Crazy Love

by Rachael Tamayo

  “Emily, baby” I groan into her shoulder, nipping with gentle teeth.

  “Noah-” Julie’s voice startles me. Pisses me off. I pull her hair and stroke her harder. Damn her for taking my Emily away.

  “Noah you’re hurting me-”

  I grip her hips, roaring. I want Emily back.

  She claims I hurt her, but she comes anyway. She convulses against the wall, and I follow right behind her. When she turns over her shoulder at me, I see tears on her face.

  “Don’t cry. You said you were okay with this.” I feign sympathy, wiping her tears away in a rare show of gentility.

  Julie looks down, as if embarrassed.

  “Just don’t call out someone else’s name and we can keep pretending.”

  “Pretending?”

  When she looks back up at me, there is a hint of anger in her eyes. “Yes, pretending that you care how I feel. Me, pretending I don’t know all I am is a piece of ass. Pretending.”

  I shrug, bending to pull my pants up. “Whatever you say, doll.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Emily

  Isaiah buckles the birthday watch on his wrist with a smile. “I love this, it’s fantastic.” He glances up at me.

  I shrug. “You like it?”

  It has a large black face with no numbers, and a black metal band. I had the words Love, Emily engraved on the back.

  “It’s perfect. Thank you.” Leaning in, he gives me a soft kiss.

  “So, where are we going again?” Standing up, I turn and face the mirror. I am wearing jeans and a slim-fit, blue, cowl neck, light knit sweater with the sleeves pushed up to the elbows. Bending, I grab my brown leather boots from the floor.

  “My friend Billy Watson’s house. You will like them. His wife is great. Your ass looks amazing in those jeans, by the way.”

  I turn, checking my butt in the mirror. He stands grinning behind me.

  “You think so? I’ve been slipping on the squats. Someone is always tearing my clothes off me.” I meet his eyes in the mirror.

  Isaiah looks casual, yet still yummy in a red Henley shirt and black jeans. He runs a hand through his hair, smoothing his blonde locks back off his face. Twinkling eyes and a big smile cause my stomach to curl inside me.

  “I can’t help it. You’re just irresistible.” He moves in behind me, hands on my hips. “Mmm, you smell good.”

  “Thank you. I’m really, pretty excited about going. It’s been so long since I felt free to just relax and have a good time without looking over my shoulder. I know this is your birthday, but I think I really needed this.”

  “It makes my whole day to hear you say that. I want you to be happy and relaxed. This has to end someday and, when it does, we can celebrate any way you want.”

  I nod, turning around. “Let’s get this party started, birthday boy.”

  ***

  His friend Billy lives in on a quiet, country road outside of the city limits. When we pull in, I see that there are a few other cars here, making me wonder how many people I’m going to be meeting. I wonder how many of them will be cops.

  The house is a really pretty, Victorian-style farm house. It’s two story, painted in antique white with a porch that goes all the way around the house. We are greeted when we get out of the car by a pair of yellow labs, bounding across the yard. They stop just short of us, wiggling at our feet, seemingly excited to see us. Isaiah scratches them both on the head, behind the ears.

  “Hi, ladies.” He pushes past them, looking over at me. “That’s Daisy and Trixie. They are well-trained, normally they are in the house but I guess he kicked them out for company.”

  I glance back. They are following us up to the porch, laying down on two big dog beds at one end positioned beside a porch swing.

  “They won’t run away?”

  “Nope. Years ago he trained them with one of those invisible fences. After getting a little shock once or twice, they never tried again.”

  He opens the screen door. It squeaks on its hinges. He knocks on the door. Frankly, I’m a little nervous. I’ve never met any of his friends. Being so preoccupied lately, I didn’t think about it. The way things are going, family will be next. I guess that means I’ll have to tell my family, too. Ugh, there’s a conversation I’m not looking forward too.

  The door flies open. We are greeted by a tall, husky guy with military short, dark brown hair. He grins, a beer in one hand. His eyes move from Isaiah to me, and he lights up.

  “Finally, we get to meet her! You must be Emily. God, it’s nice to put a face to the name. He never shuts up about you.”

  Isaiah laughs. “This is Billy, by the way.”

  Billy sticks his hand out. I, of course, assume he wants to shake my hand but, instead, he grabs me and pulls me into the house. The inside of the house doesn’t match the outside, funny enough. It’s been totally re-done. The floors are wood. It doesn’t echo when you walk like it normally does in an old house with a wooden floor either. The front door opens right into the living area. It’s got taupe colored walls and a fireplace covered with river stones burning in the far corner. The furniture all matches, off-white, leather couches with navy blue accent pillows, matching lamps at either end of the sofa on two cherry wood end tables. The tables match a large, square coffee table, which matches a big entertainment center with one of those new curved TVs set in the center.

  The air smells like vanilla. I see the candle burning on the coffee table is the reason for the lovely aroma.

  “This is her, everybody. Emily. The one that stole our Isaiah’s little heart.” He presents me to about half a dozen people. Two women pop into the room through a doorway, one is wiping her hands on a dish cloth with a grin. “Billy, what are you doing? At least let the woman get a drink before you embarrass her.”

  Isaiah pops up beside me, laughing, He shoves Billy away from me and puts an arm around me.

  “You met Billy. He’s nuts. That lady, is his wife. Her name is Magnolia, we call her Mags. That other woman is Karen. She’s here with Miles, that one in the chair. These guys are Luke, Brian, David, and Elvis.” He points them out one by one. They each grin at me, waving in turn. A couple of them tip their baseball caps. I can’t help but laugh.

  Mags rushes over to us with a smile. She’s a petite Hispanic looking woman with long, black hair that hangs almost to her waist.

  “Girl, we are really glad to meet you. What do you want to drink? I’m going to bring out the food soon.”

  I smile, glancing at Isaiah. “Um, it’s his birthday so I figured I would be driving tonight.”

  She shakes her head, stealing me from Isaiah with a gentle tug. “Oh, no. We already made up the guest room for you two. You are staying the night, so you can drink all you want. You both need a night to just cut loose and have some fun with nothing to worry about. No is not an option.” She pulls me into a warm hug.

  I can’t help but hug her back. What nice people. “Oh, really? That’s so generous of you.”

  She releases me. “It’s nothing. Isaiah is like family to us. These two have been friends since the police academy. If Isaiah loves you then you must be amazing.”

  Warmth seeps from my chest into my limbs as her kind words wrap around me. I should have known that Isaiah’s friends would be this way. I come from such a different sort of people, I never expect to receive a reception like this. I suppose over time, as I wrap my life more and more around his that will change.

  “I’m not all that amazing.” I snort out. Looking, I see Isaiah watching me with love in his eyes.

  “Don’t let her lie to you, Mags.” He grins.

  “And you, happy birthday.” She leaves me to go hug Isaiah. “I should be mad at you for not bringing her over sooner.” She swats his arm.

  “I know, I’m sorry. Tonight should make up for all that. Emily, what do you want to drink?” He walks on long strides towards a doorway that I assume leads to a kitchen.

  “Surprise me.” I shrug.

&nb
sp; A few minutes later I have a small glass shoved into my hand. The liquid is almost black and I take a sniff, licorice.

  “What is this?”

  Isaiah grins, tapping my glass with his. “Jager Bomb. Jägermeister and Red Bull.” I look up into a face beaming with utter happiness. He’s home here with them, and seems to be beyond thrilled to have his two worlds collide on his birthday.

  “Do you like licorice?” I cock my head.

  “I hate it. But I like these things, for some reason. Now, you have to toast me. It’s my birthday.”

  We are suddenly surrounded by all the boys, some with beers, some with what looks like whiskey.

  “Toast!” I think it’s Elvis that says it. His Texas drawl is heavy, and it makes me grin. “Toast him, girl.”

  I laugh, glancing around the circle, suddenly feeling like a woman surrounded by half a dozen of her big brothers. I hold up my glass and look up into happy, copper colored eyes. A smile lights up his whole face.

  “To Isaiah. I have to say, I can’t believe I fell for a cop. Not even a regular cop, a damn detective. But here I am. And how many of you boys are cops?”

  Every hand goes up. I laugh out loud, then continue my toast. “Well, not that I’m not only in love with a cop, but apparently getting drunk with a bunch of them too… I will say this. Isaiah, I am honored to be here with you on your birthday. Not only are you amazing, and sexy, smart and fun, but you are older than I am. Bottoms up.”

  They all laugh. Glasses clink and I down the small drink. Isaiah leans in and kisses me, the boys hoot and catcall.

  “Thanks, baby.”

  “Anytime. And I love licorice.” I grin, taking his glass to head into the kitchen.

  The kitchen is lovely too. Glass front, white cabinets and a butcher block countertop line the medium-sized room. In the center is a round table, looks like pine. It’s covered with iced down beers, and a few bottles. Jack Daniels, Jägermeister, Malibu Rum.

  “Can I help?” I set the glasses down in the sink. Mags turns to me, she’s layering beef and chicken onto a serving platter.

  “Thanks, sure. I can always use help feeding these animals.” She laughs. “See all that stuff there?”

  I glance over to where Karen is standing, pulling paper plates and plastic silverware out of a bag. On the counter is a stack of tortillas, another tray of sautéed onions and peppers. There is a big bowl of Spanish rice. On the opposite corner is a big birthday cake. The sight of it makes me grin. “Yes.”

  “Just grab whatever and haul it out there. You can set it on the coffee table. I think the boys are setting up the karaoke machine.”

  My eyebrows go up. “Karaoke?”

  She laughs. “Yes ma’am. It’s a blast. No one can sing, don’t worry.”

  I move, picking up the bowl of rice and the stack of tortillas. “Oh goodness. It’s going to take a bit of booze to get me to sing.”

  She smiles warmly at me, tossing the now empty cooking pan into the sink. “No worries there. I have faith in you.” A wink is shot my way.

  Two of the guys rush to Karen and me to relieve our food-laden hands. Isaiah and Billy appear to be setting up the machine, stringing two microphones across the room as Billy fidgets with the controls on the TV.

  This is going to be a fun night.

  An hour later, we’ve eaten our fill and helped clean up. Isaiah sits like a seven year old boy, hiding his face as we all sing happy birthday to him. The cake is a raging inferno under thirty one candles as the song goes on. I can’t stop laughing and taking pictures of him as he hides his face, then blows out the candles. Moving to his side, I lean in.

  “What did you wish for?” I ask.

  He grins, not looking at me as he pulls the candles out of the cake and tosses them onto an empty paper plate. “I’ll show you later. I brought my handcuffs in case it comes true.”

  I blush, wondering who heard him, then I laugh. Handcuffs. Is he joking? Seriously though, I can’t believe it never occurred to me that he owns a pair of handcuffs. That just might be fun.

  Glancing over he meets my eyes and gives me a slow wink.

  “I’m ready to sing… I’m first,” I hear a male voice say.

  A piece of cake is shoved at me, followed by a drink that smells like Malibu rum and pineapple juice. I accept them both, sitting down on the couch tucking my feet under me. I kicked my shoes off fifteen minutes ago.

  I feel at home with these people.

  They sing, and sing, and sing. It’s the funniest thing ever. Isaiah sits on the couch beside me, pressed right up against me until Billy gets up, and tosses him the microphone.

  “It’s time.” Billy smiles, scrolling through the songs.

  Isaiah leans over and kisses me. “I hope you don’t love me less after what you’re about to witness.”

  I laugh. “Never. Could never love you any less.”

  “Ah, she’s got jokes, ladies and gentleman.” He say into the microphone, his voice now booming in the house.

  Billy settles on the song, and I bust out laughing just as Mags and Karen come sit with me.

  “Girl, just watch these two. It’s the funniest thing ever.”

  Yeah, by Usher.

  You’ve got to be kidding me. When the music starts up, the grin that splits my face open is amazing. Isaiah turns and grins at me, bouncing his head up and down.

  Billy sings the Usher part, and Isaiah sings the background stuff. Together. It’s the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. Towards the end, Billy bends over and starts twerking. Then Isaiah moves in and spanks his ass and the two just dance in a grind that has the whole room rolling with laughter.

  I have tears in my eyes I’m laughing so hard.

  “Girls turn!” Karen jumps up. Billy and Isaiah toss the microphones our way.

  I shake my head, but I’m pulled to my feet by them both. Karen shoves one of the mikes into my hands and I roll my eyes. Mags is scrolling for a song.

  Scanning the room, I see Isaiah sit down in the recliner. Our eyes meet across the room, and my heart explodes. He smiles a slow, lazy smile at me. He mouths I love you. I touch my chest where my heart is.

  My God, do I love him too. This is like that forever kind of love, I can feel it. I see it in his eyes as he stares at me across the room, stealing my breath.

  He loves me.

  It isn’t until the music starts that I realize she picked our song.

  “Girls,” by Beyoncé.

  I laugh. Mags sings the lead, Karen and I jump in. By the end of it, I’m bumping hips with Mags and my arm is locked around Karen’s shoulder, and I’m singing for all I’m worth.

  Best night ever.

  Hours, and I mean hours, later, the party ends. I’m buzzed, and Isaiah has that glassy look, alcohol slackened features and we follow to the guest room.

  It’s a nice room with a queen size bed made up with a plain green comforter. There is a hutch with a TV in it. I hear a click. When I turn my head I see Isaiah locking the door.

  He gives me a wild look, and I shake my finger at him. “What are you doing, we are guests in this house.”

  He shrugs. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a pair of handcuffs, letting them dangle on one finger. “Told you I brought them.”

  My mouth drops open. I back into the wall, shaking my head as I giggle. He struts towards me, cocky and licking his lips.

  “Please tell me you have the key.”

  He reaches into his pocket, pulling out the key. “Right here babe.” He sets it on top of the hutch, where I can’t ever hope to reach it.

  “You can’t be serious.” I back away from him.

  “I’m very serious.”

  Reaching out, he catches me by the arm. Cold metal is slapped onto my wrist, clicking closed. He grins at me, shoving me towards the bed.

  “You have the right to remain silent, but I know you’re a screamer so I might have to gag you.”

  He pushes me down and sits on me, looping the cuffs through th
e rail on the headboard. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney.” He drags my free hand up, securing it in the other side of the cuffs.

  I’m now laying here, under him, my arms secured over my head. He looks down at me, and starts to slowly unbutton his shirt.

  “If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you.”

  My heart is pounding and I can’t wipe the stupid smile off my face. He just keeps going. He shakes his shirt off, then leans up on his knees to undo his belt.

  “At any time you may choose to exercise these right. Do you understand these rights that have just been read to you?”

  He climbs off me. He pulls his jeans off and in just his underwear, he moves to unbutton my jeans. His fingers graze the flesh on my stomach, shooting lightning through my body. He pulls my jeans down over my hips, taking my panties with them.

  “Well, do you? Understand?” he asks again, pulling my pants off at the ankles. I grip the rails in my hands as he leers at me.

  “I do. Officer, can I ask you something?”

  He looks at me, no smile. “Yes, of course.”

  “Are you going to strip search me?”

  Lust darkens his eyes as he pulls my top up, relieves me of my bra. The sweater is pulled over my head and looped behind it to keep it out of the way.

  “I think I have too. Bad girls like you might be hiding something.”

  He shoves off his underwear and climbs onto me, straddling me. “I’ll have to be very thorough.”

  My heart starts to palpitate. My mouth waters. He slides his hands up and down my arms, my neck. Into my hair. He meets my eyes as he palms my breasts, rubbing them. He moves off of me, sliding his hands over my stomach, down my thighs. He looks up at me, and speaks using his cop voice.

  “Spread your legs.”

  I whimper, and he smiles. I part my thighs, and he breaths heavily.

  “Are you going to do a cavity search?” I ask breathlessly.

  He slides a hand up my thigh. “Damn right I am.”

  Higher and higher it goes. I’m gasping when he hits his target, caressing me with his skilled touch. He leans over, teasing my lips in a feather light kiss as he works. I groan.