„You like this,“ she whispered. He couldn’t hear her voice over the sound of the dryer, but her lips moved and he somehow understood.
„Too damn much.“ He was harder than an iron rod and knew he’d scare her to death if he pressed her against the dryer like he was dying to. Then her thumbs found his nipples hidden under the thick mat of hair on his chest and he groaned.
Her tongue crept out to moisten her lips and he could feel her arousal, a silken, throbbing web, suspended between them. „Kiss me, Kristen. Please.“
She lifted on her toes and put her lips on his, just a whisper of a kiss. He leaned forward from the waist, his hands grabbing the dryer behind her. She was trapped between his arms and the shaking appliance, but his hips somehow remained an unyielding six inches from her body. „I want you,“ he ground out. „I don’t want to scare you, but I want you so much – “
She lifted abruptly on her toes, throwing her arms around his neck and her lips into his. The kiss was wild and she opened her mouth, letting his tongue stroke hers, stroking back. He moved his head, getting the most he could from just the kiss. Her hands moved back to his chest, under his shirt and around to his bare back and he gripped the edge of the dryer as if it were his only lifeline and he was a drowning man.
He was drowning. And he never wanted to come up for air.
Then the door from the outside opened, letting in a burst of frigid air and an astonished Aidan. Aidan’s eyes bugged out and his mouth dropped open and for a moment the three of them stared at each other. Then Aidan stepped back out the door. „Sorry. I’ll go around front.“ He glanced over his shoulder, then back, grinning. „Heads up. Sean and Ruth’s van just pulled up and it looks like they’ve got all five kids.“
The door closed and the spell was broken. Kristen looked up at him, her hands still on his bare back. Her fingertips now stroked softly and he shuddered, damning Aidan and thanking him at the same time. Another minute and he wasn’t sure he could have given Kristen the space he knew she needed.
„You’ve got company,“ she said. „We should go.“
Her fingers still stroked his back. „Another minute. It just feels so good.“ He pressed a kiss to her temple, her forehead, the corner of her mouth. „You feel so good.“
„You’re so patient with me.“
He swallowed hard. „You’re worth the wait.“
She smiled at that, a sad little smile that tore at his heart. „We’ll see,“ she said cryptically. She pulled her hands free of his shirt and slumped back against the dryer. „Well, that was an interesting way to work off the pie.“
They were done for now, Abe thought and with regret he straightened and began buttoning his shirt. „There was pie?“
„Cherry. Better than Owen’s, but never tell him I told you.“
He smiled down at her. „Your secret’s safe with me.“
Her brows furrowed slightly. „Which one?“
He toyed with one of the pins in her hair. „Any. All.“
She was quiet for a moment, then finally said, „Debra was a lucky woman.“
He didn’t know what to say to that. So he said, „Thank you.“
„You’re welcome.“ She tilted her head, regarding him soberly. „What did you find?“
The call had come just as they were sitting down to dinner. Truman had grabbed another kid leaving a box on her front porch. Once again the kid was a multiple offender, another teen with a yellow sheet as long as his arm. As if on cue, the dryer stopped and the room was quiet. „Arthur Monroe.“ Her eyes flickered.
„Little Katie Abrams,“ she said.
„Katie Abrams was the name on the stone,“ he confirmed.
„One of the worst of my career. I pulled the most liberal judge on the face of the earth who somehow believed a man molested a five-year-old because society had failed him.“
She closed her eyes and he could see her bracing herself. „What was the P.S.?“
He clenched his jaw, anger building anew. Sonofabitch. Acting like he cares about her when he’s put her in this danger. „He was worried about your safety. With me.“
Her eyes flew open, wide and startled. „What?“
„He said, ‘Be cautious about who you trust to stand guard over you at night’“
Her eyes flashed, twin emeralds against her creamy skin. „I hate him.“
„I know. I don’t want you to sleep at your house tonight. Come to my apartment.“
Her lips trembled. „I don’t want him to throw me out of my house,“ she whispered. „I know you think it’s crazy, but it’s important for me to be in my own house. Please.“
There was more, he knew. A reason she was so determined to stay in her home, that she’d chosen the words ‘throw me out’. She’d tell him in her own time, just like she’d tell him everything else. „All right,“ he said. „But I’ll stay with you.“
Her eyes filled with tears and she dashed them angrily away. „I hate this.“
He pulled her against his chest and she came willingly. „I know.“ His cell phone trilled in his pocket and he fished it out as she cuddled against him. „Reagan.“
Mia’s voice came through, shaky. But it wasn’t the connection. It was Mia that was shaky. „Abe, they found Tyrone Yates. He’s dead.“
„Damn. How?“
„It was Blades. They left their mark carved into his face.“
„What about the other one? Aaron Jenkins.“
„Still looking,“ Mia said. „His parents are frantic. At least this’ll get the parents of tonight’s kid off our backs for putting their precious junior in protective custody.“
„Maybe this will be enough to get Jenkins’s juvie record unsealed. Judge Rheinhold was so damn pious about it today. Let’s see if he changes his tune now.“
Mia sighed on the other end. „I think we might have better luck with Mrs. Jenkins. Until then, the Blades are serious trouble. Tell Kristen to take a vacation, go to Jamaica.“
„I’ll tell her,“ Abe said dryly. He dropped the phone in his pocket. „Mia says hello.“
Kristen lifted a brow. „And what else does Mia say?“
He told her about Tyrone Yates and her shoulders sagged. „I’m ready for algebra now.“
He pressed another kiss to her forehead. „How are you, really?“
„You mean after what happened today or last night?“
„Either. Both.“
She drew a breath and straightened her spine. „I’m pissed as hell, quite honestly. But, there may be an upside. Now I’ll have more time to go through all those old case records so I can help you figure out what’s common here besides me.“
Abe frowned. „But – “ She gave him a self-satisfied smile.
„I burned a CD with all the information. I can work from home.“
„That was probably against the rules.“
Her smile went just a shade naughty and his heart skipped a beat. „You gonna arrest me, Reagan?“
He chuckled ruefully. „I’m tempted. Let’s go before I get out the cuffs.“ With his arm around her shoulders he led her out of the laundry room back into the kitchen, where the volume was louder than the dryer had been. Sean and Ruth’s kids were running around the kitchen like it was the Indy 500. Abe dropped a kiss on his mother’s cheek, then another on the cheek of the baby she held. His newest niece. „I’m back.“
Becca looked amused and Abe knew Aidan had blabbed about the laundry room. „I can see that. Hi, Kristen.“
Abe looked over to find Kristen staring at Ruth, a horrified expression on her face. „They’re all yours?“
Ruth grinned, then cringed at the sound of broken glass. „Plus one other who will be losing his allowance for the rest of his life to pay for what he just broke.“