by Robena Grant
Michael stood in the side yard for a few moments, looking out to sea. Most people complained of the sea’s smell. He never seemed to notice it. It would be dawn soon. Waves gently lapped the shore. Those and the bump of the boat at the dock were the only sounds. He loved the stillness, the quiet. He and the night had become great friends, and because of that he could navigate well, listening for any crack of dry underbrush, any hint of human smell, any feel for watchful eyes. In his line of work he’d become like the barn owl: solitary, nocturnal, and relying on his acute sense of hearing. He required no sight to catch his target.
They’d be safe tonight.
With a quick flex of his shoulder and back muscles he stifled a yawn and went inside the cabin. He warmed his hands over the tiny heater. “We can’t risk making a fire with a wood burning fireplace, or turn on lights.”
Rachel nodded.
Light from the red glow of the radiator coils and the flashlight that sat on the coffee table played over her face. She came to where he’d collapsed onto the small sofa and offered him a mug of tea. Ralph had already sacked out on the other end of the couch. The dog looked like he’d sleep for a week. “Thanks.” Michael inhaled the heat first, warming his nostrils.
“It’s herbal,” she said, and sat beside him. “I had it in my backpack. Grandpa only drinks black tea and I figured we need some sleep, not a caffeine jolt.”
“It smells good.” He smiled warily, taking a sip, and then another. “Peaches.”
She nodded and smiled. He loved her eyes. The hot liquid warmed his parched throat and he warmed his hands on the mug, and then rubbed it against his cheeks. “You should get some shut-eye. I’ll take the couch.”
“Nope. I know you,” she said, leaping up from the couch. “You’ll stay awake all night watching the doors. You’re sharing Grandpa’s bed with me. No hanky-panky though.”
“Believe me,” he said, and yawned. “You’ll be safe. I’m beat.” Somewhere down below, Little Michael raised his head in defiance. Michael almost laughed out loud. What is it with guys? Barely able to keep their eyes open, but a hot woman mentions sharing a bed and they rise to the occasion every time.
He downed the tea and put the mug in the kitchen. “We should turn in. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?”
When he turned around he realized Rachel had lost no time. She’d hurried to the bedroom. He took off his t-shirt and pulled on a pair of Henry’s gray sweatpants. Then he slipped between the sheets, but left the flashlight on. Rachel had curled onto her side, the length of her back and her small, gorgeous butt, toward him.
“Asleep?” he asked.
“Nope.”
He figured this might be the best place to ask her the personal questions that had filtered in and out of his thoughts. “Tell me about your family. You said earlier that Henry is your only living relative.”
She pulled in a long breath and blew it out.
He didn’t reach out and touch her, although he wanted to do that. “If it’s a sensitive subject…”
She surprised him by turning to face him. He backed back a little, at least the bottom half of him did. No sense scaring her off. “It’s not a painful subject anymore but it is um…I suppose, difficult to explain.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. My mother got pregnant with me and either didn’t know the father or kept his identity secret. The scandal affected my grandmother. She died before I was born. I think she had a broken heart.”
“You’re not serious?”
“Oh, absolutely,” she said. “Small towns can make your life a living hell. Everyone knows everyone, and half the townsfolk are related.”
He felt her shoulders lift in a shrug, and then fall slowly. He knew to wait.
“My mother was pretty wild. Grandpa loved her though. Only child you know…when Grandma died, and then I arrived two months later, well, he swore he’d help to raise me.”
“And your mother,” Michael asked softly, and stroked her forearm with one finger.
“She took off after my third birthday. Dumped me on her father.”
Michael’s heart cramped. Thank God she’d had a grandfather who loved her.
“He never held that against me though. I know there were times when I had to be a major inconvenience to him, and when I know I was a real pain in the ass. But he loved me.”
Michael nodded.
“We heard my mother had done some time. Petty stuff. Then she got pneumonia, and died. She’d been living on the streets of L.A…in an old car.”
Michael felt his heart cramp again. No wonder she’d been so fiercely protective of her grandfather and her small circle of friends. He’d seen enough of her mother’s chosen lifestyle in his undercover detective work. But on that he wouldn’t comment.
“I think I’m like my mother in a lot of ways,” Rachel said. “Not that I can remember her or anything. But I like adventure…and I’m awfully spontaneous.”
“How so?”
“You know, like I always follow my intuition. And I chose a bar as a business. I’m a bit wild at times. I can’t settle—”
“There’s nothing wrong with owning a place like Cliffs. It’s a classy establishment. And you know, you’re probably a lot like your father, too. And who knows, your father may never have known about you, thus his absence. He could be the most stable, boring person in the world.”
She laughed, but it sounded hoarse, throaty, like she was about to cry.
“Besides, you had a good upbringing from the sounds of things. Henry adored you.”
“He does.”
Michael felt an overwhelming desire to fold Rachel into his arms, hold her, and rock her to sleep. There was no way she’d give up on finding her grandfather unless evidence of his death was produced. Peculiar how he’d thought about rocking her to sleep; he didn’t do the emotional stuff well. She seemed to trigger something in him. What he wasn’t too sure. She rolled onto her side and pulled the sheet up over her shoulder.
“Good night,” she whispered. “I’m…I’m kind of tired.”
“Me too.” He snapped off the flashlight. He knew to leave her alone. That little hitch in her voice told him she’d been close to crying. He lay flat on his back staring into the dark room until her breaths slowed and then deepened. She’s a tough cookie, and a bit of a smart ass, but now he knew it was all a front. Underneath all that bravado was a little girl wondering why everyone she loved left her. And the last thing he needed was to hold and kiss her in her vulnerable state, they might end up making love and she might regret that in the morning.
****
A man of his word, Rachel thought as she rolled onto her side and rested a gentle hand on Michael’s chest. Honest to a fault, but she already knew that. She felt the rise and fall of each breath. They were face to face. He had one arm bent to shade his face even though the room was in pitch black. The sheet and blanket were tossed back toward the bottom of the bed, exposing his naked chest, and yet he radiated heat.
A tiny pinpoint of light shone through a hole Michael had drilled in the panel that covered the window. The sun must be up. Reaching out to turn on the lamp, she changed her mind. Enjoy the moment.
There was no clock in the room. Grandpa always said he used nature. Best clock ever. Thinking of Grandpa, she recalled Michael’s questions of last night. His thoughtful and reassuring words, the way he hadn’t tried to take advantage of her moment of weakness, told her a lot about him. She knew he was as attracted to her as she was to him. There’s no denying chemistry like that. She smiled, and then thought about getting up to find her watch but it was so nice and warm lying next to him.
She could fake being asleep, throw a leg over his, and press her body up against him. Maybe squirm a bit. But he’d know that wasn’t an accident. She gently lifted the sheet and pursed her lips. It was too dark in the room to see him properly. She knew he wore only a pair of Grandpa’s old gray sweatpants and her fingers inched to roam his naked chest and abdomen.
Rachel pulled in a sharp intake of air and dropped the sheet like it was a hot potato fresh from the oven. She swallowed hard. Then she laughed. “Yeah, very much.”
He reached out and lazily pulled her against his chest, and then she did squirm against him. She soon found a comfortable position and nestled into the hard shape of his body. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head.
“We had quite a night,” he said, and yawned loudly. “I feel like I’ve been up and down that highway fifty times in twenty four hours.”
“Yeah, me too.”
His hand strayed down over the curve of her hip, and he started to stroke the base of her spine. She murmured her approval and he continued with long leisurely strokes. Then his movements stilled, and he capped her butt with one hand. “No panties?” He fanned her mouth with hot breath and nibbled at her lips.
“I was hoping to get lucky.” She sensed his grin in the dark. And then his long fingers massaged back up her spine, caressing each bump, one at a time. Heat surged through her belly and she was wet and wanting. She ran a hand over his chest, feeling the muscles, and traced the soft hair that ran down toward the top of his sweats.
“Oops, what do we have here?” she asked, as her hand grazed his erection.
He laughed and pulled her underneath him. He settled over her, the length of his body covering her, the heat of his desire pulsing against her thigh. He pulled her over-sized t-shirt over her head, fingers finding her hot wet flesh, and his mouth met hers in a deep kiss. He explored, finding the places that excited her most. She nuzzled his neck, and licked his chest, and then traced his jawbone to his ear. He moaned against her mouth, capturing her lips with his, his tongue stroking hers. Then he licked all the way from her chin to her breasts.
“Oh,” she said, on a quick intake of air, as first one breast was lavished with attention and then the other. He took the nipple into his mouth sucking gently, teasing, and licking until her head spun with desire, and her body heated from within and that heat expanded outward.
She arched to meet him. Her nipples tightened and hardened and her skin tingled with awareness. She wanted him now, and reached to pull down those damn sweats. He beat her to it, peeling them down and then kicking them off, releasing his member heavy with heat. In one swift movement he pressed that wonderful heat between her thighs, and then he drew back, searching her face in the dark.
“Yes,” she moaned. “Oh, yes…now.”
“No,” he said, and traced his tongue down over her abdomen to her mound. “Not yet.” He dropped kisses over her lower abdomen and licked the sensitive skin, and blew small breaths over the licked spots until she squirmed and thought she’d scream.
Then when she couldn’t hold out a moment longer, he parted her slick flesh and licked her clit until she was sure she saw stars. She moaned and moved against his mouth until she felt like she’d split apart, and then she shattered coming all around him, and she did see stars.
He grabbed his wallet. Took out a condom and she hoped it was still good.
He brought her down gently from her star-filled orgasm, and then he thrust inside of her, moving rhythmically as she gripped the back of his waist with her legs and urged him deeper. And to her surprise she came again as he groaned his release and collapsed against her chest, their breath and sweat intermingled, limbs and bed linens akimbo.
Afterward they lay spent for a few minutes until he rolled off her, and her hand reached out to splay across his chest, seeking warmth and contact.
He reached up and moved the damp hair from her forehead. “Unbelievable.”
“Perfect.” She snuggled against him. “Absolute perfection. Want to sleep some more?”
“Five minutes of cuddle time,” he said, and dropped kisses down the side of her neck and nuzzled her shoulder. Then he pulled the sheet up around their shoulders. “We need to get up, and check in with Stanton. Plus, we have to figure out what we’re doing next.”
She didn’t want to think about the events of the day before. It was such a violation, it felt like she’d been harmed in addition to her house being trashed. But if anyone could make sense of it, it would be Michael. She felt so sure of him, so sure of herself when they were together. And they hardly knew each other. How could that be? He eased up onto one elbow, watching her in the dark. She needed to see those tell-all eyes, and switched on the lamp.
He blinked hard. “Now that’s cruel.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. But it’s daylight outside and nobody will see the light. And I can’t stand any more evasions. I need to see you. To see what you’re really saying.”
He nodded, and then grimaced. “I’m here for you, Rachel. I swear I’ll do everything to protect you. And I’m sure the trashing of your house is a warning to get you to back off, nothing more.”
She concentrated on what he’d said, and frowned. “What do you mean, ‘back off’?”
“I think they think you’re on to them.”
The pulse at the side of her neck beat harder. “Um, ‘they’ being, well, who exactly?”
“I promise I’ll tell you what I can, but only after I speak with Stanton.” Michael sat up against the pillows, the sheet falling to cover him from waist down, his expression serious.
She looked at his gorgeous body in the lamplight, and wanted him again. Her entire body felt like it was lit from within, and every nerve ending buzzed. Her lips trembled at the memory of their lovemaking. She rubbed her lips together, moistening them, and moved forward.
“Ah, no you don’t,” he said, and threw his legs over the side of the bed and eased into a sitting position. “No kisses. Nope, can’t go there.”
He was right, they had work to do. She scooted closer, rubbed a hand over his back, enjoying the ripple of muscle from her touch.
“I know,” she murmured. “There’s a lot to plan.”
His feet hit the floor with a thud. “You can stay in for ten more minutes if you want. Stretch out,” he said, keeping his back to her and reaching for his discarded sweats. “If you don’t mind, I’ll make a couple of calls.”
She didn’t mind at all. She’d snuggle up and enjoy the view for as long as possible.
Chapter Ten
“Okay, buddy,” Michael said to Ralph, slapped at his thigh a couple of times with one hand, and dragged a chair along the back verandah. “We’re on watch. We have to protect the little lady.”
He’d barely gotten his backside into the chair when Ralph barked once, and then jumped into his lap causing him to almost drop his cell phone. He juggled with it for a second, appreciating the fact that he had good reflexes, and then jabbed at the numbers for the department in Indio. He hit send and glanced up as Rachel sauntered out onto the verandah, wrapped only in a large towel. She stretched and yawned, then turned on the water in the outdoor shower, dropped the towel, and stepped behind the canvas curtain. He’d figured he wouldn’t be overheard from this end of the verandah, and now with the water running he was certain of that, although he wondered if he could put two coherent thoughts together after seeing her casual disrobing, well, towel dropping.
A voice at the department said something. He shook his head, and refocused.
“Detective Delaney here,” he said to the cop on desk duty. He hadn’t quite caught the name, but anyway he wasn’t in the mood for small talk. “Put me through to the chief, ASAP.”
Michael pressed the cell phone to his ear with one hand and raised the binoculars to his eyes, sweeping the terrain. He studied the shower. Shaking off the memory of the curve of Rachel’s spine took extreme effort. That creamy skin, the roundness of her small ass.
“He’ll be one minute,” the guy on desk duty said, rudely popping the bubble of Michael’s daydream.
“Thanks.” Michael gazed through the binoculars still centered on the shower. As if sensing his scrutiny, Rachel peeped out between the folds of the two heavy shower curtains, and a whirl of steam rose u
p behind her pink naked shoulder.
“Pervert,” she said, and grinned.
He dropped the binoculars, letting them come to rest against his chest and hang there by the strap. “All safe,” he said loudly, and tried to focus on the tune playing in his ear while he waited for the chief to come on the line.
“I knew it would be.” Wet hair dripped water down her face, and she gave him the sexiest of grins. “There’s tons of hot water. Feel free to come in, if you want.” Then she stuck a naked leg through the join in the curtains, and moved it up and down.
He raised a hand, and forced a smile, as his body leaped into action. Damn. He pointed to his cell phone. “I’d take you up on that, but I have to check in.”
“Your loss,” she said, and drew the curtain closed.
He looked from phone, to curtain, and back again. Then he shook his head. Nah, can’t do it. He scanned the sea and both side yards. Where the hell is the chief? He looked around again, then took his gun out of the holster and placed it on the top of the small table in front of him.
“Delaney,” the chief said, his voice booming. “What’s up?”
In a low voice, speaking fast, Michael explained his predicament, but continually scanned the area around the cabin.
“You want back-up?”
“Not yet. Don’t want to scare our man off. I need to flush him out.”
“Yeah, yeah…but the girl…innocent…got to protect her.”
“I don’t think the grandfather is up to anything devious.”
The Chief snorted. “We’ll see.”
“I’d like to view his file.”
“You want access to Henry Copeland’s case file?” the chief asked, irritation evident in his voice.
“Yes.” Michael hoped he didn’t have to explain all over again.
“The man’s a damn troublemaker. If the granddaughter is anything like him, she’s a reckless fool. Anyway, I don’t want you getting caught up in another case.” He huffed loudly. “I’ve got a team on that already. You’ll lose momentum. Don’t want you sidetracked.”
