by Linda Kage
In answer, she gave her own nonchalant shrug. "I'd prefer to use my own comfortable fuzzy pair, but—"
"Wait, I thought you said you didn't own a fuzzy pair of handcuffs."
"Did I?" Eyes going wide with mock innocence, she lifted her fingers to cover her rounded mouth. "Oops. I guess I lied." Before he could respond, she turned on her heel and made a mad dash out of the room, taunting, "Catch me if you can…Officer."
His jaw sagged as he gaped after her, unable to believe she was so adventurous.
His lust soaring to new heights, he pounced after her in hot pursuit.
Sixteen
The phone rang as Willow brushed her teeth. Spitting out a mouth full of cool peppermint paste, she shut off the faucet and left the bathroom. Toothbrush in one hand, she answered with the other.
"'Lo?"
"I like it better when he forgets to close the blinds before he takes you," a deep, raspy voice hissed in her ear.
Rolling her eyes, Willow snorted. "Get a life, loser." She hung up and glared at the phone.
"Who was that?"
Willow glanced over.
All six feet and two inches of Raith Malloy lay buff and naked, propped against her pillows as he thumbed through one of her fashion magazines.
She wasn't sure why he remained hanging around. She'd fed him and bedded him—not in that order—and yet here he lingered. She'd decided to brush her teeth in an attempt to tell him she was ready for bed. But he didn't look like he was going anywhere anytime soon.
His presence unnerved her. Sure, he'd stayed over the whole night before, every time he'd come to visit in fact. But that had been because they'd fallen into an exhausted sleep directly after an orgasm.
Tonight was different.
He'd already had his nookie hours ago, and yet... here he remained. Maybe he was hanging around for a repeat performance, though he didn't look like he was all fired for round two.
Willow didn't want him to stick around. She didn't want to get too used to seeing him stretched out naked on her flowered comforter, even though he looked utterly delicious there. She didn't want to form a bond that was going to leave a huge gaping hole through her heart when he finally left.
Since she'd been too busy staring at him to answer his question, he looked up at her curiously after flipping a page.
"It was Theo Franklin," she answered and turned back to finish brushing her teeth. At least, she thought it was Franklin. This was the second time she'd gotten a breather on the phone in the past week. And Franklin was the only jerk she could think it would be. He kept calling from a blocked number.
"Franklin?" Raith repeated on a scowl and set the magazine aside before he scooted off the bed and followed her into the bathroom. "The wife beater?" He lounged in the doorway to watch her scrub her molars.
"Mmmph hmmm," she gave the muffled answer.
Folding his arms as he studied her, Malloy sent her that penetrating cop-stare of his, and she almost rolled her eyes. The guy was naked, and he thought he could still intimidate her with a probing scowl. Well, okay, he could, but Willow would never admit it aloud. She leaned over to spit out toothpaste.
"Do you always talk to your clients that way?" he wanted to know.
Willow spit again and then filled a cup of water to rinse her mouth. "I don't represent him anymore. After he attacked me, I appointed him a new lawyer."
Raith frowned. "So, why's he still calling you?"
Willow rolled her eyes again. Ignoring him a moment, she finished rinsing then washed out the sink.
Finally, she answered. "Next time he calls and wants to know what I'm wearing I'll ask him just that for you, all right?"
"He's been harassing you?" Raith exploded. "What the hell? Why haven't you reported this? Why didn't you tell me?"
"For starters, it's no big deal. He just does stupid, immature stuff like breathe into the phone and tell me how he likes what I'm wearing."
"Holy, hell, DeVane!" Raith yelled. "He's stalking you?"
"He's harmless," Willow assured him with an impatient sigh.
"No, he isn't. He's already attacked you once. I'm not even going to go into all the crap he's done to his wife. How many times did he put her in the hospital? Three, four? I can't believe you agreed to take him on as a client in the first place."
"I wasn't aware of his violent behavior when I—wait a second. How did you know he put his wife in the hospital?"
"I looked up his record," Raith answered as if that should be obvious.
Willow paused. "Really? Why?"
"Why?" he asked on a frown, seemingly perplexed she didn't already know. "The guy tried to strangle you. Why wouldn't I look into his background?"
"You..." She blinked, stunned. Then she sent him a brilliant smile. "Well, well, Malloy. I'm flattered. You actually checked this guy out because you were worried about little ol' me."
His scowl grew. "Don't change the subject. Why didn't you tell me about this a long time ago?"
"God. You're like a dog with a bone, you know that?"
"Why?" he pressed.
Willow gritted her teeth. "I can't even prove it's Franklin. He calls from a blocked number and always disguises his voice."
"Then why do you think it's him?"
Willow sighed again, trying to clue him in to how much she didn't want to discuss this anymore. "Just how many enemies do you think I have? I can't think of who else it would be."
"What does he say when he calls?"
"Oh, the usual intimidation tactics. I liked what you were wearing today. That kind of crap. But he never describes my outfits, making me think he's just blowing smoke about seeing me at all. Tonight he said he likes it better when you keep the blinds open before taking me."
Raith's head jerked around. He stared at the window a full second before springing into action and reaching for his navy cargo pants.
Willow snatched his elbow to stop him. "I never leave my blinds open," she said. "He's full of shit, Malloy."
He merely pulled his arm free and yanked up his pants. "I'm looking anyway."
"Oh, pul-lease." Willow sighed as she followed him into the living room, watching him tug on his Under-Armor shirt. "Even if he was here, he's long gone by now."
Raith snagged his boots from the floor and jerked his feet into them. Next to them lay his duty belt where he'd dropped it earlier in the evening to get naked with her.
"Go lock the back door," he instructed and slid his gun from its holster.
Willow's eyes flared as she stared at the weapon. Suddenly, the situation felt all too real. When he opened the front door, she panicked.
"Aren't you going to put on your bulletproof vest at least?" she snapped, irritated with herself for worrying. But, damn, the thing was lying right there next to his belt. It'd be so simple and quick... and safe, just to slip it on.
But he merely sent her a cocky grin over his shoulder. "Thought you said he was long gone by now." With a wink, he disappeared into the night, flipping the lock as he went.
"Raith—" she started, only to growl out a frustrated sound as the door snapped shut behind him. She stood there a moment and stared down at the unused vest, feeling an insane urge to charge after him and force it on him. The stubborn jackass. He was purposely trying to scare her just so she'd worry about him.
"Idiot," she muttered and spun around to storm back to the bedroom. She purposely didn't detour through the kitchen to lock the back door, just to show him she wasn't afraid. Damn it, she hadn't been afraid until he'd pulled that stupid gun out. Grumbling to herself, Willow flopped onto her unmade bed and yelped when she landed on cold, crinkled paper. Springing up, she found the magazine he'd been reading.
With a muttered oath, she yanked it out from under her and glowered at the wrinkled pages. She was just about to toss the publication across the room when she saw what page he'd been reading.
All other thoughts fleeing her head, she paused and scanned the
caption.
> How to Please Your Partner in Bed.
Willow grinned. She never would've figured the great and mighty Deputy Malloy would read a self-help sex article. Intrigued by this new insight into her gruff lover, she skimmed the page. She was down to the seventh helpful tidbit of information when Raith prowled into the room.
"Satisfied now?" she asked, not even bothering to glance up as she turned the page. She already knew he hadn't found anything.
"You didn't lock the back door," he growled, setting the gun on the nightstand and immediately jerking off his shoes.
"Oh. Didn't I?"
"You damn well know you didn't."
"Hmm. Sorry about that."
"No, you're not. You did it on purpose to get at me. Well, this isn't a joke. Someone is calling you and—Damn it, DeVane. You aren't even listening to me. What do I have to do to get your attention?"
"Maybe you should try number eight here on this article. Oh, yeah. That sounds like fun."
Grasping the bare foot she'd been resting on the edge of the mattress, Raith wrapped his hand around her ankle and yanked her toward him, causing her butt to skip across the mattress.
"Hey!" she yelped, flailing her arms to gain her balance.
Raith snatched the magazine from her hand and threw it over his shoulder. Willow was able to sit up, but couldn't accomplish much more than that with his grip on her leg.
"Let me go, you bas—"
She gasped as he set his mouth on the arch of her exposed foot. Teeth nipped and his tongue stroked, making her skin tingle as an electric path spiked through every nerve ending in her leg. He worked his way up, licking the knob of her anklebone a moment before moving along, kissing and sucking as he went.
"Oh, my God," Willow moaned, throwing her head back and trying not to drown in the overwhelming onslaught of sensations. "You really did read that article."
"Try to lock your back door from here on out," he murmured, pressing his mouth to the inside of her knee. "I want you as safe as possible."
"Uh," Willow said, attempting to keep her eyes open, but not succeeding. "O... okay. I'll try."
"Thank you. That's all I ask." Finally getting what he wanted, he stopped talking and finished every instruction given on number eight of the article How to Please Your Partner in Bed.
He paused only long enough to straighten and rip off his shirt. Realizing where this was headed, Willow was suddenly very glad he'd stuck around after all.
His hands went to his zipper and he pushed down his pants. As he stepped out of them, she remembered what she'd bought earlier that day.
"Oh, I forgot!" She sat up. "I got you a present."
He lifted his face, surprise flushing his features. "You what?"
She turned away and opened her nightstand drawer to pull out a box of condoms. She'd even remembered to get the brand he preferred.
He stared down at the box as if he was unbelievably touched. Uncomfortable with that expression etched into his features, she rushed to explain, "With the handcuffs and everything earlier, I forgot about them until now."
Raith looked up at her speechless. She swallowed, feeling awkward and wishing he'd quit staring at her as if she'd just given him a car or something.
"Didn't want you to go broke," she added on a shrug as he opened the box and slowly slipped one free, taking his time as if he wanted to treasure such a priceless present. He grinned, making her stomach drop.
His gaze lifted to hers. "Want to put it on?" He tossed the package in her lap.
This was the first time he'd allowed her near his condoms since their debut roll in the sack. Not that she'd asked, mind you. She'd learned to stay back when he suited up. To have him actually suggest her participation was a big step.
Willow picked up the foil with shaking fingers and ripped the package open. He knelt on both knees before her. Spreading his hands down at his thighs, he relinquished all control and merely sucked in a breath as she rolled the prophylactic over his full length.
He was warm under her hand. She stroked him a few times before letting go. When she lifted her face, he watched her with an intensity that startled her. It was as if he was trying to look inside her and connect with something that was more than physical.
Lie down, his eyes commanded.
She did, her head aligning perfectly with her pillow. He stayed on his knees for a moment, staring at her with that same watchful expression. Then he crawled over her and lowered his body to hers.
She stopped breathing. "Well, this is different."
She'd been right about things changing between them. It wasn't just physical relief they sought from each other anymore. Maybe it never had been. His throat worked as he swallowed and lifted his questioning blue gaze to hers.
"What?" he rasped in a hoarse voice.
Willow looked down at their bodies they were about to join together. "It's the old-fashioned missionary position. We haven't tried it this way yet."
She could've sworn he breathed out a sigh of relief at her superficial answer. Then he sighed again when he entered her. But this was a different kind of relief.
When he was so deep inside her she swore he was touching her soul, he whispered in her ear. "Do you hear that?"
Willow opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling over his shoulder, straining to hear something. But the only thing that touched her ears was their labored breathing like pulsing, rhythmic beats of air filling the room. Her gaze slid to his.
His eyes glittered as he continued to stroke her. "We make music together."
Tears clogged her throat. Willow had to close her eyes. Damn it, he just had to go and say that, didn't he? Holding him close, she realized she was in love with the most stubborn, conceited, sexist man she'd ever known. And she couldn't be happier.
Seventeen
Raith couldn't seem to stop caressing her. But he knew there'd come a time when all that luscious naked skin would be forbidden to him. He was determined to enjoy it to the fullest while he still had the chance.
For once, Willow was quiet and seemed to have either fallen asleep or was just peacefully enjoying his touch. Usually, she liked to pillow talk afterward. Glad she didn't feel the need tonight, Raith decided he was a little too vulnerable at the moment. He'd put his all into loving her just now.
It left him shaken and exposed. Not wanting her to see his heart in his eyes, he sat up, keeping his back to her and decided to clean himself. But when he reached down to pull off the condom, he found a slimy mess.
Filling the air with a blue streak, he could only stare. Willow jerked upright behind him.
"What's wrong?" she asked, lifting up even more to look over his shoulder. He tried to turn and shield it from her, but she'd already seen the problem. "Wha—"
"The condom broke," he said and glanced over his shoulder to peer into her wide brown eyes.
"Oh," she said dumbly.
He shook his head and continued removing what was left. It looked like a balloon that had popped. He had to pick the slimy parts off in chunks. "What a freaking mess."
Behind him, Willow mused, "Guess you should've used your own condoms, huh?"
Raith stopped trying to pull pieces off himself and lifted his head.
She spread her hands in defense. "Hey, I bought them brand new today. How was I supposed to know?"
But that did nothing to console him. He picked up the box and turned it until he found what he was looking for. "Bought 'em today, huh? Is that why they expired two years ago?"
Willow blinked. "Expired?" Ripping the box from his hand, she stared at the date on the box for a second and then turned to give him an incredulous look. "Condoms come with an expiration date?"
Raith lifted a brow. "Are you serious?"
Willow frowned and shoved the box into his chest. "Well, how the hell was I supposed to know? I've never bought condoms before. That's the man's job. I saw the brand you use and picked it up. What were they doing selling expired condoms anyway?"
"How ol
d are you again?" he couldn't help but ask.
Showing him her rigid back, she muttered, "Shut up."
An amused grin spread across his face. He probably would've laughed except he looked down and saw the broken prophylactic. That sobered him instantly.
"Jesus," he said, and finished pulling off the last chunk of condom.
Willow finally glanced back to watch him throw the remains in the trash. "What's the name of that morning-after pill?" she asked, slipping off the bed. "Plan B?"
Raith lifted his face, which rapidly drained of color. Oh, hell. It finally dawned on him what this meant. The condom broke. His little troops were inside her right now, marching a determined path in search of a nice ripe egg.
