she’s standing in front of me almost naked? “You have five seconds to get the fuck out of here or I’ll call security.”

  “Give me two minutes. I just want to talk, but not about the case. I’m here on my own accord,” I tell her, concentrating hard enough to keep my eyes on hers. It’s too temping to look down and imagine what she’s hiding underneath that towel.

  She opens the door wider, clutching the towel closer to her body. She is flushed, and looks even more beautiful without makeup.

  “You need help. Don’t you understand that I don’t want to talk? Stay away from me. I had nothing to do with Suranne’s murder,” she says, looking like she is not bothered that my imagination is going ballistic.

  I smile and look at her eyes, feeling like I could get lost in them forever. A drop of water moves down her cheek, then disappears in her cleavage. My dick starts pulsating, rising when I tighten my muscles.

  “I’m sorry that I have such a shitty job. I see that you haven’t fixed your bike yet. I can do that for you,” I say and move past her, stepping into her flat and kneeling down to look at the bike.

  “Hey, asshole, what the hell are you doing? You need to leave now!” she yells, walking up to me. The smell of whatever shower gel she used is invading my nostrils when I touch the brand-new wheel. Her bike is in the living room and I have to take off the old tire and replace it.

  She punches my arm, still standing inches away. I look up, seeing the angry bee, then a beautiful bee with threatening tattoos. I swallow hard and rise, cornering her to the wall. She moves back, holding the towel. I’m inches away from lifting her up and slamming my lips into hers. Her scent is alluring and her eyes are filled with sparkles of anger and lust.

  “I’m staying, so
cut the bullshit and shut the door, before you lose the towel and I see you in all your glory,” I say, involuntarily lifting my finger and tracing it over her neckline, gathering small dots of water in the process. She shivers under my touch, swallowing hard, obviously affected.

  Then I squat back down, trying to even my fucking breath, but it comes out in short ragged pants. There is nothing I can do to change the fact that she drives me absolutely insane and my heart pounds quickly.

  She doesn’t say a word but vanishes into her bedroom, slamming the door. I hear steps upstairs and snips of conversation. Woo was right about one thing: the walls are made of paper.

  I change the wheel in no time and get up when she comes back to the room dressed in jeans and tank top, her hair still wet.

  “There, almost like brand new,” I say, pointing at the bike.

  She goes to the kitchen and rolls her eyes. “What? Do you want a fucking medal?”

  “No, I want to take you out for a date,” I blurt out.

  She goes still for a moment, holding the cup, and then lifts her grey eyes to mine, surprised, a little amused. “A date? I don’t do dates, socialising and whatever the fuck normal people do. Besides, I don’t like you.”

  I might be an asshole, but I don’t give up so easily. I walk to the kitchen and stand behind her. My strained manhood is only inches away from her ass. Before she has a chance to escape, I put my hands around her, so my face is almost touching her hair.

  “Oh, you do like me, Miss Sanderson. I can feel the sizzling sexual tension between us. Don’t deny it and just get lost with it, with me.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Flashbacks and lies.

  I nudge my hips forward only an inch, touching her. My erection is pressed over her backside and arousal is already circulating through my veins. Her breathing speeds up when I switch on the water and start washing my hands, still having my arms around her. She doesn’t dare to move, and I’m enjoying this game very much.

  “You seem to be very sure of yourself, Detective,” she whispers, moving her face closer to mine. I can feel her warm breath on my cheek. She can say whatever she wants, but I don’t think I can keep being indifferent to the desire that moves between us. All I can think of is her soft skin and sweet lips. The case doesn’t seem important anymore.

  “Oh yes, Miss Sanderson, I am.” I chuckle and move away, giving her some space in her tiny kitchen. It’s a hell of an effort to just step aside, but I don’t want to blow it by being too overbearing. I want her to let me know when to touch her.

  “I’m working tonight, so I can’t go out with you.”

  “No, you’re not. I checked your shift in the restaurant,” I say.

  Her jaw drops. Yeah, I’ve seen through her plans today. I’m a step ahead.

  “And that’s the main reason that I won’t go out with you. You’re a stalker and some people go to prison for that.”

  “Tahlia, I knew that you wouldn’t want to talk to me, so I made arrangements. Don’t be stubborn and just give me a chance.”

  She looks frustrated, staring at me with suspicion; maybe she is thinking I’m planning on driving away and throwing her off a cliff. Her eyes are burning through me. Whenever she stares at me, it seems as if she is trying to tell me something.

  “Fine, whatever. I’ll go, but don’t get your hopes up, Detective. It’s not a date and we are not going to talk about the case.” She folds her arms over her chest and then disappears into her room.

  I wait for her on the sofa, and my eyes wander around, trying to make sense of what she likes. She has a bookshelf filled with all sorts of fiction. Based on that I already know that she will be in love with the place I’m planning to take her. It’s been so long since I’ve done something fun, gone out and not thought about work.

  Tahlia won’t get of rid of me. We both need some time out and this trip will help us break the tension and resentment that we built up between us. She probably changed her name and came to Braxton to start over. She obviously had a reason, but it’s for her to tell me. I get up and look around her kitchen, hoping to find something personal, but she seems careful, doesn’t leave anything lying around. I can’t just look through her stuff; it’s too risky. I need to take things slow.

  “What are you doing?”

  I hear her voice behind me. Now she has makeup on, creating smoky eyes, and she’s wearing a long black funky dress with heavy boots. She went for the typical Goth look, probably to scare me off, show me that our worlds can’t collide with each other’s. She has to do much better than that, because that kind of look turns me on even more.

  “Waiting for you. Are you ready?” I respond with the question. She rolls her eyes, picks up her bag and opens the door.

  “Move, before I change my mind and kick you out,” she snaps at me, giving me that hard look that says to keep my distance. She is still not acknowledging the fact that I can’t stop thinking about her.

  On the stairs we meet Woo, who is staring at Tahlia, probably wondering how the hell I managed to get inside the tiger’s cave. Her eyes follow us all the way back downstairs. Tahlia seems tense, and I need to do something to show her that I want us both have a good time. She needs to chill and forget about the case.

  We get into my Audi, and when she buckles her seat belt, I catch the scent of her perfume. Images of us together in bed roll in front of me, and it’s suddenly too warm in the car. I try to dispel the tension building inside my body, but nothing seems to push these sexual thoughts away. Neither of us says anything until we drive to the main road. The silence is unnerving, and I have to do something to break this intimidating tension.

  “Why Braxton? What made you come to a place like this?” I finally ask.

  “You can’t help yourself, can you?”

  “What? What did I do now?” I ask, wondering how long it will take her to get back to being herself. The girl that sits on the bench and enjoys drinking booze.

  “Being the detective, asking questions.”

  “Hey, I’m trying to make conversation, get to know you. Forget about what happened in the past. The case isn’t relevant. I’m just a normal guy here,” I tell her.

  She doesn’t respond, just turns away and looks out the window.

  “I’m from the big city, got into a lot of trouble when I was a teenager, nothing worth mentioning. I want to know more about you, Detective. What’s your deal?”

  Her tone of voice brings a memory from the past, a memory that I buried long ago in my head.

  I’m standing outside my house, waiting for Steph, thinking about the conversation that we might have.

  “My mother sits at home all day watching TV. She thinks that she’s ill, but there is nothing wrong with her. And Dad, well… he’s drunk most of the time; he breaks my bones when he is able to fight me and thinks it’s funny. Goes out in the afternoon and doesn’t come home until late, and when he does, he is completely hammered. They both have never told me that they loved me.”

  Yeah, that’s not going to work; she’ll think that I’m a complete idiot that doesn’t respect his parents.

  We have been seeing each other for weeks, and I’ve been avoiding bringing her to my house, but she is fed up with all the lame excuses that I’ve given her so far. She wants to meet them.

  I hear my father shouting that there isn’t any beer left and I clench my fists, imagining both of them dead.

  Steph won’t understand; she is from a decent home. Her parents have jobs. They look after her and worry about her when she comes back late.

  “Hey, bro, what’s up? What are you doing outside?”

  I swear under my breath, realising that Josh and his mates have parked their car on my street. I don’t remember most of their names. In the back seat I spot one of the guys with the scrawny girl that goes out with Josh. He never introduced us, but I have seen her before a few times.

  “Waiting for Steph. Why?”

  “Come with us. We’re going to have some f
un tonight. Boys have weed and beer,” he chuckles. I already know what he has in mind.

  Every time Josh and his gang smoke, they get into trouble. He was arrested only last week for burglary.

  I spot Steph approaching on the other side of the street. I swallow hard, wondering why I agreed to meet her on my street. She doesn’t like Josh and wants me to stop hanging out with him.

  “Sorry, can’t. I have plans, mate,” I tell him.

  “You’re such a pussy, Micah. You have to keep your woman on a short leash,” he says, noticing her. Slowly he loses that stupid smile and stares at her for a long moment.

  “Whatever, man, I can’t. We are busy tonight,” I say, knowing that sometimes Josh loses his temper for no reason. I don’t need this right now, especially when I’m just about to introduce her to my shitty family.

  Steph is wearing a yellow dress. She looks like an angel that arrived in the wrong place. She is pure and people know that she doesn’t belong here.

  “Whatever, man. I would choose the pussy too. Anyway I’ll let you know how we got on,” Josh says and starts the car, yelling at everyone. The engine roars, the wheels accelerate.

  “See you, loser. I hope she can suck cock as well as Jenny,” Josh shouts and then the car vanishes, the music blasting out.

  The flashback is real and clear. Since I left my parents I haven’t had the chance to think about the past. It was ugly and uncomfortable. The scars are the reminder of what they have done to me. I pushed it aside, buried it and never really faced it.

  When I glance back at Tahlia, I see that she is staring at me. Those grey eyes are filled with anticipation.

  “What do you want to know?” I ask, clearing my throat.

  “Where are you from?”

  “London. I grew up there until I left for uni. Don’t recommend it. It can be a shitty place to be.” I shrug, feeling the rush of old emotions from the past. I have never talked about what really happened that day, and I feel like I should open up to her, show her that I’m not thick-skinned, like I pretend to be.