by Lisa Ladew
“I guess that’s an idea. Or maybe I could talk to someone at the police station. They should see the video, even if I can’t give them any more information to go on. We’ll talk to CIS tomorrow. Or we could go straight to the FBI or ATF, or both. Let them get in a pissing war over the info, which would make them move quicker.” He frowned, wondering how he knew all that.
“I’ve got more cop friends. I’ll make some phone calls.” Kate went quiet after that, and Dan was grateful for the opportunity to get lost in his thoughts.
His gut said that it was the explosives he was tracking, not the white supremacists themselves. What had that voice said, about getting them where they need to go because he wasn’t going to miss his shot again? Something about that voice made Dan’s guts roll in raw fear, but he didn’t know why.
When they arrived at the Bandon house, it was time for Dan to get ready for his shift at the pub. He pulled Kate aside before heading downstairs to change.
“Will you find me someone to talk to at the station tonight? I can’t help but feel I’m running out of time. That I’m not doing something I should be doing and someone could get hurt because of it. Someone important to me.”
He saw Kate’s breath hitch for just a moment, then she smiled sadly. “Yeah, absolutely. I need to get it done, anyway. I have a twenty-four-hour shift starting tomorrow morning.”
Dan frowned, his forehead furrowing. Kate had two days off for every day she worked, so they got lots of time together, but the nights she was gone killed him. He leaned in close, nuzzling her neck and whispering in her ear. “Will you come down and sleep with me tonight, after I get home?”
Kate arched against him, her pelvis meeting his as her back curved and she tilted her neck to give him better access. “Mmm-hmm. But that means I need to make this phone call so I can get a nap later. You and sleep don’t exactly go together, in my experience.”
Chuckling against the soft skin just below her ear, Dan slid his hand down to her ass and gripped, pulling her closer. “And we won’t do any better tonight, I promise you that.”
“I’ll hold you to that promise.” Dan met Kate’s eyes and saw a vulnerability there that he rarely witnessed in her. Was she worried about something? About the video and what it might mean? For him, and for them?
“Hold me to anything you want, Kate.” Dan brushed his lips against hers, feeling a shiver move over his skin. Was there anything he wouldn’t give this woman if she asked?
A creaking floorboard above them made Dan moan quietly in frustration. He gave Kate’s ass one last squeeze and whispered in her ear before releasing her. “Promise.”
She pressed her cheek to his, warm and silky soft against his stubble, then kissed him. “See you later.”
Dan watched her turn the corner and head up the stairs before making his way down to his room. He changed out of his t-shirt with the words “Orgasm Donor” on it, and into his uniform as he thought about what he’d say to whichever police officer Kate put him in touch with. “Hi, I don’t know my name or what my role is in all this, but here’s a video of some people making explosives. Think you can catch ’em?”
Shit. What else could he do, though, but be honest and hope it didn’t come back to bite him in the ass? He couldn’t just sit on the information while he chased his own tail; what if someone got hurt and he could have stopped it by turning the video over to the authorities? No, Dan knew this was the right decision, he just hoped it didn’t overcomplicate things.
His shift at the pub dragged on and on, even though they were just as busy as usual. The desire to get back home to Kate made every task seem endless. Dan would look up at the clock, expecting to see an hour had flown by, but it had only been thirty minutes. He was going crazy.
When they finally got home, Dan was too full of anticipation to be subtle. Rather than wait for Kate to sneak down to his room, he knocked on her bedroom door and asked if she wanted to watch some TV with him. She smiled and nodded, closing her door behind her as she followed him down the hallway.
Dan bypassed the family living room on the main floor and continued to the den on the lower level. He’d never been down here with just Kate when the rest of the family was awake, not wanting to give the impression he was making moves on her.
But now? Fuck it. The closer he got to figuring out the puzzle of his life, the surer he was that Kate was a vital piece.
“What do you want to watch?” Dan was positive he wouldn’t have his mind on what was playing, anyway. Between his swirling thoughts and Kate’s proximity, he had more than enough to draw his focus.
“Don’t care.” Kate wore a bemused smile on her face, and Dan took a moment to scan her whole body. He’d been so caught up in his own head, he’d barely glanced at her upstairs. Now his breath seized in his chest and his balls tightened.
She wore a ribbed gray tank top, and the shape of her breasts underneath told Dan she was braless. His palms itched to fondle her breasts as his mouth watered at the thought of her pert nipples against his tongue.
In place of her usual sweatpants, Kate wore red jersey boy-shorts. Dan could see the fabric allowed just the slightest shadow of her lower lips to show. He wanted to drop to his knees and worship at the juncture of her thighs, like any proper man would be moved to do.
Speaking of legs… Dan moaned aloud as his gaze moved lower. Knee socks, gray to match her top. Jesus, who knew? They gave off such an air of innocence, yet the expanse of bare skin between Kate’s socks and shorts was pure temptation.
“You like?”
His gaze moved back up, to the grin spread wide on Kate’s sunny face, and Dan fell completely, head-over-heels in love, in that moment. It was on the tip of his tongue to say it, but he stopped himself, some inner voice telling him he couldn’t say it just yet. He chose a cop-out. “I love everything about you, Kate, top to toes.” He stalked toward her, watching her eyes widen in arousal and alarm.
“Wait! I thought we were going to watch TV.” Dan stopped, cursing the early hour. He couldn’t take her to bed now, with her whole family upstairs in the living room.
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, let’s do that.” He sat down and patted the couch next to him. Kate sat, keeping her body on the one cushion, until Dan put his arm around her shoulders and tipped her against him. He felt a quiet sigh escape her body as she snuggled into his chest.
A Bruce Willis action movie was on, so Dan left it there. He was much more interested in Kate than the television, anyway. His fingers drifted over the soft skin of her arm and down to her hip, fiddling with the waistband of her boy-shorts.
Kate wiggled her ass and giggled. Dan smirked. She was enjoying teasing him. Well, two could play at that game.
Quicker than lightning, he slipped his fingers past the elastic, under her ass, and between her legs. Kate’s body seized and she squealed quietly, her head turning to shoot Dan a scandalized look.
In response, he grinned and slapped his other hand over her mouth. He turned her face to the television and held the back of her head to his chest. “Shhhh. You wouldn’t want anyone to know what I’m doing, would you?”
Feeling like a teenager trying to get as far as he could in his girlfriend’s basement, Dan wiggled his fingers toward her sweet spot. He slipped two fingers inside her wetness and felt her moan behind his palm. A rush of affection filled him and he tipped his head to kiss the hair at her forehead.
“Good girl. Just relax. I’m going to make you feel so good, but you have to be quiet so no one finds us out.” Kate’s breathing sped up. Dan could feel the warm puffs against his hand as he pumped his fingers inside of her, then slid them up to her clit, swirling and pressing.
“Kate,” he murmured in her ear, his words barely more than a soft exhale. “You’re so wet. So soft.” He found the spot he wanted and rubbed softly, expertly, he hoped. Kate’s hips undulated in encouragement. “Right there, though. Your clit is swollen. Hard. It needs my attention.”
Kate’s body trembled in his arms a
s she nodded, his hand over her mouth moving with her. Her fingers gripped his leg through his pants, bracing her upper half as her hips continued to sway front-to-back in a slow rhythm.
Dan put all his focus into his fingers, keeping his movements small, maneuvering to better reach her, grazing the tiny bud of her sex with flickering, glance-like movements. Kate moved her hips harder, trying to force more friction, slapping his leg when Dan refused to acquiesce to her silent demands.
“Oh, you wanna play rough?” Dan’s cock was hard enough to hammer nails, he wanted Kate so bad, but he liked this game, and it was clear she did, too. He would show her what happened when she got frisky. He moved his hand down and dove his fingers inside her heat. Kate gripped the couch cushion with one hand, his forearm with the other, and shuddered.
It was all Dan could do not to throw Kate on the floor, take her right there, and to hell with anyone who caught them. He belonged to her and he didn’t care who knew.
He slipped his fingers, drenched with Kate’s wetness, back up to her clit and growled in her ear. “You gonna be a good girl this time? Let me play how I want?”
Kate whimpered and nodded. Dan kept his hand on her mouth and arched her neck, giving him access to the tender skin of her throat. He licked and lightly bit, then sucked her earlobe into his mouth. She went wild in response, her breaths against his hand scattered and heavy.
His fingers never stopped rubbing, gratified when Kate’s clit swelled further. He growled deep in his chest with satisfaction. The way her body responded to him made him feel invincible, like he could hold back the tides if she asked him to.
Quick, sharp inhales marked her impending climax. Dan redoubled his focus, swirling and sliding his fingers over her, teasing her orgasm from her, whispering hot, dirty words in her ear. Her feet braced against the far end of the couch and her hips began to churn.
“Almost there, Kate. Come on, baby girl, I want to feel you go to pieces. Do it, Kate. Come. Now.” Dan used two fingers to rub directly on her clit and slid his thumb just inside her.
Kate flew apart in his arms. Her stomach quivered and her breath huffed against his hand. The hand gripping his arm dug in, fingernails pressing little crescent moons into his flesh. Dan hoped she’d leave marks; he’d wear them proudly.
As her body and breath slowed, so did his fingers. Finally, he felt Kate’s whole frame soften as she released the last of the tension and sighed against his palm. Dan removed his hand from her mouth, sliding it down to rest between Kate’s breasts, cradling her head with his elbow.
Once again he felt the urge to declare his love for her, but, again, something stopped him. He couldn’t put that obligation on her until he knew what he was facing in his old life. Instead, he pulled her close, kissed her cheek, and willed the night to last forever.
Chapter 13
A solid thud against her thigh woke Kate from sleep in Dan’s bed. As she lay there next to him, coming fully into her body, he thrashed again, hitting her back with his elbow.
“Ow! Dan, what the hell?” She rolled over to look at him and noticed his eyes were closed, but his face was furrowed and frowning. Another dream.
He’d had them before when they’d slept together. Usually he woke up in a panic, thinking there was a fire. Before long he would pull her close and go back to sleep the other times, but this time was different. He was breathing fast and his limbs were tense, his fingers worrying the pillow in front of him.
Suddenly, he rocketed towards her with a shout. Kate tried to jump out of the way, but her legs were tangled in the sheet. She only managed to push her upper half off the bed and land with a thump on her back.
“Fuck! Ow! Dammit.” Kate looked up to see Dan’s wide eyes staring at her, his breath panting out of him. He looked confused and lost.
“I just dreamed about getting shot. I was running through the woods. Two of those guys from the video, they were chasing me and they shot me and I fell into the ravine. What are you doing on the floor?” His forehead scrunched up in concern and he reached out a hand to help her up.
“Interpretive dance.” Kate scowled and disentangled her legs before grabbing Dan’s hand to leverage herself back up. She sat on the edge of the bed and eyed him thoughtfully. “You think it was a memory? Or just a dream?”
“Fuck if I know.” Dan ran his hands through his hair, agitated. “It seemed so real, you know? I was running in the right place in the forest and they shot me in the right body part… but I guess it could still turn out to be my imagination.”
Kate hated to see Dan feeling so uncertain about his life. She wished there was something she could do to help. Suddenly, her brain lit up like a light bulb. “Oh! I forgot to tell you, I have the name of a cop for you to talk to: Detective Jared Estacada. My buddy said he’s been around a long time, worked most departments, so he should be able to point you in the right direction with the video. I’ve got his number up in my room; I’ll leave it in the kitchen before I go. Ok?”
“Do you have to go now?” Dan’s eyebrows furrowed and he reached for her hand, tugging her toward him. Kate went willingly, draping herself across his chest and reaching up to brush the hair back from his forehead.
“Not right away. I’ve got ten minutes.” She waggled her eyebrows at him. “What did you have in mind?”
A grin lit Dan’s face as he chuckled and pulled her closer. “Huh-unh, lady. You’re not getting me all riled up at this hour. Some of us need to go back to sleep.”
Kate pouted and slid her hand inside his underwear. “But an orgasm is relaxing.”
Dan’s cock stiffened at once and she smiled. “At least someone agrees with me.”
“He knows better than to argue with a beautiful woman.”
Kate laughed and climbed on top of Dan to make quick, playful love. She left him smiling sleepily as she headed upstairs to get ready for her shift. The light was on in the kitchen, so Kate reached in to flip it off as she walked by.
“I’ll thank you to leave that light on, Katydid. Me old eyes don’t see so well in the dark anymore.” Her father’s voice startled her as it sounded from around the corner.
Kate froze, then reached to flip the light switch up without showing more than her arm. “Sorry, Da.”
“No problem, darlin’. Come have a cup of coffee with your old man, why don’t ya?”
Kate could tell by the tone in his voice that it wasn’t really a request. She gulped, feeling practically naked in her tank top, boy-shorts, and socks. There was no way she wasn’t busted. How else could she explain her current state?
She pasted a smile on her face and turned into the kitchen. “Sure, Da. I’ve got a few minutes, anyway.”
Kate fixed a travel mug of coffee and waited for her father to speak. When he didn’t, she took a seat across from him at the table. “What’s up, Da?”
“You remember how I met your mother, Katydid?” Angus’s wrinkled forehead crumpled over his eyes as he looked at his daughter. Kate cleared her throat and took a sip of her coffee.
“Sure, Da. She came into Daideó’s butcher shop and you fell in love at first sight. Happily ever after until the car accident, right?” Kate wasn’t sure where he was going with this. Her father talked about her mom all the time, but he didn’t make a big deal of it.
“Ah, but I never should’ve met her, did I tell you that? My da, your Daideó, he made me come to work that day. I was angry about moving to America, so I’d been mucking about and got myself suspended from school. Da said if I wasn’t going to use my brain, then he’d be sure I made good use of my hands. Oh, I fought him on it. Was just about to walk out and take me chances when your mum walked in.”
Angus’s eyes sparkled with the memory, and Kate found hers filling with tears. He’d been without her for so long, but it was obvious he still loved her.
“I’d never seen anyone so lovely. Like pure sunshine, she was. Green eyes and freckles and a smile that made my heart explode inside me. Ah, Katydid, I was a goner th
e minute she walked in the door. And every day after that I went to school, then to Da’s shop, just hoping she’d show up again. Your Daideó had me scrubbing the bloody floors, he did, but I didn’t care a whit. I worked my way from cleaning to butchering to manning the counter because I wanted your mum to see how hard I could work when something was important to me. Not the shop, of course, but her.”
Kate’s father pointed at her, then used his finger to tap the table between them in emphasis. “But I never shoulda been there, ya hear? If I’d followed the rules and done what my parents said, I never would’ve been in the shop that day, and I would’ve missed the great love of my life. I would’ve never had so many beautiful years and four wonderful children.”
A question occurred to Kate, one she’d never asked before. “How come you never got married again, Da? And don’t tell me you were too busy. I’m not buying.”
Her father’s eyebrows lifted almost to his hairline. “No, no. I never remarried, Katydid, because I never found another woman who could make my heart race, as well as make me want to be a better man. Once you’ve had a love like that, it’s damn hard to settle for anything less.”
Kate grinned nervously. Her father took a strident tone at least a dozen times a day, but never before in defense of Fate. At least not that she could remember. “So, what are you telling me, Da? I should break more rules?”
A sly smile split her father’s jovial face. “Judging by where you spent the night, young lady, I’d say you already started.”
Kate felt a hot blush steal over her face before her father had even finished talking. “Da!”
“Don’t you ‘Da’ me.” Angus chuckled as Kate thumped her elbows on the table and buried her face in her hands. A theatrical groan escaped her lips. “I know what goes on under me own roof, thank you very much. Even if it takes a few days to say so.”
