Cop's Passion (11 page)

That made Maddy
look up just in time to see him drop down to one knee and gather
the remainder of the bags up. He glanced at her hand gripping her
panties then up to her horrified expression, and without pause he
swiftly plucked the lacy garment from her hand, pocketed it and
then taking her elbow in one hand, he easily lifted her to a
standing position as he straightened, placing the handles of the
bags in her now empty hand once they were both upright.

Pale blue eyes
boring right into her with a resolute glitter, he said quietly,
“And this business will be finished, you can count on it.” Then he
turned, stepped down off the veranda, and strode away up the path.
With her panties in his pocket.

Oh God, she
felt…flushed. Maddy could feel the warmth on her elbow as though he
still gripped it, and she swallowed against the rush of mixed alarm
and forbidden thrill that his words, tone, and eyes had
promised.

Oh no, this
business wasn’t finished between them, not if Mike had his way.

“My oh my.”
Cindy sucked in her breath and placed one hand on her chest. “What
a deliciously, dangerous hunk.” She giggled, then in typical Cindy
fashion, grabbed Maddy’s arm and squealed, “I can’t wait to catch
up on everything, Mads! I’ve missed you while I’ve been away!”

More than happy
to be diverted from her turbulent emotions, and exceedingly happy
to see her friend again, Maddy started to lead Cindy through the
doorway, only to have her delighted friend insist on linking arms
with her and ending up with them both tumbling through the doorway
in laughter.

Cindy headed
straight for the kitchen, one of her favourite places in the house,
and Maddy was secretly glad. She wasn’t sure she could ever look at
her sofa again in quite the same way.

Grabbing the
bags from Maddy’s hands, Cindy piled them on the kitchen bench
while Maddy discreetly excused herself on the pretence of going to
the bathroom but dashed to the bedroom to put on a pair of panties.
Cindy chatted gaily about her holiday in Italy while Maddy poured
out Diet Coke into glasses and opened a packet of Tim Tams. Taking
the food and drinks to the table, she watched her friend talking
animatedly.

Best friends
since primary school, Cindy had always been built like an
over-blown hour-glass. It didn’t stop her love of clothes and
shopping, and she always wore tight-fitting dresses and tops and
pants, high heels, and full make-up. Her currently red-dyed hair
was fastened in a sloppy top-knot that allowed long, curling
strands of hair to trail down her back and over her shoulders.
Tanned, busty, hippy, and bursting with life and energy, she worked
hard, lived fast, and enjoyed life to its fullest.

Today she was
dressed in flowing, long shorts, a tight tank top, and strapless
high heels. Maddy had long gotten over her fear that Cindy would
fall arse over tit while prancing around in stilettos, it just
never happened.

As soon as she
placed the glasses and biscuits on the table, Cindy took a mouthful
of Diet Coke, swallowed fast, and bit into a Tim Tam.

“Oh gosh,” she
moaned, eyes closed, “How I’ve missed good tucker!”

“I’m sure the
cuisines in Italy were palatable,” Maddy said dryly.

“But nothing
beats Tim Tams and Diet Coke,” Cindy replied. At the sound of bags
crinkling, she turned to see Chaz’s backside sticking out of a bag
as he investigated the contents. “Chaz! Baby!” she squealed, and
dived towards the bag to swoop a startled Chaz up into her arms and
smother his seal face with kisses.

Maddy had to
choke back a laugh at the panicked look on Chaz’s face, his blue
eyes wide as he pushed with all his might against Cindy’s arms.

“Dookums!”
Cindy squeezed him, and Chaz looked like his eyes were going to pop
out of his head. “Did you miss Aunty Cindy? Huh? Did you? I got a
present for you.” Swinging him under one arm, she dove her other
arm into a blue bag and rummaged around, while Chaz frantically
tried to grab onto anything in sight. Pulling out a toy, stuffed
mouse, she waved it in front of his nose.

Immediately he
stopped struggling, his eyes focussing on it in interest.

“Here you go.”
Cindy tossed it through the kitchen door, releasing Chaz at the
same time. She laughed as he rushed out of the kitchen after it.
Turning back to Maddy, she explained, “Catnip mouse.”

“You brought
that from Italy?”

“No. I picked
it up at the pet shop on the way here.”

“Trying to buy
his affections, tut-tut.”

“One day he’ll
appreciate my kisses. Besides, I couldn’t not bring him a present,
could I?” Beaming, she delved into another bag. “Speaking of which,
I got you a few little things.”

“Cindy, really,
you didn’t have to get me anything.” Maddy protested just as she’d
protested many times before, and just as many times before, Cindy
waved a hand at her.

“Nothing gives
me greater pleasure than shopping for my friends.” Whipping her
hand out of the bag, Cindy held up a pink bit of, well, nothing but
scraps of lace that Maddy could tell, and tossed it to her. “This
is for you.”

“Wow, thanks.”
Maddy fumbled and finally held it up. “A short nightie.
See-through. Golly.” She started to laugh, the gift was so
Cindy.

“It matches
these.” A pair of scanty pink panties flew through the air to land
on Maddy’s head.

“I think I’d
lose it between the crack of my bum cheeks.” Maddy admired it
dutifully. “But it’s a nice thing to lose between my bum cheeks, I
have to say.”

“I’ve got one
just like it in blue.” Cindy beamed. “We could have a
sleepover!”

“Every dirty
man’s wet dream.”

Disregarding
Maddy’s laughter, Cindy delved through the bags and by the time
she’d finished, there was a lovely assortment of gifts on the
table. Some Maddy laughed at, but there were a couple of truly
thoughtful gifts that she’d treasure.

Getting up, she
hugged Cindy. “Thank you, chicken. But truly, your being back is
all the gift I need.”

“Aw.” Cindy
hugged her back. “It’s my pleasure.”

After several
seconds, Maddy resumed her seat and Cindy dropped down in the chair
opposite her.

“So tell me all
about Italy,” Maddy demanded. “The city, the history, the people,
everything.”

Retrieving her
camera from her handbag, Cindy shuffled her chair around so that
she sat beside Maddy, and she proceeded to flick through the
photos, talking the whole time about each photo, where she’d taken
it, and what or who it was about. In between Maddy got up and
replenished their glasses of Diet Coke and the Tim Tams.

As night drew
in they sent out for pizza, and while they waited for it to arrive,
Maddy took Cindy with her to see the kitten while Maddy fed it.

To be truthful,
she was glad that Cindy was with her, for she knew that Mike
wouldn’t approach her while she had company. Call her a coward, but
right then she didn’t want to meet him face-to-face. She could
swear she felt him watching her, though a sneak peek towards his
back windows showed nothing.

The kitten
watched from the doorway of the shed as she refilled the water bowl
and placed a dish of tinned kitten food beside it. It didn’t move
away but it did give several small meows and stand up, which was
promising, and when she and Cindy backed away a little, it warily
approached the plate and ate, keeping a close eye on them but not
as afraid as it had been in the past.

“So cute,”
Cindy whispered. “Got a home for it yet?”

“No.”

“What about Big
and Dangerous? He looks like he could do with a soft touch.”

“Trust me, he
doesn’t want it.”

“He hasn’t
chased it away.” Curiously, Cindy glanced at the house. “He lets it
stay?”

“Mike lets it
stay here and me feed it until I get it a home.”

“Huh. That’s
kind of him.”

“Yeah, he has
that streak.” Maddy watched the kitten, resolutely pushing her
troubling thoughts away to mull over later.

They watched
until the kitten disappeared into the shed for the night before
heading back to the side gate.

They had just
reached it when Mike’s voice stopped them. “Maddy.”

She looked
around to see him standing near the back corner of the garage,
leaning one big shoulder against it as he regarded her.

Mike nodded
politely to Cindy before returning his gaze to Maddy.

“Yes?” It took
all her gumption to look directly into his eyes, and she fought the
blush that threatened to bloom at the memory of those piercing eyes
looking down at her hotly, burning with passion.

She pressed her
thighs together against a sudden roil of warmth in her loins.

“Buy a mobile
phone,” he said coolly. “And lock your door when you’re home.”

That was like a
bucket of ice water on her heating emotions and she glared at
him.

He arched one
brow in that bloody way he had that infuriated her, straightened
and walked back around the house.

“Arsehole,” she
snapped before she could stop herself.

“Whoa,” said
Cindy.

Shaking her
head, Maddy opened the gate and headed back home with her friend on
her heels.

“So what’s the
story with you and Mike?” Cindy asked as they entered the
house.

“Nothing.”
Maddy clicked the lock in place as she’d normally do, except when
he’d stormed in earlier, of course, because she just had to give
him something else to moan about. “He just thinks he knows what’s
good for me.”

“Really? Why is
that?” Cindy followed her back into the kitchen and leaned against
the wall.

Maddy repacked
the gifts into the bags to put away later. “I have no idea.”

“There has to
be some reason.” Cindy’s eyes narrowed. “Are you hiding something
from me, Lovett?”

“No.” She
caught Cindy’s narrow-eyed gaze. “Yes. Well, I had a flat tyre and
he thinks I should have had a mobile phone to call for help.”

“There’s more
to it than that.”

“Fine. It was
night-time.”

Cindy
waited.

“Another car
stopped, it was a man who, it turned out, was a friend of Mike’s,
and he helped me change the tyre, but meanwhile Mike got his
cop-knickers in a knot and decided for me that I should have a
mobile. He came over here today all…”

“All…?” Cindy
encouraged.

All hot and
yummy and lustful and… “I got into a bit of an argument with him
about it.”

“Oh, so that’s
the unfinished business.” Cindy nodded her head. “But there’s more
to it, right?”

Picking up the
bags, Maddy went to the lounge room, managing not to stare at the
sofa. She half expected to see the imprint of two writhing bodies
on the cushions, but they were as usual. The only things out of
place were the cushions on the floor.

Cindy picked up
the cushions and placed them on the sofa. “Geez, you really need to
buy Chaz more toys to play with, cushions just aren’t his sort of
thing, you know?”

“Yeah.”

“So,” Cindy
said, “What else happened to get your dander up? It had to be more
than just the big, bad cop trying to be nice. You wouldn’t normally
argue about something like that.”

With a sigh,
Maddy dropped down into an armchair. “He came at a bad time.”

“Do tell.”

“Belinda came
around with a snooty friend, and basically they told me to lose
weight so I could nab myself a rich husband.”

Cindy stared at
her for several seconds before saying mildly, “Bitches.”

“I’ll say. I
tossed them out and then Mike came over trying to tell me what to
do and I sort of lost my temper.”
And my panties
. Maddy
didn’t voice her thoughts.

“I can see why
you lost it,” Cindy replied. “Good on ya for tossing out the
bitches, and good on ya for standing up to the cop.”

Maddy gave her
a small smile. “I knew you’d understand.”

Cindy leaped to
her feet and struck a pose, hands up in the air. “Hell yes, and
even if I didn’t, I’d still back you up.”

Maddy followed
suit, standing right beside her and raising her own hands in the
air. “Gotcha back, sister.”

“Gotcha back
right back, sister.”

They bumped
hips twice, grinning widely. It was a simple thing from their
schooldays and it made Maddy feel so much better.

Chaz slitted
his eyes open but finding nothing of interest to watch, he went
right back to sleep with his toy mouse tucked in one paw.

“Aw, sweet,”
Cindy said.

It was late by
the time they’d finished seeing and talking about everything, and
after they cleared up the pizza boxes and ice cream dishes, Cindy
ended up sleeping in the spare room as she’d done so many
times.

Snuggled into
her bed with Chaz lying against her back, Maddy looked at the
glowing numbers on the alarm clock and thought about her intimate
encounter with Mike. How the hell it had happened was beyond her.
Why he would even contemplate making love - no, having sex - with
her defied all belief. Just the memory of him inside her, all hard
and thick and hot, his seed spilling deep- “Crap!”

Annoyed at
being disturbed, Chaz half opened his eyes.

Oh God, she’d
had unprotected sex with Mike! He’d ejaculated inside her. Oh God,
she could get pregnant, she could - oh God!

Panic almost
overtook her before she regained some sense.

“Calm down,
Maddy,” she whispered softly, gripping the sheet in her hand. “You
can get the morning-after pill at the chemist in the morning. It’s
okay. You won’t get pregnant.” Biting her lip, heart thudding
uncomfortably, she laid back down.

She hardly
slept all night and by the time the alarm went off in the morning,
she was wired. All she wanted was to find a chemist and fast.

Cindy was still
asleep when Maddy had finished showering and dressing in her
uniform. Picking up her friend’s car keys from the kitchen bench,
Maddy walked outside to shift the car out of the way.