His smile faded. “Do you still think I killed Cosmo?”
“I…I don’t know what to think anymore.” Iris stepped away. “When I see you standing there, I can’t bring myself to believe you could coldheartedly kill.” She tripped over the last word but recovered enough to continue. “But when you leave me, I start to imagine things, and I believe it’s possible.”
“Possible.” Mickey touched her cheek and met her eyes. “But not probable.”
“No, not probab-”
The ringing of her phone interrupted her.
Mickey stilled. “Answer it.”
Any call at this hour would be important. She hurried to the kitchen extension where she saw SecureLink registered on the caller ID screen. A break-in? “Iris Fortune.”
“Miss Fortune, this is Randy from SecureLink Systems. Can you verify your pass code for me?”
She recited the numbers under Mickey’s watchful gaze.
“We show an after-hours entry using your pass code, with the alarm reset thirteen minutes later. Was that you?”
She turned away from him as tears stung her eyes. Cosmo. He was still alive. “Yes, Randy. Sorry about that. It was me.”
“I’m making a note of it, ma’am, and I see you did the same thing the other night. You’re paying top dollar for our services, you might want to call us when you re-enter the building.”
“I know. I promise I will from now on. But thank you for calling.” Iris hadn’t been this close to crying in years. Damn his eyes, when she caught up with her father, she was going to kick his ass.
“You’re welcome. Good night, Miss Fortune.”
“Good night.” She hung up the phone and gulped down a sob of relief.
“Hey.” Mickey approached her. “Is everything all right?”
She threw herself into his arms. “Cosmo’s alive!” Her relief that Cosmo was apparently unharmed was only matched by the knowledge that this man had told her the truth-he hadn’t harmed her father.
Mickey gathered her close and kissed the top of her head. “Was that him on the phone?”
“No, my security company for the store.” She clung to his strength, the safety of his arms, the incredible earthy, woodsy traces of his cologne. “Someone entered-then left-after hours using my pass code. Cosmo’s the only other person who has it.”
“I should try to find him.” He pulled away.
Iris refused to let go. “No. He reset the alarm already, and he’s gone. By the time you get over there, there won’t be any trace of him.”
“I should try-”
“No. Stay with me.” In case he didn’t understand her completely, Iris stood on tiptoe and captured his lips.
She’d surprised him, she could tell by his hesitation, but that only lasted a heartbeat before he crushed her to him. She knotted her fingers behind his head, feeling the crisp dark curls she’d found so alluring. His lips were gentle, warm, as they moved provocatively across hers, his tongue caressing her mouth, fueling the fires within her.
This, this, was the way to celebrate life. After the day she’d had, she deserved this.
His lips withdrew from hers to blaze a trail down her throat. One of his large hands crept up her waist, past her ribs to cup a breast, and she arched to meet him with a moan of desire. His other hand palmed her hips, pulling her against him to feel his heat.
Near her ear, he whispered, “Iris, don’t do something you’ll regret.”
She pulled back just far enough to take hold of his jaw between her two hands and stare him in the eye. “I could have died tonight. So could you. Don’t talk about regrets. For once, I’m going to do precisely what I want.”
Pressing her lips to his, she kissed him long and deep. Her fingers whispered over the tense muscles of his shoulders only to dig in and rake down his back.
He growled against her mouth.
She smiled with the power. “Tell me you don’t want this, too.”
“Oh I want to.” Mickey pulled back to search her face. One hand brushed her curls back from her eyes. “But a man’s gotta have some kind of honor.”
“So the ‘honor amongst thieves’ isn’t true?”
“You’re not a thief.”
No, she wasn’t, not deep down. But couldn’t she pretend-just this once?
“Besides, the saying is ‘no honor amongst thieves.’” He bent his head and suckled on her earlobe, his teeth nipping the sensitive skin.
Iris bit her lip as she melted against him. Yes, once would be enough.
Someone rapped on her door. The two of them froze like hunted animals.
Iris’s heart began to thump again even as Mickey stepped away. Silently, he approached the door to peer out. He waved her over to look for herself. She stood on tiptoe to see a uniformed cop through the tiny window. Mickey stepped beside the door and motioned for her to open it. When she realized he hadn’t drawn his gun, she complied.
The policeman looked startled to see her. “Evening, ma’am. I’m Officer Foote. Are you Iris Fortune?”
Iris nodded.
“Sorry to bother you, but Detective Hunter asked me to check and make sure you’d made it home safe.”
“Um, yes. Yes, I just got home a few minutes ago. How did-”
“Your sister tried to file a missing persons report. Normally, we wait twenty-four hours before we can act on these things, but Detective Hunter said there are some extenuating circumstances.” He looked at some notes in his hand. “There’s a report here of Edgar, twenty pounds-would that be your son?”
“That would be my rabbit. He’s here, too.” Iris retreated a step, but didn’t take her eyes off the policeman. She didn’t want him to get any inkling of Mickey’s presence. “I guess I better call my sister.”
To her surprise, the idea didn’t piss her off, though it was rather an inconvenient time.
“If you’d prefer, ma’am, I’ll be reporting to the detective, and I’ll ask him to contact her.”
“Thanks. Now, it’s been a long day, so if you don’t mind…” She began to shut the door.
He placed a hand on the panel. His brow wrinkled with concern. “Ma’am, are there any other messages? Are you alone in there? Would you like me to come in and look around the place?”
Iris drew herself up, though she was still a far cry from his height. “Look, I don’t think it’s any of yours or Hunter’s business whether or not I’m alone, and unless you’ve got a warrant, you can kiss goodbye any notion of setting foot in here.”
He backed away. “Yes, ma’am. Just trying to help.”
She closed the door quietly in his face.
Mickey leaned against the inside of the panel. His eyes gleamed with humor. “Nicely done,” he whispered.
Iris retreated to the living room and waited for him to follow. “You didn’t pull your gun out. Why?”
“You didn’t need protection from a uniformed cop. Besides, pull a gun on a cop, and he either makes you drop your weapon or-”
“Or?”
Mickey shrugged. “Or he shoots you. They don’t ask a lot of questions, and they don’t give you a long time to decide. It’s not like with the guys I deal with. We pull a gun as a show of force. It’s grandstanding. It’s marking our territory.”
Iris smiled.
“What?” His eyes crinkled in response.
Her heart fluttered at his reaction. “I knew you’d never shoot a cop. You’re too good a person.”
“Iris, listen to yourself. I’m a petty thief.”
“No, you’re much more. And I want to experience it all.” God help her, who was this wanton possessing her body? Apparently, adrenaline had a better kick than alcohol. She stepped back into his arms.
This time he accepted her without argument. As their bodies melded, she marveled at how well they fit, her head nestled beneath his chin as she drew in the rugged scent of spicy cologne mingled with male skin. His large hands smoothed down her back, then repeated the motion, only this time they stripped away her suit jacket.
Her fingers found his shirt buttons, moving slowly. Anticipation built within her to see those defined pecs and that flat, muscled abdomen. She hadn’t been able to erase the vision of him naked in her shower from her memory.