“Sounds delicious! And impressive, Chef Patrick,” she laughed gently.
Cody looked at her, his blue eyes not leaving hers, even as he took a sip of wine. “I missed you, Alex.” he said.
“I missed you too, Cody,” she said. “I really did.”
“You sound surprised,” he laughed, as he spooned some sauce over a few large raviolis in big, white pasta bowls. There was a salad bowl on the table already. He handed her a bowl and she sat down at the table. Cody walked over with his bowl in one hand and the bottle of wine in the other. They ate companionably and caught up on each other’s lives over the past two weeks. It was difficult not to talk about work, but somehow they managed, even though there were a couple of times when there was a heavy silence between them.
As Cody took his last bite of salad he refilled their wine glasses. He cleared his throat and looked at Alex with a serious look that caused a current of worry to course though her.
“What is it?” she asked, setting down her fork.
“I have been thinking,” he said and paused. Alex set her fork down and took another, larger, sip of her wine.
“I like you. I like the drunk and brazen you, but I also like the quiet you. The vulnerable you. I want to get to know all of you Alex. Will you let me?”
Alex was quiet. She was flooded by a wave of emotions - not all of which she could identify. Relief, happiness, excitement, anxiety - all of those were present - and more. Cody was staring across the table at her, a concern look growing on his face. Alex stood up and walked over to him. “Stand up,” she said.
Cody stood up. He is so tall and sturdy, she thought as she reached her hands up to his face. She gently pulled him down to her and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. “You sure you like the quiet me?” she asked, smiling.
“Yes, I’m sure,” he said, bending down to kiss her again. “I mean, we can keep the hot sex - I’m totally fine with that!”
“Oh, maybe try it indoors too?” Alex said, laughing.
“Exactly!” Cody said. “I just want to keep it simple for a little while, you know. Get to know you - minus the drunk and the drama.”
Together they cleared the table and cleaned up the kitchen. They finished the bottle of wine afterwards on the couch, Cody at one end and Alex at the other, her feet tucked under Cody’s thighs.
“Would you like to sleep over?” he asked, rubbing his hands on her calves.
“Sleep?” she asked.
“I’ll leave that up to you,” he smiled.
“A chaste reunion? That’s a novel idea.” Alex paused and looked at Cody. “Do you think we could manage?”
“We can have fun trying - and if we fail, well, we still win!”
Alex stood up and took her clothes off, piece by piece, as she walked to Cody’s bedroom. He had a big, neatly made bed. She pulled back the covers and climbed in. As she lay there she could hear Cody checking his doors to make sure they were locked and she smiled to herself.
“You’re such a good Boy Scout!” she called out to him.
“I know how to make a fire, too,” he said, as he walked into the room. He stood by the bed and took off his t-shirt and slowly unbuttoned his jeans.
“You are not playing fair, Officer Patrick,” Alex said, her eyes running slowly over his delicious body.
“I know, I can’t help myself.”
“That’s OK,” Alex said. “I can help myself.” She put her hand underneath the covers and began to rub her belly and her thighs.
“Oh, I see, is that how we are doing this?” he asked, as he climbed into bed beside her.
“It’s our story Cody,” she said. “We get to play it however we like.”
“Then let’s just snuggle, Alex. I want to feel your body relax into mine,” Cody said as he pulled her close. They kissed softly and she lay her head on his chest, his arm wrapped tightly around her. Alex fell asleep to the steady thump of Cody’s heartbeat. She slept soundly and all through the night.
* * *
Alex woke with a start at 6:00 a.m. At first she wasn’t sure where she was, and it took her a moment to realize she was in Cody’s bed - not her’s - and that she had actually slept there all night. She could hear Cody in his kitchen humming to himself as she sat up and looked around the room for her clothes. Cody had apparently picked them up and draped them on the end of the bed this morning. She pulled on her pants and her t-shirt and walked out of the bedroom.
“Good morning!” she called out as she walked towards the kitchen.
“Hey!” Cody replied. “Good morning. Would you like some coffee?”
“Mmm…yes, please,” she said as she looked in her purse for her phone, she wanted to make sure she didn’t have any early meetings. She saw that she had a text from Mari as well as a missed call from an unfamiliar number.
Cody brought her a steaming mug of coffee. “I have to get in the shower, I need to be in early today. Care to join me?”
Alex smiled. “Let me have a couple sips of coffee first, I’ll meet you in a minute.”
Cody kissed her sweetly on the lips, “I’ll get all soapy for you.”
She smiled and watched him walk back into his bedroom with just his briefs on. God he has an incredible ass, she thought.
Alex looked at her phone again as she blew on her coffee and took a timid sip of the hot liquid. She was curious about the missed call and the unknown number so she hit the call back button. She heard a click and then a soft static-y sound.
“Hello?” she said, just as a faraway voice said, “Goedemiddag, De L’Europe.”
Alex’s voice and the other overlapped so she couldn’t hear it clearly. She hesitated, thinking of the time lapse she used to experience when she would talk to her parents when they lived in Europe.
“Goedemiddag, De L’Europe,” the voice repeated. Then, in heavily accented English, “Thank you for calling De L’Europe Amsterdam, how may I direct your call?”
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18
Book Two: The Crime of Deception
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The Scottsville Exposed Series continues with The Crime of Deception in early 2015. Sign up for Nadine LaForet’s newsletter for the upcoming cover reveal, sneak peeks and official release information.
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19
A Request from Nadine
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Reviews mean so much to authors. If you enjoyed The Crime of Seduction please consider leaving a review on Amazon - even a short one! Thank you!
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Acknowledgments
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My deepest thanks and gratitude go out to my strongest and steadiest supporter, Scotty. Thank you for listening to me despair, encouraging me, and - most importantly - inspiring me!
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Thanks and love to my lifelong friends, prodders, and readers: Alannah and Sally. Thank you for believing in me and always being willing to read.
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About the Author
Nadine LaForet lives in a coastal Northern California town not unlike Scottsville. She writes around the edges of a life filled with a lover, children, pets, and a full-time job. She loves to read in bed on rainy days and lives on coffee and foot rubs.
@nadinelaforet
nadinelaforet
www.nadinelaforet.com
[email protected]
The Crime of Seduction Page 17
