Bad Habit (15 page)

“
How was it different?” He dropped
little kisses along her neck.

“
This,” she said. “I didn’t feel
this.”

“
Mmm, I see,” he said. “Then what
we have is better because this is great.” His hands trailed over
her body. Lifting her shirt, he kissed her stomach and ribs causing
her to arch toward him. Angel grinned when he saw the new pink lacy
bra she was wearing. He unhooked it and pushed it up out of his way
before kissing her breasts.

Teri gasped as a tingling sensation
radiated throughout her body. His lips and tongue caressed her
nipples as she sank her fingers into his hair. She felt Angel’s
hand flat on her stomach and realized her jeans were unzipped. She
giggled and he pulled away to gaze down into her eyes. Teri pulled
her shirt and bra off overhead and tossed them on the
floor.

Angel drew in his breath as she
unbuttoned his shirt and traced her fingers over the dark swirl of
hair leading from his chest and pointing down into his pants like
an arrow.

He tossed his shirt beside hers on
the floor and gathered her in his arms. He kissed her shoulder and
the side of her neck.

“
My beautiful Teri,” he said. “I
want you so much.”

Her flesh warmed where it touched
Angel’s. They lay together as Angel stroked her skin and slid her
jeans down over her hips.

“
I want you so much, but I can’t
make love to you.”

“
I know,” she whispered against his
skin. “Your mother is downstairs.”

“
She’s probably right outside the
door.”

Teri let out a whoop of laughter
and clasping both hands over her mouth.

Angel grinned and pulled her jeans
the rest of the way off. He stroked her legs and fingered the lacy
pink panties.

“
If you’re not going to make love to
me,” she asked, “why are you torturing me?”

“
I’m not torturing you.” He kissed
the inside of her thigh. “I’m torturing me.” Angel slid the panties
down.

“
Angel?” she whispered.

“
Shhh...” He opened her thighs and
plunged his tongue inside her, sending shock waves to her
core.

Teri groaned and bit into Angel’s
down-filled pillow to keep from crying out. She grasped his hair as
he intensified his efforts bringing her wave after wave of
pleasure. Her entire body seemed to pulse with his rhythm as he
brought her to a pinnacle of ecstasy. Her thunderous heartbeat
slowed as slowly, her spent body relaxed.

“
Are you okay?” He pulled the pillow
off her face.

“
I’m better than okay,” she said.
“Why did you do that?”

He gave her a dark-eyed look that
scorched. “I wanted to please you.”

She smiled and nuzzled his chest. “I’m pleased.”

“
But I lied to you, mi querida,” he
said.

She jerked her head back to stare
into the depths of his dark eyes. She tried to read his
expression.

“
My mother would be happy if I was
making love to you. She would be thrilled if I was filling you with
her grandchildren.”

Teri sucked in her breath and opened her eyes
wide.

“
Does that sound so strange to you?
Would you like to make babies with me?”

Teri sat up, her mouth open. She
turned around to catch Angel’s mischievous grin.

“
You horrible man!” She punched him
on his arm.

“
Don’t you want to make my mother
happy?”

“
Shut up!”

“
I’m teasing you. I’ll take it one
step at a time.”

Teri released a deep breath. “Is
this the first step?”

He pulled her down to rest against
his chest. “Yes.”

When they dressed and went
downstairs the whole family had assembled at the table. Angel
seated Teri and joined his mother in the kitchen.

“
Is everything alright?” she
asked.

“
Don’t be mean to Teri,” Angel
said.

Isabel threw her hands up over her
head. “I’m not mean to her! I love Teri.”

“
I love her more and I don’t want
you to chase her away.”

Isabel looked stricken. “Mijo! I
would never do such a thing. But it’s entirely your fault. You
never tell me anything.”

“
When I’m in New York you aren’t
informed of any case I’m working on.”

Isabel grasped his sleeve. “But
you’re right here and I see you worrying about this girl. And
you’re going and coming at all hours.”

“
Mom, I can take her to a hotel if
you prefer. I thought you’d want us here.” He shook his head as
though puzzled.

“
Of course I want you here. Don’t
even think of leaving.” She clasped her arms around Angel’s
waist.

“
If we stay you have to stop
badgering Teri. If you have questions, ask me. I won’t be able to
tell you much.”

“
Alright. I promise.” Isabel
brushed the back of her hand across her eyes before turning to the
counter. “You take the roast to the table,” she said over her
shoulder.

Angel heaved a sigh, refusing to
buy into her drama. “Sure, Mom.”

#

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

When Angel exited the kitchen he
noted the uneasy silence around the table. He placed the platter in
front of Arturo. “Here you go, Pop.” He took a seat beside Teri as
Isabel slid into the chair opposite her husband. She kept her eyes
averted and remained silent during the meal.

“
This is delicious,” Teri commented.
Others mumbled agreement.

He squeezed her thigh under the
table. It seemed as though everyone ate in record time and
scattered as soon as possible. Rosario and Esme helped clear the
table but Angel took Teri’s hand and pulled her out of the house
before she could offer her help. He led her to his car and opened
the door for her. She glanced up at him, questioningly.

“
It’s all okay,” he said and shut
her inside. He rounded the car and backed out of the driveway. At
the corner he took a deep breath and stretched his fingers before
wrapping them back around the steering wheel. He tried to release
the anger he felt toward his mother.

“
Where are we going?” she
whispered.

“
Anywhere,” he said. “How about ice
cream?”

“
Sure.”

He drove a few blocks and parked in
front of a national chain ice cream shop. He turned off the
ignition but made no move to get out. He felt as though a heavy
weight restrained him.

Teri reached over to clasp his
hand. Wordlessly, he raised it to his lips.

“
I’m sorry if I caused some sort of
rift,” she said.

“
Nothing was your fault.” He turned
in the seat to face her. “They say you can’t go home
again.”

“
Thomas Wolfe.”

He nodded. “He knew what he was talking about. The
first time I was on my own was when I joined the Navy. Then I moved
to New York and enrolled in the Police Academy.”

“
You’ve been away a long time,” she
said.

“
I fly home every
Christmas.”

“
Your mother loves you very
much.”

His throat felt tight. “I love her
too,” he said. “I love all my family.”

“
You’re very fortunate to have so
many people to love you. I have so little family left, I’ll admit
to feeling jealous.”

“
Yeah, but sometimes...” He shook
his head.

“
You don’t honestly think your
mother sees you as a big grown-up competent man, do
you?”

He shrugged. “I guess
not.”

“
To Isabel, you’ll always be that
beautiful dark-eyed little boy in the baseball uniform. She can
handle that guy. It’s the man you are now that she can’t deal
with.”

Angel shook his head, grinning at
her. “How did you get to be so wise?”

She shrugged and dimpled. “It’s my
job. I have to be able to read people.”

He took her inside to get double
scoop cones. Hel got chocolate and she chose a butter pecan and a
cherry with chocolate chunks. Watching her take a lick of her cone
brought a rush of warmth to his chest. How childlike she was. Teri
glanced up and caught Angel grinning at her.

“
What?” she said.

“
You. You always delight me.” He
watched the color in her cheeks rise.

When they returned to the vehicle,
his cell phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and rolled his
eyes. “Hello Mr. Kelso.”

Teri sat quietly eating her ice
cream while Angel listened to Martin Kelso.

“
Mr. Kelso, are you aware that the
Private Investigator you hired in San Antonio has been killed?” He
listened and then answered, “No, Marcel Farmer did not locate
Teresa Slaughter.” He hung up after a brief exchange.

“
What did he have to say?” she
asked.

“
He says he heard about the PI’s
death and he’s extremely worried about you and only cares about
your welfare.”

“
He’s a very nice man,” she said.
“Why didn’t you tell him you found me?”

“
Because,” he said, “when I find you
I’ll have to arrest you and return you to the City.”

She smiled. “In that case, I hope
you don’t find me for quite a while.”

“
I think I can keep you safer here.”
He finished off his cone and wiped his mouth with a
napkin.

“
Is that the reason?”

“
That and I know the killer is here.
I want to put him away for good.”

“
Your mother is afraid you’d place
yourself at risk to protect me.”

He sighed, groping for the right
way to respond. “She’s right.” The look she gave him caused a
constriction around his chest.

“
I don’t want to endanger you.” She
leaned closer to him. “I know you care for me but I want you to
treat me like you would anyone else in the same
circumstances.”

He chuckled. “About the strip
search...”

Teri wrinkled her nose. “I think
you already took care of that.”

#

Sister Bernadette took a stroll
early in the morning. She liked to enjoy a few moments of solitude
before joining the others for breakfast. The changing colors of the
morning skies gave her special pleasure. She liked to think that
God furnished her with a fresh art lesson every morning. She always
gave thanks for the private exhibit.

Nobody does skies like
God.

This morning she sat down on the
concrete bench and thanked God for protecting her little sister,
Teresa and for sending the man named Angel to look out for her. She
sat quietly, her hands clasped in her lap gazing up at the sky. She
crossed herself and looked around. She saw the new janitor standing
at the edge of the garden by the low stacked rock fence. Bernie
raised her hand and waved, but the man turned away, disappearing
behind the laundry room at the back of the grounds.

He probably didn’t see her wave.
She would make sure to introduce herself the next time she saw
him.

Bernie rose and walked to the dining hall. She would
have to remember this sky and try to capture it in her next
watercolor.

#

Teri awoke alone in Angel’s bed.
She dressed quietly and made the bed. She smelled bacon and coffee
but couldn’t bring herself to go down the stairs. She sat on the
edge of the bed and waited.

A short time later, Angel tapped on
the door and called her name. She smiled to herself.
Always taking care of me.

She opened the door and made way as
Angel stepped into the room. She smiled up at him.

“
Thanks.” He dropped a kiss on her
forehead.

“
For what?”

“
For helping me to understand my
mother’s pain. We had a talk this morning and she let me know how
much she worries about me.”

“
It’s easy to see how much she
loves you,” she said. “Communication is the key to a good
relationship.”

“
Is that so?” He quirked an
eyebrow.

She nodded. “Or so I’ve heard. Any
breakfast left?”

“
That’s why I came to get
you.”

The tension from the previous night seemed to have
evaporated. Breakfast was accompanied by light conversation.

“
Angel, what are you doing this
afternoon?” Esme’s eyes were alight with excitement.

“
What’s up, Mia?” he
asked.

“
Would you and Teri come to my play
practice at two o’ clock? I’m afraid you won’t be here for the real
performance.”

Angel looked at Teri and she nodded
at him. “Sure, little one. We’ll be there.”

“
Come to the gym by two p.m. Okay?”
Esme waited for Angel’s nod before tackling him with a
hug.

“
If you’re going to her practice,
can you bring her home?” Rosario asked. “I usually pick her up
because my classes are over by then but I really need to study for
a test with my lab partner.”