‘I know. I’m sorry. I tried to slow him down so you could find us. That was all I could think to do. He just kept waving that knife at me, and I couldn’t figure how to move in on him.’
Muay Thai was a close-combat technique. At knife’s end, she would have needed to attack even more strategically. He didn’t think any less of her for being afraid.
When she’d made her move, she’d been fearless.
‘You’ll have to show me that next time we go to class.’
He nodded, even as his heart squeezed. He didn’t want her to ever have to use it again. ‘I’ll show you whatever you want to see, Beautiful.’
She smiled at him, and it warmed the knot of worry inside him. How had he, a man of darkness and shadows, found a bright light like her?
‘Can I get you anything?’ she asked.
He needed to use the facilities and find a toothbrush, but more than anything he wanted a shower.
She grimaced at that. ‘But your dressing.’
‘I can change a field dressing.’
‘Do you think you’ll be able to stand on your feet that long?’
She was making him feel like a wimp, but he also saw an opportunity. ‘You can shower with me or you can worry. Either way, I’m taking a shower.’
He fought a grin, but he got what he wanted.
She walked with him to the attached bathroom.
He untied her silk robe and found another sexy slip of lingerie underneath it. This one was soft pink. He fingered the bow between her pretty breasts. ‘Do you have one of these for every day of the week?’
She stood on tiptoe and kissed along the line of his jaw. ‘Maybe more. I do work in the sex industry, you know. Someone has to test out the tools of the trade.’
His arm came around her like a steel band. ‘I am one lucky man.’
The kiss he gave her was deeper and full of intent. ‘Take it off.’
She peeled the weightless delight over her head as he pushed down his shorts. He let out a grunt when the move pulled at his side. Damn, he had no core strength at all.
She caught at his shoulder. ‘Are you all right?’
He glanced up. She was naked and so fucking sexy, and he lost his breath all over again. ‘Better than all right.’
He pulled her into the shower. The spray fell down around them as she closed the door behind them. Water sluiced over their bodies as they came together in a sensual embrace. Her breasts plumped against his chest until he kissed his way down to them.
He cupped them in his hands. He fondled her and sucked on her nipples until she was squirming against the wet shower wall.
‘You’re supposed to be getting clean,’ she gasped.
He let his tongue rasp over a stiff nub. ‘Getting dirty is more fun.’
She grabbed the bar of soap on the shelf next to her and began sudsing him. Darien groaned in pleasure as her fingertips stroked over aches and bruises he hadn’t even known he had. She eased his pain as she washed everything away.
He pulled her close when tears started to spill from her eyes. ‘It’s all right, baby.’
‘I thought I was going to lose you, right after I’d found you.’
‘I’m all right, Beautiful. You saved me.’
‘There was so much blood.’
‘And you stopped it.’ He took her hand and pressed it over his side. The bandage was sopping, but he could feel the warmth of her touch. ‘You pulled me out of the shadows and into the light.’
‘I’m so glad you made me go out with you that night.’ She looked into his eyes.
His blood began to thrum when her voice went husky.
‘Let me be your escort one more time.’
She slowly dropped to her knees before him, and he jerked when her hands wrapped around his cock. The injury had slowed him down, but he wasn’t dead. Far from it. At the feel of her hands, his cock came to life. At the touch of her mouth, it went rock hard.
Water splashed over them both, turning her hair dark. It splattered against his chest, and he could feel it running between his toes. The warm caress paled in comparison to the hot strokes of her tongue. She laved the thick knob of his erection and then sucked him deep.
He let out a long groan. With the drugs wearing off, everything seemed heightened. Every touch, every lick, every hot breath. He slapped his hands against the wall to brace himself. His belly was quivering and his knees were unsteady. He’d like to think it was the after-effects of the pain pills, but he knew better.
Nothing affected him like she did.
She ministered to him, sucking his cock and squeezing his balls eagerly. He couldn’t look away as he watched her.
She wasn’t on top, but she was definitely in command.
Darien gritted his teeth and held on as long as he could. His hips began to pump, but her fingers dug into his butt to hold him still. Her head bobbed as she took over the motion for him, and it was the most damn erotic thing he’d ever seen.
Or felt.
Her mouth was like heaven, and the sensations overwhelmed him. He cupped the back of her head and tried to warn her, but she didn’t shy away. When he came, she swallowed and licked, taking all he had to offer.
Finally, he pulled her to her feet and shut off the spray of water. Showering with her was quickly becoming one of his favourite things. He bundled her up in a towel and dried her off as they both stumbled to the bed.
They were still damp when they hit the sheets.
‘Good as a real escort?’ she asked.
‘Better.’ Because it was real. He parted her thighs with his knee. ‘My turn.’
‘But Darien, your side.’
His abs were aching, but that wasn’t the only way to pleasure her. He slipped his hand between her legs and massaged her intimately. She was wet and slippery, just like he’d known she’d be.
‘Oooh,’ she moaned.
‘Tit for tat.’ He took the words to heart, and dropped his head back to her full breasts.
She gasped and threaded her fingers through his hair. ‘I love you, Darien.’
‘I love you, too.’
‘I’m sorry you got hurt because of me. I never meant to put you in danger.’
‘I wouldn’t have been anywhere else.’ He kissed her hard to stop the apology and looked down into her beautiful face. ‘Don’t you understand? Rielle, you’re my safe haven.’
Epilogue
Nina sat at her desk with her personal stationery before her. The paper was heavy, with fancy ragged edges. A shiny blue border outlined the writing area, and From the Desk of Nina Lockwood was spelled out in a flourish. She picked up her favourite pen and considered what to write.
She started, but her penmanship was shaky. She tossed the paper aside, chose another and started again. She needed to get this right.
How should she address it? Dear…Detective? Mr Morgan? Josh?
She settled on something more formal.
Dear Detective Morgan,
Please accept my sincere thanks for all the work you did protecting and defending my dear friend Rielle Sands. Your diligence and professionalism were unparalleled as you brought her stalker to justice. I apologise if I questioned your tactics or interfered with your investigation, but it was only because I care. Please accept these tickets as a token of my gratitude.
Sincerely,
Nina
She began to write her last name, but it seemed too formal. Too stiff. And also too repetitive of the letterhead. He’d make fun of her for that.
She looked over the message again. It took three more read-throughs before she decided it was acceptable. She didn’t want him to accuse her of bribery or being hypocritical, but she wanted badly to thank him. It was only what was proper – and it was so much easier this way than face to face.
He deserved acknowledgement. He was a good cop.
A cop.
As sexy, hard-headed, smart and frustrating as he was, she needed to remember that. He was sworn to uphold the law, a
nd what she did pushed both legal and ethical boundaries. This letter and thank-you gift were the end of their interaction.
They had to be.
She blew out a quick breath and folded the note. She tucked inside two tickets to a Washington Nationals game. They were for presidential-level seats behind home plate and included access to batting practice, the Presidents Club and the after-game press conference. Morgan seemed like a baseball guy to her.
She licked the envelope and folded down the flap. She looked at it, trying to decide if she was doing the right thing. She sighed. She was making too big of a deal of this. She pressed a kiss to the back of the envelope and flipped it over to add a stamp.
‘Oh, God.’ What had she just done?
She turned the envelope over again and gave a horrified gasp when she saw her lipstick.
What had made her do that? She couldn’t even blame it on habit. She started to rub it away, but stopped. A smear would only make it worse. She didn’t want to grind it in.
‘Oh, Nina,’ she chastised herself.
She fluffed her hair. What was it about the man that made her lose her mind?
Muttering beneath her breath, she made herself let it go. She addressed the envelope and swiped it up. The sorting machinery at the post office would surely rub it off. At the very least, it would add marks to it to disguise the telltale lip print. She squared her shoulders and headed for the lobby. It was Rielle’s first day back to work, but this was something she’d put in the mail herself.
She didn’t want to start any rumours. It was a thank-you note. Nothing more.
Nina didn’t get to bed until late the next night. She’d been out with a group of senators, some of her best customers, but her least favourite. She made it a policy to always keep her political views private, but some days that policy was more difficult to uphold than others.
Her head was still pounding as she waited for her blood pressure to come down. Her feet didn’t feel much better. She rubbed her arches and flexed her toes until she found some relief.
She was just slipping under the covers when her phone rang. She groaned. She’d known that Senator Gunderson was going to call to ask about Genieve.
She rolled onto her side and turned on the bedside lamp. She looked at her cellphone, and her eyes popped open when she saw the caller’s name. Her gaze immediately went to the blue glass butterfly on her nightstand.
The phone rang insistently, and she propped herself up on an elbow. The ringtone sounded so loud in her dark, empty apartment. She rubbed the toes of her left foot along her right shin. She was tempted to just let it go to voicemail, but she knew he wouldn’t give up.
She’d learned a thing or two about the man.
She jabbed at the button to answer the call. ‘Hello?’
‘Nina,’ he said simply.
He’d been calling her that more and more. She’d acted like she hadn’t noticed, but she had. ‘Ms Lockwood’ had somehow been dropped.
Just like in her signature.
‘Detective. It’s late. Is something the matter?’ She suddenly thought of Rielle’s case. Was something wrong? Her heart jumped, and she began to push back the covers. Erin’s boyfriend Colton was already representing Rielle legally, but was there some other problem?
‘I got your card.’
Nina froze. ‘Oh.’
Without the covers, she felt exposed. She yanked them back over her and pulled her knees closer to her chest. ‘I just wanted to say thank you.’
‘You’re welcome.’ So late, with the lights down low, his voice sounded like caramel. ‘But I was just doing my job.’
She hooked an arm around her pillow and pulled it to her chest. ‘I’m still indebted to you.’
He let out a soft laugh. ‘Hold onto that thought.’
She scowled. Why was he always so cantankerous?
‘That was pretty fancy stationery,’ he said.
Her brow furrowed. What was he getting at? Trust him to investigate every detail. What, did he think it was made of hemp? ‘I bought it for special occasions.’
‘I liked the envelope best.’
Oh, God. That lipstick mark hadn’t made it to him intact, had it?
‘There’s just one problem with these tickets.’
Her thoughts changed direction again like a ping-pong ball. She was suddenly more concerned about the gift. Was he going to decline? Had she chosen a night he couldn’t attend? Did he not like baseball? She wanted him to accept. She’d wanted to do something nice for him. Truly. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘There are two.’
‘Of course, I wasn’t going to make you go alone.’
‘Then I’m going to need an escort.’
Her breath caught in her throat like a knife. Oh, God. She’d kept him at arm’s-length as much as she could, but Rielle’s problems had brought him further into Luxxor’s world. Did he know? Had he figured out what her company did?
‘Excuse me?’ She hoped against hope that it was an unfortunate choice of words.
‘You said yourself that you still owe me.’
‘I’m not sure I understand.’
‘I need someone to go with me, Nina. I want you.’
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