by Lisa N. Paul
Danny had left his phone number and they never connected, fine—maybe she wasn’t interested, though fuck, that stung—but at least she had enough respect to make the rejection a private affair. However, once again, the sun-kissed strawberry-blonde shocked the shit out of him by throwing out venom instead of bullshit. The second she accused him of giving her the brush-off, the hands on the clock stopped moving, making time stand still. What the ever-loving fuck does that mean? He could have dealt with being disposed of—okay, clearly he hadn’t handled that well—but seeing confusion and disappointment on her face? Hell no.
Could he have been a bit smoother with the redheaded trouble-maker? Probably. But the chick hadn’t just messed with him, she’d messed with his girl. His girl? No, that was wrong. Yet everything about it felt right, from his thoughts straight down to the tip of his cock.
Shit, he needed to talk with Julie, and he wasn’t leaving until they did. Sparing another quick glance around the crowded bar, he walked out to the deck, laid enough bills on the table to cover the drinks and a generous tip, and informed his buddies that he’d find his own way home. Their catcalls and whistles faded as he stalked to a recently vacated stool in front of a sweaty, sexy Julie Bell.
A grin spread across Julie’s lush mouth as she untied her apron and sauntered to his side at two in the morning. “I see you decided to stick around.”
Unable to pull his stare from her lips, Danny shrugged. “Said I would.”
Chester’s had closed its doors an hour earlier, sending the staff into frenzied clean-up mode. When Julie had explained the lengthy process to Danny, he simply crossed his arms and said he’d wait. Her arched brow told him she didn’t believe him, but she didn’t need to. Danny was a man of his word, another lesson drilled into him by his father. Rich or poor, son, he’d say, the only thing of value that you ever truly have is your word—live and die by it. And Danny did.
After cleanup, Chester summoned the staff into his office for an impromptu meeting. It was quick, only about ten minutes by Danny’s count, but when the door opened and the staff ambled out, an energized buzz floated around them. They dispersed into the night, leaving only Danny, Julie, and Chester in the quiet bar.
“Sergeant,” Chester’s thick voice called.
“Yes, sir?”
“Sorry about what happened with Bertha. While it’d be easy to place all of the blame on the woman, no good man should ever have let that happen. Her actions were revolting, but I let them continue in my establishment for far too long. My fault.” The guy actually looked ashamed. “Julie there”—Chester nodded in her direction—“is a smart girl. In the short time I’ve personally known her, I’ve seen her work damn hard. She’s trustworthy and loyal, qualities that sure as shit ain’t easy to come by. Whole lot more than the pretty exterior men seem so keen to focus on. Although from where I stand, looks like I don’t need to sell her to you.” In two long strides, Chester closed the distance between them. The affection in the older man’s eyes was replaced with a hard glare. “You, on the other hand, have somethin’ to prove.”
His words were a gut punch, no doubt. The thing was, Danny had already seen past Julie’s surface. She’d already ensnared him with her wit and gentle charm. Wasn’t that why he’d come looking for her…twice?
The bar owner continued, “Respect, Sergeant. That’s all I’m saying. You respect her, and you and I will be just fine.”
Danny inclined his head. “Of course, sir.”
Chester nodded, first to Danny, then to Julie. “Take tomorrow off, girl. You haven’t had one of those since you started.”
Julie’s body stiffened. “Chester, I’m perfectly fine. I’ll—”
“That’s an order, Ms. Bell.” Chester scoffed over his shoulder before heading into his office. The click of the door effectively ended the discussion.
“So much for respect…I was supposed to work a double tomorrow,” Julie huffed as they walked out the door into the humid night air and strolled toward the well-lit parking lot behind Chester’s. She looked at Danny, and a glimmer sparked in her gray eyes as if his presence had somehow sunk in. “How did you get here tonight, Sergeant Marcus?”
“Buddies.”
Julie looked around the empty street. “And those buddies just left you behind?”
Danny’s brow lifted. “They’d never ‘just leave’ me anywhere. I told them I’d be fine, and they knew I would be.”
“So are you…fine?”
Between the husky tone of her question and the way she bit her bottom lip, Danny’s heart punched his chest. Looping his arm around her waist, he pulled her toward him and lowered his lips into her hair. The scent was reminiscent of its shade, strawberry and honey, sweet and sweat, feminine and strong, just like the woman in his arms.
“I am now,” he murmured and dropped another kiss on the crown of her head.
Slowly, Julie backed away from his embrace. The inches between them, while few, felt far and wide. Though she was the one who’d created the separation, the longing on her face hinted that maybe the distance was a defense and not a rejection. “Pretty sure of yourself, huh, Sergeant?”
He heard the tease in her question, but there was no hiding the uncertainty in her pretty gray eyes. “Ms. Bell, when it comes to you, the only thing I’m sure of is how much I missed you this week.” He reached for her hand and interlaced their fingers while extending his other arm to her chin and tilting her head back until their eyes met. “I want you. I won’t bullshit about that. Hell, I still have no clue if I’ve already had you, and it’s screwing with my goddamn head. But I promise—I give you my word—I only want to talk to you. Get to know you better. And I had no intentions of walking away from you tonight until we made that happen.” He felt his lips begin to lift as his eyes traveled from her curious eyes to her parted lips.
Skepticism was written all over her raised brows. “Are you drunk?”
“Not in the slightest.”
“Okay. How about this time, we go to my place? And just so you know, the only screwing that happened between us is what’s going on in your head.”
Her admission stunned him, but that was followed immediately by relief. While there was no way to change the past, knowing their first time together wouldn’t be when he was a drunken fool filled him with an inexplicable sense of joy.
“Wait.” The backs of his knuckles inched slowly down the soft skin of her jaw. “I remember going down on you.” The image of her face as she flew apart under his ministrations was branded into his eyelids. Her sweet moans and tangy taste were the only reminders he’d needed as he stroked himself off in the shower both morning and night. “If memory serves me right, you were quite eager to reward me for the mind-blowing orgasm I gave you.”
Julie swatted his arm. “I’ll give you that—it was pretty freaking mind blowing. And I was prepared to do some blowing of my own, but some super sergeant I know passed out before I got his pants unbuttoned. And regardless of the fact that I went home with a virtual stranger, there was no way in hell I was performing any sort of lewd acts on an unconscious man.” She tightened the hair in her ponytail holder and bee-lined to her car.
“Umm, Jul? Just for future reference, you know, since we’re no longer strangers and all…” Danny quickened his pace to meet her at the driver’s side door of the Datsun. “Feel free to perform any lewd acts you want on me while I’m sleeping or unconscious. I promise…I’ll love them.”
The drive was pleasant but not as talkative as he’d hoped. Danny found himself chuckling as Julie sang, albeit slightly off key, to Prince, Bon Jovi, and Robert Palmer. She didn’t live far from Chester’s Bar, only about fifteen minutes or so, but the short distance may as well have led them to an entirely different state. They’d gone from the flat dry land where the barracks and bar resided to the plush grassy neighborhoods where driveways were filled with station wagons and yards with swing sets. When she pulled her red Datsun into the driveway of a modest but beautiful two-sto
ry home, questions began to overload Danny’s brain.
“Jul, do you live here alone?”
“Y-yes.” There was no masking the hesitation in her answer.
“Is this your home?”
Julie shifted the car into park and faced him, the engine still running. “I brought you here to my house. My home. And I know you’d like to talk, get to know me, but not just yet. Not right now.” Her eyes moved to the house before coming back to his. “I have nothing to hide and everything to hold on to.”
Her audible swallow nearly gutted him. What the hell had happened to the beautiful woman who’d already stolen his attention and unknowingly laid claim to his thoughts? “Julie—”
“Maybe it would be better if we went back to your place after all. No harm, no foul.” Her upper lip slid between her teeth for a beat as she wiped imaginary dust from the center console. “Because as much as I want you, I’m not sure I’m ready to do this here.” Her steely gaze darted to the single-family home at the top of the driveway before coming back to his. “This”—she pointed between them—“is supposed to be fun. That”—she nodded at the house—“is the real me. Let’s go back to your place.”
Emotions whipped through Danny like a hurricane, from sympathy for the unknown pain the woman next to him had faced, to anger for the hurts she’d dealt with, to lust for the sexy woman who brought out every protective instinct he never knew he had. Again with the caveman shit. I’m screwed. “Turn off the car, woman. Let’s go inside and take it slow.”
She blushed. “Oh, you misunderstood. I…umm, I totally want to have sex with you. I have an orgasm to repay, and since you’re sober tonight, I’m betting you have a few things you could show me? I just hoped to save the talking until after playtime, okay?”
“Fuck.” He gritted his teeth. “Yeah, honey, I think I can agree to that, but—and I can’t believe I’m about to say this—the ‘get to know you’ portion of the evening will not be forgotten, no matter how hot our fire burns. Get it?”
With a curt nod, she pulled the keys out of the ignition.
“Words, Julie, I need words.”
Once again she turned and faced him. “I promise I’ll let you into my mind as soon as you’ve satisfied my body.”
“Fuck me.”
Chapter Three
I Wasn’t The One Who Needed Help
SHE ENTERED THE well-lit, quiet house the same way she did each night. The only difference was the large hand resting on the small of her back. The heat from his touch penetrated her sweat-dampened tank top, making goose bumps blanket her skin.
“You cold?”
She let the question go unanswered, knowing damn well the cocky sergeant knew her physical response had nothing to do with the ambient temperature and everything to do with the slow boil his touch seemed to generate.
“This is some place you’ve got here.”
His statement was filled with questions. How could it not be? They hadn’t shared their ages, and even though she sometimes felt decades older than her almost twenty years, she certainly didn’t look it.
“Thank you.” Unready to hit the hard topics just yet, she needed to shift his focus. “Would you like something to drink, maybe an iced tea or lemonade?”
Mission accomplished. Danny’s mouth ticked up. “Love some iced tea, please.”
She beckoned Danny as she strode into the kitchen. She pulled two mason jars from the cabinet and the pitcher of iced tea from the refrigerator, all while feeling the weight of his stare on her every move.
“I hope you don’t mind it sweet.” She gestured to the pitcher.
“Drink it sweet, drink it tart”—his gaze dropped to her lips—“cool, hot…just want it on my tongue, Jules.”
Julie blinked twice, then swallowed loudly. For a woman who poured drinks for a living, never had the task been so difficult. It was obvious when Danny saw his words had the desired impact because he chuckled. The sound was warm syrup over hotcakes—smooth, liquid, delicious, and setting her ablaze.
Facing each other, they stood at the kitchen counter. While he seemed to marvel over the glass pitcher in her hand, thoughts of him sifted through her mind. He was the hottest man she’d ever seen and the only one she’d brought home since her parents had left. What it was about him she didn’t know, but something was screaming that she should trust him. She wanted nothing more than to listen to that voice.
Rolling up on her toes, Julie pressed a kiss on Danny’s cheek, then turned her back, leaving him in the kitchen with his half-filled glass in hand.
“I need a shower,” she called over her shoulder. “I’m a sweaty mess.” The knot in her stomach tightened as parts of her wished she could disappear from the brazen behavior. Other parts bloomed, coming free from restraints she’d never realized she wore. “Invitation’s open.”
“Goddamn,” he muttered as the sound of glass clunked in the stainless sink and the facet turned on.
She waited a second while he must have been cleaning their glasses. When the water turned off and his heavy footsteps thumped around the linoleum, she hurried up the stairs. Julie covered her mouth to mute her giggle as she bounced into the bathroom. She was in trouble when it came to Danny Marcus. Her heart wasn’t beating double time because he had rinsed their drinking glasses and possibly put them away, as if he’d already found comfort amongst her things. She hadn’t welcomed a man into her adult life, let alone her home. Therefore, the ease they seemed to find with one another had her insides twisted and melting all at once.
Hot spray pounded on Julie’s tired muscles. Four consecutive twelve-hour shifts had definitely done a number on her feet, not that she’d ever admit it to anyone. Hell, she’d been ready to work another double the following day had Chester not forced her to take the time off.
She poured a generous amount of Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific shampoo onto her palm and massaged it into her long locks. Thoughts of Danny walking around her home, amongst her things, unnerved and thrilled her all at once. While his presence was large, it wasn’t intimidating, even on the car ride back to her house earlier. The air snapped with his mere being, but not once had she felt suffocated by his existence.
“That invitation still open?” A rough voice asked through the glass shower door.
The question startled Julie, although she recovered quite nicely. “Only if you’re willing to scrub my back.” She stepped under the spray to rinse the shampoo from her long tresses as the door slid open, bringing cool air to her hot skin.
“You asking if I mind touching your naked skin?” His seductive tone felt like steam hugging every inch of her form.
Slowly she opened her eyes. His muscular body filled the shower stall as desire showed all over his face.
“Fucking gorgeous.” His tongue slicked over his bottom lip. “Every single inch of you is perfection beyond dreams.”
Funny, she thought, as she took in his nakedness for the first time. “I think I know exactly how you feel.”
Wetness that had absolutely nothing to do with the shower pooled between her thighs as a heavy throb pulsed deep in her core. They hadn’t even touched, and already her body responded to his like iron to a magnet. Need pushed her closer, wanting to connect with the one thing meant to truly hold her tight. Him.
Beads of water splashed against his chest before rolling over each defined ab. Despite the moisture surrounding them, Julie’s mouth went desert dry as she stared wantonly at the length that rapidly thickened between his legs. She wanted him. All of him. On her skin, beneath her touch, inside her. Her hunger seemed just as desperate as his desire.
“You keep staring at me like that, honey, and we won’t make it out of this shower. Hell, we won’t manage to get clean.”
Ogling him from toe-to-top once more, she shrugged. “I’m not sure I have a problem with that.”
Uncertain which was louder, the beating of her heart or the pounding shower, Julie’s breath caught in her lungs as Danny’s chest inched closer
. Flesh brushed flesh and her eyelids closed as naughty thoughts pummeled her mind. Click. Squeeze. Snap.
Her eyes snapped open. “What are you doing?
Once again, he reached past her to replace the conditioner bottle on the shelf behind her. Soft hazel eyes met hers, his long lashes clumped into spikes from the water. “When’s the last time someone took care of you?” Without waiting for a response, he continued, “Turn around.”
Kisses from heaven. There was no other way to describe how his strong fingers felt massaging her skull. When her hair was rinsed, he made good on his promise to scrub her back, and she made good on her desire to stay dirty.
“What are you doing?” Danny asked in a guttural moan when Julie wrapped her small hand around his shaft and lowered herself to her knees.
“Taking care of you.”
Giving oral sex had never been one of her favorite things to do—in fact, receiving it hadn’t been at the top of her list either—but the blissful delight Danny had brought her that night on his sofa, the way his absence had burned, and the complete joy that had consumed her when she learned that their night together had been more than a drunken mistake made Julie want to give more to the man staring down at her than to anyone she’d ever known. Eyes locked on his, she swiped her thumb over the thick head of his erection, then repeated the motion with her tongue. Danny widened his stance, his stare not leaving hers. A second lick turned into a third until Julie wrapped her lips around him, sucking him into the warm depths of her mouth.
Danny groaned as his lids slid closed. “So good. So fucking good.”
His encouragement was her incentive as she wrapped one hand around his hard shaft and fed him into her greedy mouth. Each time her tongue touched a spot under the head of his dick, he’d gasp his pleasure. He threaded his fingers through her wet hair, gripping the locks even though he seemed to restrain his movements.
