Buddy continued to growl menacingly and I held tight to his leash, just in case he wanted to take a chomp out of Sampson’s sleazebag ass. If I hadn’t already been crazy about the dog I would’ve been when he made his opinion of the man known. I’d always heard that animals were good judges of character and Buddy’s reaction to the deputy proved it.
“Big Daddy’s home!” Savage’s words and timing were impeccable as always.
Josh’s smile grew wider. “Did you teach him that too?”
“I know nothing of which you speak.” I’d deny it until my dying breath. I shifted my focus back to Sampson who was looking between the two of us in confusion. “I believe Josh told you to leave.” My voice was as menacing as Buddy’s growl. A huge part of me really wanted to put the beat down on that mofo for hurting Josh the way he did, but I was an adult–one who swore to uphold the laws and not circumvent them when it was convenient for me.
Sampson ignored me and looked at Josh. “You can’t be serious.” He hooked his thumb in my direction and asked, “Are you for real with this guy?”
“Very real,” Josh replied. “I want you to leave, Billy, and never come back. There’s nothing for us to talk about and I don’t want to be friends with you.”
I could feel the hostility rolling off the dickbag when Josh reaffirmed my right to be there. The contemptuous look that Sampson gave me the morning I was called to the scene of Nate’s homicide was child’s play to the one he gave me in Josh’s salon kitchenette. Instead of derision, I saw outright hatred in his blue eyes because I stood in the way of something he wanted. I wasn’t fucking going anywhere so he’d just have to get the fuck over it.
Sampson shook his head like he couldn’t believe what Josh told him. A lesser man might’ve gotten his feelings hurt, but I wasn’t that man. I felt secure in my place in Josh’s life. “Whatever.” Sampson’s words sounded like a teenager who didn’t get his way. “I’ll be seeing you around, Josh. This isn’t over.” Sampson bumped his shoulder against mine on his way to the door. I guess it was his way of trying to intimidate me, but it didn’t work.
“Billy,” Josh called out before he reached the door. He waited for Billy to turn then said, “It is over and has been for ten years. Don’t come back here.”
Billy didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to because the way he slammed the back door behind him spoke plenty. I unclipped Buddy’s leash and went to Josh. I placed the vase and leash on the countertop beside him and studied him. I hated the tense lines on his face and the rigid way he stood. I pulled him into my arms and he resisted me. I worried that Sampson had undone some of the positive steps we’d taken forward, but then Josh held up his hands to show that they were wet.
He dried them on the towel beside him then turned to me. “Okay, now.”
I pulled him against my chest and wrapped my arms tightly around him. My heart melted as I felt the tension drain from his body until he was the consistency of putty in my arms. Josh let out a soft sigh and I was glad that I took the initiative to come over to his house unannounced. I expected to find the door locked since the salon was closed, but instead I found an unwanted visitor inside.
“Do me a favor and keep the door locked, okay?” I asked. I knew he was used to growing up in a small, safe community where hardly anything bad happened, but like with most cities and towns across America, things were changing. In the span of just a few months, there were two murders, and two attempted murders, and the large drug bust. On top of that, there was Nate Turner’s death not far from town. I still didn’t know what the hell Nate was doing in my county the night he was killed, but I didn’t think it was a coincidence.
Josh pulled back and looked up at me. I was happy to see that the lines of tension were gone from his beautiful face. “I learned my lesson.” Josh looked over at the flowers and then back at me. “What’s the occasion?”
“Do I need an occasion to do something nice for the guy I like?” I could see the battle brewing in his brain through his expressive eyes. Josh wanted to believe that I didn’t have an ulterior motive in mind when I brought him flowers, but his experiences filled him with doubt.
“Are you even real?” Josh finally asked.
If we had been horsing around, I would’ve placed his hand over my crotch, but the seriousness I saw in his eyes told me a flippant or sexy gesture or response wasn’t what he needed. Instead, I moved his hand from my waist and placed it over my heart. “Very real.” I repeated the words he used earlier.
I felt a tenderness in his touch that wasn’t usually present when Josh rose on his tiptoes and pressed his lips to mine. He was usually the one who turned things sexual between us because it was all he knew. I vowed to not let it happen that night. I wasn’t saying no to getting him naked, but I wouldn’t allow sex to be my primary focus that night. I controlled my dick, not the other way around.
“So, what did you have in mind tonight?” he asked when he pulled back from our kiss.
“I planned a special night in for us since you were out so late last night. I actually have quite a few things in my trunk, but I wanted to bring Buddy and the flowers in first.”
I gave Josh credit for only looking wary for a few seconds. He was a guy who liked his routine and did not care for surprises, except on occasions like Christmas when they were somewhat expected. “That’s very thoughtful of you and I must admit that I’m intrigued. Do you need any help carrying anything in?”
“Nope, got it all covered.” I was sure to lock the damn back door when I returned from my car. “You’re in for a real treat,” I said when I unpacked the groceries from the bags. “I’m going to cook you a nice dinner, we’re going to drink some wine, and then we’re going to watch your favorite movies.”
“This sounds great, but what are you getting out of all of this?” Josh asked.
It honestly broke my heart that not a single man had ever done something kind to make him feel special. I had turned away from him to look for a sauté pan, but I turned back around to face him so he could see the sincerity in my eyes. “Spending time with you and making you happy. That’s what I’m ‘getting out’ of it.”
I saw the moment he accepted my words as truth. “What are you making me for dinner?”
“Chicken Marsala and roasted vegetables.” I turned back around and started the prep work for dinner, but not before I saw the stunned look on his face. He was probably expecting grilled cheese and tomato soup, which wasn’t too far off from my normal cooking, but I was capable of more. It was important to me that he knew that and not just in regards to my kitchen skills.
“Can I help you?” he asked and I wondered if it was because I was touching his pots and pans. He was so damn particular about them that he rarely wanted anyone to wash them. Apparently, they were some high-dollar deal that he wanted to cherish.
“Nope.”
“You want to listen to a football game or something while you work?” he asked.
“Nope.” The night was about him and I wanted to prove that I didn’t have to watch sports every single night. “You watch what you want.” Television was a big deal because we were two men who were hardwired at birth to dominate the remote control.
“Okay.” I heard the shrug in his voice. Soon his home was filled with the sounds of his favorite home improvement show while I cooked dinner for us.
My resolve to behave was pushed to the limits when Josh started showing his appreciation for my cooking skills by moaning after every bite. They were very similar to the sounds I made when I ate the food he cooked for me.
“So good.” Oh man, Josh busted out the phrases he used when he was lost to the sensations we created together during sex. My dick started to wake from its slumber like a sleeping dragon, he was ready to come out and play. “Delicious.” He licked a bit of sauce that dripped off his fork and onto his wrist. He wasn’t helping me behave, but that wasn’t his responsibility.
I refused his help to clean up after dinner and sent him bac
k to the couch with his glass of wine. My body was so in tuned with him that I could feel when he chose to watch me instead of the television. His focus seemed to be more of the reflection type rather than making sure I didn’t scrape the surface of the sauce pan with a sharp object. I realized that my actions surprised him and the skeptical side of him challenged my intentions, but he’d soon see. Hell, I was willing to go home instead of sleep over if that was what it took to make him see that my need for him went beyond sexual.
“Movie time,” I said when I joined him on the couch. “What are you in the mood for?”
“I think I’d rather watch this show than a movie if that’s okay with you.” It happened to be one of his renovation shows that I happened to like also. It was a married couple who could find the beauty in just about any house. I was suspicious that he only chose it to make me happy, which must’ve showed on my face because he rolled his eyes. “There’s a marathon on because the new season starts on Tuesday. I haven’t seen some of these, and even if I did, I still love watching them.”
“Okay,” I said in surrender.
We watched a few hours of episodes and laughed several times at the husband’s shenanigans and the wife’s never-ending patience with him. They truly were a fun couple and very knowledgeable about what they were doing. My favorite thing about the show was how they tried to repurpose things when they could because shiny and new didn’t fit everyone’s personality.
“Relationship goals,” Josh said sleepily from where he lay against my chest. His confession surprised me a bit, because the R word wasn’t in his vocabulary. “Something goals,” he amended, as if he read my mind.
I ran my hands through the silky strands of his platinum hair and could tell the moment he fell asleep. I didn’t reach for the remote to change the show, I continued to watch the couple that Josh seemed to admire so much. It was true that they had a natural, genuine love for one another that came through loud and clear. They didn’t smooch or hang all over each other, but you could see it in their expressions and the smiles they shared with one another.
I stayed in the same position so that I didn’t wake him until the numbness turned into pain. “Wake up, sleepy head, so we can go to bed and be more comfortable.” Josh just tried to burrow deeper into me rather than wake up. “If you cooperate then I’ll take you to see Charlotte even though you haven’t showed me your pole dancing studio.” He’d been bugging me to show him my 1970 Dodge Charger that I kept in storage more than I bugged him about the studio.
“Just leave me here.” Poor guy sounded exhausted and there was no way I was leaving him on the couch when there was a perfectly good bed waiting on him. I did the only thing I could; I carried him to bed. “What?” he asked when he realized he was being lifted in the air.
“I got you.” They were the same words I said to him the night I shot and killed the man who broke into his home with the intention to kill him.
“Yes, you do.” I tried not to take his words too seriously because he was half asleep, but they still made my heart speed up.
He woke up enough to help me remove his clothes and get in bed, but he was out like a light after that. I spooned up behind him so close that we shared a pillow because that was how he liked to be held. I discovered that I missed our closeness on the nights I slept away from him. The warmth of his skin against mine and his even breaths pulled me into a deep sleep.
The next thing I remembered, I opened my eyes to find Josh standing next to the bed fully dressed with a cup of coffee extended to me. It was a lot like the first time he stayed at my house, except I was happy to wake up there when he hadn’t planned on staying at my house. I told him I’d wake him up and I did, but it was the next morning and not after a few hours like he’d been expecting.
“Breakfast in ten minutes.” Josh set the coffee cup on the bedside table when I made no move to take it from him. “Hit the shower, Big Daddy, because you’re taking me to see Charlotte before I have to do my tedious errands.”
“You didn’t cooperate,” I hollered after his retreating back.
“Pick your battles, babe.”
“Fine, but then I want a demonstration up in the studio.”
Josh stopped and faced me. “Oh, honey, you’re going to need a few days to rest up after the wicked things I want you to do to me on the hood of your car.”
I whipped back the covers and flung my legs over the side of his bed. I tripped over my shoe and stubbed my big toe in my hurry to get to the shower, but my dick didn’t care about anything as minor as that. “Fuck!” I heard Josh laughing over my discomfort and vowed I wouldn’t be the only one limping that day.
IT HAD BECOME A competition between us–Charlotte vs the pole dancing studio. As long as I live, I’ll never forget the lust-crazed look in Gabe’s eye the first time I mentioned my attic studio on our first dinner date. It was so fucking adorable how he tried to be a gentleman and wait for an invitation to a private showing the months that followed, rather than invite himself on up. It made me fall deeper in like with him. I’ll also confess that I liked having the upper hand when it came to him, so it was quite a blow when I discovered that Gabe was keeping a secret also.
Sally Ann and Adrian had invited us over for Sunday football and chili once Gabe recuperated from his head injury. I can’t even be sure who or why it was brought up, but Adrian said something about Charlotte or Gabe’s obsession with Charlotte. At first, I was confused as fuck. Who the hell was Charlotte and why would Gabe be obsessed with her? I was overcome with an insane streak of jealousy and then I stamped that shit down quick. I never once got the impression from Gabe that he was also attracted to women and Lord knows there were enough sexually-engineered commercials on during football games to fire up any male remotely interested in lady bits.
Apparently long legs sold beer and models opening their mouths wide to eat a burger encouraged guys to want to eat at their restaurant. I didn’t so much as see a reaction out of him. Then I realized it didn’t matter who he was attracted to because I was the one he wanted. As insecure as I was at times, I was smart enough to know that attraction didn’t equal unfaithfulness. Billy Sampson’s behavior in high school colored my views for a long time, but I eventually figured things out. I also knew that Gabe wasn’t the kind of guy to stray, which was a reassurance I never thought I would have in a rel… something.
Secure in my place in his life, I laid my head on his broad shoulder and asked, “Who’s Charlotte?”
Gabe leaned away enough so he could look down at my upturned face. “I never told you about Charlotte?” I could hear the reverence in his voice when he mentioned her name and my earlier confidence started to fade.
“No, you certainly didn’t.”
“Oh. Hmmm.” His nonchalant attitude caused me to narrow my eyes at him. He knew damn well he never told me about this Charlotte. The smirk he wore on his jutted chin made me want to twist his nipple clean off.
I was just about to blast him with standard Josh-like snark when Adrian spoke up. “What is Charlotte, not who.”
Gabe sent Adrian a look that said he wasn’t at all helpful, but I didn’t agree. Charlotte wasn’t a person; she was a thing. I began to think of all the things that men owned that they named, specifically a woman’s name. I narrowed it down to two things: a boat or a car. Gabe didn’t own a garage, but rental units were plentiful in Carter County and some were large enough to shelter either of those things.
“Boat or car?” I asked him.
“You show me yours and I’ll show you mine,” was Gabe’s husky whisper in my ear. He then turned and leveled Adrian with a fierce scowl. “Not another word from you.” Adrian pretended to zip his lips then threw his hands up playfully in surrender.
Gabe threw down the gauntlet that day and I was not about to give him a show on the pole–well, not the one in the attic, anyway–until he showed me Charlotte. I spent more time than I should’ve trying to figure out if she was a car or a boat. My first thought was
that she was a classic car of some sort because his dad owned an auto body shop in Miami, but then again, being from Miami meant he probably liked the water. In the end, I decided she was a car because most boats that sailed in the ocean weren’t the same ones that sailed on inland lakes in Ohio.
Even half dead, I would have heard his promise to take me to see her. It amused me when he tried to backpedal the next morning, but I wasn’t letting up. He was going to show me his first and I was going to reward him handsomely later. I wasn’t about to confess that I had a special song in mind for the first time I performed for him. I wanted to captivate him as surely as he had me and give him a night he would never forget.
It didn’t take Gabe long to limp into the living room after his quick shower. It wasn’t nice of me to laugh when he tripped over his shoe and cursed when he stubbed his toe. The wicked look in his eye promised that I’d be paying for my insensitivity. If he thought he scared me, he had another thing coming. I reached down and arranged my growing erection before I served up his scrambled eggs on a plate beside bacon and a blueberry muffin.
Gabe stepped behind me and pulled me tight against him. He rubbed his nose behind my ear and down my neck, knowing it drove me wild. “You spoil me.”
I turned in the circle of his arms, looking into his eyes. “I wanted to give you a morning that was as special to you as last night was for me.”
“I made you dinner and we watched television.” I didn’t like how he downplayed his kind gesture, but we both had our issues to work through.
“Well, I made you breakfast and then I’m going to bend over the hood of your precious car so you can fuck me.”
Gabe groaned my name before he captured my lips in a kiss so devastating that I almost confessed that I more than liked him. I was on the verge of using the other L world when he broke our kiss, but then I noticed that the look on his face had turned from lust to suspicion.
“What makes you think Charlotte is a car?” he asked.
Something to Dye For (Curl Up and Dye Mysteries, #2) Page 6
