“When you said you needed to see me, I didn’t realize this was business.” Lauren raised her chin a notch and slid back into the booth. “But then you’ve mixed business with pleasure before,” she said in a deeper voice, and patted the seat next to her.
So they had been lovers. No more wondering there, Cara thought, a sick feeling in her stomach. Well, he’d made it clear a few nights ago he was with Cara now. And Cara wasn’t the type of girl who let another woman hit on her man. How Mike responded to this would be interesting, but hey. He was the one who’d brought her here without giving her a heads-up on the situation.
“Mike?” Cara asked in her nicest but strongest voice.
He turned.
She slid into the bench opposite Lauren, looked Mike in the eye, and patted the seat beside her.
He shot her a look filled with regret and slid into the seat next to his contact.
The rational, cop part of Cara understood he needed to do whatever would get the information. The female part of her resented the fact that he’d brought her here to deal with this, and she’d make him pay for that bit of insensitivity later.
Six
Snow came down hard as Mike walked beside Cara down the city street. Her silence gave him time to think, and he wanted to kick himself in the ass. Just because he hadn’t thought about Lauren as more than a contact hadn’t meant she would feel the same way. The minute she’d greeted him, he knew he was in trouble.
Somehow he managed to get through the awkward conversation and come out on top. He’d explained to Lauren what he needed and asked her to do some digging into the FBN’s computers to find out why the cash hadn’t been picked up from the evidence locker back in 1983. Miraculously he was also successful at fending off Lauren’s wandering hands beneath the table.
After Lauren agreed to help, Cara excused herself and went to the ladies’ room, leaving him alone with the other woman, at which point Lauren demanded an explanation for his disinterest. Apparently hooking up on occasion meant more to her than to him. Mike hadn’t managed her expectations well, and he was sure he’d done the same to Cara. Though Lauren was pissed, she was still willing to help him—for old times’ sake.
He and Cara left the restaurant and walked into heavy snow. Instead of taking her out for dinner, he decided they needed time alone first and headed to his place—another surprise he’d sprung on her. He’d seen the shock in her eyes when he told her his place was around the corner. And she hadn’t said a word since. Clearly he was batting one thousand today, and he braced himself for her anger when they got inside.
He lived in a decent neighborhood in a one bedroom rent-stabilized apartment that he sublet for a great price. They walked through the lobby and the old battered mailboxes with some names hanging off, and up one flight of stairs.
He opened the door and let Cara step in ahead of him before locking up behind them. Without asking, she slipped off her shoes, and he did the same.
“Home sweet home,” he said, tossing his keys onto the shelf in the small entryway.
Cara glanced at him quickly before walking inside and looking around. “Very nice,” she murmured.
“I can’t take the credit. My mother and sister insisted on helping.” With them taking over and helping him buy furniture, everything had a warm, homey feel, with a primarily brown and beige color scheme and navy accents. Pictures of his family were scattered around the main living room, also courtesy of the women in his life. The ones who mattered, anyway.
Cara turned to him, an unexpected smile on her face. “They have good taste.” She unzipped her jacket and he stepped forward to take it, still waiting for the fallout of his earlier stupidity.
“I didn’t realize you had an apartment here, though I guess I should have. New York is your home, after all.”
The tightness in his throat that he usually associated with visiting his parents’ house suddenly rose here. “Right now Serendipity is home. It just didn’t make sense to give up a low rental when—”
“You plan on returning as soon as you can. I know.” She looked away and headed for the windows to check out the view.
He came up behind her, standing close as she looked at the high-rise across the street. “Can we just get it over with?” he asked tightly, wanting to know what she was thinking.
“Get what over with?”
She spun around to face him, and he braced his hands on her hips…just because he wanted to touch her.
“Lauren,” he said.
“Your contact?” Cara asked innocently.
Too innocently, and he narrowed his gaze. “You’re mad I didn’t tell you about her?”
“That you didn’t tell me Lauren was a woman? It might have been nice to be prepared.” She tilted her head to one side, her blue eyes bright.
But he couldn’t read her. Damn that cop training.
“Or do you think I’m upset that you’re obviously involved with her and didn’t think to mention it? Yeah, that would have been good to know too.” She held herself tight but didn’t step out of his grasp.
No anger. Yet. Mike’s heart beat harder in his chest. Lauren had come close to slapping him when he told her he was involved with Cara and had shown up with her without giving his ex-lover a heads-up.
Mike glanced at Cara, whose level of anger he still couldn’t gauge. Perhaps he ought to put his hand over his groin. Just in case.
“Or maybe it was the fact that she was drop-dead gorgeous that I’d have liked to know?”
Mike winced, knowing that Lauren looked nothing like the computer geek she actually was. “I didn’t think about it ahead of time because we’re not currently involved.”
Cara raised an eyebrow. He was certain many suspects had shriveled under that steely gaze.
“Come on. Her greeting left no doubt. And I’m not that stupid.”
He couldn’t help but grin at that. “No, but I am. We had an understanding. That’s all it was. She scratched an itch.”
Cara shook her head and tried unsuccessfully not to groan. “You are such a man.”
“And yet you aren’t yelling, screaming, or pitching a fit. Why is that?” The woman confounded him.
And wasn’t that why he liked her so much?
“Because turnabout is fair play and while we’re together, you’re mine,” she said, repeating his words back to him.
He burst out laughing, but it wasn’t funny. She was one in a million and he wasn’t ready to let her go.
Apparently she agreed because she finally wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him flush against her. Those lush curves were a perfect cushion for the harder planes of his body and the even harder ridge of his aching erection.
“Do we have an understanding?” she asked.
“Seems only fair.”
She blinked, looking into his eyes. “Did you and Lauren have that understanding?” she asked.
As he threaded his fingers through her hair, he could honestly say, “No. Lauren and I were an occasional, when-it-was-convenient thing.”
“And what about me? Am I just…scratching an itch?”
God, he was an ass.
“No, you are most definitely not just scratching an itch.” He shifted his hips, and a soft moan escaped her lips.
“Now that we’ve got that settled, can we get on with our night?” He’d more than satisfied her curiosity, and she liked his answers.
She smiled. “I’d like that. Very much.”
Cara’s body hummed with sexual need as Mike held out his hand. One last glance out the big window overlooking the city showed her that the light flurries the weatherman had predicted had turned into more of a full-blown storm, and they might not get back to Serendipity tonight. She wondered if she cared.
She should. So many red flags had been waved in her face today, she knew she ought to heed them. From the day Mike left Serendipity when everyone knew he couldn’t get away from Tiffany’s expectations fast enough, to the present, the warning signs w
ere clear. He had affairs with no emotional connection. He’d failed to warn her she’d be meeting a woman he’d slept with. He kept the lease on his apartment, though he had no idea how long he’d be in Serendipity. All were signs that he was a restless man who moved through life without thought to how his actions affected the people who cared about him. She knew better than to think he didn’t care in return. He just didn’t know how to deal with relationships.
If he’d said Lauren meant something to him or that Cara was just a quick fling, she’d have been gone in an instant. But in her gut, the same gut she trusted to keep her alive on the job, she knew he wasn’t feeding her a line to get her into bed.
Cara got it. She knew who he was and desired him anyway. Which meant she had to accept him. As is.
So here she was in his bedroom. In her jeans and long-sleeved T-shirt, she was nothing like the glamorous woman he could have had. Yet he devoured her with an expression that told her he wanted to pounce.
“Changing your mind?” Mike asked, bringing her out of her thoughts. He still held out a hand, waiting.
A grin tipped the edges of her mouth. “Not a chance.”
In an instant the energy around her changed. First she’d anticipated. Now she was awash in sensation. Mike met and held her gaze, every step he took deliberate and calculated.
“Clothes off.” His eyes gleamed with desire aimed solely at her, and every fiber of her being tingled.
“Yours too.” She wasn’t letting him call the shots like he had the first time. She wanted to be an equal participant in this, someone he’d never forget.
He pulled off his shirt.
Never breaking eye contact, she did the same. While she couldn’t tear her gaze from his muscled body, he stared at her chest and the lace bra, which was a lot sexier than her clothing choice had been. Thank God. His pants followed and he took his boxer briefs off with them, exposing his thick erection for her viewing pleasure.
She licked her lips and was happy with the low growl she received in response. She wriggled out of her jeans, removing her panties along with them until only her bra remained. And when she stood to face him, she found he’d stepped closer, his body heat tempting her to crawl into his skin.
Meeting her gaze, he cupped the back of her head in his hand. “I don’t know what it is you do to me, but trust me, Cara, this is much more than scratching some itch.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw, and she knew the admission cost him. But she wouldn’t make him suffer for it. Instead she leaned into him, inhaling his sexy, masculine scent.
“I’m done talking,” she said, and ran her tongue along his hair-roughened chest, eliciting a low groan.
He picked her up and tossed her onto the bed, leaning over her, skin touching skin as she stared into his gorgeous eyes. She braced herself for his next assault, figuring he’d take things hard and fast, but as usual, Mike never did what she expected.
He leaned in for a kiss that was slow and beautiful in its intensity, shattering her expectations and everything she’d anticipated from this affair. He kissed her as if it meant not just something but everything. And he kissed her as if he could do it all night and to hell with the sex she knew would come.
There wasn’t a part of her mouth left untouched, and every lick and nibble, taste and thrust of his tongue inflamed the already burning fire between them. Cara was coming out of her skin, every exposed body part needing something more. But the further she writhed beneath him, the harder he held her down in one place, pressing into her with his taut, hard body.
The man did like his control, she thought, twisting her hips against him in search of relief.
“You know, the harder you try, the longer I’m going to make you wait,” he said, his voice edged with a gruff tone that turned her on.
She grinned. “And you know you’re a pain in the—”
He cut off her words with another hard kiss before moving downward with his oh-so-talented mouth, until he reached her bra, pushing the cup beneath one breast, and began to suckle on her already distended nipple. He spent a while there, alternating between breasts, until desire spun out of control, the pull stretching straight to her core, and she arched her hips upward so his erection rubbed against the place she needed pressure most.
He rolled to the side so he could lay his hand across her belly, teasing but not coming near where she needed him to touch her.
“Your skin’s so soft,” he murmured, both his tone and the words so un-Mike-like that something unraveled inside her. Something soft and emotional and very scary.
Before she could reply, he eased his hand between her legs and cupped her sex in his palm. “I’m going to take care of you,” he promised, and proceeded to do so, his mouth trailing a path down her hip, laving the skin along her panty line, and finally, finally settling his mouth there.
Cara sighed in pure relief as he slid his tongue along the sensitive seam and took her higher than she’d ever been before. He licked, teased, nibbled, and when he set his attention to that sensitive spot, she immediately came apart, her orgasm hitting hard and fast, shattering her with its intensity. Mike didn’t seem content to let her come down on her own either. He kept his tongue on her tight nub until he’d wrung every last tremor from her body.
She’d barely opened her eyes when she heard the wrinkle of a condom and suddenly he was over her, entering her, thrusting deep inside her and taking her completely.
She liked sex with Mike because he owned the act and she found it incredibly arousing. So much so that within seconds, she felt the slow build begin again.
He slid out and back in, and she spiraled higher. “Damn, you’re good,” she said, and was met with a sexy male grin.
“I do aim to please.”
“And you do it well,” she said, happy to keep things light despite the emotions threatening every time he moved inside her.
“Wrap your legs around me,” he instructed.
She did and he plunged back into her, over and over, hitting the sweet spot that had her seeing stars, lights, and all sorts of other things as yet another orgasm swept through her quickly, taking her by surprise.
He kissed her through her release before picking up his own rhythm. Cara held on to his hard muscles and slick skin, feeling every ridge and swell of his thick erection deep inside her. And when he came, her body responded with another mini shock of orgasm rushing through her.
Cara blinked, surprised when she realized she’d fallen asleep in Mike’s bed. She stretched a hand out, but no Mike. The sheets were cool. A glance at the clock on the nightstand told her it was nine P.M., and her rumbling stomach reminded her she’d skipped dinner. She stepped into the bathroom, doing her best to freshen up before heading out to look for Mike.
She found him in the den watching television, a large pizza box on the coffee table. No formalities for him, she thought, amused with his easygoing, bachelor-like behavior.
With his focus on a basketball game, she took a private moment to study him. Wearing a pair of navy sweats and nothing else, he was the epitome of a masculine, sexy male, and she couldn’t contain a smile. She vividly recalled his body heat over hers, the feel of those muscles against her skin and the power of him inside her.
She swallowed a moan and decided it was time to make her presence known. “Hey,” she said, clearing her throat at the husky sound in her voice.
He glanced up and a grin lifted his mouth, assuring her there’d be no awkwardness between them.
“I can’t believe you let me sleep this late.”
“We couldn’t head back home anyway.” He gestured to the window, where big, fat snowflakes were still falling. “I let the station know we were in the city looking into some things and would be in later tomorrow.”
She winced, then nodded slowly, not knowing how people at work would take her trip with their new chief of police. After all, Serendipity wasn’t a hotbed of crime that necessitated investigations in Manhattan. Still, occasional cases, such
as the one they were working on, did come up, so maybe nobody would think anything of their little venture.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t say anything that would let them infer it was anything but business,” he said, reading her mind—or the expression on her face.
She managed a smile. “I appreciate that.”
“Ashamed of me?” he asked, lightly, but a flicker of something crossed his handsome face.
Was it her imagination or did she glimpse a flash of insecurity before he’d covered it with a cocky grin?
“Of course not,” she said, in case there’d been any seriousness in the question. “I just don’t want trouble for myself now or after you’re gone.”
She loved her job and her relationship with her colleagues. If anyone thought she was sleeping with Mike or getting special favors, some of the more senior members and detectives might not treat her so well. Then again, Serendipity was a small town and relationships happened everywhere. She’d probably be fine. But since he was leaving, the longer she kept their relationship private, the better she’d feel.
Mike nodded in understanding. It made sense. Yet it bothered him that she wanted to keep things between them under wraps—which made sense to him but it pricked at his pride anyway.
“Hungry?” he asked, pushing the thought away.
Her eyes opened wide and she nodded. “Starving.” She pulled her hair off her shoulders and twisted it into a funky bun that somehow held itself in place.
His gaze fell to the T-shirt she wore, the same one she’d traveled to town in, her bare legs peeking out beneath. She was petite yet solid, her thighs muscular and calves taut from keeping herself in shape, yet the rest of her was soft and womanly, from the curves of her hips up to her fully rounded breasts. She was nothing like the long, leggy women he’d dated before, Lauren included, and Mike had to admit he preferred Cara’s lush body and the way she fit against him.
He patted the seat beside him. “Join me? I waited for you,” he said, lifting the top of the pizza box.
She stepped closer, glanced inside the box, and grinned. “Half pepperoni, half plain.”
Perfect Fit Page 9
