Crossing the Line (26 page)

The drive home was full of anxious anticipation. Megan had continued to text him periodically throughout the day. None of them were as provocative as the first—mostly small reminders she was thinking about him. Paul had to admit that they were a nice pick-me-up to his day.

He pulled into his driveway and turned off the engine. It was taking all he had not to rush into the house to find her like some sort of crazed madman. He hadn’t felt like this in a long time.

As calmly as he could, Paul made his way inside. He glanced around the kitchen, but didn’t see Megan anywhere. Closing the door behind him, Paul called out to her. “Megan?”

Her voice floated down from the second floor. “I’m upstairs.”

His heart started racing as the possibilities of why she was upstairs flitted through his mind. 

All his restraint went out the window as he ran up the stairs to find her. He was out of breath by the time he reached the top, but he didn’t slow down. In three strides, he was at her bedroom door.

The sight that greeted Paul had him hard in a matter of seconds. Megan lay on the bed in nothing but the bra and panty set she’d texted him that morning. It was dark blue with lace trim—a striking contrast against her skin. 

Megan sat up, resting her weight on her arms behind her. “Welcome home.”

He released a shaky breath. “What are you doing up here?”

“I thought maybe we could have a picnic.” She waved her hand toward a wicker basket he’d yet to notice sitting on the floor beside the bed.

Paul was trying to wrap his head around what he was seeing.

When he didn’t move, Megan crawled off the bed to come stand before him. She reached for the lapels of his jacket, and pushed it up and over his shoulders. It dropped unceremoniously to the floor behind him. Next she went for his tie. “You’re wearing way too many clothes, Detective Daniels.”

As soon as she removed his shirt, Paul removed his gun and holster, grabbed hold of her waist, and crushed her against him. She gazed up at him with a look he was becoming very familiar with. Threading his fingers through her hair, Paul lowered his mouth to hers. 

Megan enthusiastically kissed him back. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought she was attempting to crawl beneath his skin the way she rubbed herself against his body. She didn’t hide that she wanted him, and it had his erection protesting against the confines of his suit pants. 

Completely forgetting about food, he walked them back toward her bed. Megan scraped her nails along his back, sending shivers down his spine. He needed to be inside her already. Paul kicked off his shoes, and together they made quick work of getting rid of his pants and underwear—the only thing left between them were the scraps of satin and lace she was wearing.

Before he could remedy that, Megan broke away, and crawled backward onto the mattress. She had her back arched and her legs spread. He could see the evidence of her arousal seeping through her thin panties. Paul couldn’t take his eyes off it.

“Did you change your mind, Detective?” she asked.

Paul blinked and adjusted his gaze up to meet hers. She was grinning. Megan knew exactly what she was doing to him. 

In response, Paul narrowed his eyes, and launched himself onto the bed. He covered her body with his, and trapped both her hands above her head. 

Megan giggled. “I didn’t know you liked it kinky, Detective.”

He attacked her neck with vigor—licking and biting at her flesh. “I’ll show you kinky.”

Something snapped inside him, and Paul shifted his hold so he could grasp both of her wrists with a single hand. With the other, he covered her breast and began tweaking her nipple. 

“Paul.” 

The way she said his name was all the encouragement he needed. Paul continued to play with her breasts, but he was getting frustrated with her bra. It was getting in his way.

He let go of her wrists, and Megan seemed to know exactly what he wanted. She twisted to the side so he could reach behind her and unclasp her bra. They worked together to remove it, and then Paul went back to worshiping her.

While his mouth was busy, he used his hands to encourage Megan to wrap her legs around his waist. As soon as her heat was pressed up against him, he nearly lost it. “Now you’re the one wearing too many clothes.”

She laughed and dropped her legs. Reaching between them, Megan worked her panties down her legs. As she did this, however, she began scooting herself further up the bed—away from him.

Paul waited until the offending material was gone before diving forward to catch her by the hips. He pulled her back down the bed until she was where he wanted her.

Megan circled her arms around his neck and shook her head. “So impatient.”

“Says the woman who sent dirty pictures of herself to my phone.”

She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. “Only one.” 

He groaned. “One was enough.”

Using his neck as leverage, Megan pulled herself up to whisper in his ear. “You didn’t like it?”

Before he could respond, she covered his lips with her mouth. Paul didn’t fight it. He could admonish her later. 

Everything happened rather quickly after that. There was kissing and touching. She fumbled around for a condom, and he quickly rolled it on. Then he was pushing himself inside her. Paul was lost in the need to possess every part of her. It was as if he couldn’t get enough—couldn’t get close enough to her.

She met him thrust for thrust, grinding her hips against him, seeking her own pleasure. It was a heady feeling, knowing she desired him as much as he did her. 

Paul felt his climax approaching, and more than anything he wanted her there with him. Reaching between them, his touch edged her closer. Megan dug her nails into his shoulders, and she threw her head back. “Paul!”

Seeing Megan orgasm had to be one of the best things he’d ever seen in his life. She embraced her sexuality completely. It was enough to send him over the edge.

Megan laughed as he collapsed on top of her.

“Sorry,” he said, rolling to his side. 

She turned to face him, still smiling. “I don’t think you have anything to apologize for.”

Her gaze roamed down his length and back up again. There was a hunger in her eyes that did nothing to stop the blood that was pounding through his veins. Ten years ago, he would probably have been ready to jump her again. 

“You’re insatiable.”

“Is that a complaint?” she asked.

It was his turn to laugh. “No.”

She smiled. “Are you hungry?”

“Famished.”

Megan reached across his lap and over the side of the bed to retrieve the wicker basket he’d noticed before. She pulled it up onto the bed, and rearranged herself so she was sitting with the basket on the mattress in front of her. One by one, she began removing the items.

Paul excused himself so that he could clean up. When he came back into her bedroom, he slipped into the bed, and got comfortable against the headboard. Every few seconds Megan would cast him a sly glance, but other than that, she focused on what she was doing. The more he watched her, the more it hit him that she truly seemed to want him, and not only in the physical sense.

“Are you all right?” Megan positioned herself beside him at the top of the bed. 

“Yes.” He suddenly had an impulse to kiss her, so he did.

She smiled and handed him a container. “There’s little sandwiches, fruit, cheese, chicken—”

He cut off her list with another kiss. “It’s wonderful. Thank you.”

Megan shrugged. “I know you’ve been stressed lately with the case and . . . well . . . with us.”

Paul reached for her hand and laced their fingers together. “I’ll make you a promise, okay? I’ll try my best not to stress about what’s going on between the two of us. We have a lot to figure out in the next three weeks, but I’m willing if you are.”

Paul’s words were music to Megan’s ears. She felt as if she’d been waiting to hear him say them forever. 

She tilted her head up, and placed a featherlight kiss on his lips. “That’s all I want.”

He smiled, and for the first time Megan thought everything might really work out the way she hoped. Paul felt something for her—he was willing to give a relationship between the two of them a chance. 

For the next several minutes, they busied themselves eating. She was biting into a chicken wing when Paul cleared his throat. “Janey knows. About us, I mean.”

Megan swallowed. Did he not want his partner to know? “Okay.”

“She saw your text this morning. The picture.”

“Oh.” Megan didn’t know what to think. It was only a picture of her in her bra and panties. She wasn’t naked or anything. Although taking a picture like that had crossed her mind, she knew Paul wasn’t quite as adventurous as her, so she had toned it down. “Did you not want her to know, then? About us?”

He was quiet for a long minute. “I don’t know. I guess I was hoping to keep it to ourselves for a while. We don’t know if this is going to work, and once people start finding out—”

“It complicates things. I get it.” And she did. He wasn’t sure this was what he wanted. It would be easier if no one knew, in case things didn’t work out.

What she was thinking must have shown on her face, and he jumped in to correct her assumption. “No. That’s not what I mean.”

“Then what did you mean? If you’re ashamed of us, Paul, then this isn’t going to work.” The thought turned her appetite sour.

Paul made a frustrated noise, and laid the food he had on his lap off to the side before pulling her into his arms. “I’m not ashamed but, Megan, you have to understand that this is a big step for me. I want us to be sure that this is going somewhere before we announce it to the world. Does that make sense? Who knows, maybe you’ll find out something about me that repulses you?”

Megan snorted.

He kissed the top of her hair, and she wrapped her arms around his torso. “Hey, it could happen. I’m not perfect.”

She looked up at him. “I know that.”

“I mean, look at this. Clearly, I could have done a better job explaining myself.”

Megan shook her head. “That was my fault. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.”

Being with Paul was a roller coaster of sorts. They had the friendship thing down, now they had to figure out if it could be more than that. He was right. It was going to take time. 

“I’ve never been in a situation like this,” Megan admitted.

She seemed to take him off guard with her comment. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve never been friends with a guy first.”

“Never?” Paul looked somewhat horrified.

“Never.”

“Well, I’ve already expressed my opinion of the guys you used to date.” He reached once more for the food, and handed her one of the little sandwiches she’d made. 

She took what he offered, and thought about what he said. “Does it bother you that I’ve been with so many men?”

They’d pulled the covers up around their lower halves, but other than that they were naked. Maybe it wasn’t the right time to bring something like that up, but Megan had always been one to speak her mind, no matter the situation. Of course, it had gotten her into trouble more times than she could count.

“The truth?” he asked.

“Always.”

Paul dropped his arms from around her, and he sat up a little straighter. Megan matched his posture. He clasped his hands together in his lap and met her gaze. “I try not to think about it.”

“Because it does bother you.” She knew they had to get it all out in the open.

“A little, yes.”

Megan nodded, and bowed her head. Never before had she regretted the number of partners she’d had. “I figured it might. You’ve only been with one other person.”

He sighed and reached for her again. She went willingly, needing to feel the security of his arms. “This isn’t going to be easy, you know. We’re very different.”

“I know. I don’t expect it to be easy. I’ve tried easy, and it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

“How about we take it one step at a time? We have three weeks to see if we can make this work before Chloe comes home,” Paul said.

“Right.”

They went back to eating the food she’d made, but this time they kept one arm around the other. As they ate, they talked about their day. Megan had spent most of it doing laundry from her trip and going to the grocery store. 

Most of the food she’d placed in the basket was gone, but neither of them seemed to have any desire to move from the bed. Megan rested her head on Paul’s chest while he ran his fingers up and down her spine. 

“Have you thought any more about where you’d like to go Friday night?” 

Megan glanced up, and then went back to playing with the curly hairs at the base of his stomach. “Do you like to dance?”

He chuckled. “I haven’t danced in years. Not since high school.”

“So is that a no?” she asked.

“No. It isn’t a
no
. It’s an
I have no idea
. Do you?”

“I love to dance.” Megan smiled.

“Do you want me to see if some of the guys at work can suggest something? I’m sure there’s a club in Indianapolis where we could go.”