She could call him babe forever and it wouldn’t grow old. He swiped his shirt from his shoulders and tossed it off the bed.
Judy sat up, ran her fingers over the symbol on his right shoulder, and placed her lips in their wake. “You’re so thick,” she told him.
He took advantage of her sitting up to pull her shirt over her head. Her pale breasts peeked from under a light gray bra and it was his turn to kiss what he wanted to taste. His tongue dipped under her bra. “You’re perfect.”
Tiny rosebud nipples met his tongue when he made her bra follow her shirt. “I could play with these all night.”
She giggled. “The rest of me would be jealous.”
“We could try . . . an evening of tasting,” he muttered as he used his teeth on her nipple and felt her nails dig into his back.
“Or not.”
She raked her nails down over his ass and he pushed closer to her.
“Or not,” he repeated her words. He’d never make a whole night of foreplay, not with Judy.
Rick pulled her hips farther up on the bed and centered them both. He memorized her curves with his slow fingers as they traced the lines of her exposed skin. “You were sitting in that police station,” he said, reminding her of the first day they’d met. “So out of place and trying hard not to look at me.” He leaned over her, kissed a trail between her breasts.
“You just stared at me. So bold.”
He lifted her as if she weighed nothing and rolled her over onto her stomach.
“I wanted you then.”
The zipper on her skirt started from her spine and went down the cheeks of her firm butt. He inched it down, placed his lips on the swell of her hips. The rail-thin frames of many of the women out there did nothing for him. Her full curves made his mouth water. Judy unwound something inside him he didn’t even recognize.
Her skirt met her shirt and Rick took his time rolling his hands down her hips, over her small panties, and down her creamy thighs. As much as Rick wanted to take advantage of this position, he didn’t want to risk scaring her. He rolled her on her side and stretched out beside her. There wasn’t any hesitation when her leg lifted to wrap around his hip. “You were cocky and bold and hot. Seeing you again at graduation . . . I knew we’d end up here.”
He kissed her again, broke when she reached for the zipper to his pants. “This is a great place.”
Judy didn’t leave his boxers with him. “Steroid-free zone!” she said, tracing his hip and touching. Her touch wasn’t timid or chaste, it was bold, leaving him pushing into her. He reached for her then, slid his hands under her panties and spread her open. The desire to rip her clothing, rid her of any barrier, needed to be tamed. She kicked them free and came back for a kiss. Both of them free of any clothing, she moved her kiss to the ink on his chest, her tongue lapping the edges, branding the feel of her deep inside him.
He knew, somehow, she’d be just like this, fire and passion without any worries of the world around them.
Judy rolled on top of him, barely giving him time to reach for his wallet.
“Wait,” he told her, pulled his pants from the floor and removed a condom from his wallet. He fumbled with the plastic, twice, and she removed it from his fingers with a laugh.
“Out of practice, hon?”
He stopped her pursuit in opening the small package with his hand covering hers. She met his gaze and looked deeper. “I met you,” he told her. “There’s been no one since.”
She blinked several times, took in the information, and kissed him. “Oh, Rick. I never stopped thinking about you. I couldn’t date, couldn’t sleep.”
Narcissistic as it was, he loved the sound of that.
Together they slid the condom over him, her hands slid lower, cupping him.
Once protected, she moved over him, took him. Her wet sheath was so tight and so needy she was milking him before he could catch his breath.
“Slow down, babe,” he whispered.
“I can’t. You feel so right.”
He slowed her down by sheer force, though it wasn’t easy.
He’d been with enough women to know her first orgasm was close. He kept his own wave back and let her take whatever she needed. He kissed her, held her, and welcomed her moan when she shattered on the inside. Only when she collapsed on him did he tuck her under him to show her his idea of making love.
He slowed down, found her spots, showed her his before backing up his cocky smile and leaving her limp. When his own release gripped him, he called her name and claimed her.
Judy was his.
Now.
Forever.
Rick’s arms erased the pain of the world around her. Judy’s body buzzed and her mind was numb with a post-orgasmic daze. With her head resting on his chest, she ran her hand over his pec, traced a thick vein that ran down the length of his arm. “I know it’s completely shallow of me,” she told him, “but you have the most amazing body.”
His hand caressed her hip. “You’re the one who’s sexy hot.”
She wasn’t going to be one of those women who told her guy she should lose weight. Those words always seemed to need a follow-up of a man telling her how wrong she was. Truth was, she wasn’t unhappy in her skin. Rick seemed to enjoy her . . . thoroughly.
The ink on his arm circled his biceps with decorative black and red Xs. “So what’s the story behind this one?”
He lifted his arm, flexed his biceps. Damn he’s hot. “Marines plus alcohol. Everyone on our team left with something.”
“Do you miss the service?”
He sighed, the hum in his chest tickled her ear. “Sometimes. But I won’t go back.”
“Did it end badly?”
“It did.” He leaned to his side and she saw a white scar across his flank. “Our last mission,” he explained. “I was one of the lucky ones. Mac and I made it out alive.”
“Mac?”
“Neil. We called him Mac.”
“What did they call you?”
“Smiley.”
She laughed, loved the feeling inside her. “I’ve heard Neil call you that. Fitting. It’s easy to tell when you’re serious. Those dimples go away.”
“My grandmother still pinches my cheeks when she sees me.”
“Gotta love family. My aunt Belle is convinced my sister Rena conceived her son before she was married. Never lets anyone forget about it.”
“Was it a shotgun wedding?”
“I don’t know gestational periods in humans to be eleven months. Not that it would matter. Rena and Joe are very happy.” She lifted her head and kissed the tattoo on his shoulder. “What about this one?” On close inspection, it looked like a bleeding star. It was beautiful in a strange kind of way.
His silence made her look into his eyes. The lack of dimples made her pause.
“That one’s for Roxy.”
“A woman?” Now she was sorry she asked.
“My sister.”
Oh. Judy wasn’t expecting that. “I take it you’re close.”
“We were. She died when she was seventeen.”
“Oh, Rick. I’m sorry I asked.”
He kissed the top of her head and encouraged her to lie back on his chest by stroking her hair.
“It was a long time ago.”
She was about to ask if he wanted to tell her about it when he started in with the story.
“Roxy had a big fight with her high school boyfriend and when he left all pissed off he took a curve too fast. Stupid kid. He didn’t survive and Roxy blamed herself.”
She closed her eyes with the image of a teenager dead, another one broken. “It wasn’t her fault.”
“Hard for a young kid to accept. She fell into a depression that left her hospitalized. I used to spend time just sitting with her, talking to her about life . . . anything to make her smile. I thought she was coming out of it toward the end of her junior year. We took dance lessons together and I took her to prom.” He grew quiet again.
“What happened?�
��
He sucked in a deep breath.
“You don’t have to tell me.”
“It’s OK. She a . . . she slit her wrists, and when that didn’t seem to do anything she took a handful of sleeping pills in a bathtub.”
“Oh, Rick . . . did you find her?”
He shook his head. “No. My mother has to live with that memory.”
Judy looked at him now, saw the shadow of his sister’s death in his eyes. “How awful.”
“I joined the Marines the day after her funeral.”
“It must have been hard on you . . . your parents.”
“I worked my grief out in boot camp and spent every day trying to stay alive . . . make a difference. Now when I think of her I remember the good times, her laugh. This star reminds me to keep going . . . no matter how hard life might be.”
She kissed the star again. “And you’ve been playing hero for the world ever since.”
“Ah, Utah,” he said, cupping her face and drawing her closer. “I don’t mind playing hero for you. The world at large can go bite themselves.” His kiss was tender, just like the way he made love.
She drew away and sucked in his beautiful eyes. “The world needs more heroes.”
“The people close to the hero keep him fueled . . . that person for me is you.”
Judy knew his words took a chunk of her heart and handed it to him with a big red bow. “I like being your fuel.”
He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You’re not scared anymore?”
Only two things scared her at this point . . . the threat of the police taking Rick away, and her attacker returning. “Not of you . . . not of this.” She shifted a finger to both their chests.
He made love to her again, slowly, with soft words and occasional laughter. Dreams of laughter and lazy beach days helped her sleep the entire night.
“It’s four thirty, woman! The day’s half over.”
A hand slapped her naked ass, crashing all her dreams. “What the?”
Rick climbed over her, fully clothed in shorts and a tight T-shirt, and kissed her briefly. “My workouts are early, babe. We gotta go, get sweaty, and get you back here showered and dressed before work.”
Judy glared through slitted eyelids. “It’s dark outside.”
“It won’t be when we start running. C’mon. I’ll wake Meg.”
“Wait! I didn’t even tell her about the workout yet.”
“Saw her last night in the kitchen when I went for water. Told her to be ready bright and early.”
Judy nodded toward the dark window. “It’s not so bright, buddy.”
Rick pulled the warm blankets back, leaving her cold and bare to his stare.
She squealed.
He licked his lips. “Tempting . . . so tempting.” He slapped her butt instead.
Right as the sun started to make an appearance Rick had her and Meg running up a long trail and back down as a warm-up. On the second lap they stopped at a station where Rick had them doing push-ups. Every time she dropped, he was there to push her to do five more. All the while, he’d switch between one-handed push-ups, or one-leg push-ups . . . anything to make it harder on himself. Meg cussed like a sailor halfway through the circuit and swore revenge. “I need coffee for this shit.”
“Coffee is your reward, Margaret Catherine,” Rick teased. “Now get your chin over that bar.”
Meg glared at Judy. “You just had to tell him my full name, didn’t you?”
Judy struggled to pull her body weight up with her arms and didn’t have the energy to snark on her friend. Rick grasped her hips and helped her with her last three chin-ups. She dropped to the ground and struggled for a breath. “You’re killing me.”
Rick grabbed the bar sailed through twenty-five reps.
“Five more, Utah.”
She managed three, and two with help.
“You just want to play with her ass,” Meg teased while she controlled her breathing during her break.
“It’s a nice ass,” Rick said. He started running up the hill to the next station.
When they finished, they picked a patch of grass to stretch.
“Half an hour and I’m beat!” Meg fell on the grass, her arms stretched beside her.
“We’ll start on the self-defense stuff tomorrow. Give your muscles a chance to wake up.”
Judy leaned over her legs. “My muscles are awake and cursing you.”
Rick winked.
“It feels good though,” Meg said. “And so much cheaper than those classes we did in Seattle.”
“Think of all the money we’ll save feeling this beat-up.”
They finished their stretches and made their way back to the car. A few more cars were parked close by than when they arrived. At the far end of the lot sat a car with a man wearing a suit leaning against the door with his arms crossed over his chest.
Judy peered closer. She elbowed Rick, who had opened the passenger door for her and Meg. “He looks familiar.”
Rick followed her gaze. His smile fell. “Detective Raskin.”
She paused. “Why is he here?”
The detective slid into the unmarked car, turned over the engine, and waited.
“Watching me.”
She didn’t like it, not one bit. “This isn’t right.”
“He’s doing his job, Judy.”
“No he’s not. He’s working to nail the wrong guy.” She wanted to scream.
Rick ushered her into the car. They drove in silence until Meg interrupted their thoughts. “How about we work on some self-defense stuff in the evenings . . . starting tonight.”
Rick glanced in the rearview mirror. “You think you’ll both be up for that so soon?”
Judy watched her friend and knew she had more to say.
“I’m ready . . . what about you, Judy?”
The uncertainty of Rick’s long-lasting freedom was the reason for the rush.
“I’ll be ready,” Judy said.
Rick picked up her hand, kissed the back of it.
Chapter Eighteen
“Russell couldn’t find anyone at the flower shop who remembered you.”
This was not the information Rick wanted Neil to tell him. “I’m assuming the police already have this information.”
“We can assume. And the flower shop records over their surveillance footage every third day.”
Rick slammed his hand on the desk in Neil’s control room. “Damn it.”
“They won’t nail you for this,” Neil assured him.
“The hassle of being arrested, the vulnerability of Judy when they do . . . the fact they aren’t looking for this guy . . . that’s what’s pissing me off.” Rick pointed toward the monitor outside his home several miles away. The camera in front of the house was pointed toward the street. Parked on the opposite side was a government-issue surveillance sedan about as inconspicuous as a heart attack. “Everywhere I look, I see these guys. I’m trying to teach Judy to trust her instincts when someone is watching her, only there’s always eyes on her . . . or me if I’m with her.”
Neil leaned back in his chair, rubbed the stubble on his chin. “How are things going with you two? Dennis says you’ve been staying over every night for the last week.”
Rick smiled into the memory of her trying to distract him from their morning workout. A sexual bribe, but a bribe nonetheless. “I care for her, Neil. The thought of being locked up and not getting to her makes me ill.”
“You won’t be locked up for long. We have a lawyer on standby. If they pick you up, keep your mouth shut and call me.”
Rick gave him a mock salute.
Neil clicked into the monitors and brought up the Beverly Hills home. “Tomorrow is three weeks.”
“Yeah. Hard to believe it’s only been that long.”
“Our guy’s been quiet.”
Rick ran a hand through his short hair. “He was quiet before.”
“But this was personal, and when it’s personal the
perp doesn’t just disappear. I’ve been thinking about what you said she remembered. Not so tough now.”
“That’s bugging me. If we were in Seattle, I’d want to know all the places she played pool, who she beat. She is tough with a pool cue.”
“You two might want to visit the pool hall she and Meg visited when they first got here.”
“Already ahead of you. I had Meg talk with their new friends to meet us there tomorrow night.”
“Good. I’ve searched her social media history. She hasn’t been on much since the incident, but before that she updated at least once a day.”
“You mean Facebook?”
“Yeah.” Neil pulled up her profile and scrolled down the page. Two of the articles about the attack were tagged and placed on her page by her friends. It looked like Meg had gone on her own profile to assure everyone she was recovering. “I’m going through her friends, seeing if anything rings an alarm. About half the people on this thing don’t have their privacy setting set up, giving me access to just about everything. It’s crazy how people think they’re safe on this stuff.”
“Find anything interesting?”
Neil scrolled down. A picture of Judy at her graduation and hugging Michael had dozens of comments.
“Most of it is meaningless to me. People asking questions, stuff about school . . . new friends following her from her work. I can’t help but feel there’s a clue in here somewhere.”
“Any disgruntled pool players?”
“There’s a couple of ‘meet you at Bergie’s tonight’ comments. Nothing else. She has over two hundred friends on here. I wonder if she knows each one personally, or if some of them share a common interest that brought them together.”
“I can ask her.”
“Do that. See if we can access this complete account so we can do a little digging around.” Neil turned off the monitor.
“It’s been too quiet.”
“Might have something to do with the tight security. Judy hasn’t been alone since this happened.”
“I’m not going to open her up just to attract this guy.”
Neil looked wounded. “I wouldn’t think so. But if he’s in need of making a statement, he might go after someone close to her. Or figure a way to approach her at work.”
Taken by Tuesday (Weekday Brides Series) Page 16
