by Violet Duke
She really wanted to. See, that is. “Can I?”
“Can you what, honey?”
Fighting back a blush, she said as bold as can be, “Can I see? You? Back at my place?”
Caine released a rough, ragged groan.
Instead of attempt a reply—which would no doubt involve some sort of dangerous show and tell deal—he crashed his lips against hers again to drag a few more soft, sexy purrs out of her.
Of course, the mind-wrecking kiss just rattled the iron restraints he was holding back his hunger with. “I’ll follow you back to your place. Is Kylie asleep already?”
In an instant, Addison’s eyes went from hazy to amused. “It’s only eight p.m. She’s still over at her friend’s house on site.” Her brows furrowed then as if she’d just realized a doozy of a conundrum. “And she’ll be back in an hour. Which means we can’t actually do anyth—”
He grazed her thumb over her lush lips to stop her from finishing that sentence. “I’m coming over to your place,” he repeated, in a low voice he hardly recognized. “But not to finish this.” His free hand instantly flexed against her hip, in clear defiance of the rational decisions his brain was making.
But he held firm. “We’re not finishing this until I’m the one and only man on your mind.”
She gave him a startled frown. “You already are.”
“Nope. David’s in there too.” His forehead fell to hers. “But not for long. We’re getting him the hell out of our lives once and for all.” He grabbed their stuff from the locker and led her back out to the mail hallway. “C’mon. I’ll text Gabe on the way to meet us at your apartment. Drew can loop in online.”
“You’re going to have one of your dude squad meetings at my house? Tonight?”
No sense sugar-coating it. “Now that we have confirmation David is on this side of the border again, there’s no better time for us to start hunting.”
Down by the guest stalls next to the main entrance, he stopped her before she could get into her car. Crowding her against her door, he felt a primal part of him howl with satisfaction when she all but melted against him on contact. “Thirty-minute drive ahead of us,” he murmured as the perfectly rational reasoning for his actions. “Gonna need a proper kiss to tide me over.”
His lips were on hers before she could blush. Lordy, he could get drunk off of her kisses. The breathy sounds she made. The shy, quickly retreating swipes of her tongue. The way she’d gasp every so often and open her eyes to stare into his for a beat before dropping her lids back closed on a sigh. All of it made him nuts.
It was a long, gratifyingly oxygen-deprived minute before he managed to yank his lips off of hers. And that was only because her curious hands had started getting in on the insanity-inspiring fun by skimming a slow, hesitant path from his chest to his abs...
He caught her hands before she made it any lower. “You’re killing me here.”
Full, kiss-swollen lower lip between her teeth, she unconsciously leaned into him more, pressing all her soft curves against every one of his hard inches. As if she couldn’t stop herself.
He wrenched back like she’d stroked him with a live wire. At this rate, he’d be cited for public indecency. In front of a police station, no less.
“Put that thing away, Spencer, before you hurt someone with it,” ribbed a voice from the top of the steps belonging to a cop from homicide with a pack-a-day rasp he’d recognize anywhere.
“Hey man, when’d you start packing a mini-revolver in your pocket?” called out another highly entertained voice from the gathering group. Definitely Grayson.
Caine flipped him off and hollered back, “A long time before you learned how to use that pez dispenser you play genie in the magic lamp with.”
A riot of rowdy male hysterics echoed behind him.
“I’m getting you back for this, sweetheart.”
She had the audacity to look offended. “You kissed me, remember. So don’t go blaming that bazooka busting through your zipper on me, buddy.”
Damn, he liked her feisty. “But you’re the one who turned it into a dare again with that sexy body of yours.” He helped her into her seat and buckled her in. “So I repeat, I’m getting you back for this.”
Wide, openly intrigued eyes looked up at him. “Then I guess it’s a good thing you didn’t have to turn in your cuffs with your gun and badge. Could come in handy...”
“Jesus Christ, woman.”
An utterly unapologetic, utterly female smile was her only reply.
Chapter Fourteen
As soon as they got back to her apartment, Addison went straight to the kitchen to get a pot of coffee going. Even though she hadn’t brewed her special blend since Creek Hills, she did have all the fixings for it…on account of all the necessary ingredients—along with a coffee maker—having hopped into her grocery cart on her way home the day Caine had pulled her over.
“Why is your door unlocked?” demanded the ferocious, thundery storm cloud of male protectiveness she’d left outside sometime after his inspection of the elevator’s security system, and before his muttering complaints about the fire escape access. Not waiting for a response, he dropped a big black SWAT team looking duffle on her floor with a thud before proceeding to head right back out the door with his trusty compact cop notepad flipped open.
She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed seeing Caine use an old school writing pad over that fancy tablet computer docked in his Phoenix patrol car. Idly, she wondered if he still had the one he used to use back in Creek Hills, with the notes he’d jotted down the time he’d wanted to find out more about Kylie and Tanner before taking them to the movies.
Still one of her favorite memories.
“Sweetheart, I know you trust everyone on the property, but it’s still not safe,” he broke into her thoughts, for once, not reading her mind. “And having a restricted elevator access code to this floor doesn’t mean you can forego the deadbolt either.”
He glared at the chain lock on her door next, flicking his pen at the ridiculously bulky, fully reinforced, cut-resistant steel chain on steroids like its mere presence offended him. “What was Alec thinking when he approved this flimsy-ass thing?”
Ten bucks says he’ll have a new titanium door with a retinal and handprint scanner installed by tomorrow.
She waited until he was done doing a visual sweep of the hallway, before informing him, “Wasn’t me that left the door unlocked.”
Alec popped his head up like a gopher from the couch, where he’d been lazily lounging with a magazine. “Oh yeah, that was me.”
Caine got downright grizzly. “Cripes, don’t you ever go home?”
“And miss out on these delightful moments with you?” Alec flashed him a toothy grin.
Addison shook her head. “I swear, if not for the fact that I’m actually glad you two have each other to expend all your excessive alpha energy, I’d be a little jealous of this bromance you two have got starting.”
Caine snorted incredulously. “He should be so lucky. Also, I’m pretty sure your boy there has a big ole dude crush on Gabe and all his gadgets.”
Gabe walked in behind Caine. “Heard my name. What’d I do now?”
Alec didn’t miss a beat. “Addison thinks Caine has been pulling my hair and kicking the back of my chair in class because he likes-me-likes-me. Caine, on the other hand, was just telling Addison that he thinks I’m man-lovin’ on you.” He shrugged and exchanged the magazine for the TV remote. “If those are my only two choices, guess I’m going with you, Gabe. At least you’re not quite so ancient and curmudgeonly.”
Gabe dropped a duffle bag similar to Caine’s and gave Alec a big thumbs-up. “Wise choice. I’ve been trying to get Addison to see how ancient Caine is and trade him in for a newer, better model.” He redirected his outstretched thumb to his own chest.
Caine looked ready to throttle them both.
These guys are all nuts. But highly entertaining.
Gabe looked ove
r at what she was doing in the kitchen and gave her a grateful smile. “Oh good, coffee. I’ve been working till dawn the past few days. I’d kill for some caffeine right now.”
“Addison doesn’t drink coffee,” called out Alec from the couch as he turned on the TV and began surfing the channels. “She only has tea.”
Caine’s brows shot up in surprise, as a very obvious, very pleased, very possessive grin spread across his face.
Addison pivoted without a word and began filling water in the coffee pot with all the super focused attention the difficult task required.
Totally unaware, Gabe planted himself on a barstool and tossed a quizzical look Alec’s way. “What’re you talking about? Caine used to sport some pretty serious caffeine wood over Addison’s coffee back in Creek Hills. I’ve been dying to try it.”
Alec shot up off the couch, shocked and wholly offended. “She’s never made me coffee before.”
Caine’s eyes were positively dancing now. To his credit though, he didn’t rub it in. He simply went over to set up his laptop on the dining table while Alec joined Gabe in the kitchen and watched her add her special ingredients to the coffee grounds as if she were milking a unicorn jumping over the moon.
Caine didn’t come over to the kitchen until the coffee was done, and she was through pouring out all the mugs. Even then, he waited until she was lifting her own mug up to her lips before he took his first sip…staring hotly at her the entire time.
How the man managed to make that flirty and dirty was beyond her.
A second later, their silently charged moment was shattered by the sound of Gabe and Alec groaning in bliss.
“I can’t believe you kept this coffee from me all these years,” complained Alec, truly and thoroughly indignant.
Meanwhile Gabe simply asked her again why she wouldn’t even consider his multiple offers of marriage.
At least those were the snippets she caught them saying. Really, it was a feat that she managed to hear anything with her ears buzzing and every female cell in her body shouting at her to jump Caine this instant.
“Keep that water hot for me, sweets. I’m definitely going to want more of this throughout the night.”
Evil, evil man with his double and triple entendres.
A beeping from the computer sounded then, and Caine’s foster brother Drew came onto the screen. “Hey guys, sorry I’m late. Hey Addison.”
She welcomed the reprieve. “Hey Drew.” Avoiding Caine’s panty-melting gaze, she escaped to the dining table to her conversational savior. “How goes everything at that fancy computer college of yours? You’re not breaking too many hearts are you?”
Drew’s ears reddened a bit—man, this was a hi-def video connection—but he just laughed off her compliment. “Been focused on school, mostly. You look great, by the way. And I’ve heard you’re doing some amazing things with that housing complex. Let me know if I can help with anything.”
Honestly, her brother Tanner was very much the epitome of a young gentleman and all, but Drew had to be without a doubt the most charming college boy on the planet. If she hadn’t personally witnessed him break into a few dozen high-security websites back in Creek Hills, she would’ve called George Washington himself a liar if he’d said Drew was capable of such a thing.
“You be sure to come by and give me a hug the next time you’re in town visiting your brothers and Lia, you hear?”
“Already planned on it. I’ll bring some things from Texas back for Kylie and Tanner, too.”
Seriously, the kid needed to run for president or something.
“Okay, Caine. Lay it on us.” Gabe finally relinquished his empty mug to go zip open his duffle. “Now that David’s made the first strike back in town, what’s our next move?”
“I already turned in my badge and weapon to my captain today. I’ll obviously still carry a sidearm, but just as private security detail for Spencer Securities. Without my police clearances, we’ll be limited to Alec’s P.I. contacts and privileges.” He turned to the computer monitor. “So Drew, I’ll need you to hack into every department and government database I pretended not to know about before. Max will have eyes on Tanner in California, and Lia will be in charge of Kylie here. Gabe, whatever extra tech you can arm us with, I’ll welcome it. And Marco is on standby to jump in to provide muscle whenever we need him. Aside from a big court case I was subpoenaed to testify in the next few weeks, I’ll be here 24-7.”
The guys nodded solemnly. All the while, Addison couldn’t help but get choked up. “You all shouldn’t have to turn your whole lives upside down for this.”
“Caine would do the same thing for us,” reasoned Gabe.
“And so would you, and you know it,” argued Alec.
Drew was clicking and clacking away. “I’ve been helping Caine chase this guy on and off for seven years. No way in hell am I sitting out now.”
As the guys proceeded to communicate in security-speak for the next ten minutes, Addison discovered there was a whole, far more intense level of alpha-protectiveness to Caine. “You’re not going to start staking out the complex every night or something are you?”
“Start?” Alec rolled his eyes. “What do you think he’s been doing every spare night since the day he pulled you over? Seriously, the guy sleeps less than you do, babe.”
Surprised, she shot her gaze over to Caine, who simply shrugged and nodded over at his duffle bag. “By the way, I’m moving in until all this is over.”
Addison’s surprise turned to supreme misgivings over his mental state when she realized he wasn’t talking to her, but rather, to Alec.
“With me?!” Alec balked in horror. “Why do I have to suffer? More importantly, why the hell did Gabe hand you a giant dildo after hearing that?”
“You know,” remarked Addison, now more amused than anything else, “these manly men meetings are way more interesting than I thought they’d be.”
“It looks like the real thing, doesn’t it?” broke in Gabe proudly, waving the dildo.
“Are you really wanting me to answer that?” replied Alec, avoiding eye contact with it completely.
“Not a real dick, you dick. A real dildo.”
“It’s not one?” Curiosity drew his gaze back.
“Nope. It’s our newest security device.” Gabe started pulling out a few more space-age looking gizmos and gadgets, along with some other standard household things. “Just like you taught Addison back in Tucson, hiding things in plain sight is half the battle.”
She almost spewed out the sip of coffee she’d just taken when she saw him squeeze the base of the dildo to activate a crackling, electric blue spark at the tip.
Caine just sighed. “Are you serious with that thing?”
Gabe grinned. “Dude, I just introduced the stun gun dildo to our Spencer Security market site and it’s already on track to becoming one of our best sellers. Unlike a gun or any other defensive weapon, no intruder would think anything otherwise seeing this on a nightstand. And the second the user squeezes the stun gun trigger, the dildo will alert our emergency response system. There’s a two-way speaker at the base, which our operators can tie into to communicate with the user and gauge the situation to see if they need to ward off any additional intruders by emitting an alarm or a warning that the authorities are already on their way.”
Caine had always said his little brother was a genius…
Gabe aimed the dildo at Addison like a big pointer finger and wagged it. “Just make sure you don’t mix it up with one of your real ones. For obvious safety reasons.”
Twin flags of heat burned her cheeks. “I don’t have a real one of those.”
Suddenly, the front door lock turned.
“Hey everyone,” called out Kylie, tossing her keys and backpack on the dining table.
Wow. Addison had never seen three grown men turn beet red like that before.
In the blink of an eye, they became three giant boys attempting to conceal a dirty magazine, each trying to
shove and toss the dildo at the other, in the most hysterical game of Hot Potato ever.
Meanwhile, Drew was hunched over on the screen with the audio feed now off, very likely to mute the hilarity shaking his shoulders.
Kylie eyed them all curiously. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing!” they called out in unison.
“Yeah, that’s not suspicious at all.” She came closer, but instead of grill them further, she simply pecked them each on the cheek.
Which prompted the three guys to work together now, in an impressively efficient choreography of hand-offs behind their backs.
So freaking funny.
Finally, it ended up shoved into Caine’s bag and casually kicked a few feet away.
Kylie came over to hug Addison last. “Do I want to know?” she asked.
“Nope,” confirmed Addison. “I sorta wish I didn’t know.”
“Okay, then. I’m going to bed so you guys can continue to be twitchy and weird without any more interruptions.” She waved at Drew and made her way across the living room.
Halfway down the short hallway, however, she stopped and looked around, eyes darting up at the ceiling and floors. “Does anyone else hear that buzzing sound?”
Alec and Gabe made a run for it.
They scooped up Caine’s bag and took off, sprinting toward Alec’s apartment like they were holding a ticking time bomb.
Drew logged off without a word, leaving them with a snowy black screen.
Caine bravely held his post, but looked a lot like he was hoping the floor would open up and swallow him whole.
To put him out of his misery, Addison answered Kylie with a shrugging, “Oh that’s nothing; it’s just the guys’ big ole vibrator. No big deal.”
Addison knew she was bad enough at lying as it was—her siblings could always tell somehow—so for something like this, really, why make it more complicated?
Kylie blanched and sprinted toward her room. “Geez, you could’ve just said it was none of my business. No need to make up stuff that’ll scar me for life.”
