“You bastard,” I gasped, and his laughter buzzed against my skin, yet another erotic stimulus. Note to self: don’t amuse him again, it only makes the torment worse.
I groaned when his fingers circled close enough to my clit that, with just the tiniest hint more speed or pressure, I’d have gone off like a rocket. But he knew me too well, knew how to read every nuance of my responses so that he could keep me on that razor’s edge without pushing me over. I swallowed a number of curses and considered using a quick burst of power to roll us over so I was on top and could impale myself on him.
My few rational brain cells reminded me he was still fully clothed, but perhaps he’d sensed that thought, for his mouth left my breast and began once more following the trail of his fingers. I grabbed a double handful of the covers to remind myself to keep still. Because no matter what other emotions and desires were jumbling together within me, I knew with perfect clarity that I wanted his mouth to complete that journey.
He didn’t move any faster, despite my increasing desperation. I bit down on my lip to keep myself from begging. My breath came so short it was a good thing I didn’t hyperventilate, and my skin quivered and twitched under the artful caresses of his tongue.
I took a certain savage satisfaction in the fact that once Brian had made his way down to the juncture of my thighs, some of that inhuman control seemed to snap. Instead of teasing me mercilessly as he had with his fingers, his tongue took only a brief sample before he settled in to work in earnest. And then pleasure overrode every other thought and sensation until I swear I almost forgot how to breathe.
When the last spasm fluttered into oblivion, I felt like every muscle in my body had been transformed to jelly. My heart continued to gallop, my breaths continued to come out in short gasps, but there was no question that I was much more relaxed. Even with the lingering buzz of caffeine in my nerves, I found my eyelids heavy, my mind free.
Brian didn’t say anything, and he seemed content to let me drift in the afterglow while he himself went hungry. My eyes slid closed, and the last thing I remembered was Brian tucking the covers up under my chin and planting a chaste kiss on my forehead.
I awoke the next morning to the enticing scent of coffee. For a moment after I awoke, I just lay there, smelling the coffee while debating whether to let myself drop back into sleep. Then my brain cells started waking up, and I knew there would be no more sleep for me.
Rubbing bleary eyes, I sat up just as Brian pushed through my bedroom door carrying a mug that smelled heavenly.
“Good morning,” he said, smiling at me as he held out the mug.
I grunted something incoherent and tried not to spill anything as I snatched the mug from his hand and took a big gulp. I burned my tongue in the process, but I didn’t care. Even in my morning stupor, it occurred to me that the last thing I remembered was Brian tucking me in, which meant Lugh hadn’t bothered to ream me out last night. I should have been grateful. Instead, I merely felt uneasy.
“What time is it?” I asked, since he was standing between me and my bedside clock.
“Quarter after eleven,” he said, and I almost choked on my coffee.
Shaking my head in a futile attempt to clear the cobwebs, I leaned past him to double-check the clock, just in case he was yanking my chain, but he wasn’t.
“Shouldn’t you be at work?” I asked, stifling a yawn.
“I took a personal day.”
For some reason, that admission made my eyes sting. Maybe just because Brian is usually so uptight, and I knew what a concession it was for him to stay home from work.
“Lugh and I had a bit of a chat last night,” he continued, and I froze.
“Shit,” I mumbled.
Brian laughed. “Relax. We didn’t discuss your sex life.”
“Glad to hear it,” I said unconvincingly. “What did you discuss?” I wrapped both hands around my mug, my skin soaking in the warmth as inside I shivered in a phantom chill. I really didn’t like the idea of Lugh and Brian talking.
“He told me about Tommy Brewster.”
“Tattletale,” I muttered under my breath.
“Were you ever going to tell me about this?” He didn’t sound particularly angry, which made me feel guilty. If he’d started scolding me for holding back, I could have torn into him for not letting me have MySpace. I’d probably have liked that better.
I shrugged, hoping I didn’t look as guilty as I felt. “Do you tell me about the cases you’re working on every day?”
“My cases aren’t likely to get me killed.”
I dismissed that with a wave of my hand. “This case isn’t dangerous. And I’m not doing anything official on it anyway. I’ve handed it off to Adam, so if anyone’s in danger, it’s him.”
“Hmm,” Brian said, and he didn’t sound particularly convinced. He did, however, drop the subject. Too bad I didn’t like the next subject any better. “Lugh also told me what you two are arguing about.”
I winced and mumbled another curse. Lugh and I were going to have another talk about respecting my privacy. “So he’s convinced you to argue his case, which is why he didn’t bother me last night.”
Brian grinned at me. “Actually, no. He tried to convince me to argue his case. I even told him I would. But frankly, I’d much rather stay out of the middle.”
I drank a little more coffee as I pondered his position. I supposed it made sense. Unless Lugh had convinced him that my safety was at stake, there was no reason to suspect Brian of siding against me. Of course, suspicion is second nature to me.
“He’s right about one thing,” Brian continued, and my suspicious nature leapt to the forefront.
“Aha!” I practically shouted. “Now comes the part where you argue his side while trying to sound like you’re not.”
Brian gave me a look of long-suffering patience. “If you’ll let me finish. .” I bit my tongue and nodded. “As I was saying, he’s right that this is a battle you’re eventually going to lose. I can’t stay here to keep you awake every night, and you can’t stay awake indefinitely.”
Pissed off at him even though I didn’t really have any reason to be, I shoved the covers off and made a beeline for my closet to grab my robe. At least, that’s what I intended to do, but Brian took hold of my arm to stop me.
“Why are you angry with me?” he asked quite reasonably. “I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know.”
I glared at his hand until he let go of me. I felt at a distinct disadvantage arguing with him while I was stark naked, so I put on my robe, giving myself a couple moments to calm down. I knew I was overreacting. I knew it wasn’t really Brian I was angry with. But somehow, that didn’t seem to help me fight off the anger.
“Instead of getting pissed about it,” Brian said, “why don’t you just sit down and talk to me and we’ll see if we can come up with a way out of the problem.”
I let out a huff of frustration. “There is no way out, as you just pointed out.”
Brian crossed the room and turned me to face him, his hands warm and solid on my shoulders. “We’ll find one, okay? Can you just assume I’m not the enemy and talk to me?”
The hint of hurt in his eyes made my heart ache, and before I knew what I was going to do, I had put my arms around him and squeezed tight.
“I know you’re not the enemy,” I murmured against his collarbone as he returned my embrace. “And I’m sorry I’m such a bitch. I just. . I want my life back, and I know I’m not going to get it, at least not anytime soon.”
“I understand,” he assured me. “And I love you even when you’re being bitchy.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “Good thing, that.”