“No—it’s not damn it. I know you have feelings for me, I can see it—I’m not blind.”
“I do, I can’t deny that.”
“Great! Then it’s settled.”
“There was a but coming. I do feel an attraction towards you. I admit that, but relationships are a lot of work and I don’t have a lot of time to spend on them. That was the problem with my last relationship. I just couldn’t dedicate enough time to making it work. Until I can, I just don’t want to put myself through that heartache.”
“Then we are perfect for each other? Did you forget that we practically work the same hours? I know the hours that you put in. Just take a chance on us—that is all I am asking.” Brock said as he pulled her tight to him and rubbed his hands up and down her back. He couldn’t help himself as he started to place kisses on her neck. He could feel her relaxing in his arms, so he continued up her chin and finally finding her mouth he started out slow and became increasingly urgent to taste her sweetness. He ended the kiss and whispered in her ear. “Give us a chance. Say yes.”
Holly nodded as the word “Yes” escaped her lips just in time for Brock to consume her in another heart stopping kiss.
CHAPTER TEN
“What happens now?” Holly asked.
“We take this as slow as you want. We can each go our separate ways tonight or you can follow me home. Your choice.”
“It’s late and I am worn out from everything that has happened today. Do you mind if I just go home alone?”
“Do I mind? No. Am I disappointed? Yes, but I understand.” He kissed her on the forehead. “See you tomorrow Cavanaugh.”
Luke high fived Sam after seeing Brock and Holly kissing at the car. “We did it!”
“They didn’t even see it coming.” Brooke added.
“Sometimes a little push in the right direction works miracles.” Sam added.
Luke laughed, “I’m glad you said that Sammy. We’re going to work on you next.”
Sam threw his hands in the air. “Now wait a minute, I would be in a relationship if I wanted to be in one. I don’t need any help in that department—besides my hours are so crazy down at the station house its damn near impossible to have a serious relationship. Women want you to spend time with them. I don’t get that luxury all that often.”
“You say that now, but just remember you were the one who said sometimes a little push in the right direction is all you need.” Luke reminded him.
“Oh my God!” Brooke gasped.
“What’s wrong? Is it the baby?” Luke asked concerned.
“Yes, it’s the baby, but nothing is wrong. I just felt the baby kick!”
“Where? Will I be able to feel it?” Luke asked.
“Here, put your hand right here. Can you feel it?”
“Holy crap—I felt it! I felt our baby kick! Sam—do you want to feel it?”
“I believe I will pass on that bro, I’m sure Brooke doesn’t want everyone feeling her stomach!”
Luke kissed Brooke, “This really makes it real for me. I’m going to be a dad. You have to tell me when he moves again.”
“He?”
“Yeah. With a kick like that it has to be a boy!”
“It could be a girl and she could be a tomboy!”
Sam shook his head, “You guys are making me sick. I’m gonna head out.”
Luke looked outside to see that Holly and Brock were leaving. “Yeah, it looks like it is safe now—they are leaving.”
“Should I follow them to see if they go the same direction?” Sam asked.
Brooke piped up this time, “No, I think we meddled enough for one night. Let it go.”
Well, my shift starts soon anyway, so I better get to the station house.”
Brock felt more rested than he had in a long time and was actually looking forward to going in to work. He decided that he wanted to arrive ahead of Holly and surprise her with Starbucks coffee’s and scones, but when he walked into his office, she was already there. “How do you do that?”
Holly turned around to look at Brock, “Do what?”
“I wanted to arrive first this morning and surprise you with coffee, and yet here you are—already here.”
There was a knock on the door and Captain Lewiston entered. “Detectives McClellan and Cavanaugh.”
“Yes sir, Captain.” Brock and Holly replied.
“I want an update on the serial rapist case as I am getting pressure from the Mayor’s office.”
“We have found a couple of similarities in a few of the cases but not in all of them.” Brock said walking over to the whiteboard. “Detective Cavanaugh has created this chart of information we do know and as you can see we still have some holes to fill. Cavanaugh, would you like to explain to the Captain what we do have?”
“Sure, Detective McClellan. Captain Lewiston, as you can see here, vics three, five, and ten all had a connection to O’Donnell’s Bar and Grille, but none of the other seven had either been there or had even heard of it. We do see an obvious pattern that all vics lived in an apartment—not a home.”
“Why is that such a significance?”
“They are all college students. Our perp is targeting college students who live in an apartment rather than a house because that typically means that they are not from this area. No family to surround them and in most cases alone and a perfect target for him.”
“I see. Anything else?”
“Yes.” Holly said pointing to the map. “We pegged on the map where all the rapes occurred and you will notice that vics three, five, and ten also lived within a five mile radius of O’Donnell’s and a college. You can also see that the other rapes are clustered around a college as well.”
“Shit…that’s it Cavanaugh!” Brock said as he realized another connection.
“What’s it?” Holly asked.
“What if the other clusters were also within a five mile radius of a college and another bar?”
“Sounds like you are on to something detective.” Captain Lewiston added.
“We need to find out what bars fall within that scope and then go back to our vics to see if they ever went there.” Brock commented.
“I’ll give the Mayor a bone and let him know that we have some solid leads. Great work detectives.” He said as he walked out.
“You did great Cavanaugh.” Brock praised her.
“It wasn’t me. You were the one who connected the bars to the colleges—not me.”
“Well, we aren’t for sure that there is a connection yet, but it is a new angle and it could be what we were looking for. It just hit me when you were briefing Cap and the way you put the bar and the colleges in the same comment, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Let’s get started on narrowing this down.”
“I’ll take a five mile radius in this area if you will take that one.” Holly said as she was pointing to the map.
By lunchtime, Brock and Holly had narrowed the list for each cluster down to a half a dozen bars each. “I’ll start calling the vics to see if any of them are familiar with these bars.” Holly offered.
“I’m starving, do you want to grab some lunch first?” He asked.
“Sure, I guess we can take a break, but I don’t want to take too long. I am eager to start calling the vics.”
“How about we grab a hotdog from the street vendor down the block?” Brock suggested.
“Sounds good and it will also be quick.”
“I’m beginning to see a pattern with you Cavanaugh.”
“And what would that be?”
“You like things quick—you are quick to get here in the morning and you want lunch to be quick.”
Holly blushed, “I don’t like everything quick.”
Brock smiled and got a twinkle in his eye, “Good to know Cavanaugh, now let’s go. I’m buying.”
Brock found a park bench to sit on as they ate their lunch. “I really like your brothers and I just love Brooke.”
“I guess they are okay.” He sai
d as he laughed.
“I can see some similarities in your personalities, and I love the way you banter back and forth. I can tell you care deeply for them.”
“I would give my life for them.”
“What line of work are they in?”
“Luke is a realtor and Sam is HFD.”
“HFD?”
“Houston Fire Department—he is a fireman.”
“I guess I should have been able to figure that out.”
“What makes you say that?”
“He just looks like a typical fireman.”
“And what exactly does a typical fireman look like?”
“Sam.”
“Oh, no you don’t. You have to explain that.”
“He is just—well, he is ‘built’ like a fireman.”
“So you were checking him out last night?”
“Not really, but I could tell he works out quite a bit and I know firemen have to stay fit, so it all makes perfect sense. Were you just jealous Detective McClellan?”
“Of my brother? Hell no.”
Holly noticed a dab of mustard on the corner of Brock’s mouth and instinctively reached over and wiped it off with her finger putting it in her mouth and proceeded to suck it off with an audible pop. Brock froze as he stared at Holly’s finger. “I’m sorry, that was rude—I should have used a napkin.”
“No, it’s all good—let’s just say using a napkin wouldn’t have come close to having the same effect on me.”
With that, Holly gathered the trash and said, “I guess we had better get back so that we can call these vics and get one step closer to our perp. Thanks for lunch by the way.”
The next time Brock looked at his watch it was quarter after seven. He stood and stretched as he walked over to the whiteboard. “Let’s call it a day Cavanaugh. We made some good headway here today.”
“Yes we have, I just wish that we would have been able to contact everyone today. I left messages with two, so hopefully they will call back tomorrow.”
Brock’s phone began to ring as they were walking out and noticed from the caller ID that it was Luke. “Hello.”
“Hey bro, you missed it last night!”
“What exactly did I miss, I was at your house remember?”
“No, after you left—I felt the baby kick!”
“Congratulations, that’s great news.”
“Yeah, I think it’s going to be a boy.” Luke continued.
“How did you come to that conclusion?”
“Cause he kicks with one hell of a leg—I think he is going to play football for the Cowboys someday.”
“Sure he is. Did you need anything else?” Brock asked.
“I was just wondering how things worked out last night with Holly.”
“Still trying to figure that one out. Hey, I am headed home, so I’ll catch you later.”
“Sure thing—tell Holly that I really enjoyed meeting her, the next time you see her unless you are with her right now.”
“I gotta go—talk to you later.” He said as he quickly hung up.
“Luke says hi and he and Brooke really enjoyed having you over. Oh, and he felt the baby kick last night for the first time. He seemed really excited.”
“They both seem really excited about this baby and by the sounds of it they plan on filling that house!”
“They are and I am happy for them. They have had a rough start and deserve some happiness.”
“How about I cook us some supper tonight and you can fill me in. I would love to hear all about their story.”
Brock stopped walking and turned to Holly. “Are you a good cook?”
“Did you have any pasta salad last night?”
“I sure did—I think I actually had three helpings of it. It was really pretty good.”
“I made it.” Holly confessed.
“Let’s go! What are you waiting for?”
Twenty minutes later, Brock pulled into Holly’s drive as she pulled into her garage and shut the door. He actually felt nervous, but he shrugged it off and waited at the front door. “Come on in and make yourself comfortable. I guess I really don’t need to tell you to do that, do I?” She said remembering the last time Brock was at her house.
“Where’s my favorite cat Charlie?” He asked.
“He’s around somewhere—probably hiding in the bedroom. You really like cats?”
“I like Charlie, and that’s all that matters. I think he’s kind of cool.”
As if on cue, Charlie came trotting down the hallway and headed right for Brock’s lap.
“Well there you are big fella. Hey, I think he likes me!”
“I suppose, can I get you a beer or soda or something?” Holly asked.
“I’ll take the something.”
“What?”
“This is the second time I have been to your house and the second time that you have offered me something, so I’ll take the something.” He said with a grin. “I sure hope I like it!”
Holly shook her head and walked into the kitchen. She opened up her liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Captain and poured a shot before grabbing a bottle of beer out of the fridge and heading back in the living room. “Here you go—this is your something.”
“Are you trying to get me drunk Cavanaugh?”
“No, don’t be silly.”
“Well, I don’t see you with anything to drink.”
“I’ll have a drink with supper. Speaking of which, I had better get started on it.” She said as she headed back to the kitchen.
Brock knocked back the shot and chased it with his beer before setting Charlie down and following Holly into the kitchen. She had her back to him as she was looking through the refrigerator for something. When he came up behind her and asked her if he could help, she about jumped out of her skin. He placed his hands on her hips and spoke into her ear. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
She spun around to face him. “I just expected you to stay in the living room.”
“Why would I want to do that? You’re in here. I thought maybe I could help you cook supper.”
“Really? You want to help?”
“Sure. Why wouldn’t I?”
“It’s just that—I guess I’m not used to…”
“Let me guess, the last bozo made you do all the work and never lifted a finger to help out in the kitchen. I told you before, I’m not like him.”
“What would you like to do? Make garlic bread or salad?”
“What are you making with it?”
“Chicken Parmesan, is that okay?”
“Sounds delicious.”
Supper was over and Holly noticed red sauce at the corner of Brock’s mouth. Just as before, she instinctively reached over and wiped it off with her finger, but this time Brock grabbed her hand and their eyes locked as he brought it to his mouth and sucked on it. Holly was pretty sure that she just experienced her first orgasm without any form of stimulation.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Brock stood and started clearing the table. “You don’t have to do that.” Holly said.
“If I cook at home, I have to do this, so why wouldn’t I do it here? You will find that I am pretty self-sufficient around a kitchen.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now let’s get these dishes washed.”
Fifteen minutes later everything was cleaned and put away. “I better call it a night and head home.”
Holly’s heart sank as she had thought that maybe he would suggest he should spend the night as late as it was getting. On second thought, if he did spend the night, she knew that there wouldn’t be much sleeping going on either. “Okay, I’ll walk you to the door.”
Brock took Holly’s hand in his and walked to the front door. “See you tomorrow morning Cavanaugh. Thanks for supper.”
“I should be thanking you. Not only did you help me make it, but you also helped me clean up the kitchen, and kept me company.”
“Okay—I’ll let you.”<
br />
“You’ll let me what?”
“I’ll let you thank me.” He said as he raised and lowered his eyebrows a few times.
Holly chuckled, “All right.” She said as she kissed him on the cheek.
“Oh no you don’t.” He said as he pulled her close and softly kissed her lips.
Holly responded by putting her arms around his neck and pulling him in tighter to her as she traced his lips with her tongue. Brock responded and deepened the kiss as he began to run his hands down her body. When he got to her waist, he pulled away from the kiss and put his forehead against hers. “I should go now before I can’t make myself leave.” He whispered.
It took all the strength Brock had to walk away from that kiss and get in his car and drive home. He was determined not to mess this up with Holly.
Holly leaned against the door with her eyes closed re-living that kiss and wondering why he hadn’t pushed staying the night. She was certain that she would have let him stay. What was he thinking? Was he changing his mind about wanting to sleep with her? He had simply kissed her goodnight and left with a ‘See you tomorrow Cavanaugh.’ Why was he still calling her Cavanaugh outside of their work environment? She decided to shower and head to bed as tomorrow was going to come early enough.
Holly rolled over to see that it was 1:05am, and she was no closer to falling asleep than she was at 10:30pm. Her mind kept going back to tonight and how different Brock was than her ex Kevin. It was as if they were night and day. Kevin had always come home from work and waited for her to come home to fix supper. He would never dream of even heating up leftovers on his own. Helping out in the kitchen at all was taboo for him. Then there was the fact that he could wait on himself just fine until she got home, but as soon as Holly walked through the door, he quickly forgot how.
Brock on the other hand, not only insisted on helping out with supper, but he also set the table and when the meal was over he helped clear it, and stayed to help dry the dishes! Yep, night and day, she thought.
There was still one fact that was still bothering her about Brock—last Friday he had suggested the friends with benefits because he wanted to pursue a sexual relationship with her, and she had agreed to it, but he had yet to make any move to get her into bed. Now that she thought about it, he had his hands on her more before the suggestion last Friday than he has since! That one fact is what puzzled Holly.
Seal It With A Kiss (McClellan Trilogy) Page 8
