"There was no one in the apartment when I got home." She took a deep breath. Detective Donovan was tall and lean, although his shoulders were broad enough to fill out his blue dress shirt. He had dark hair and wore jeans and running shoes. The gun in his shoulder holster looked out of place, but seeing him outside her apartment, tall and solid, made her feel a little better.
He saw her staring at the gun and smiled. "Took my jacket off in the car right before I got the call. I didn't take the time to put it back on."
"That's okay," she said, glancing at the sculpted abs revealed by his damp shirt. "It's just a little startling."
"Hey, I'd be worried if it didn't bother you a little."
He was doing his best to be unthreatening. Careful. Respectful. And it helped her calm down a little. So did his smile.
His eyes were deep blue, and his face had a faint five o'clock shadow. Lines around his eyes made her think he smiled frequently. She relaxed a little more. Everything she could see of Detective Donovan reassured her.
"Let me check the place, all right?"
When she nodded, he pulled the gun and stepped inside. His worn jeans hugged a very nice ass.
God! What was wrong with her? A pervert had broken into her apartment and she was ogling the cop who responded to her call.
Her reactions were out of whack, she told herself. Her mind was trying desperately to distract her from what had happened.
Detective Donovan was a very nice distraction.
He stepped into the hall a few minutes later, gun holstered. "No one in the apartment. Can you tell me what happened?"
She glanced at her apartment, hesitating, and Donovan said, "Do you want to go inside, or would you rather wait in my car?"
"No, let's go inside." She wasn't alone. It would be okay.
She sat on the edge of her couch, unzipped the hoodie and tossed it over the arm. Then she pulled the scrunchy from her hair and shook it out.
Donovan stilled as he watched her, his gaze following the waves of hair back and forth. His eyes darkened. Then he cleared his throat and sat down.
He studied her face, and his gaze touched her hair again. "What's your name?" His voice was a little raspier than it had been before.
"Tessa. Tessa Porter."
He wrote it in a small notebook. "Okay, Ms. Porter." He glanced at her hair again. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"Please, call me Tessa." She swallowed. "I got home from work at my usual time, and..."
"What time would that be?" he interrupted.
"I'm sorry. Close to 11:30. I went into my bedroom to change, and my...my underwear drawer was standing open. I assumed I hadn't closed it, but then I saw...I saw..." She wrapped her arms around herself, fear and nausea rushing through her again.
"Take your time, Tessa.
"My underwear was tossed all over the room. Two of them were," she closed her eyes and flushed. "Sticky."
"Okay. Did you pick them up?"
"Yes. I threw them in the garbage. I couldn't bear to wear them again, knowing that someone had touched them. Done...that in them."
"And then...?"
"I ran into the hall and called 911."
"Okay." He kept his gaze on her for a moment too long, then looked toward the door. "The patrol officers are here."
A young woman and young man stepped in the room, their hands on their guns. They both stopped, dropped their hands. The woman said, "Donovan. What are you doing here?"
"I was next door when the call came in. The apartment is clear." He glanced at Tessa. "Which garbage can did you use?"
Her face flamed. "The one in the bathroom."
Donovan nodded matter-of-factly. "There are some articles of clothing in the trash. At least two of them with DNA samples. Get them bagged, and see if you can lift some prints from the drawer in her bedroom."
The cops nodded and headed down the hall, and Donovan turned back to her. "Anyone have a key to your apartment?"
"My next door neighbor, and my neighbor across the hall. But Mrs. Kowalski didn't do it. And neither did Cal."
"We'll check them out."
"Mrs. Kowalksi is old enough to be my mother. And Cal isn't interested in women's panties. He's gay."
"We'll check anyway. Anyone else? Family? Friends?"
She shook her head. "Just those two."
"Okay." His gaze drifted over her face again. "Is there a guy in your life?"
Tessa flushed. "No." Other than the hot guy she'd seen from her window a couple of weeks ago. She'd had lots of fantasies about that guy. But she'd never seen him again, even though she always looked.
Donovan kept his gaze on her face. "A woman, then?"
"If there was anyone, it would be a guy. But I'm a nurse, and I work three to elevens. It doesn't leave much time for a social life."
Donovan smiled. "Tell me about it. I work the same shift."
Tessa sighed. "Tough one, isn't it?"
"Yeah, but I like it." Donovan's smile was warmer, as if remembering something special. "Nice mix of the ordinary day stuff and some of the night-time surprises."
"Exactly why I like it," she said. "A little of both worlds."
He glanced at his notebook again, and she wondered why. He hadn't written anything more down. "Anyone at work who could be responsible?"
"There are a few male nurses, but they're either married or in relationships. There are orderlies, x-ray techs..." She thought about Kyle, wondered if she should say something.
No. He was persistent, but she had no reason to think he'd do this. "There are lots of guys around every day. Doctors, too, of course, but I'm not...close to any of them. We're professional colleagues, nothing more."
"We'll need a list of their names. Anyone you see regularly at work. Being married or in a relationship doesn't rule them out."
"Okay."
His gaze touched her face, her hair, her neck, but didn't drop any farther. Obviously trying to be polite.
"Was anything else in your room disturbed?"
"I didn't stop to look. Once I saw the...mess, I took off."
"That was smart." He stood. "Let's take a look."
As she led him down the hall, she heard the other cops murmuring in the bathroom behind the half-closed door. She rubbed her hands up and down her cold arms. They were gathering evidence. Another detective was following her into her bedroom. It all seemed surreal.
She stood to the side and let Donovan enter first. He scanned her room, his gaze cataloguing everything. He glanced at her bed and went still. Then he pushed the curtain aside and looked out her window.
He stood there for a long moment, then faced her. "You're not going to believe this."
"What?" She wrapped her arms around herself. "Did you see something?"
A hint of red crept into his face. "I'm your neighbor." He nodded toward the window opposite hers. "That's my place."
Oh, my God. He was the hot guy she'd seen. The one she'd been fantasizing about. Her face heated. "Really? Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I can see my bedspread from here." He flushed, and she had a horrible thought. Had he seen her watching him that morning?
She'd woken up early, hot and sweaty, and gotten up to open the window wider. Even a tiny breeze would have helped. She'd stepped away from the curtain when she saw her neighbor get out of bed.
The blind covered the top half of the window, but she'd had a good view of him from the waist down. And it had been quite a view.
He'd been naked, and he'd had a huge erection. Her skin heated, thinking about what she'd seen.
He'd stood next to the bed, his legs spread, and stretched. She hadn't been able to tear her gaze away from his long, thick cock, jutting out of its nest of dark hair.
Then he'd touched himself, running his fingers up and down the thick shaft and circling the broad head. As she'd watched, throbbing, her pussy getting wet, his cock had grown even larger.
He'd brushed his hand up and down its length several times, as if
petting it. Her last sight had been his magnificent ass as he walked out the bedroom door, caressing himself.
She'd spent an extra long time in the shower that morning, thinking about what he was probably doing in his shower.
***
It was her.
Quinn kept his back to Tessa, avoiding the sight of her geometric color block bedspread. That pattern was imprinted on his brain. Just looking at it made his cock stir.
When she'd taken off the sweatshirt and shaken her hair loose, he'd suspected she was his mystery woman. How many women in this building had red hair? She was on the third floor, same as him. And she was hotter in person than she'd been the time he'd watched her.
Tonight, she looked professional. But he couldn't help remembering what he'd seen.
The uniform she wore – white pants, a flower-print scrub top – was a little baggy. Designed for comfort rather than style. He hadn't allowed himself to look at her chest earlier, but he'd taken a peek as they walked to her room.
Her breasts pushed against the shirt, but the V neck was too high to show any cleavage. He hadn't seen much of her breasts that night – just enough to know they were full. Her hand had been covering her nipple, so he didn't even know what color it was.
His gaze settled on her ass. He knew what color her pussy was, though.
"Um, Tessa. Anything out of place in your bedroom? Anything missing?"
She turned away from the window, her color high. "I can't believe you live right across from me. And you keep your window open. I guess you don't have air conditioning, either."
"Nope. Gets pretty hot in there." Especially that one night. He kept his gaze on his notebook. "So. Anything missing?"
"I'll...ah...take a look."
She brushed past him, her ass skimming his hip, and his cock surged. When she stooped to pull open a night table drawer, her uniform pants outlined a perfect ass, round and firm.
"Nothing missing there." She opened her dresser drawers, one after another, and the flowered shirt she wore pulled taut over her breasts. He wished he'd brought his jacket with him. Another minute or two and he was going to need it to cover his hard-on.
After she finished the dresser, she reversed and brushed past him again. She leaned to the side in an effort not to touch him. Was it possible he had the same effect on her?
As she searched through her closet, he moved toward the head of the bed, then looked out the window. He was pretty sure there was no way she could have seen him watching her. But she'd looked so embarrassed.
Maybe she was afraid he'd heard her.
His cock swelled as he remembered the noises she'd made. Every small gasp, tiny groan, long, drawn out moan, had made his cock throb. What if he were in bed with her? Would he be able to make her scream?
"Nothing missing." She was staring at him, her face pink again. Damn it. Had she noticed his boner? He was on duty. He needed to focus on his job.
"Okay, good." He cleared his throat. "Why don't you take a look at the living area?" He needed to get out of this bedroom before he embarrassed himself.
She nodded and hurried out of the room.
She'd been relaxed before they entered the bedroom. Once she'd found out they were neighbors, she'd been on edge. Nervous. Unwilling to meet his gaze.
Had he made some noise that night? Had she heard him groaning as he came and came and came?
Focus on the job. On what had happened to her tonight.
He stood at the edge of the living room as she ran a finger over her books, looked in the drawers of her coffee table, bent to study her DVDs. It wasn't helping with the cock situation. Every time the material shifted, revealing a curve, he reacted. When she brushed the end of a hanging plant off her breast, he swallowed.
She looked so prim in the nurse's uniform.
She'd been anything but prim that night.
Which woman would she show to a lover?
The patrol officers came out of her bathroom, the woman holding a plastic evidence bag that held two scraps of material, one peach, the other aqua. The guy had fingerprint powder on his hands. "Lifted some prints from her underwear drawer. Two different ones. We'll need prints from Ms. Porter to eliminate hers. Then we'll run the other one."
"Plus, if he's in the system, we'll get a DNA match," the woman said, patting the plastic bag.
They paused at the door. "You coming, Donovan?"
If he didn't take his eyes off Tessa, he might. "Ms. Porter's checking to see if anything's missing. I'll wait until she's finished."
"We can get one of the robbery guys to take over," the woman said, looking from him to Tessa.
"No point. I'll finish up."
She nodded and closed the door behind them.
It took Tessa a long time to finish checking the living room. He suspected she checked several things more than once. Finally, he moved into the room. "Anything wrong?"
Her gaze flew to him and her face pinked again. "No. Nothing. Everything's fine."
"I mean did you find anything missing?"
"Of course that's what you meant." Her color deepened. "I knew that. There's nothing missing. Thank you, Detective."
"Did you hear they found two different fingerprints on the drawer?"
She nodded.
"Anyone else whose fingerprints could be on that particular drawer?"
"I already told you there's no one in my life."
"Before, then? Someone you were dating? Who might have opened that drawer?"
Color flamed in her cheeks. "No one else has gone into that drawer, Detective."
"Okay. Good. That's good." And he shouldn't be so damned pleased about it. He cleared his throat. "So if we get a match, we'll know who the guy is."
He shoved the notebook into his pocket. She stood in the middle of the room, arms wrapped around herself. He didn't want to leave her alone here.
Professionally.
"Are you okay staying here tonight, Tessa?"
The color leached from her face. "I hadn't thought about that. I don't know."
"Do you have a friend I could call?"
"It's too late to disturb anyone. I'll probably go to a motel."
He hesitated. He could justify his next question by saying that he was helping a victim. But he didn't want to say goodbye and walk out of her life. "You just got home from work. You're probably hungry. Do you want to get something to eat? That would give you time to think about it."
She swallowed. "I'd like to, but..." She closed her eyes and blurted, "Detective Donovan, I saw you."
Chapter 3
She couldn't believe she'd said that.
"What do you mean?"
Okay, she had to tell him. Otherwise, she'd never be able to look him in the eye. "A...a couple of weeks ago. In the morning. I got up to open my window, and I saw you getting out of bed. You were naked." Her face burned and she looked everywhere but at him.
"Hey, it was an accident." She glanced over and he was smiling. "Serves me right for not closing my blinds. Don't worry about it. But why didn't you say something as soon as you saw me?"
"I never saw your face." Her skin was on fire. "Just your...your..."
"Just my ass, heading for the john?"
"Um." Honesty. "More than your ass."
"Ooops." He paused, and she looked at him. His blue eyes were twinkling. "I hope I wasn't doing anything naughty."
Her muscles relaxed. "Depends on your definition of naughty." If he could joke about it, he wasn't offended.
"What would your definition be?" He let his gaze sweep over her, lingering on her breasts, and her pussy throbbed.
"That's confidential information. Only released on a need to know basis. It's not for your little notebook." After the shock and violation she'd felt earlier, she couldn't believe she was teasing Detective Donovan. But it felt good. Normal. Completely unrelated to the mess in her bedroom.
"How do I get on the need to know list?"
"I'll let you know when you do."
"I'd like that, Detective."
"My name is Quinn. And I'm off the clock now."
"Why? This is part of your job, isn't it?"
He held her gaze for a long minute, and she got warmer. "Do you want it to be about my job? Official?" he finally asked. "Because for me, it's definitely a pleasure." His blue eyes were flame hot, and his neck was flushed. She needed to look away, but when her gaze touched the bulge in the front of his jeans, she jerked her eyes up again.
Every part of her body tingled. She swallowed. "It'll be a pleasure for me, too," she said in a low voice.
"I hope so."
They stared at one another for a beat too long, then he threw open the door. "Let's go. You probably can't wait to get out of your apartment."
Right now, she'd like to stand here with him all night, watching him get aroused. Remembering what his cock had looked like.
Getting aroused herself.
Staying in her apartment would be a big mistake.
She grabbed her purse off the couch and slung it over her shoulder with hands that shook. After she locked her doors, then double-checked them, he put his hand on her back as they walked down the stairs. A simple courtesy. Something other men had done, and she hadn't given it a second thought.
Quinn's hand against the thin cotton of her shirt heated every part of her. Her nipples tightened. Her clit swelled. Her panties dampened.
It had to be some kind of weird reaction to what had happened tonight. She never got instantly aroused when she met a man. When he touched her impersonally. She was far too careful with her dates. Way more deliberate.
She’d known Quinn for about an hour, and she was already thinking about getting him naked.
Because she’d already seen him naked, she reminded herself. Playing with his cock.
She'd imagined herself playing with his cock. Of course she’d react…strongly to him in person.
Her face flamed as she hurried down the stairs. By the time they reached the bottom, she knew it was bright red. If she was lucky, Quinn would assume it was from the heat. Because it would be beyond embarrassing if he knew how aroused she was.
Watch Me (The Donovan Family Book 2) Page 2
