Armed and Fabulous (Lexi Graves Mysteries) (51 page)

He pointed to the
sofa
and I noticed a second quilt and pillow folded and placed to one side. "
Th
ere."

"Sorry." I didn't like the look of the bed much, and the sofa looked like it had seen better days.

"No worries. I've done it before."

I dropped onto the
sofa
and looked around at the blank walls and the stripped room, my heart sinking. My apartment wasn't overly cozy
,
but it was home and I missed it already. I missed my things and the familiarity. I missed my normal life. I missed my family. I wanted to go out with Lily and have fun, or work up a sweat at the gym. I even wanted to go to the concert with Vincent and wave my
new
hair around like a rocker. Suddenly
,
everything seemed uncertain
—
I didn't know when, or if, I could go home. My job was almost certainly
over,
which meant I would be back at the temping agency soon. Potentially anyway.

"It'll be okay, Lexi. It's not for long."

"How do you do this?" I asked as he settled next to me. "How do you wait it out
?
K
nowing that the bad guys are looking for me? That anything could happen?"

"I just do," he said. "And this is better than leaving you
alone
as a target. I don't want yours to be the next dead body I see."

Well, if that didn't drive it home, I don't know what would.

"What about work tomorrow?" I asked.

"You sprained your ankle,"
Maddox
said. "And I'm at a conference."

Maddox
had thought to bring a small selection of DVDs with him, so I thumbed through them and handed him a comedy. He slid it into the laptop's disk drive and we sat there, neither of us really watching. With beers in hand, it could have been any night
,
but I couldn't shake the frightened
, no
,
terrified
,
bit of me that knew I was hiding. In the space of a week, I'd seen more bodies than
during
my entire lifetime. I didn't know which was more upsetting: being chased by the SUV, having my home invaded
,
or losing the blonde. Before I could stop myself, my shoulders
shook
,
and a big, gaspy sob escaped me.

"Hey," said Adam. "Hey, it'll be okay."

"No, it won't!" I wailed, pushing the heels of my hands a
gainst my eyes. Not that i
t stopped the tears sli
d
ing over my cheeks. "This has been the worst week
ever
. I loved being
a
blonde and you took my favorite dress because it had Dean's blood on it!"

Maddox chuckled.
"I thought you were going to say the corpses creeped you out."

"That too!"
I sobbed.

Maddox
wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into him, stroking my hair while I soaked his shirt. He was big and warm and comforting and I relaxed against him as I sobbed the frustration and fear
away
. I didn't have to worry
as long as
Maddox
stayed
with me. I knew he would protect me. I just wasn't keen on the idea of what he had to protect me from.

Most of all, I wanted it to be over.

Chapter Sixteen

I jolted awake, completely disorientated. Looking around the beige, sparse room, I couldn't work out where I was. Then it all came flooding back to me. I was in a safe house, on the sofa in the living room and there was a warm, heavy arm draped over me.

For a moment
,
I froze, then relaxed, because, actually, being stretched out on the sofa with Adam behind me was quite nice. Better than nice. For the first time in a few days
,
I'd
gotten
a full night's sleep
.
I was warm and
not
panicking about what was going to happen because I already knew I wasn't going anywhere
;
and Maddox had assured me several times that no one could get
to
me here
.

Although
Maddox told me to pack for a few days
,
we both knew this could stretch on a lot longer than that. That depressed me slightly. It wasn't just that I
missed
the opportunity to have this week's time
card
signed so I would get paid, but I could be missing many more days, even weeks. I closed my eyes for a minute and tried not to think about that. I tried to think about my mother saying
“W
hat will be will be
,”
but it wasn't all that soothing, given that there were quite a few scenarios that I didn't want to be in.

I wriggled, working the cricks out of my neck and stretched. Adam's arm tightened over me and I
stopped
. I could feel
something pressing into my back as he pulled
me against him, our bodies in full contact
. Shame we were wearing yesterday's clothes.

"Morning," Maddox
mumbled sleepily
a
s he
looped his leg through mine
.

"Hey," I replied, pausing
before adding, "I didn't mean to fall asleep here." I didn't remember much after crying my eyes out and wailing about my hair. I had a vague recollection of curling up next to him, but I didn't remember stretching out with him.

"No problem."

"Adam?"

"Hmm?"

I couldn't help it. I'd slept awkwardly and I needed to wriggle. Behind me,
Maddox
tensed and his arm held me still, his palm flat against my stomach. He groaned
softly
. "Could you move your gun?" I asked, my head still fuzzy with sleep.

"My gun's on the table."

"Then, what's..."
Oh!
My eyes widened.

He moved
,
and a moment later
,
a CD container landed on the coffee table.
Ahh.
Not quite what
I expected
. I giggled and rolled my shoulders, working out the kinks. Something still prodded me.

“If the next thing you
remove
is a bunny rabbit, I’m outta here,” I told him.

Maddox
's breath was soft against my neck, and, if I w
ere
n't mistaken, his lips brush
ed
my skin. "It's morning," he said, by way of explanation
for the continued prodding
. "I'm warm. I don't want to move, but you need to stop wriggling or it's not going to go away."

Oh.

Did I want it to go away? I wasn't sure. Truth was, it was nice being snuggled up to
Maddox
.
T
here was a heat
spiraling
through me that suggested
less
clothing might make it even nicer. A bed would make the moment fantastic, but I couldn't
work
miracles. Also, he smelled really nice. Warm, masculine,
and
a little
citrus
y. Being this close to him made my breath quicken
and other parts of me dance a jig
.

Like he could read my mind, I felt a tug at my t-shirt,
before
Maddox
's hand slid under
neath
, caressing my stomach
, while
his lips settled on my neck
. I was pretty certain now that
Maddox
's morning
condition
had as much to do with me as it did with waking up
,
but it struck me as rude to point that out. Without thinking
,
I pressed ag
ainst him, rubbing slightly. His lips slid from my neck
to nibble my
shoulders
,
while his hand slid
further
upwards, over
my stomach, then
softly over
my bra. I knew he felt my breath quicken.

"Lexi," he murmured.

I twisted next to him, f
inding
his mouth and kiss
ing
him
hard
, my hands running over his morning stubble to his muscular shoulders. Then we were moving, shuffling, and somehow I ended up under Maddox
. I had
one knee drawn up against the back of the couch,
while
the other foot dropp
ed
to the floor as he lay between my legs and returned the kiss eagerly. He fumbled the zipper on my sweatshirt, tugging it down and pushing it apart
while
my shirt rode up at his hands.

I moaned when he pushed himself against me, sending a spark of fire through me
that shot south
,
his
kisses bec
o
m
ing
more urgent. I wrapped my arms around him,
a
moan escaping me when his lips left mine. He slid down my body, his lips returning to the soft swell of my breasts as he kissed them through my bra
.
T
hen
on
the
skin
, then back to my mouth as my hands fumbled with his
fly
.

I'd
only
just tugged it open, my hand sliding inside his jeans, when
I heard the front door open. Maddox
looked up, his body suddenly tense. I caught the brief register of annoyance as it flashed across his face.

"Breakfast," called a man's voice.
Solomon's.
The door banged shut and his footsteps sounded in the hall.

"Shit," said
Maddox
, scrambling off me and falling to his knees on the floor. I rolled onto my side, pulled
down
my shirt and leaned
over
.

When Solomon came through the door, I pretended to
be
tying my laces. When I looked up,
running fingers through my hair to smooth it, Maddox
was
on
the other side of the room, his shirt untucked and his jeans zippered. At least, I thought they were.

"I brought bagels," said Solomon, looking from me to Maddox
, his face blank
. "Anything happen?"

"Not a thing," said Maddox, glancing at me, and I thought I heard a hint
of regret. I knew how he felt, though I couldn’t help feeling a little relieved that our first time hadn’t taken place on a crusty couch in a stark
,
safe house, rather than in, say, my lovely bed.

On the plus side, I was really hungry and Solomon had fresh bagels
,
so I couldn't be too miffed.

I finished my bagel in record time and reached for another, washing it down with a glass of orange juice, already
curious
what
we were having
for lunch. It may
have
be
en a
good
thing
for my waistline that I couldn't invade the kitchen for a snack
,
seeing as we had, literally, nothing in the cupboards, but I was starting to think like a prisoner...
or a puppy. I wanted to know where my next meal was coming from, something I never had to think about before. Being in the same room with Maddox and Solomon was uncomfortable enough
, body
heat-wise, but being solely reliant on them was
intolerable
.

"What's wrong?" asked Maddox.

"Nothing," I said thinking about my mother's roast chicken. "What's happening today?"

"Nothing." Maddox and Solomon exchanged glances.

"I know that look. What's going on?"

"Someone left a gift at your house last night," said Solomon.

"What kind of gift?"

"Chocolate."

"I like chocolate."

"These had tire marks across the box."

"Someone ran over chocolates and left them for me?
” I frowned. “
That's nutso."

"Dead flowers, creepy screensaver,
flowers in your living room...
the chocolates look like a
nother
warning to me. I'm glad we got you out of there," said Maddox.

"I don't suppose..."

"What?"

"Did you bring any chocolate with you?" I asked Solomon and his chest did a fast rise and fall like he was trying not to laugh.

Maddox
’s
face clouded. "Someone threatens you
,
but you're more concerned about the chocolate?"

"It's part of my five
-
a
-
day diet."

"That's fruit and vegetables."

"Chocolate comes from the cocoa bean and a bean is a vegetable," I justified. Maddox and Solomon just stared at me. "Ask any woman," I told them. "It's true."