Rock Chick 04 Renegade (33 page)

I decided to go with joking. “Stop joking,” I said quietly.

“I wasn’t joking.”

Okay then, he
wasn’t
joking.

That got a bel y flutter.

“Wel , I’ve decided to be sweet,” I said, just to be contrary.

He grinned and his grin was so at the ready it made me wonder if he’d used reverse psychology on me. Then his face came down and disappeared in my neck and I felt his lips there.

The bel y flutter escalated to Grade Two.

“I’ve changed my mind,” I told the ceiling, “I’m going back to fighting.”

His hands went down my sides to my hips, he lifted them and then, I kid you not, he slid inside me slowly, gently but I could feel he was again rock hard.

My breath went out in a rush at the surprise of it and the fact that I moved from a Grade Two to a Grade Six in about three seconds.

“Vance,” I said softly and his lips moved from my neck to my mouth.

“That’s it, beautiful. Every time I slide inside you, I want you to say my name,” he muttered there.

He’d started moving and I started moving with him.

“I thought it was every time I came,” I whispered and his hands moved on me, a thumb sliding across my nipple as my hands roamed his back.

“I want you to say it then too.”

“Why?” I asked.

“I like it.”

“But why?”

“I don’t know why. It doesn’t matter why. I just do.” That seemed plausible to me.

“Okay,” I said agreeably, my hands going over his ass and either my word or my hands (or both) made him grin again and he kissed me and started moving faster.

When he stopped kissing me and his mouth went to my ear I said in his, “You have to get a condom.”

“In a minute.”

“Vance.”

“In a minute.”

I rol ed my eyes.

He drove in deep.

When he did it felt so good, I whispered his name low into his ear.

Then I slid my hands in his hair, pul ing it back and I traced the outer edges of his ear with my tongue just like he’d done to me last night and I’d liked that too.

* * * * *

After the second time, when it was dark and I was curled into Vance’s side, his fingers drawing on my hip, the moonlight coming in from the two windows on either side of the fireplace and the one at the back of the room, I asked him in a whisper, “Were you mad at me when we got here?”

“I wasn’t happy to walk in the down room and see Luke on top of you. I wasn’t happy that you ignored me at the party. And I wasn’t happy you were breakin’ up with me. So yeah, I was mad at you when we got here.”

I went silent because I knew the answer already. I didn’t even know why I asked. I supposed if that was the way he took out his anger it wasn’t al that bad.

The minutes ticked away.

Then I asked, “Why do you have so many books in the living room?”

“I like to read when I’m here,” he answered.

“Why don’t you get a bookshelf?”

“Don’t need one.”

I supposed he didn’t. Stil , he could use one.

For some reason I went on advising him about the décor of his cabin. “You should put new countertops in and refinish the cabinets in the kitchen,” I told him.

“Why?”

“It’l look nicer.”

“It doesn’t have to look nice. It needs to keep me dry and warm.”

“But it’s your home,” I said.

“It’s just a cabin.”

Something about that hit me somewhere deep. If this wasn’t what he considered his home and he had no place in Denver, where was home?

I decided not to ask. He wouldn’t answer anyway and considering we were breaking up, I had no right to know.

Instead, I said, “I like my space to be special.” His hand went stil and he rol ed into me. “Yeah,” he said,

“I noticed.”

I stared at his face in the moonlight not sure if what he said was good or bad. Considering the way his space was, I decided it was bad.

“You don’t like it.”

He looked me in my eyes for a moment then he kissed my forehead. “I like it,” he said softly when he was looking at me again.

I stared at him, memorizing his face when it was like it was now, beautiful and gentle.

“The moon seems brighter here,” I whispered.

“It is.” His hand came up and he started to play with my hair and I pressed in closer to his warm body.

“It’s been a weird birthday,” I told him, my voice stil quiet.

He didn’t answer.

I kept silent for a few minutes then, knowing I should tel him, needing to tel him and knowing I’d only have the courage in the dark, I said, “I don’t know if you saw the roses but they were beautiful.”

His arm came tighter around me and fitted me to his body but he didn’t say anything. He just looked at me in the moonlight.

“They were perfect, each one of them. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

He stil didn’t say anything.

“You should know that everyone was there when I saw them; Indy, Al y, Jet, Daisy, Roxie, even Tod and Stevie.” He kept quiet.

“Daisy said you have class.”

He final y spoke. “I’m not certain how to take that, comin’

from Daisy.”

I smiled at him. “Believe me, she meant it as a compliment.”

The smile was stil on my face when his hand came to my jaw and even though I couldn’t see it in the dark I just knew his eyes had changed. I felt them warm on my face.

Then he kissed me, it was long, slow and sweet. He careful y pul ed the covers down our bodies, the air in the cabin was no longer bitter cold but it stil hit me.

“What are you doing?” I asked as he rol ed over me.

“I’m gonna fuck you in the moonlight.”

“It’s cold,” I told him.

“You’l get warm.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Chapter Seventeen
Give It a Week, With Me

Luke and I walked up to my house after a night of patrol.

Patrol, I decided, was boring as hel .

I’d much rather be pouring canola oil on a Mercedes Benz or throwing smoke bombs than driving around town looking for trouble when there was none to be found.

It had been one of the worst days of my life (and I’d had a few) and truly the most boring night.

* * * * *

Vance had woken me up by making love to me, slow, sweet, taking his time. It was a new experience and one that I liked (a lot).

We’d taken a shower, got dressed and he drove me to my house.

Without a word he walked me to the back stoop, kissed me (also slow, sweet and taking his time) then he walked back to his bike and roared off.

Gone. Just like that. It was done.

I stared at the spot where I last saw him as my stomach twisted tight and my heart squeezed.

Then I went inside and listened to Boo tel ing me that Nick hadn’t broken up his wet food with a fork like I normal y do.

I picked him up and gave him a cuddle. “Be quiet, Boo,” I whispered with my cheek pressed to his fur.

Boo was quiet.

* * * * *

I’d spent the day waiting for Vance to cal , walk into King’s, do something Vance-like to invade my space and my life.

Nothing.

May was openly worried about me and talking constantly in her Mama’s-gonna-make-it-better voice. May was a love, a good friend and a kind heart but no Mama in the world would make me feel better.

Al the gang phoned me. Roxie phoned twice. They were checking in and checking up and offering me everything to keep my mind off Vance: Yahtzee and sparkling wine (Tod and Stevie); a movie (Indy and Jet); a drunken night of debauchery (Al y); a day at the spa (Daisy); and a shopping spree (Roxie).

I’d turned them al down and mental y licked my wounds while my emotional Rottweiler sat next to me, tongue lol ing, tail wagging, happy.

I was thinking I needed a new emotional guard dog.

Something cute and cuddly with a smushy face that I could carry around in a purse and dress in ridiculous doggie clothes. Something like a pug.

The only bright spot had been when I’d cal ed Nightingale Investigations and asked to speak to Luke.

Without hesitation the guy named Monty who answered gave me Luke’s cel number.

When I cal ed Luke answered by saying, “You’re not gettin’ out of trainin’. I don’t care if he dumped you.”

“He didn’t dump me!” I (kind of) shouted. Then I realized he knew it was me who was cal ing. “How do you know my number?” I asked.

“Everybody’s got your number. You’re an unofficial member of the team.”

Oh. I didn’t know that. An unofficial member of the Nightingale Investigation Team. That was
way
cool.

I shrugged off the way coolness of being a member of the team even if it was unofficial. “I want to bring Roam and Sniff –” I started.

“Not gonna happen,” Luke interrupted me.

“Luke! I don’t want you to train them. I just want them to come and watch. Maybe they’l learn something. And they’l be impressed by the offices. And I want them to hang around good male role models.”

Silence.

“Luke?” I cal ed when the silence stretched.

“Good male role models?” Luke asked. I could tel by his tone he thought that was funny.

“Can I bring them or what?” I snapped, losing patience.

“Don’t be late.”

I guessed that was a yes.

Roam and Sniff walked into the offices trying to be cool but I was right, they couldn’t hide it, I knew they were impressed.

I walked into the office scared to death I’d run into Vance.

Dawn smiled at me sweet-as-pie and informed me Vance was not in the building.

Bitch.

Then Roam and Sniff watched me get my ass kicked by Luke and they’d laughed themselves stupid. I told myself when their eyes weren’t closed with laughter they probably learned something so it was worth it.

After training, I took Roam and Sniff out for burgers then back to the Shelter then I went home to Boo and listened to him complain about my constant absence. Mostly I ignored him.

I took a shower, dressed in my take-on-the night uniform (my new burgundy cords; black belt; black cowboy boots; black, stretchy, tight, long-sleeved tee; and black leather blazer). I waited for Vance to break in, say he wasn’t going to let me go (like Eddie had done to Jet and apparently Hank had done to Roxie and also Lee had done to Indy).

No Vance.

I told myself this was good. I didn’t believe myself and was beginning to think myself was a big, fat moron.

Luke picked me up. We drove around for two hours, doing mostly nothing and saying absolutely nothing (Luke, I found, wasn’t a big conversationalist). We stopped a couple of times so I could talk to some kids and that was it.

* * * * *

At my door I pul ed my keys out of my pocket.

Luke pul ed my keys out of my hand.

“What the…?” I started but with a Super Dude super-door-unlocking-power he was already pushing open my door. When he was inside, he turned to my alarm and punched in a code.

“How do you know my code?” I asked, coming in behind him.

He threw my keys on my chaise and walked into the house. “Everyone knows your code,” he told me, stil walking across the living room.

I stared at his back.

So much for my life going back to normal.

I closed the door, turned on a lamp and fol owed him. I saw the light go on in the kitchen and heard Boo talking to Luke.

Luke was making himself at home and opening a bottle of Fat Tire beer when I arrived. Boo was asking him who the hel he thought he was and also could he spare a few kitty treats for a poor, abused house cat?

“What are you doing?” I asked as he leaned his hips against the counter and took a pul off the beer.

“Havin’ a beer,” he answered when he was done swal owing.

“I can see you’re having a beer.
Why
are you having a beer?”

“I’m thirsty.”

Oh for goodness sakes.

“Luke. It’s late. I’m tired. I’ve just been bored out of my mind. I don’t even know what patrol
is
, al I know is, so far, field work sucks.”

“Field work is the business.”

“My business is plastic wrap and canola oil,” I told him.

After I was done with my statement he gave me one of his half-grins and I realized what I said sounded like.

“Go home,” I ordered, deciding to get snippy instead of blush.

“If you’re worried Vance can see us on the cameras, don’t. He’s after a skip.”

With everything that happened, I’d forgotten about the cameras.

I did a mental review of my time in the house without Vance and realized with relief I’d been clothed through al of it and hadn’t done anything embarrassing like dance around singing “Sir Duke” with Stevie Wonder (which I was prone to do).

I decided to ignore the cameras, for now. “A skip?”

“Someone who skipped bond. Vance is in Wyoming.” For some strange reason knowing that and finding out from Luke slid in deep like a knife to the chest and it hurt like hel .

He pushed away from the counter, index and middle fingers around the neck of the bottle, and walked up to me, like Vance did, overpowering and right in my space.

Then he put the hand not holding the beer to my neck, thumb at my jaw. I had no idea what he was up to but I stood my ground, head-crackin’ mamma jamma that I was, no retreat.

I rethought my decision when I looked in his face.

This was not badass, Super Dude Luke. His look was gentle and if he was kickass hot normal y, gentle would have taken me to a serious Grade Three bel y flutter if I wasn’t hung up on Vance.

“He shouldn’t have fucked a virgin,” Luke said to me.