by Piper Rayne
Did she really think I need to hound a woman for a date?
She picks up her fork. “Then yeah, let’s have dinner.”
Surprisingly, Vanessa isn’t bad company when she’s not trying to blow you off. She has a degree in fashion which doesn’t surprise me—some of the outfits I’ve seen her wear at times look like they came from the costume department of the Zoolander movie. I prefer her look tonight. Casual and put together, yet still beautiful.
We talk about the differences of my big Italian family versus her small one that consists of her dad and a grandma she rarely sees. When the subject of her mom’s passing comes up and wetness coats her eyes, my heart pricks. Of course, me with my great sense of timing, I ask right before I open the passenger door to drive her home.
“I’m sorry,” I say from the driver’s seat, apologetic for broaching a subject that is still so painful for her.
Word around the district is that the Commander has been a widow since Vanessa was young and that he never dated or remarried because he had a daughter to raise.
“It’s fine. Probably shouldn’t have had that second bottle of wine. Alcohol makes me emotional.” The shakiness in her voice layers more guilt on my shoulders. “It was a long time ago.” Her gaze finds mine through the darkness of the car interior. “Her death was long and drawn out and while there are pluses and minuses to having time to say goodbye, it was difficult to watch.” She blinks rapidly a couple of times and then waves me away with her hand. “You probably know all this. Gossip and police officers aren’t exactly like oil and water.”
I chuckle because she’s not wrong. “What else can we do when we spend eight hours in a patrol car? Though I do have the highest level of Candy Crush at my station.” She gives me a small smile and I drive out of the parking lot only to stop behind a long line of cars that tells me it’s going to take some time before we get back to her place. I shouldn’t expect anything less. It’s Friday night—everyone from the burbs descends on the city.
“I suck at phone games,” she says.
Speaking of phones, hers lights up the car from where it sits on her lap, but she quickly silences it and flips it over.
“Are you better at other types of games? I heard Maddie and Mauro are becoming regulars at Dice and Spins?”
She laughs even harder at my mention of the board game café my brother has become a recent fan of. “Maddie loves that place, so I’m glad Mauro has found a love for that place, too.”
“Have you been to their house lately?” I ask. I was there last night helping Mauro install a fire pit in the back. I still can’t believe how they’ve transformed that dump into such a nice home.
“I haven’t had the time, but I told Maddie I’d come by this week.”
“Mauro framed Maddie’s first Boggle sheet.”
“He didn’t?” she asks with a laugh, finding it as humorous as I do.
“Yep,” I say, signaling and changing lanes so I can get off the main drag and use some of the side streets. Sometimes it pays to know the city so well. “Put it up right in their dining room. I told him to save that sappy shit for the bedroom.”
“And what did he say?”
I shrug. “Said he wants it out there for everyone to see how smart his girl is.”
I glance over to see Vanessa smiling wide. “I am really happy for the two of them.” There’s a hint of melancholy in her tone I’ve never heard from her before.
“Me, too but he’ll probably be Mama’s favorite soon.”
“Why?”
“Because he’ll give her her first grandchild.”
She reaches out and grips my right forearm. “What?”
Thankfully I’m able to keep us on the road. I’m doubly thankful that I’m able to pretend the feel of her hand on my body didn’t have me wanting to reach out for more.
“Maddie’s pregnant?” she practically screams.
“NO!” I rush out. “I’m just saying, I’m sure whenever they do marry it won’t be long.”
“Phew.” She lets her hand drop and leans back against her seat again. I know I’ve been preoccupied lately, but I couldn’t have missed that.”
“What have you been up to?” I turn down her street, finding that I don’t really want the night to end. Our conversation has been flowing nicely since I told her she didn’t have to worry about me wanting anything more to happen between us. I’ve enjoyed being able to talk about people we mutually know or my family. When I first start dating someone, I tend to keep that area of my life closed off. Maintaining privacy is rule 101 when you’re a police officer. All social media accounts are private and I investigate anyone that friend requests me before accepting.
“I was just working nights and Lauren and Maddie work during the day. Different shifts didn’t leave a lot of time to be together.”
I nod in understanding. When I was night shift as a rookie, it sucked. I was dragging ass every day and missed out on a lot of my family and friend’s events. Not like you can drink a beer at a bar-b-que when you have to report to work at eleven at night.
“I get that.” I slow down as I approach her house.
I like this area of the city. Vanessa lives on a residential street with mostly houses whereas Mauro and I share an apartment on a busy street where it’s hell to find parking.
Shit, I still can’t get used to that. After this month, it’s my apartment and I haven’t even decided what I’m going to do about a roommate. Luca keeps pestering me about it. Sharing the rent would be nice but dealing with his mess and his douchebag friends would not.
“Oh my God.” Vanessa sits up straight in her seat, her hand on the window as though she’s seeing something she can’t believe.
“What?”
I pass a black town car parked two houses down from her place, but because every house on her block has garages in the back, I have no problem finding a parking spot right in front of her house.
“No. Um…”
“Vanessa, are you okay?”
Little beads of sweat have formed along her hairline, her gaze darting behind us and then over to the house. Her eyes are wide and panicked. Even if I wasn’t a police officer, based on her demeanor and her body language, I’d still know something is wrong.
“Can you put the car in drive? Just go.” She points in front of us and motions me forward with her hand.
I don’t flee from fear, I search it out until there’s nothing left to fear. If there’s something or someone here that worries her, I’ll deal with it.
So instead of doing as she asks, I turn off the ignition.
“What are you doing? NO!”
My hand finds the door handle and I’m about to open the door when Vanessa turns the key in the ignition and tries to throw my car into drive. Leaving me no choice, I take my foot from the brake and take over before we end up through someone’s front window.
“What the hell?” I steer us away from her house and glance over at her.
“I’m sorry. It’s just some jerk who hasn’t been able to handle the word no.” She grabs her phone and starts hammering out a message to someone.
I slam on the brakes. “Let me clear up any confusion on his part.”
“No, just keep driving.” She lets out a relieved breath when I put my foot back on the gas and I turn off the street, back to Irving Park. “It’s fine, but…can I hang at your house?”
“Um…” That was not what I was expecting.
“Just for a few hours. I’m sure he’s going out with his friends and I can Uber back to my house later.”
What kinda man does she take me for?
“Number one, I really wish you’d let me handle this right now. Number two, you can stay at my house for as long as you want. Number three, I’ll be driving you home.”
“Number one, you’re not my boyfriend, so it’s not your place to handle my private life. Number two, I won’t overstay my welcome into tomorrow morning. Number three, I’ll have Maddie pick me up. Lauren is out w
ith some friends and is probably spending the night there since they live closer to Rush Street.”
She relaxes back into the seat seeming to be more at ease now that she’s told me how it’s going to be and picks up her vibrating phone.
I shake my head over the fact she’s coming back to my apartment on her own suggestion. This isn’t how I thought tonight would go. I’m starting to realize that Vanessa is full of surprises.
Chapter Six
Vanessa
Cristian’s apartment is like the man himself—all man, dark and put together. I take in the dark wood floors, the black appliances, and granite countertops. There are no pictures of people on the wall or picture frames adorning the shelves. It’s all concrete and steel embellishments with no knickknacks and nothing is out of place. In fact, I’d think it was just a furnished apartment if I didn’t know he lived here.
He tosses his keys into a brown leather bowl on the table in the front room, toes out of his shoes and leaves them neatly next to the table.
Jesus, just like my father.
“Are you thirsty?” he asks, making his way into the kitchen.
Thankfully, he let the whole lie about a stalker ex-boyfriend go without pressing me on it. I can’t tell him the truth of who sits in that town car. I thought I’d crossed all my t’s and dotted my i’s, but the fact there are five new voicemails on my phone and the car was waiting for me says I missed something.
I’m not ready to go back to that life right now. So, instead of listening to my messages, I leave my phone in my purse, slip out of my boots, and head toward Cristian’s comfy dark grey couch.
“Where did you get this?” My voice is groggy as my ass sinks into the cushions. It swallows me up in the best way possible. Tucking my feet under me, I lean on the armrest for support, when what I really want to do is lay flat across it.
“Pretty great, right?” He rounds the back of the couch with two bottles of water.
I guess neither one of us will be drinking anymore tonight. Probably a good decision so I don’t do something I’d regret. There’s no future for the two of us but resisting his molten eyes and killer body is easier said than done.
“Took me forever to find it. Mauro bitched non-stop for a month while we waited for it to be delivered but it was worth every day of his moaning.”
He opens the water bottle, securing the cap before handing it over to me.
Hmm. Thoughtful.
“Thanks,” I say.
Sitting down on the other end of the couch, he sets down a coaster and slides another across the table to rest in front of me. It’s a clear hint.
“Can we talk about the guy in the town car?” he asks, not bothering to press the power button on the remote resting in his hand.
Shit.
Cristian is a police officer, and a good one at that, which means he won’t rest until this case is closed in his mind.
“I’d rather not.” I sip my water, staring at the black television.
“I can’t let you go home tonight knowing that some creep is stalking you.” I glance over at him, his gaze is trained on me and for the first time, I’m getting an idea of what it must be like when Cristian the police officer pulls you over.
“I sent him a text and told him my roommate was going to call the police if he didn’t leave. He really is just an innocent guy with a bruised ego. He apologized.”
All lies. I’m literally spitting lie after lie at him to get him to drop this. But I lived most of my life with a cop and I know it’s probably going to take more than this to assuage his concern.
“Really?” he asks with a raised brow.
“Yeah.” I sip my water again and the chill of the liquid running down my throat does nothing to cool the feeling of a hot poker in my stomach from being deceitful.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m an excellent liar. You have to be when your dad is a police officer, but it doesn’t mean I enjoy it. I’m just doing what’s necessary.
“Your voice…you were scared,” he pushes.
There are those cop instincts. Where a normal guy would have taken me for being spastic, he obviously heard the fear that had me in its grip.
“Maybe, but you know us women, drama llamas.”
I hate that I just went there, but desperate times and all that. Hopefully my independent female card won’t be revoked for that comment.
He shrugs and I can’t tell if he’s letting it go.
“Please don’t tell my dad, though. He’ll have one of you guys following me everywhere I go.”
He chuckles lightly, placing his water on the coaster. “No worries on that front.”
“Thanks.”
He clicks power on the remote and turns his head to meet my gaze. I find myself stuck in the tractor beam that is his dark mocha eyes and my breath grows shallow, my skin heating when his eyes dip to my lips for a second.
“You’re welcome,” he says in a soft voice.
The television flickers on, sound blaring through the apartment.
“Fucking Luca.” The volume bar shows on the television as Cristian lowers it down to a non-nursing home level.
“Why did you give him a key?” I ask.
“Because he’s my brother.”
He says it like it’s the obvious answer and I suppose to someone who grew up with three brothers so close to his age it may be.
“Anything specific you want to watch?” he asks, flipping through the channels. He tosses the remote at me, leaving it on a Kate Hudson movie. Probably because he thinks she’s hot.
We sit in silence as the movie plays, every once in a while, our laughter cuts through the uncomfortable vibe. I glance at the clock on his cable box figuring I have about two more hours before the town car will leave.
Bill would never miss starting time.
The girl in the movie we’re watching is kissing her best friend’s guy. That’s not true friendship. Does he think I’m the kind of girl who wants to watch a movie where a girl steals her best friend’s guy? I’m a ride or die bitch. Not to mention, if I enjoyed roses and poems and romantic gestures, I’d have married my chemistry lab partner freshman year. Give me a thriller or suspense movie and I’m down, but I’ve managed to sit through most of this movie.
The tension between us is palpable at this point and I feel like I’m crawling out of my skin. I’m hyper-aware of the sound of him swallowing every time he takes a drink of water or the way he’s been tapping the index finger on his right hand against the leather seat for the past several minutes. Every time he shifts in his seat I wonder if he’s going to shift closer to me and I’m inevitably disappointed when he doesn’t.
Deciding to throw self-preservation to the wind, I slide a little closer, leaving half a couch cushion between us. Cristian’s gaze shifts to mine and back to the television. He’s been nothing but a gentleman since he arrived at my door tonight. What I wouldn’t do to see another side of him.
Refusing to let this night be a complete suckfest while I’m spending it with a guy who could model on the cover of a Men’s Fitness magazine, I make a bold move. I fling one leg over his lap, sliding forward until my core is pressed to his middle. It isn’t subtle, but I’ve never been a subtle girl.
Surprisingly, Mr. Noble’s hands grip my hips and instead of pushing me off, he slides those hands up my back until his fingers are threaded through my hair and he’s guiding my head toward his.
I’m not gonna lie, the move is sexy as hell and a total panty melter. Where does a nice guy who seems to always want to do the right thing learn that technique? Scratch that, I don’t want to know. I might not be looking to be Mrs. Cristian Bianco someday, but I don't need to visualize him with another woman minutes before I let him steal home base.
Our lips brush and Cristian’s tongue runs along the seam of my lips and I open eagerly for him, remembering the thrill of our first kiss in the forest. The slide of his tongue along mine gives birth to a million butterflies in my stomach, fluttering their wi
ngs so rapidly that I lose myself for a moment.
Damn, he’s a good kisser. He’s steady and firm, never keeping the same rhythm long enough to get bored. His hands don’t venture out of my hair, but somehow, I’m more aroused than if he was feeling me up. He’s not demanding like some guys who yank at my strands and put my head where they want it. He’s not shy and timid like the guys who let me control the kiss. He’s not pecking at me like a hummingbird searching for nectar. He’s slow and steady and thoughtful and I’ve never felt more desired by any man.
He closes the kiss and a whimper I didn’t intend leaks out making me appear desperate. Instead of pulling away or pushing me off his lap, his hands wrap around my face until they’re holding my cheeks.
“I think you know I want you, but it’s our first date.” His eyes are heavy with gold flecks in his dark brown irises.
“I’m not saving myself for marriage.”
His lips tip up into a grin.
He thinks I’m funny. I don’t know if any guy has ever found humor in my ever-present sarcasm. It’s sort of my state of being at this point. A warm feeling I won’t acknowledge seeps into my chest.
“I know that, but so far our kiss was the only time I really felt like we were on this date together.”
My fingers creep down to the hem of my t-shirt and lift. His gaze dips down to watch.
“Work has been distracting lately, I’m sorry, but I’m enjoying this part the best so far.” I pull the cotton fabric over my head and Cristian’s chest heaves with a deep breath as he watches the swell of my breasts rise and fall from my own erratic breathing.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers, running his knuckles over the crest of my breasts.
The light brush of his skin on me feels like it leaves a fire in its wake and all I want is more. More of him. More of the two of us together.
Pulling me closer, he sprinkles kisses along the swell of my breasts while he unclasps my bra, releasing me and tosses the scrap of fabric to the side. He stares at me like I’m the gates of Heaven after a lifelong stint in purgatory.
