Protecting What's His (7 page)

Chapter Nine

“You must be high.”

Derek frowned as Ginger’s words had the two rookie firefighters behind him snickering under their breath.
Oh yeah? I’d like to see
you
try, assholes.

Scratch that. He didn’t want them trying
anything
with Ginger. He couldn’t blink without seeing the way she’d been dressed when he first came out of his apartment, and one look at the guys’ faces said they remembered, too. She’d been wearing a soaked white T-shirt that barely covered her ass, and her puckered breasts and red panties had been visible through the thin layer of cotton, baring her to everyone’s view. Even now, with her wearing his fleece, Derek remained unsatisfied with her lack of clothing. If rookie number two glanced at her legs one more time, he’d use the man’s suspenders to strangle him.

“Don’t argue with me about this.”

She scoffed. “Oh, this isn’t an argument. That implies you might win.”

Derek prayed for patience. “Can we have a moment?” he asked tersely, turning to the other men. They threw final glances over their shoulders at Ginger, setting Derek’s teeth on edge, then disappeared back into the apartment.

He stepped forward, reaching for her arm.

“Do
not
touch me, Derek. I will clean your clock.”

“Why don’t you explain to me what your problem is.”

She got right in his face then, looking righteously pissed-off and achingly beautiful, even with damp strands of hair sticking to her neck and face. He wanted to kiss her. “My problem is you
telling
me what we’re doing and not
asking
. I make decisions for us. Not you. Your badge has no jurisdiction here. Or in my place of work, for that matter!”

Shit.
He’d known that artless move would come back to bite him in the ass. Even if he’d only given his detectives an unprecedented night off with the
suggestion
they try Sensation
for a drink or two. The promise to transfer anyone who made a pass at Ginger to a precinct somewhere in Appalachia had merely been implied.

Derek knew the most expedient way to deal with this situation. She would probably hate him for it tonight, maybe even tomorrow. But he’d reached his limit of arguing in the hallway while her legs were exposed for everyone to see. And letting her leave the building wasn’t a viable option.

“It’s three in the morning. Are you planning on taking Willa out in the cold, soaked head to toe, to find a hotel at this time of night? That would be dangerous and could end up with you or Willa sick.”

Over Ginger’s shoulder, Willa’s eyes widened in horror. “Not cool,” she whispered.

Confused by Willa’s reaction, Derek’s eyes swung back to Ginger. Instead of the anger he expected over his blatant manipulation, her pretty features were stricken with guilt. Derek felt hollow inside just seeing the transformation. Had he actually put that look on her face to avoid a stupid argument?

Ginger turned to face Willa, who looked desperate for the earth to open and swallow her whole. “Of course. I wasn’t thinking, Willa. I’m sorry.”

The girl was already shaking her head. “Ginger, don’t listen to him. We’ll do whatever you think is best. You
always
do what’s best.”

Her smile looked sad. “No, I don’t. And he’s…right. We’ll figure something else out tomorrow, but tonight we’ll stay here. With Derek.”

Ginger turned to him expectantly, but didn’t meet his eyes. At a loss, Derek cleared his throat and gestured for her to precede him down the hallway to his apartment, which she did. As Willa passed, she waved toward the giant statue.

“Be careful with Dolly.”

Half an hour later, Derek sank heavily onto the end of his bed and ran irritated hands over his cropped hair. He stripped off his shirt and tossed it in the vicinity of his hamper, then collapsed back onto the mattress with a heavy sigh. The last half hour had been an exercise in frustration, with Ginger refusing to meet his eyes and Willa sending him constant death stares as he showed them to his guest room and gave them linens to make up the queen-size bed. He couldn’t shake the feeling he deserved Ginger’s cold shoulder, but with her refusal to acknowledge him, there wasn’t a hope in hell of getting her to talk.

Deciding sleep would prove impossible tonight, and knowing he was due at work in mere hours anyway, Derek grabbed the laptop off his side table and began scanning through crime scene reports. Halfway through the second one, he heard the bathroom door connecting to the living room open and shut. A minute later, the shower started to run. He tried to focus on work and block the image of Ginger naked twenty yards away, but the sound of muffled sobs drew him up short.

Knowing he might somehow be responsible for those tears mobilized Derek and before he knew it, he’d left his bedroom and stood in front of the bathroom door, rapping gently with his knuckles. The hushed sounds of her crying ceased at the sudden noise.

“Ginger?”

A beat of silence. “Yes?”

Derek sighed at the sound of her hoarse voice. Coming to an important decision, he pushed open the bathroom door without waiting for permission.

Ginger sat perched on the marble counter with her bare legs dangling, looking so impossibly young, his heart clenched. She’d shed his fleece and once again wore only the translucent nightshirt that stopped mid-thigh. Drying hair curled wildly around her face, falling forward to partially obscure her expression.

Then her head whipped toward him, puffy eyes widening at his presence in the bathroom, and her beauty punched him in the gut like an iron fist. Although her shoulders sagged under the weight of whatever had upset her, she somehow retained the stubborn set to her chin, the challenge in her eyes. It humbled him, seeing her like this.

As Derek turned to close the door, he took a moment to gather his scattered thoughts, then moved toward her. When he stood directly in front of Ginger, they watched each other for one long, silent moment before her face crumpled. Without hesitation, he came forward and put his arms around her, holding her tight as she shook. To his utter shock, she wrapped her slight arms around his neck and pulled him closer, sobbing brokenly into his neck.

In Derek’s line of work, it was difficult to avoid crying females. They were frequently present at crime scenes. Mothers, wives, daughters of the deceased. He’d hardened himself against it long ago. He wouldn’t be able to perform his job otherwise. But every so often, a loved one reached a deeply hidden part of him. A child who’d lost her father, unusually stoic, watching the coroner drive away. A mother, days after her son’s murder, still refusing to accept his death. If such tragedies ever left him completely untouched, it would be time to retire.

But as Derek watched himself holding Ginger in the mirror over the sink, her smaller, trembling body engulfed by his naked arms and chest, he felt the furthest thing from unaffected. Every sob or shudder that moved through her robbed him of breath. Derek wanted to decimate her sadness and anything causing it. Feeling powerless, he rubbed circles on her back with one hand.

“I’m not good at this,” she mumbled against his neck. He barely heard her over the drone of the still-running shower.

“Good at what, baby?”

Ginger pulled away, wiping her tears away with shaking hands. He let her go, even though he wanted to crush her back to his chest.

“Everything. Being responsible for my sister. Making decisions for us.”

“Listen, Ginger, what I said earlier about you taking Willa out in the cold—”

“No. No, that’s not it. But it’s one example.” She took a deep, fortifying breath. “That ceiling would have crushed me to death tonight. Five seconds later, I’d have been a goner and that would’ve left Willa completely alone in a strange city. Oh God, what was I thinking?”

Certain he’d gone white at her revelation about the ceiling, Derek did his best to talk around the giant knot in his throat. “You couldn’t have known the ceiling was going to fall, Ginger.”

She shook her head. “You don’t understand.”

“Help me, then.”

“Coming to Chicago was my decision.” She scrubbed a hand over her face. “I thought we would be better here. Willa would have more opportunities. But, oh God, I’m in completely over my head, aren’t I? I don’t know how to repair a flooded apartment or cook a decent potpie or even talk to my sister about what’s bothering her. I’m not qualified for any of it.”

He stroked her hair out of her face. “Listen to me. You’ve had a long night so everything seems a little worse than it really is. You and Willa weren’t hurt. The rest of it you’ll handle, because you don’t have a choice. Chicago or some other town, the same problems will follow you.”

Ginger choked on a disbelieving laugh. “Jesus. Your bedside manner needs serious work.”

“Sorry, but how bad can someone really fuck up a chicken potpie? I’m sure yours are fine.”

Laughter bubbled from her throat. “I can’t believe I actually feel better after that locker room pep talk. But gee, thanks coach. I guess I’ll get back out on the field and show them whose house it is.”

“I like a woman who can make a decent sports reference.”

“Then get used to disappointment because my career in sports references just peaked at one.”

Sighing heavily, she slid off the counter, careful not to touch him. “So, it appears we’ve well and truly blurred the lines tonight.”

“What do you mean?”

“We were working our way up to something, I’m not sure what. But here we are, roommates, and that paints everything in a different light.”

His eyebrow quirked up. “Make an attempt to be clear, please.”

“
I
mean
we can’t sleep together now. If we did, you’d never know if I consented merely because I was grateful for your help. And I’ll always wonder if you only invited us to stay to score points and get me into the sack.”

“Ginger, are you sure the ceiling didn’t hit you on the head tonight?”

Her face showed disapproval. “Now, Lieutenant, it’s impolite to discuss my recent upset.”

He gave her a look.

“There’s only one way redefine the lines and put us back on equal footing. I’m going to pay you rent until we get back into our apartment. That way, we’ll never have to wonder.”

“Ginger.”

“Wait. I have two rules. No more detectives coming into Sensation and getting in my hair. I’ve never needed a babysitter before and I sure don’t need ten of them now.”

God, this woman exasperated him. She stood a foot away from him wearing a transparent T-shirt and panties, oblivious to the danger she was in of being dragged to the floor and fucked into submission, giving him
rules
.

“And the second rule?”

“Huh?”

“You said there were two rules.”

She appeared to be deep in thought. “Oh, right. The most important one. No sex until I’m back in my apartment.”

He barked out a laugh. “Baby, I’m not sure I can make it five more minutes.”

Ginger’s mouth dropped open, her wide eyes dropping briefly to the bulge pressing against his sweatpants. “Derek, I’m serious about this. I’m not going to be your live-in booty call.”

The hot mist from the unused shower had slowly begun filling the room, making the air around them warm and sticky. Water pelting the bathtub and glass shower door created a constant drumming noise, muting their voices to anyone but each other. It felt incredibly intimate, being half-dressed with her in his bathroom. Seeing her among his things. Hearing the soft hum of her voice through the curling steam.

Her hair, dry when he’d entered the bathroom, had begun curling in the humidity, sticking to her neck and chest, which rose and fell in a shuddering breath upon seeing the look in his eyes. Unerringly, his gaze landed on her taut, pink nipples, visible to him through her clinging nightshirt.

Derek stepped toward Ginger, forcing her back with his body. He kept walking until she sat on the counter once more. Placing his hips between her parted legs, Derek ran his hands slowly up her calves and circled her knees slowly, before gripping her bare thighs.

He spoke directly into her ear. “I don’t give a fuck about blurring the lines. You won’t see my men at the bar anymore, but that’s the only one of your rules I’ll concede.” She started to argue, but he squeezed her thighs tightly to keep her silent. “I’m not a total bastard, Ginger. I’d already decided tonight wasn’t going to happen before I came in here. Otherwise, I’d be pounding an orgasm out of you right now.”

Her breath caught and she started squirming restlessly on the counter. Derek knew if he kept talking and pushed a little harder, he could have her here and now. But he wouldn’t allow it. She’d hate him afterward for taking advantage of her emotional state and back off permanently. One time with her would not be enough, so that didn’t work for him.

But God, her naked body was driving him insane. Derek made the mistake of burying his face in her neck to catch her wildflower scent. Her head dropped back, begging him for more contact, and before he knew it, his mouth opened to kiss and suck her damp skin. Ginger moaned, sliding to the very end of the counter. His survival instincts told him to move back, away from her, but his body ignored reason and moved closer. Naked thighs came up to circle his hips, and then her core was pressing and moving against his erection.

“Sweet fucking hell,” he gritted. The thin panties she wore provided almost no barrier between them. He could reach down, rip them off, and be inside her within seconds. He allowed himself one hard thrust against her, startling a cry from her lips, before stepping away. The physical pain he experienced looking at Ginger, half-naked and willing, while in his aroused state nearly broke him.

“Derek, don’t do this to me again.”

Placing his hands on either side of her waist, his head dropped forward. She was right. He couldn’t leave her like this. Not a second time. Even if it might kill him.