Instinctively, she pressed closer to Scudder’s side, and despite her fear she felt calmed when he put his arm protectively around her. “You okay, Tess?” Scudder softly asked.
“My ex,” she whispered. Scudder gently pushed her behind him.
“You have a problem?” Scudder said, drawing himself up to his full height. Reuben was five inches shorter than him, and definitely not in as good of shape.
“Yeah, I got a problem with that bitch.”
“Don’t call her that.” Scudder’s voice had definitely dropped to a low, warning growly tone. “You’ve got two seconds to turn around and walk away, buddy.”
Tessa peeked around Scudder’s side, her arms encircling his waist. Waves of defensive, protective anger washed off him, like heat shimmers on hot asphalt. Despite her fear, she was incredibly turned on.
No one had ever fought for her before. Ever.
Fortunately, a manager interceded and escorted Reuben off the premises. Only when he was gone did Scudder’s posture relax. He turned to her, his arms around her. “Are you okay?”
She nodded and burst into tears.
He’d never witnessed her black eyes, her days of coming to work wearing sunglasses inside all day, but he’d heard from a few people that her ex used her as a punching bag. Yet another reason he never tried to put a move on her, because he sensed her fragility, carefully hidden behind her bravado and playful teasing. There was no reason to rush things, because he smelled her only interest was in him.
He was a patient, patient man.
How lucky for him he’d gone to work for Callahan Consulting and met her. He’d felt love at first sight, and knew he’d have to wait a long time before acting on it. Damn the timing of the party. Why couldn’t they have it the week before Halloween? There was no way he could go, not on that night, not this soon, but he knew she was ready to take the next step after she’d ratcheted up the flirty banter over the past few weeks. He’d sensed how disappointed she was that he couldn’t make the party, and he wanted to make it up to her.
Truth be told, he preferred a quiet evening alone with her, anyway.
He pulled her into a quiet corner in the restaurant’s foyer. “Why don’t we go back to my place? I’ll cook you dinner. Would that be okay?”
Her green eyes looked full of fear. She met his gaze and nodded. Still frightened, trembling, her heart raced like a rabbit fleeing for its life.
He put a protective arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. “Let’s get out of here, sweetie,” he whispered. On the way to the car she studied the ground as they walked. Good thing, because it meant she didn’t see how he swiveled his head and flared his nostrils, looking for any sign of Reuben hanging around.
They made a quick stop at a Publix for groceries, and it didn’t take him long to pull her out of her funk. She was sweet and cute, and God help that asshole if he had five minutes alone with him. He’d rip his throat out for hurting her. At five six she was perfectly curvy and her shoulder-length, unruly brown curls begged for his fingers to tangle in them. Something caught in his throat when he imagined what she’d look like naked in his bed.
His jeans tightened as he tried to stifle the thought. Unfortunately, he’d already spent plenty of nights stroking his cock with his hand as he thought about Tessa’s beautiful green gaze.
They had a good dinner and ended up on his couch in a passionate embrace he was reluctant to end. By eleven o’clock, he knew he had to take her home or take her to bed, and he didn’t want to rush that end of things.
He gave her one final, deep kiss before sitting up. She tried to pull him back down on top of her, and it took every ounce of his will not to let her. “All good things come to those who wait, darlin’,” he said. “Don’t you know that?”
She stared at him from the couch, her cheeks flushed and her hair even more disheveled. “I don’t want to wait, Scudder. I want you to make love to me.”
He stood and caught her hand, pulling her up. “Not tonight, sweetie. Believe me, I do want that, but I want you to get to know me better before we take that step. Besides, I don’t have any protection.”
She tried to kiss him again, and his reserve faltered as she ground her hips against him. “You don’t need any,” she said, her voice husky with desire. “I’m on the Pill.”
“You don’t know where I’ve been, sugar. Maybe the vet hasn’t given me my shots and tags lately.” That was a fib. He was clean, and her sweet, fresh, natural scent could only mean she was, too.
She pouted. “You’re a bad liar.”
He grinned. She was already attuned to him in some ways. “Seriously. Let’s take things slow.” He pulled her to him. “We’ve had a great night, but we work together. Let’s do this the right way so we don’t screw things up.” He brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead. “It would break my heart to lose you as a friend just over one night in bed. I’d rather have you in my life for the long term.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “All right?”
She rested her head against his strong chest, his arms protectively around her, and closed her eyes. He never wore cologne, and she’d toned her cologne down even further over the months. He smelled, good, warm, strong. “Then you’d better get me home.”
He kissed the top of her head. “How about I take you out tomorrow night for dinner?”
“Okay.”
When she casually draped her arm between the seats during the ride home, he took her hand and gently squeezed. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right, but what a welcome relief it was. Reuben had pushed quick and hard for a relationship and sex. In retrospect she understood why, because he was controlling and abusive.
Scudder was nothing like Reuben. When he stood between them in the restaurant, she instinctively knew Scudder would have protected her had Reuben tried anything.
Back at her house, Scudder opened the car door for her and walked her to her front porch. “Do you want me to go in with you and check it out?”
She shook her head. “I’ll drag you into bed.”
The moon wasn’t quite full yet, but it was more than bright enough to reveal his sweet smile. “Soon enough, Tess,” he whispered, brushing one last kiss across her lips. “Soon enough.”
He waited until she was inside and had locked the door to return to his car. His nose worked the air. There was something…wrong. He froze, listening, cocking his head, but after a moment he got in and drove a couple of blocks away to a Walmart Supercenter that was open twenty-four hours. He parked in the distance, near a shadowy stand of trees on the edge of the lot.
It wasn’t a full moon, but it was close enough.
Tess turned on all the lights in the house as she walked, checking the sliding glass doors and making sure all her blinds were drawn. Maybe she should have asked him to check the house. It had been a shock running into Reuben like that. A really bad shock.
Terrifying flashbacks had started her trembling, but Scudder’s gentle voice and strong touch had soon soothed them away. He wanted to take it slow. It was agonizing, but she would let him lead her now that she knew he liked her.
Her car alarm went off and she jumped, startled. Probably a stray cat. She grabbed her key ring and opened the front door, clicking the button on the remote. The alarm shut off, but there was a large, dark shape standing by the trunk. When she stepped closer, she realized it was Reuben.
“We’ve got unfinished business, bitch,” he said.
Her feet froze, old terrors immobilizing her. “Get out of here. I’ll call the cops. I have a restraining order against you.”