Arresting Holli (8 page)

“Still, you have more, and you should let the blanket go.”

After watching his face intently for a moment, she finally loosened her tight grip on the fleece and let it slide down her shoulders to pool around her hips and backside. Her nipples were pointed and hard, and he bet if he touched one, she’d moan. He’d wait, though, until she least expected it, because given the way she was still eyeing him, she expected it now.

It took everything in him to turn his head away from the way the flames danced on her skin. He opened the box, and together they took out the scoring pads, dice, the red cup, and the yellow chips. “Damn. Let me get a pencil.” He was up and back in a matter of seconds. “You remember how to play?”

“Yes, I think so. We each roll to see who goes first?”

“Okay. Then roll.”

Holli
picked up the die and put it in the cup. She covered the opening with her other hand and shook. It made a dreadful rattling noise, but the movement of her hands with the cup made her breasts bounce. He couldn’t wait to feel them in his hands once more or against his chest.

She dumped the die out into the box lid. “Five. You’re going to have to roll higher.”

“Oh the pressure.” He winked and put the die in the cup, shook, dumped it out. “Three. You go first.”

“
Yay
me.” She grinned, and he laughed.

He loved that despite her hesitation to be naked a few minutes before, she was comfortable enough with him to not even try covering herself. She was playful, as playful as he was. It was a terrific trait in his mind and opened up endless possibilities for naughty and not so naughty fun.

While she made her first play in the game, he picked up a skewer and threaded a couple of marshmallows onto the pointed tip. He pushed them down an inch or so, and by the time he was done, she’d added up her total. “Fives? Favorite number?”

“No, not my favorite number. I don’t have one. And hey, it’s not a bad start,” she said defensively.

He smiled indulgently. “No, baby, it’s not. Here” he handed her the wooden handled metal stick with the marshmallows “you roast while I take my turn. Don’t hold them in there too long though. They aren’t like the store-bought marshmallows. These will melt and turn to goo very quickly.”

“Kind of like when I think they haven’t been in long enough, it’s time to take them out?”

“Yep.”

“Okay, got it.” She turned away from him only to turn right back. “And Michael?” He looked up and met her eyes. “No cheating.”

He reached around her and pinched one of her nipples, enjoying the hiss of breath from behind her teeth. “Brat.”

“That was totally unfair,” she said a few minutes later when she turned back to him with warm, toasty marshmallows.

“What?”

“Using my nakedness against me.”

“You’re the one who brought up cheating. Dirty cop talk is not appreciated,” he scolded, trying his best to look stern. He’d been able to do it before, but right then, he was failing miserably. All he wanted was to lay her back and smear gooey marshmallow across her body, then suck it off.

As it was, he gingerly pulled the confection off the skewer as best he could. “Open.” She did, and he dropped it inside her mouth.

“Oh God,” she moaned.

“Good?”

“Amazing.” After she swallowed, she said, “I wasn’t implying anything about dirty cop either.”

“No? Damn. I am quite dirty.”

“Not as a cop. As a man, yes, probably.”

He pulled the other marshmallow off. “Not probably. Definitely.” He popped it in his mouth, letting it melt on his tongue. “
C’mere
,” he said, even as he reached out to cup the back of her neck in his hand and pull her forward.

Their lips met. She smelled like, tasted like warm vanilla and sugar. He teased the seam of her lips with his tongue and backed off when she started to part them. “Your turn.”

“Huh?” She appeared confused for a moment, and he smiled, kissing the tip of her nose.

“The game. Your turn.” He sat back and pushed two more marshmallows onto the skewer before edging closer to the fire.

“Oh. Right.”

Her disappointed look was cute as she picked up the cup to play. He tried to feel bad about it but didn’t. He found he loved teasing her, throwing her off-kilter just a little bit. It was his way of paying her back for keeping him hard and hot and wanting her more than he’d ever wanted any woman he’d ever known. It didn’t hurt that she got him back for the teasing, either. He loved her aggressiveness when she was aroused.

Michael kissed her in the center of her spine once he’d shifted behind her closer to the fireplace. He roasted the squares of fluff over the flames while she rolled the dice.

“Hmm.”

The marshmallows done, he scooted on his ass back toward her. Her brow was scrunched down as she contemplated the results. “What’d you get?” he asked, looking over while blowing on the hot sugar to cool it enough to be handled.

“I think it’s a small straight. Two twos, three, four, five.”

“Yep. Small straight. You’d need a six or a one for it to be a large straight.”

“Still, not a bad roll. Worth a lot.” She glanced at the marshmallows. “One of those for me?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe? How can I get that up to a yes?”

“Hmmm.” He eyed the front of her body. “Lay back and bend your knees.”

“And then I’ll get one?”

“Yes.”

She lowered herself slowly, to the floor beside him. Her nipples were hard peaks, and he was unable to resist leaning down for a quick lick of one. “Let your legs fall open for me,” he whispered against the underside of the breast closest to him. Lifting his head and looking between her legs, he could see she was still wet from earlier. Or was she wet anew from this current state of play?

The skewers had a smooth and slender, twisted wooden handle. There were no rough or sharp edges, so when he trailed it down her belly and lightly teased her clit with it, she barely made a sound beyond a whimper. He lowered his head to the nearest breast again and sucked the erect tip between his lips, then tugged with his teeth.

Her back arched off the floor, making it the perfect moment for him to slide the handle from her clit to her opening and inside her.

“Michael!”

He raised his head and moved to kiss her lips lightly. “Now put your hand where mine is… Yes, that’s good.” He slid his hand from under hers until only she was holding the marshmallow-topped stick. “I want you to gently, slowly move it in and out…” Jesus. “Yes,
Holli
, that’s very good.”

Michael reached for the cup and the dice. “I’m going to take my turn while you make sure to keep the marshmallows from touching the floor and getting any dust or fuzz from the rug on them.”

“I’ve never… God, Michael…”

Her voice shook with her arousal, and his cock ached from not being what was inside her, sliding through her wet heat. “I know. I told you I was dirty.”

“Y-you weren’t joking.”

“No, baby, I don’t joke when it comes to this.” He shook the dice in the cup. “Hold still, except for the stick. Keep doing what you’re doing with it.” He rolled the dice from the cup onto her belly, and she sucked in a breath. “Okay, let’s see… I think I’ve got… Oh look, that’s a full house. Excellent.”

He made like he was very serious and intent on writing his score down when he couldn’t really care less about it. All he cared about was her, getting inside her, fucking her until they both passed out.

Scooping the dice from her body, he laid them back on the pillow they’d been using as a table. “Still want your marshmallow?”

“Yeah.”

She was breathless, and her hips had begun moving in an upward motion. She really was enjoying being dirty, once more confirming for him that he’d met his match.

Taking the skewer from her, he licked her juices from the wooden hold and pulled the marshmallows off the pointed metal end. One he deposited in his own mouth; the other he dragged through her soaking wet pussy before offering it up to her.

“Open,” he whispered.

She did so, eagerly. He painted her lips with her own wetness before pushing the
melty
confection between her teeth. She chewed, licked her lips, and still had her legs spread, though they were restless.

Michael dug in his pocket for the condom and tore open the little envelope. She watched him with hooded eyes as he unzipped his jeans and lowered them enough to let his cock out.

He put the rubber on and crawled between her thighs. “Let’s see if we can’t get you a full house now.”

She giggled beneath him. “Wouldn’t that be a full box?”

Popping his hips forward until he sank deep into her, he groaned out a laugh. “Indeed it would, dirty girl.”

Chapter Ten

The phone was ringing. Michael looked at the clock. Six thirty in the morning. Why the hell was the phone ringing at six thirty in the morning? “Yeah,” he said by way of answering.

“It’s Derek.”

Michael was instantly awake. “Hey. What’s going on?”

“Sorry to call so early, but thought you’d want to know as soon as possible. Your girl can go. Everything checks out. It was exactly as it appeared and as we suspected: a clerical error, a transposed social or a fake one that sent up the flag when you ran the plate and the license. It’s still being looked into, but as far as Ms. James goes, she’s free to leave the county as soon as we get the papers signed.”

“That’s…great.” That’s really fucking great. Michael ran a hand through his hair and down his face before looking over at the woman asleep in his bed. He didn’t want her to go. He wasn’t ready for her to go.

“You want to bring her in later this morning or should I have someone bring them to you?”

“Can you have someone run them over?” The words were out of his mouth before he thought about what he was saying.

“Yeah, sure. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, fine. She’s still sleeping, and she’ll have a long drive ahead of her so…” Which had nothing at all to do with anything.

“Okay. Where’d you take her, and I’ll get Chuck to bring the papers by for signing in a couple hours.”

Shit. Maybe he needed to take her into Derek’s office instead. He wasn’t even sure why he didn’t want to do it in the first place. “I, uh, she’s here at my place.”

“Mike? Man, do you know what kind of trouble you could get into? I thought you were going to take her to a motel.”

“Hold on a sec…” Michael rolled out of the bed as quietly and gently as he could so he didn’t wake her. He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him before continuing the conversation with the district attorney. “Okay. Now you can read me the riot act.”

“What were you thinking?”

“I was going to take her to one of the normal places, but…” He hung his head and closed his eyes, sighing heavily. “Look, her vacation was screwed up enough. She needed a hot shower and decent place to stay. Not to mention food. Taking her to a motel would have been no better than the jail cell she’d spent the night in. It was a technicality. She’d done nothing wrong. All we were doing was waiting around for you all to get back to work and fix it.”

“I’m not even going to ask about anything else because I don’t want to know. Just…
Dammit
, Mike.”

There was frustration in his friend’s voice, which Michael understood well. If he’d been in Derek’s place, he’d have been frustrated too. But damn if he was going to regret choosing to bring her to his place or anything that had happened between them. “I know, but if it makes you feel better, I’d do it again.”

“You know damn well it doesn’t make me feel better. Look, I’ll bring the papers over in a few hours, then get them filed. We don’t need some intern to know she was with you at your place.”

“There’s nothing on the books about not taking a noncriminal home with you. Shit, Derek. If she’d done something wrong, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Because she didn’t do anything wrong, you’re busting my balls. Where’s the logic in that?” He did his best to keep his voice down so he didn’t wake
Holli
; however, the whole mess was getting to him, especially now that it was looking like she was going to be able to leave soon. That’s what got him in the gut most of all.

“I hope she was worth it, because if anyone finds out…”

“I knew the risk before I brought her here, D. But it was worth it to me, and I’ll defend it to anyone.”

“There’s no sense in me trying to argue with you about this. I know better than that. Once you’ve made your mind up. I’ll see you in a while.”

The called ended, and Michael flipped his cell phone shut. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His whole place smelled like her. Citrus. Coconut. Spice. Sex.

He

“What was worth the risk?”

Michael spun at the sound of
Holli’s
sleep-heavy voice. So much for not waking her. “Bringing you here,” he said without hesitation. She was rumpled, and her eyes were still half-closed. Her hair was in complete disarray, and the doorjamb was holding her up.

“You shouldn’t have?” She yawned as she spoke. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

“No. Technically, it’s against policy if we’re not sure what else to do with you and unsure of your involvement in a crime. Procedure says I should take you to one of the local motels or a safe house.”

“Why didn’t you? I would have been fine with that. This was so much more than I expected.”

“I know, but I wasn’t fine with that idea. You aren’t a criminal. You aren’t the one who committed fraud, and now that the error was corrected, hopefully the real one will be caught soon. I wanted to make it up to you, the whole being-in-jail thing. I wanted you to spend the last couple of days in a place that was warm and comfortable, not some cold, impersonal motel with cheap bedding and drafty windows. I mean,
Holli
, it’s bad enough ”

She was wide-eyed in an instant and stalking him within seconds of his last word. “If you apologize one more time about what happened, I’m
gonna
knuckleball you again.” She pointed her finger at him and jabbed him in the chest for emphasis. “I’m fine. What happened is fine. It was a mistake. Well, part of it was, anyway. This wasn’t your fault, and I owe you a lot. You risked your job, evidently. For me. I don’t know what to say about that. You shouldn’t have, clear-cut policy or not. I don’t want that on my conscience because then I’d have to make it up to you, and I don’t have anything to offer. Well, maybe I could offer you a job decorating Christmas trees.”

“I ”

“Nope.” She put a finger to his lips, and he watched her fight a smile when he licked the tip. “Not another word about it. You’ve apologized, and I’ve accepted. When will he be here?”

“A few hours.”

“Okay. C’mon.” She held out her hand to him. He didn’t think about not taking it.

She led him back into the bedroom and climbed beneath the covers again. He slid in behind her and wrapped his arms around the soft warmth of her body. Her hair tickled his nose, and her delicious ass teased his already wide-awake penis. Damn thing hadn’t left him alone for four and a half days.

“Michael?”

“Yeah?”

“I wish I wasn’t leaving either.”

He squeezed her and nuzzled his face into her neck, taking a deep breath. “Then don’t. At least, don’t leave for New York. I know you’re supposed to meet your friend, and I…” He started to say he was sorry but stopped himself, afraid she might kick her leg back and do some damage to his very personal person. “Stay here until you have to go home.”

* * * * *

Holli
sucked in her breath when she heard the knock on the door. She’d just finished brushing her teeth and was brushing her hair. Michael walked through the apartment, his feet solid against the hardwood floors, and opened the door.

The deep male voice that joined his made her stomach tighten. And not in the hot, sexual way Michael’s voice did. Trepidation filled her. What was she going to do? Even she didn’t know yet. Michael wanted her to stay, and she wanted to stay, but…what about New York? Was he better than New Year’s in the Big Apple?

She looked at herself in the mirror and couldn’t believe she’d pondered that question. He was way better than seeing the ball drop. But what about Charlotte?
Holli
would have to call her to find out how things were going. If Char was still with her lady friend, she might not want
Holli
to show up. Nah, she’d still want to see her. At the same time, Charlotte would understand
Holli
wanting to spend every waking, breathing moment with Officer Hunky until she had to get in her car and head south again.

“
Holli
?” Michael poked his head into the bathroom.

She didn’t know what the heck to do. “Yeah, I’m coming.”

She put her brush in her bag, straightened her sweater, and smoothed her hands down her jeans. She didn’t know why she was so nervous.

A few seconds later, she greeted Michael’s friend and colleague in the living room. She held out her hand to the tall, very good-looking black man. “Hi, I’m
Holli
.”

His grip was firm, warm, and man oh man… “Hello,
Holli
. I’m Derek Masterson, assistant district attorney.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Masterson.”

“Likewise. I wish it had been under different circumstances though.”

“Yes, me too.”

Small talk ensued until papers were produced for her. “I’ll need you to sign the first two copies. They’re your release papers. No bail was required, and as long as you pay the fine for speeding, you’ll be free to go.”

“I won’t have to appear in court?”

“No, we don’t require that of you. You can pay by certified check, cashier’s check, or cash for the speeding ticket.”

“Okay. I just need to get to a bank branch or ATM for the money.”

Michael nodded. “I’ll take you by on the way to pick up your car. That way we can drop it by the clerk of the court, which is very close to the impound lot.”

“All right.” It was almost over, this ordeal she’d been through. Looking at Michael, though, she didn’t think ordeal was the right word. She liked him far too much to consider things between them that way. He’d shown her an amazing time, and she was sort of sad that it was coming to an end.

“
Holli
?”

She turned her head to see Derek offering her a pen and a smile. She took it from him and signed both pieces of paper. Pretty soon it would be official. She was free. Well, she was free once she paid her ticket. She could leave. She tried to ignore the ache inside at the thought.

She slid the papers and the pen across the coffee table.

“Thank you. I’ll get these filed immediately.
Holli
, again, it was a pleasure. Maybe you’ll come back and give our little town another try without the jail time and speeding.”

Holli
stood and laughed. “Yes, I would like that. Thank you for bringing the papers over.”

She watched as Michael walked his friend to the door, and then they were alone, staring at one another.

“I guess we should go get the rest of your business taken care of.”

Okay, where was her excitement? Where was her happiness over the fact that in a couple of hours at most, she could be on her way to New York? “I guess so,” she said, in a voice brighter than her mood inside, and went in search of her coat. “I’ll call Charlotte when we get back.”

He opened the door and followed her out. She’d forgotten how damn cold it was until it hit her square in the face, and she shivered.

“I’ll turn on the heater as soon as the engine is warm enough so that we won’t get a blast of freezing air.”

Their first stop was the bank. It was a slow drive through the icy streets. The longer they were out, the more she thought about what she was going to do. She already liked him so much, and she knew staying was only playing with fire.

The wait wasn’t long for her to get the cashier’s check from the teller, less than fifteen minutes from the time they got there. That they had a Wells Fargo branch was a blessing. She hadn’t relished the idea of paying the ticket with cash. The car was still blessedly warm when they got back in.

“Do you need to stop anywhere for anything other than the bank and the courthouse?” he asked.

“No, I don’t think so. Though, do you need me to pay you back for any of the food? I can get some money out of the ATM here if you do.”

He shot her a look that said she had stepped into offensive territory. “I can’t believe you’re asking me that.”

She picked her words carefully. “I didn’t mean anything by it, Michael. It’s just… You didn’t plan on having a houseguest the last couple of days.” His hands tightened on the steering wheel until the knuckles turned white. It was a minute or two before he spoke again. He was getting himself under control, and though it was really the wrong time for it, she was
kinda
turned on by it.

Michael pulled out of the parking space, then shifted the cruiser into drive. “No, I don’t need you to pay me back for the food.”

“Okay. What about for the condoms?”

He shot her another look, but it lightened quickly when he saw the smile on her face. She was teasing about that one.

Her libido had gone past haywire and straight into overdrive since meeting him. They hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other once they’d been alone. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been in a constant state of horniness like this. All her life, she’d thought it was only men that couldn’t seem to control their lusts, but it appeared that impression had been wrong. She wanted in his pants every chance she got, and if he didn’t need to recover between their
sexcapades
, she’d have been on him between breaths.

“Brat.”

“So you keep saying.”

“Are you doubting the word of an officer of the law?”